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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