gofer articles

A concern with justice, with fairness, lays at the heart of Judaism, from the very moment when Abraham questioned G-d over the morality of destroying a whole city for its wickedness lest there should prove to be even just ten righteous men or women residing there. This passion for balanced dealings is what lead Talmudic scholars to sanction Jewish farmers from yoking oxen with horses for ploughing the field, for being stronger it is evident that an ox would always have to do most of the work. It is a similar sense of responsibility that informs Jewish notions of the tzedakah, or religiously prescribed donations to charity.

And actually, the Hebrew word “tzedakah” literally means “justice,” “righteousness,” but now refers to the cultural practice – in truth, the cultural institution – of putting away income out of religious duty. Performing tzedakah is regarded as a moral responsibility, such that tradition holds the act to be one of only three kinds which may mitigate any divine decree. Thus it is that even criminals will donate to charity in the hopes of actually annulling any heavenly judgment!

Such superstition aside, at the heart of tzedakah is a sense of social responsibility and social justice. Judaism teaches that all men are brothers – then asks, why should my brother not fare as well as me? From this simple yet not-easy-to-answer question comes the rabbis’ injunction to look after others as a natural part of everyday living. Hence performing tzedakah is so common in the Jewish community that two kinds of tzedakah have developed: the original religiously motivated type and one made to recognize special events such as bar mitzvahs and high holy days such as Pesach. This latter category returns a feeling of individual choice to the act of giving, while the former continues to be an important ritual of the Jewish lifestyle – so necessary, in fact, that even the poor themselves are instructed to give, as they are able, so that one need not be a Robert Toussie in order to participate.