Tzedakah in the Jewish Tradition
The Rabbis
regulated the giving and receiving of tzedakah
even while recognizing that how one
gives may be as important as how much
one gives.
By George Robinson
Excerpted from Essential
Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs,
Customs, and Rituals, published by Pocket Books.
Tzedakah has its own set of
imperatives. Tzedakah is loosely
translated as "charity," but that is a misrepresentation of the
concept. The Hebrew has its root in another word, tzedek/justice. In the
Torah we are strongly enjoined, "Tzedek,
tsedek tirdof/Justice, justice thou shalt pursue." Rabbinical
commentators have said that the repetition of the word justice is designed to
underline the importance of the command. Tzedakah
is not charity given out of caritas,
in the Christian understanding of those words; it is given as an act of
redress, as part of the process of seeking a just world.
How does tzedakah
differ from gemilut hasadim?
Actually, the Talmud says that the latter is greater in three ways: charity can
be performed only with one's money, but acts of lovingkindness require one's
body, time, or money; charity is only
for the poor, but one can perform gemilut
hasadim for everyone; and charity can only be given to the living,
but gemilut hasadim is for the
living and the dead (as in the mitzvot
associated with burial).
Even so, we are enjoined explicitly to give tzedakah, particularly just before the
Sabbath and festivals. The Torah tells us, "You shall surely open your
hand to the poor and the destitute of your land." Elsewhere it is said
that Israel will be redeemed by its acts of charity. And in the Book of
Proverbs we are told, "The doing of righteousness and justice is
preferable to Adonai than the sacrificial offering."
How we give tzedakah
is as important was what we give. "Do not humiliate a beggar," the
Talmud warns us. "God is beside him." Rabbi Eleazar said, "The
reward that is paid for giving charity is directly related to the kindness with
which it is given." Deuteronomony 15:10 cautions, "Your heart shall
not be grieved when you give."
Everyone is required to give tzedakah according to her means. Even the poorest Jews, those who
need help themselves, are expected to put aside something from what they
receive in order to give tzedakah.
But that poor Jew's tiny donation is as great as the large donation of the
wealthiest. (If making a donation would impair the impecunious Jew'sability
to sustain himself, he is absolved from giving. The doctrine of pikuach nefesh ["saving a life"]
applies here: he must not endanger his life to perform this mitzvah.) It is
forbidden to turn away a poor person empty-handed, but if one truly cannot
give, a Jew is expected to at least offer words of comfort.
How much should one give? Judaism, like many subsequent
faiths, believes in tithing, that is, giving one-tenth of one's income for tzedakah. The Talmud also warns us
against giving more than a fifth of one's income, thereby incurring the danger
of ending up destitute and in need of tzedakah.
There are other ways of giving tzedakah besides the straight donation of money. (Maimonides
enumerated a "ladder" of tzedakah
with eight degrees of charity on it.) Supporting one's children after they have
reached the age at which they are deemed capable of self-support, supporting
one's parents, donating money to an individual who wishes to study Torah—all
these are called meritorious.
Along these same lines, the Jewish community has a long
tradition of establishing philanthropic organizations, ranging from burial
societies to organizations like the Hebrew Free Loan Society, which gives
interest-free loans to the needy, from funds to provide hospitality to
wayfaring strangers to the traditional Passover funds to buy matzah and wine for poor Jews. Every
town in which there is a Jewish community is required halakhically [by Jewish law] to have a charity fund that can
disburse monies that cover a week's needs of a poor family.
Judaism is also concerned with the conduct of those who
receive tzedakah. They are enjoined
not to become dependent on others. The Talmudic sages urged even the scholar to
take on menial labor rather than become a burden to the community, and many of
them were laborers themselves.
George Robinson,
author of Essential Judaism, is the
recipient of a Simon Rockower Award for excellence in Jewish journalism from
the American Jewish Press Association. He lives in New York City.
