R
ead these stories. Behind
them lies an extraordinary
insight into the nature of
Jewish ethics:
Story 1. Rabbi Abba used to bind
money in his scarf, sling it on his
back and place it at
the disposal of the
poor. (Ketubot 67b)
Story 2. Mar Ukba
had a poor man in his
neighborhood into
whose door socket
he used to throw
four coins every day.
Once the poor man thought, “I
will go and see who does me this
kindness.” That day Mar Ukba
stayed late at the house of study,
and his wife was coming home with
him. As soon as the poor man saw
them moving the door [to leave
the coins] he ran out after them,
but they fled from him and hid.
Why did they do this? Because
it was taught: One should throw
himself into a fiery furnace rather
than publicly put his neighbor to
shame. (Ketubot 67b)
Story 3. When Rabbi Jonah saw
a man of good family who had
lost his money and was ashamed
to accept charity, he would go and
say to him, “I have heard that an
inheritance has come your way in
a city across the sea. So here is an
article of some value. Sell it and
use the proceeds. When you are
more affluent, you will repay me.”
As soon as the man took it, Rabbi
Jonah would say, “It’s yours to keep
as a gift.” (Vayikra Rabbah 34:1)
These stories are all deeply
connected to the mitzvah
of tzedakah, whose source is in this
week’s parshah: “If anyone is poor
among your fellow Israelites in any
of the towns of the land the Lord
your God is giving you, do not be
hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward
them. Rather, be openhanded and
freely lend them whatever they
need.” Deut. 15:7-8
“Give generously to them and do
so without a grudging heart; then
because of this the Lord your God
will bless you in all your work and
in everything you put your hand to.
There will always be poor people
in the land. Therefore, I command
you to be openhanded toward your
fellow Israelites who are poor and
needy in your land.” Deut. 15:10-11
What we have here is a unique
and still remarkable program for
the elimination of poverty.
MORE THAN CHARITY
The first extraordinary fact about
the laws of tzedakah as articulated
in the Oral Tradition is the concept
itself. Tzedakah does not mean
“charity.” We see this immediately
in the form of a law inconceivable
in any other moral system:
“Someone who does not wish to
give tzedakah or to give less than
is appropriate may be compelled
to do so by a Jewish court of law.”
Maimonides, Laws of Gifts to the
Poor, 7:10
Charity is always voluntary.
Tzedakah is compulsory.
Therefore, tzedakah does not
mean charity. The nearest English
equivalent is social justice.
The second is the principle
evident in the three stories above.
Poverty in Judaism is conceived not
merely in material terms: the poor
lack the means of sustenance. It
is also conceived in psychological
terms. Poverty humiliates. It robs
people of dignity. It makes them
dependent on others — thus
depriving them of independence
which the Torah sees as essential to
self-respect.
This deep psychological insight
is eloquently expressed in the third
paragraph of the Grace after Meals:
“Please, O Lord our God, do not
make us dependent on the gifts or
loans of other people, but only on
Your full, open, holy and generous
hand so that we may suffer neither
shame nor humiliation forever and
all time.”
As a result, Jewish law focuses
not only on how much we must
give but also on the manner in
which we do so. Ideally, the donor
should not know to whom he or
she is giving (story 1) nor the
recipient know from whom he or
she is receiving (story 2). The third
story exemplifies another principle:
“If a poor person does not want to
accept tzedakah, we should practice
a form of [benign] deception and
give it to him under the guise of a
loan.” Laws of Gifts to the Poor, 7:9
Maimonides sums up the general
principle thus: “Whoever gives
charity to the poor with bad grace
and averted eyes has lost all the
merit of his action even though
he gives him a thousand gold
pieces. He should give with good
grace and with joy and should
52 | AUGUST 29 • 2024 J
N
Making Poverty
History
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
ALOYS WACH (1892-1940)