The Power of Giving: What Jewish Tradition Teaches About Charity

Tzedakah (charity) is one of the Torah's core commandments, and it is deeply rooted in interpersonal responsibility and loving-kindness. At its heart, charity is about helping others live with dignity. Maimonides teaches that the highest form of giving is enabling someone to become self-sufficient, helping them stand on their own, rather than depend on future aid. As it says in Leviticus, “If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter, you shall strengthen him.” Helping someone find stable employment or learn a trade and escape the cycle of poverty is the ultimate form of giving.

Similarly, offering someone a loan, which maintains the recipient’s dignity and trust that they will repay when they can, is a higher form of charity than just giving a handout. Following that is anonymous giving, where neither the donor nor the recipient knows the other's identity. This type of charity preserves dignity on both sides.

Why Give at All?

In Deuteronomy, the Torah urges us to be attentive to inequality: “If there is a needy person among you... do not harden your heart or close your hand against your needy brother. Open your hand generously... to aid him to achieve that which he lacks.”

Jewish tradition also provides a framework for prioritizing giving: family comes before strangers, the local poor come before those from elsewhere, and residents of Israel come before those living abroad. The sages also establish guidelines for how much to give. One is obligated to give an annual contribution equivalent to one-third of a Torah shekel, and it is recommended not to give more than 20% of one's total assets.

The Reward of Charity

Charity is not only a mitzvah. It’s also seen as a source of blessing. Rabbi Yishmael taught, “Tithe so that you may become wealthy,” linking prosperity to regular giving (Shabbat 119). Uniquely, while the Torah generally prohibits testing God, charity is the one area where we’re encouraged to do so because of its reliably positive impact.

As ruled in the Shulchan Aruch: “Charity never impoverishes, nor results in negative outcomes. The compassionate will receive compassion from Hashem. Charity rescues from harsh decrees, from famine, and from death.”