Tzedakah (Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s: צדקה) is a Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s word commonly translated as charity The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas", though it is based on the Hebrew word (צדק, tzedek) meaning righteousness Righteousness is an important theological concept in Judaism and Christianity. It is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God. William Tyndale remodelled the word after an earlier word, fairness or justice Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics. In Judaism Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to perform charity, and philanthropic acts, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life; Maimonides Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher; one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He was born in Córdoba, Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. With the contemporary Muslim says that, while the second highest form of tzedakah is to anonymously give donations to unknown recipients, the highest form is to give a gift, loan, or partnership that will result in the recipient supporting himself instead of living upon others. Unlike philanthropy It is generally agreed that the word was coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece by the playwright Aeschylus, or whoever else wrote Prometheus Bound . There the author told as a myth how the primitive creatures that were created to be human, at first had no knowledge, skills, or culture of any kind—so they lived in caves, in the dark, in, which is completely voluntary, tzedakah is seen as a religious obligation, which must be performed regardless of financial standing, and must even be performed by poor people; tzedakah is considered to be one of the three main acts that can annul a less than favorable heavenly decree.
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In rabbinical literature of the classical and Middle Ages
In classical rabbinical literature, it was argued that the Biblical regulations concerning left-overs only applied to corn fields, orchards, and vineyards, and not to vegetable gardens; the classical rabbinical writers were much stricter in regard to who could receive the remains. It was stated that the farmer was not permitted to benefit from the gleanings, and was not permitted to discriminate among the poor, nor try to frighten them away with dogs or lions;[1][2][3] the farmer was not even allowed to help one of the poor to gather the left-overs.[4] However, it was also argued that the law was only applicable in Canaan Canaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and adjoining coastal lands, including parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt. In the Hebrew Bible, the "Land of Canaan" extends from Lebanon southward across Gaza to the "Brook of Egypt" and eastward to the Jordan,[5] although many classical rabbinical writers who were based in Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between observed the laws there;[6][7] it was also seen as only applying to Jewish paupers, but poor non-Jews were allowed to benefit for the sake of civil peace[8]
Maimonides lists his Eight Levels of Giving, as written in the Mishneh Torah The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה "Book of the Strong Hand,") is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or "Rambam"), one of history's foremost rabbis. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 (4930-4940),, Hilkhot Matanot Aniyim (Laws about Giving to Poor People), Chapter 10:7-14:
- Giving an interest-free loan to a person in need; forming a partnership with a person in need; giving a grant to a person in need; finding a job for a person in need; so long as that loan, grant, partnership, or job results in the person no longer living by relying upon others.
- Giving tzedakah anonymously to an unknown recipient via a person (or public fund) which is trustworthy, wise, and can perform acts of tzedakah with your money in a most impeccable fashion.
- Giving tzedakah anonymously to a known recipient.
- Giving tzedakah publicly to an unknown recipient.
- Giving tzedakah before being asked.
- Giving adequately after being asked.
- Giving willingly, but inadequately.
- Giving "in sadness" - it is thought that Maimonides was referring to giving because of the sad feelings one might have in seeing people in need (as opposed to giving because it is a religious obligation; giving out of pity).
In practice
In practice, most Jews carry out tzedakah by donating a portion of their income to charitable institutions, or to needy people that they may encounter; the perception among many modern day Jews is that if donation of this form is not possible, the obligation of tzedakah still requires that something is given. Special acts of tzedakah are performed on significant days; at weddings, Jewish brides and bridegrooms would traditionally give to charity, to symbolise the sacred character of the marriage; at Passover Celebrates the Exodus, the freedom from slavery of the Children of Israel from ancient Egypt that followed the Ten Plagues, a major holiday in Jewish tradition, it is traditional to be welcoming towards hungry strangers, and feed them at the table; at Purim Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm "lots", related to Akkadian pūru) is a festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people living throughout the ancient Persian Empire from a plot by Haman the Agagite to annihilate them, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther). According to the story, Haman cast lots it is considered obligatory for every Jew to give food to two other people[citation needed], in an amount that would equate to a meal each, for the purpose of increasing the total happiness during the month Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days. In leap years, it is preceded by a 30-day intercalary month named Adar Aleph (Aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet), Adar Rishon (First Adar) or Adar I and it is then itself called Adar Bet (.
