32 | OCTOBER 3 • 2024 J
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n the midst of the High 
Holidays, Jews around the 
world are focused on three 
key elements of this period of 
reflection and renewal: tefillah, 
prayer; teshuvah, repentance to 
return to the truest and most holy 
version of ourselves; and tzedakah, 
righteousness. Together, it is hoped 
that achieving these will help 
achieve a favorable decree when 
the Book of Life is closed on Yom 
Kippur. 
According to Rabbi 
Yechiel Morris, rabbi 
of Young Israel of 
Southfield, this concept 
was mentioned in the 
Jerusalem Talmud in 
Taanit (9b) in the fifth 
century, citing a verse in 
Chronicles 2 (7:14). 
Today, tzedakah is often taken 

to mean charity — the donation of 
money to synagogues, nonprofit 
organizations and to the needy. But 
within Biblical texts and the views 
of contemporary rabbis, tzedakah is 
based on deeper, core Jewish values.
Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh, executive 
director of The Well, says, “A 
family needs to think about what 
tzedakah means. It 
is mistranslated as 
charity. There are a 
lot of different layers 
to what tzedakah is. 
Righteousness and 
justice come to mind 
first.”
Rabbi Morris points out an 
article titled “Tzedakah: The 
Untranslatable Virtue” by Rabbi 
Lord Jonathan Sacks, the late chief 
rabbi of Great Britain. Rabbi Sacks 
described tzedakah as “distributive 

justice” — a means 
of leveling society’s 
inequities when some 
have more than needed 
and others lack basic 
necessities. 
He stated in the 
article: “The nearest 
English equivalent 
to tzedakah is the 
phrase that came into existence 
alongside the idea of a welfare state, 
namely social justice … Behind 
both is the idea that no one should 
be without the basic requirements 
of existence, and that those who 
have more than they need must 
share some of that surplus with 
those who have less. 
“This is fundamental to the 
kind of society the Israelites were 
charged with creating, namely 
one in which everyone has a basic 

right to a dignified life and equal 
worth as citizens in the covenantal 
community under the sovereignty 
of God.”
Today, tzedakah during the 
High Holidays may entail a special 
campaign for synagogue charity 
funds and donations to Jewish 
nonprofits such as Yad Ezra. “This 
year Israel is a major focus,” Rabbi 
Morris says. He points out that 
charity is a form of righteousness.
But tzedakah is not only mon-
etary contributions. It can mean 
helping someone find a job, volun-
teering for a nonprofit organization 
and other good deeds. 
Rabbi Sacks turned to 
Maimonides to explain the essence 
of tzedakah as helping individuals 
achieve independence. 
“Maimonides lists the various 
levels of giving-to-others, all except 
one of which involve philanthropy. 
The supreme act, however, does not: 
According to Maimonides, ‘The 
highest degree, exceeded by none, 
is that of one who assists a poor 
person by providing him with a gift 
or a loan or by accepting him into a 
business partnership or by helping 
him find employment — in a word 
by putting him in a situation where 
he can dispense with other people’s 
aid.’”
While not everyone can facilitate 
another person’s financial indepen-
dence, all are capable of working 
toward justice and achieving a gen-
erosity of spirit. The Torah provides 
laws for a just society and, as Rabbi 
Sacks stated, Jews are obligated not 
only to follow them but also to pur-
sue tzedakah in various ways, as we 
are reminded at Rosh Hashanah and 
Yom Kippur. 

What Is Tzedakah — Justice, 
Righteousness or Charity?

ART BY SEFIRA LIGHTSTONE

The answer is all three.

Rabbi 
Yechiel 
Morris

Rabbi Jeff 
Stombaugh

Rabbi Lord 
Jonathan 
Sacks

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

YOM KIPPUR

