Tzedakah” is not simply charity

The Biblical Book of Numbers Chapter 7 alone devotes all of its 89 verses, almost 2,000 words, to giving. Contained in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) are a variety of laws applying to the poor. Tithes for the poor (ma’aser ani), the gleaning of the field (leket), the year of release (shemittah), and the field corner to be reaped by the poor (peah) all relate to the Jewish idea of giving as justice. At the same time, compassion is also an integral part of giving. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 states that because there will always be poor people in the land of Israel , the Israelites were to stretch out their hands wide to those poor brethren around them and give without evil in their hearts. Proverbs 19:17 says that giving to the poor is like lending to the Lord.

Maimonides made a list of different kinds of contributions to charity. From the least kind of giving to the greatest kind of giving, his ranking reads:

8. He who doesn’t give enough and even that unwillingly, and in bad grace.

7. He who doesn’t give enough (according to his means) but what he does give he donates with good grace.

6. He who gives after he is asked.

5. He who gives before he is asked (both parties knowing each other).

4. He who “casts among the poor,” meaning that the recipient knows who gave, but the donor doesn’t know who received.

3. He who knows who is to get the money but sees to it that this person does not learn who gave it and thus avoids any embarrassment on his part.

2. He who gives charity without knowing who is to receive it and without the recipient being told who gave it.

1. He who helps someone save his business or get a job so that it will not become necessary for this person to become dependent on charity.