As for the more limited form of tzedakah expressed in the biblical laws, namely the leaving of gleanings from certain crops, the Shulchan Aruch The Shulchan Aruch (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulhan Arukh) is a codification, or written manual, of halacha (Jewish law), composed by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century. Together with its commentaries, it is frequently considered the most authoritative compilation of halacha since the Mishneh Torah or even the Talmud itself argues that Jewish farmers are no longer obliged to obey it.[9] Nevertheless, in modern Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the, rabbis of Orthodox Judaism insist that Jews allow gleanings to be consumed by the poor and by strangers, and all crops (not just gleanings) by anyone and everyone (free, not bought nor sold) during Sabbatical years Shmita , also called the Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel, and still observed in contemporary Judaism.[10]
In addition, one must be very careful about how one gives out tzedakah money. It is not sufficient to just give to anyone or any organization, rather, one must check the credentials and finances to be sure that your Tzedakah money will be used wisely, efficiently and effectively (Proverbs The Book of Proverbs is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" ("Proverbs of Solomon"). When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint (LXX) the title became "paroimai paroimiae" ("Proverbs"). In 22:22[11] - Do not steal from a poor person, for (s)he is poor) and from Talmudic The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history-era commentaries including Numbers Rabba 5:2. It is taught that Tzedakah money was never yours to begin with, rather, it always belongs to the recipient, and hence you have an obligation to give it AND to give it away to places that use it efficiently and effectively. Two examples of Tzedakah funds that operate according to Maimonides' principles above (particularly #2), are Hands on Tzedakah (working with non-profits in the USA and in Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the), and Mitzvah Mitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments given in the Torah and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later for a total of 620. The term can also refer to the fulfillment of a mitzvah Heroes Fund (working mainly with non-profits in Israel).
See also
- sadaqah Sadaqah (Arabic: صدقة, IPA: [sˤɒdæqɒh]) is an Islamic term that means "voluntary charity". Prescribed charity collected or received for public welfare is known as Zakat and Zakat Zakāt or "alms giving", one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a small percentage of one's possessions (surplus wealth) to charity, generally to the poor and needy. It is often compared to the system of tithing and alms, but it serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and deprived Muslims, although others may (In Islam)
- Social justice Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating an egalitarian society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognises the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by the Jesuit Luigi Taparelli
- gleaning Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. Some ancient cultures promoted gleaning as an early form of a welfare system
References
| Constructs such as ibid. Ibid. is the term used to provide an endnote or footnote citation or reference for a source that was cited in the preceding endnote or footnote. It is similar in meaning to idem (meaning something that has been mentioned previously; the same) abbreviated Id., which is commonly used in legal citation and loc. cit. Loc. cit. is a footnote or endnote term used to repeat the title and page number for a given author. Loc. cit. is used in place of ibid. when the reference is not only to the work immediately preceding, but also refers to the same page. Loc. cit. is also used instead of op. cit. when reference is made to a work previously cited and to the same are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (), or an abbreviated title. |
- ^ Hullin 131a
- ^ Pe'ah Pe'ah is the second tractate of Seder Zeraim ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate is a fitting continuation of Seder Zeraim. Following the initial subject of blessings and benedictions, instilling an attitude of reverence and gratitude, this tractate begins the discussion of the main topic of the Seder, 5:6
- ^ Maimonides Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher; one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He was born in Córdoba, Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. With the contemporary Muslim, Mishneh Torah, 4:11
- ^ ibid
- ^ Pe'ah 2:5 (Jerusalem Talmud)
- ^ Hullin 134b
- ^ Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, 1:14
- ^ Gittin Nashim ("Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. Of the six orders of the Mishna, it is the second shortest 59b
- ^ Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 332:1
- ^ BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Israel prepares for 'fallow' new year
- ^ Book of Proverbs | Chapter 22 | Verse 22
Bibliography
- Rabbi Wayne Dossick, Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice., pages 249-251.
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