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"tzedakah" does not apply to Jew-
ish poor alone.
Our first obligation is to give
closest to home, so if you only
have a small amount to donate,
you should mark your dollars for
your own community. (The excep-
tion to this is the poor of Israel,
whom we are all obliged to help.)
However, the term "tzedakah" cer-
tainly applies to a donation made
to a soup kitchen that serves gen-
tiles, though for Jews taking chari-
table money from gentiles should
be a last resort.
The Tanach (Jewish Bible) offers
direct guidelines as to how and
when we are to aid the destitute,
both on a regular basis and on
special occasions. The Sabbatical
Year, the seventh year, was set
aside to aid the poor (farmers, for
example, are to leave part of their
fields so that all those who are
hungry may come and freely take),
while Jews are directed to make
donations on every Jewish holiday,
which is why you'll likely have to
endure a fund-raising pledge at
your synagogue or temple on such
occasions.
Rabbis, prophets and sages all
have offered lengthy commentary
on the value of giving tzedakah.
One labeled it "as important as all
the Other mitzvot (commandments)
put together," while the Prophet
Ezekiel said that Sodom was actu-
ally destroyed because its citizens
were stingy when it came to givin
charity. One of the best-known
prayers in Judaism, said Friday
night ire homes and in synagogues,
is that of "The Righteous Woman,"
who "stretcheth out her hand to the
poor; yea, she reaches forth her
hands to the needy."
Probably the subject's greatest
scholar was Maimonides, who
provided a list of the ways in
whicF. tzedakah was given, from

least virtuous to most noble:
1. Those who donate, but only
grudgingly so.
2. Those who don't give enough,
but do so without complaining.
3. Those who donate tzedakah
only after being asked.
4. Donations made before one is
asked.
5. Those who donate without
knowing to whom the tzedakah
will go.
6. Those who give money
anonymously.
7. Those who give money
anonymously and without knowing
where their donations will go.
8. Helping the poor rehabilitate
themselves by providing them with
work, which not only helps them
financially but allows them to main-
tain their self-respect.
Maimonides was hardly alone
in linking humility with giving
tzedakah. The Tanach reminds us
again and again that while it is
great to give, it is not appropriate
to take Hnor in doing so. So
plastering your name on a build-
ing in conjunction with making a
donation, or allowing constant
public plaudits for charitable gifts
actually defies the very notion of
tzedakah. The Talmud even advis-
es us to use whatever maneuvers
necessary (one account has a
rabbi suddenly hearing of an
"inheritance" left to a poor man)
to remain unnamed, while the Tal-
mudic scholar Rabbi Eliezer
declared an anonymous giver
greater than Moses."
Since ancient times, Jewish com-
munities have established organi-
zations to oversee collections for
the poor. Initially, these were
small, local groups that handled
limited amounts of money, and
did so strictly according to Jewish
law, without lauding the donor or
humiliating the recipient.

/I