Creating a Compassionate World: The Torah Laws of Tzedakah

A knock at the door. It’s your local charity collector — again. “No, this time I don’t want money,” he says, waving away the bills in your hand. “It’s a new project we’re trying out, an organization to find jobs or fund skills training for people in need. I’m really hoping you’ll be one of our founding supporters.”

You frown. Isn’t it simpler just to donate some money and be done with it? It’s the recipient’s business what he does with your donation, after all.

What you don’t realize is that the collector is actually offering to make you a partner in the highest form of tzedakah (charity) possible.

Jews give tzedakah willingly

Let’s take a look at the laws of tzedakah as compiled by the Rambam (Maimonides). The Torah views tzedakah not as a “nice thing to do if you feel like it,” but as an obligation. Tzedakah is derived from the word “tzedek” which means justice. And therefore, there are laws defining how it’s done.

Rambam outlines eight levels of tzedakah, ranking them from more to less virtuous (though of course all are commendable). Before he discusses the levels, however, he introduces the concept of tzedakah.

“We are obligated to be careful with the mitzvah of tzedakah more than with other positive commandments, because tzedakah is an identifying mark of a righteous person, a descendant of Avraham Avinu [our forefather Abraham] ... Whenever a person is cruel and does not show mercy, his lineage is suspect...

There’s always something you can give

Rambam stresses that more than the donation itself is the manner in which it is given — so much so that it’s better to apologize for being unable to help (if that truly is the case) and to empathize with the person’s plight, than it is to give him a huge donation with obvious reluctance or a lecture on how he should “just get a job” or similar:

“If someone gives tzedakah to a poor person with an unpleasant expression on his face ... then even if he gives him a thousand gold coins, he loses the merit [of the mitzvah]. Instead, he should give with a kind expression on his face, happily, and should sympathize with [the poor person’s] plight...

“If a poor person asks you and you have nothing to give, offer comforting words. Do not scold him or raise your voice and shout at him, as his heart is already broken and crushed...”

The Eight Levels of Tzedakah According to the Rambam (Maimonides)

The highest level: Helping a person become self-sufficient

“The highest level, above which there is none, is supporting an impoverished Jew by giving him a gift or a loan, entering into partnership with him, or finding him work, so that he will no longer be dependent on others.”

This type of tzedakah addresses the root cause of the person’s poverty rather than just the symptoms.

Examples:

Funding vocational training for someone with limited means.

Investing in a small business for someone struggling to secure a bank loan.

Providing an interest-free loan for opening a business.

Helping a person to find employment using your personal or professional connections.

The second level: Completely anonymous charity

“Giving tzedakah to the poor without knowing to whom one gives; the poor person does not know from whom he receives. This is observing the mitzvah for its own sake...

“Similar to this is contributing to a tzedakah fund, but one should not give into such a fund unless the administrator is trustworthy, wise, and knows how to manage it properly...”

Fulfilling the mitzvah “for its own sake,” i.e., without any ulterior motives, is considered superior to fulfilling a mitzvah in order to gain some kind of benefit. Giving tzedakah in secret means that the donor gains no prestige from his donation, nor does he earn the gratitude of the recipient. It also preserves the poor person’s dignity.

Examples:

Donating to communal charity funds.

Transferring a donation through a trusted intermediary who does not reveal the donor's identity.

Paying the bills or expenses of a needy family via a third party.

Purchasing food vouchers and leaving them somewhere accessible to those in need.

The third level: The donor knows the recipient; the recipient doesn’t know the donor

“The donor knows to whom he gives, but the poor person does not know from whom he receives.”

This preserves the dignity of the poor person and avoids embarrassing him or making him feel obligated toward his benefactor.

Examples:

Depositing money into a needy person’s bank account without them knowing who gave the money.

Donating to an organization for a specific person on the condition that they do not reveal the donor’s identity.

Buying groceries and anonymously delivering them to a family you know.

Funding a scholarship for a specific student through the educational institution, without the student knowing who is financing it.

Leaving a gift or shopping voucher in the mailbox of a needy family.

The fourth level: The recipient knows the donor; the donor doesn’t know the recipient

“The poor person knows from whom he received but the donor does not know to whom he gave.”

While the poor person knows where his support came from, he need not feel embarrassed if he encounters his benefactor.

Examples:

Donating to an organization which allocates the funds at its discretion while informing the recipients of the name of the donor.

Establishing a fund for granting scholarships or aid, which is named after the donor.

Funding meals at a soup kitchen where diners are aware of who funded the meals.

Donating products or services to an organization that distributes them to the needy with the source of the donation noted.

The fifth level: Giving directly to a needy person without waiting to be asked

“Giving the poor person in his hand before he asks.”

This spares the poor person the embarrassment of having to ask and admit his need.

Examples:

Offering financial help to a friend known to be in difficulty before they ask.

Proactively paying household expenses for a friend who is struggling financially.

Offering to pay tuition for a friend’s child when you know he is in economic distress.

The sixth level: Giving a poor person who asks for help

“Less than this, when one gives after he asks.”

Although the person does give, he waits to be asked and puts the poor person in a potentially humiliating position.

Examples:

Providing a loan or financial assistance to a friend after they ask for help.

Helping fund medical treatment after a family reaches out.

Contributing to the expenses of a family event after being asked to chip in.

The seventh level: Giving less than what was requested, but willingly

“Giving less than what is appropriate, cheerfully and willingly.”

Although the donor gives less than what the poor person needs, he avoids making him feel overly uncomfortable.

Examples:

Providing some assistance to a needy family while expressing regret for not being able to help more.

Donating staple food items to the needy, but in a respectful and caring way.

The eighth and lowest level: Giving with obvious reluctance

“Giving [the poor person] with sadness.”

While this is still a mitzvah, it is the very lowest level of tzedakah, according to Rambam, if the donor is obviously unwilling to give and feels forced into it. This will make the recipient feel humiliated and perhaps even guilty.

Examples:

Donating to a charity due to social pressure, while expressing resentment.

Providing help to a needy relative accompanied by hurtful remarks or criticism.

Donating old clothes or items in a dismissive or degrading manner.

Paying for a needy friend’s meal while highlighting the economic disparity between you.

Giving: Who gets first?

The Rambam is clear that supporting one’s own family takes precedence over donating to strangers, as he writes: “Precedence is established according to the degree of closeness” of the relationship.

The Torah obligates us to give at least a tenth (and not more than a fifth) of our earnings to tzedakah. This is called ma’aser (literally, “a tenth”). Once a child reaches the age where he can support himself, a parent can fulfill his ma’aser obligation by supporting his own child if the child is in need.

Everlasting reward

Tzedakah is such a great mitzvah that the Torah assures us that no harm will come of it. No one need ever worry that by giving “too much,” he will deprive himself of what he needs for himself, as Rambam writes:

“A person will never become impoverished from giving tzedakah. No harm or damage will ever be caused because of tzedakah...”

Furthermore, encouraging others to give also earns a person reward:

“The person who compels others to give tzedakah and motivates them to do so receives a greater reward than the giver...”

In the days when the Temple stood in Yerushalayim, there was a “secret chamber” within the Temple precincts where righteous people would place their donations, enabling the poor to come and take what they needed without embarrassment or shame.

May we soon return to such times, and may all Jews give to one another willingly!