There is a folk saying that goes: “A fool gives and a wise man takes”. A fool who gives tzedaka thinks that he is giving, while a wise man who gives realizes that he is taking, he is the one who benefits the most from his act of giving. The word tzedaka comes from the Hebrew root tzedek, “justice”, according to Strong’s Concordance. Tzedaka, the Hebrew word for helping the poor, strangers, widows, and orphans is often translated as “charity.” However, the Hebrew root tzedek should be translated as “justice” or “fairness”. What is the connection between giving to the poor and justice? To begin to answer this question, lets examine what the torah teaches us about how we are to give charity to the poor. The Torah also teaches us the reason why we are obligated to give. Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:9-10 And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger; I am the Lord your God. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:19-22 When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands... And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:7-9 If there shall be a needy person among you, any of your brethren in any of your cities, in the Land that HaShem, your God, gives you, you shall not harden your heart or close your hand against your destitute brother. Rather, you shall open your hand to him; you shall lend him his requirement, whatever is lacking to him. Beware lest there be a lawless thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year approaches, the remission year”, and you will look malevolently upon your destitute brother and refuse to give him - then he may appeal against you to HaShem, and it will be a sin upon you. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 19:28-29 At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates... and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:21:43 +0000
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