08 Dec
Latest, Religion

Charity vs. Tzedakah: Restoring Justice to Giving

By Daniel Kieval The "season of giving," for better and for worse, is upon us. The bestowing of gifts upon friends and family for Hanukkah and Christmas pervades the current month, and soon non-profit organizations will begin drives for end-of-the-year donations. It is good that we remember to be generous not only toward those we know and care about but also–or especially–toward those whose very survival may depend on our gifts and the goods and services they fund. Tzedakah, often translated as "charity" but literally meaning "justice," has always been part of Jewish tradition. Its origin, though, lies not in the donation of money, which is most common and practical today, but in something more primal and immediate: food. In ancient society, when most people were farmers and marketplaces were not open 24 hours on every block,...

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02 Nov
Culture, Latest, Misc

Sustainable Tzedakah

By Steven Philp Now that we have entered the month of November, many of us look forward to the prospect of spending time with loved ones for Thanksgiving. Yet during times of celebration, Jews are also called to remember the needy through the commandment of tzedakah. Tzedakah often takes the form of charitable giving–small donations to help the less fortunate meet their most basic needs. Yet many people continue to struggle to make ends meet, and every year we are given the difficult task of counting our blessings in the face of endemic poverty. It is written in the Talmud that the highest forms of tzedakah are those gifts that enable another person to become self-sufficient. As Jews, we ask ourselves: how can we give in a way that contributes toward a permanent solution? In 2009, activist...

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