Charitable giving in Judaism

Through the centuries Jews have regarded the giving of charity as a central religious act. In Jewish teaching, charity is perceived as a divine attribute, and God is seen as exercising charity: 'He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment' (Deuteronomy 10:17, 18). It is charity not sacrifice that will find favour with God.

In ancient times, taxes were levied for the benefit of the poor. Various Hebrew terms were used to designate laws which regulated such taxation such as leket, shikhhah and pe'ah. In addition, the sabbatical year was instituted in which all crops became the property of the community and all debts were rescinded so that the poor would be able to eat and be freed from debt. The Torah[1] also stipulates that the needs of the poor should be remembered when festivals are celebrated. According to biblical teaching, the inhabitants of the land must be aware of the needs of the poor and the stranger because the Jewish people itself had experienced this situation in Egypt: 'Love ye therefore the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt' (Deuteronomy 10:19).

A central religious obligation

In rabbinic literature,[2] too, charity is perceived as of central importance in the life of the Jewish nation. Basing themselves on biblical teaching, the rabbis adopted the term zedakah to designate the act of charitable giving. This term literally means 'righteousness' or 'justice'; by choosing such a term rabbinic scholars indicated that they viewed charity as obligatory. Thus Leviticus Rabbah, a commentary on the Book of Leviticus, states: 'The poor man does more for the householder than the householder does for the poor man', indicating that by giving charity the householder is able to discharge his religious obligation.

Such a notion is based on the assumption that all possessions ultimately belong to God, and that poverty and riches are under his control. Hence the Sayings of the Fathers declares: 'Give unto Him of what is His, seeing that thou and what thou hast are His.'

In this connection the Talmud records a story about the sage Rava: A poor man came before Rava who asked him what he usually had to eat. The man replied: 'Fatted chicken and old wine.' 'But do you not', said Rava, 'feel worried that you are a burden on the community?' 'Do I eat what is theirs?' said the man, 'I eat what is God's.' At this point Rava's sister brought him a gift of a fatted chicken and old wine, which Rava understood to be an omen and apologized to the poor man.

In the view of numerous rabbis zedakah is of fundamental significance in the life of the community. Thus Assi stated that zedakah is as important as all the other commandments put together. Elazar explained the meaning of the verse in Proverbs that states 'To do righteousness (zedakah) and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice' (Prov 21:3) as meaning that charity is greater than sacrifices. For the rabbis, zedakah hastens redemption, ensures that the charitable person will have wise, wealthy and learned sons, and atones for sin.

According to rabbinic sources, giving charity is obligatory on all individuals including those who are themselves dependent on charity. In this regard, a poor man is understood to be one who has less than 200 zuz (200 dinar, each of which coins is the equivalent of 96 barley grains). This sum is the criterion if it is static capital rather than what is used for business purposes; however, if it is being used for business, then the sum is 50 zuz. An individual with more than this amount is not entitled to take the poor man's tithe or charity.

Who are the recipients of charity?

In general these stipulations regarding the giving of charity were interpreted as referring to the poor members of the Jewish community. For this reason the Jewish people have been concerned to ensure that poor Jews should not suffer hardship. Yet there was always a consciousness that Jews should also be concerned about the welfare of non-Jews who were in need of charity. However, charity should not be accepted from non-Jews unless it cannot be avoided.

Women taken precedence over men in receiving charity, and a person's poor relatives come before strangers. The rule is: 'the poor of your own town come before the poor of any other town.' However, the poor of Eretz Yisrael (Israel) take precedence over all others.

A traveller in a strange town who has no funds is viewed as poor and may receive charity even though he has money at home. When he returns to his home, he is not obliged to repay the charity he was given. A person is not obliged to sell his household goods in order to maintain himself; instead, he may receive charity.

The amount of charity that should be given is to be a tenth of one's wealth. To give a twentieth or less is regarded as stingy. However, the rabbis declared that a person should not give more than a fifth of his wealth lest he become impoverished himself and thereby dependent on charity from others.

How is charity best given?

In giving charity, the main consideration is that the poor person should not be embarrassed. Thus the Talmud relates that Rabbi Jonah said: 'It is not written "Happy is he who gives to the poor" but "Happy is he who considers the poor" ' (Psalms 41:2), meaning he who ponders how to fulfil the command to help the poor. How did Jonah act? If he met a man from a good family who had become impoverished he would say, 'I have heard that a legacy has been left to you in such a place; take this money in advance and pay me back later.' When the man accepted it, he then said to him, 'It is a gift.' Again, the Talmud relates that when Rabbi Yannai saw someone giving a zuz to a poor man in public, he said, 'It were better not to have given rather than to have given him and shamed him.'

According to the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides, there are various modes of giving charity, ranging from the least to the most virtuous:

• to give sadly;
• to give less than is fitting, but with good humour;
• to give only after having been asked;
• to give before being asked;
• to give in such a manner that the donor does not know who the recipient is;
• to give in such a manner that the recipient does not know who the donor is;
• to give in such a way that neither the donor nor the recipient knows the identity of the other.

In Maimonides' view, the highest form of charity is to help a poor person rehabilitate himself.

Dan Cohn-Sherbok is Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, Lampeter, UK.

1 The Torah comprises the first five books of the Hebrew bible; the word means literally 'instruction' or 'law'.

2 The teachings of the rabbis in the second to the fourth centuries were recorded in the Gemara and later included in the Talmud, the great encyclopaedia of Jewish teaching.

'The eyes of all look to thee, 
and thou givest them their food in due season. 
Thou openest thy hand, 
and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.' (Psalms 145:15--16)

'Is such the fast that I choose, 
a day for a man to humble himself? 
Is it to bow down his head like a rush, 
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? 
Will you call this a fast, 
and a day acceptable to the Lord? 
Is this not the fast that I choose: 
to loose the bonds of wickedness, 
to undo the thongs of the yoke, 
to let the oppressed go free, 
and to break every yoke? 
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, 
and bring the homeless poor into your house; 
when you see the naked, to cover him, 
and not to hid yourself from your own flesh?' (Isaiah 58:5--7)

'Is not your wickedness great? 
here is no end to your iniquities … 
You have given no water to the weary to drink, 
and you have withheld bread from the hungry. 
The man with power possessed the land, 
and the favoured man dwelt in it. 
You have sent widows away empty, 
and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.' (Job 22:5--9)