Tzedakah Requirements

The lives of Abraham and Job provide us with two models for confronting poverty.

Jewish communal institutions address the problems of the poor, but individual efforts still make a crucial difference to many in need.

Rabbinic commentators interpreted the law of leaving the corners of one's field for those in need in light of their own concerns about the poor.

The rabbinic sages taught that humans should emulate God by meeting the particular needs of people in trouble. But how should one go about that today?

Jewish texts on social justice describe the tension between providing what is needed and providing what is affordable.

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." How many fish do we buy, and how many nets?

Do we respond immediately to a claim of dire need, or perform

Jewish texts discuss how much to give and to whom.

What to look for.

A contemporary Conservative rabbi reviews the Jewish legal literature for guidance on how much to ask about a person who solicits us for tzedakah--or whether to give to all who request our help.