The Mitzva of Tzedaka
מצוות הצדקה
It is a mitzva to give tzedaka (charity) to any Jew who needs it, as it is stated: “If there is a needy person among you, one of your brothers, in any of your gates in your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your needy brother. Rather, you shall surely open your hand to him and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks” (Devarim 15:7-8). When we examine the verses carefully, we find that one who is able to give tzedaka and does not give, in addition to neglecting a positive commandment, also transgresses a prohibition, as it is stated: “You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your needy brother” (Devarim 15:7).
The mitzva of tzedaka is one of the great mitzvot of the Torah, and the Sages said of it: “Tzedaka is equal to all the other mitzvot combined” (Bava Batra 9a). One who gives tzedaka cleaves to the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, who sustains and provides for His creatures. And since tzedaka adds life to the world, it saves from death, as it is stated: “And tzedaka saves from death” (Mishlei 10:2).
The mitzva of tzedaka is not optional; rather, it is an obligation that the Torah places upon every individual and upon society as a whole. Its purpose is to help and support the sick and the elderly, orphans and widows, who are unable to sustain themselves. One who evades the obligation of tzedaka is considered as if he worships idols (Bava Batra 10a), for he makes peace with the deficiencies in the world, as is the way of idol worshippers, who do not believe in the possibility of repairing the world. The Sages said: “Whoever sustains a single soul of Israel, Scripture considers it as if he sustained an entire world” (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5). By confronting the difficulties that exist in the world, and assisting those who suffer and the unfortunate, we repair the world and bring the redemption closer, as the Sages said: “Great is tzedaka, for it brings the redemption closer, as it is stated (Yeshayahu 56:1): ‘Thus says the Lord: Keep justice and do tzedaka, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed’” (Bava Batra 10a).
The aim of tzedaka is to help our brothers sustain themselves in a dignified manner. Therefore, the highest level of tzedaka is to help the poor person stand on his own feet by his own efforts, so that he will no longer need to ask for tzedaka, as it is stated: “If your brother becomes poor and his hand falters with you, you shall strengthen him” (Vayikra 25:35). For example, one who helps a poor person find steady work, or sees to it that he learns a trade from which he will afterwards be able to earn a respectable living, fulfills the mitzva of tzedaka in the most excellent manner, because this is the most dignified and effective way to bring the poor person out of the cycle of poverty.
When it is not possible to help the poor person stand on his own feet by his own efforts, whether because we are unable to find him work or teach him a trade, or because the poor person is ill and unable to work, then the mitzva is to provide for his sustenance. The more dignified the manner in which the help is given to him, the more excellent the tzedaka; and the more the tzedaka is given in a way that embarrasses him, the lower its level (see SA Yoreh De’ah 249:6-13).
In order to fulfill the mitzva of tzedaka, members of communities would appoint tzedaka collectors (gabba’im), and the collectors had a communal tzedaka fund. They would collect tzedaka from all the members of the community who were able to give, and from the fund they would support the poor of the city and give them their basic needs (SA Yoreh De’ah 256).