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Re Tanakh
versions:
Throughout this site I may use any
of three versions of the Tanakh: 1. “Jewish
Publication Society” (JPS-1917), 2. “Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC), and 3. “Sefaria.org” (SEF), three brilliant versions, However, the
JPS-1917 is my preferred version!
Colour coded details of our beloved TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History & Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of
Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history
of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some alterations
or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God), having been corrected
like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
If you seek to
understand Judaism’s social vision, let us look at its anti-poverty
legislation:
Let us first read דְּבָרִים - Devarim - Deuteronomy Chapter 15, Vv 7-11.
Please Note: All verses are from the JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh.
“If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ - the LORD thy Eloheicha giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; but thou shall surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto יְהוָה - the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ - the LORD thy Eloheicha will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land’”.
Ostensibly the passage is about ‘the cancellation of debts in the seventh year’ (Shmittah, the year of “release”). However, it can be extended with the laws of ‘tzedakah’ – that can be translated as “charity”, but which also means “distributive justice, equity”. The rabbis interpreted the phrase “freely lend him enough to answer all his needs” to mean the basic requirements of existence: ‘food’, ‘clothing’, ‘shelter’ and so on. In all that he lacks is understood as referring to a person who was previously wealthy but has now become impoverished. He too must be helped to recover his dignity.
It is related that ‘Hillel the Elder’ helped a certain poor man who was from a wealthy family. He bought a horse for him to ride on, and hired a servant to run before him. When on one occasion he could not find a servant to run before the man, he (Hillel) himself ran before him.
The force of this passage lies in the fact that Hillel himself was notoriously poor, yet he gave of his money and time to help a rich man who had lost his money, and needed to regain his self-respect. This double aspect is evident throughout the laws of tzedakah. On the one hand, the laws are directed to the brute fact of poverty. No one must be deprived of basic physical necessities. On the other, they address with astonishing ‘sensitivity’ the ‘psychology of poverty’. It ‘demeans’, ‘embarrasses’, ‘humiliates’, and ‘shames’. Tzedakah, ruled and it must be given in such a way as to minimise these feelings:
When a person saw a certain man giving a coin to a poor person in front of everyone, he said: It would have been better not to have given it to him than to have given it and put him to shame?
In a famous passage, Maimonides describes the eight levels of charity:
‘There are eight degrees of charity, one higher than the other’.
The highest degree, exceeded by none, is that of one who assists a poor person by providing him with a gift or a loan or by accepting him into a business partnership or by helping him find employment in a word by putting him in a situation where he can dispense with other people’s aid. With reference to such aid it is said, ‘You shall strengthen him, be he a stranger or a settler, he shall live with you’ (Vayikra - Leviticus 25:35), which means: strengthen him in such a manner that his falling into want is prevented.
A step below this is the one who gives alms
to the needy in such a way that the giver does not know to whom he gives and
the recipient does not know from whom he takes. This exemplifies doing a good
deed for its own sake. One example was the ‘Hall of Secrecy in the
One step lower is where the giver knows to whom he gives, but the poor person does not know from whom he receives. Thus the worthy people would go and secretly put money into poor people’s doorways.
A step lower is the case where the poor person knows from whom he is taking, but the giver does not know to whom he is giving. Thus those who would give tied coins in their scarves, which they would fling over their shoulders, so that the poor could help themselves without suffering shame.
Lower than this, is where someone gives the poor person a gift before he asks.
Lower still is one who gives only after the poor person asks.
Lower than this is one who gives less than is fitting, but does so with a friendly countenance.
The lowest level is one who gives ungraciously:
This ‘exquisitely calibrated ethic’ is shot through with psychological insight. What matters is, not only how much you give, but also how you do so. Anonymity in the giving of aid is essential to dignity. The poor must not be embarrassed. The rich must not be allowed to feel superior. We give, not to take pride in our generosity, still less to emphasise the dependency of others, but because we belong to a covenant of human solidarity, and because that is what אֱלֹהִים – Elohim wants us to do, honouring the trust through which he has temporarily lent us wealth in the first place.
Especially noteworthy is Maimonides’ insistence that giving somebody a job, or the means to start a business, is the highest charity of all. What is humiliating about poverty is dependence itself: the feeling of being beholden to others. One of the sharpest expressions of this is to be found in the Grace after our Meals, when we say, “We beseech You, אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה - God our LORD, let us not be in need of the gifts of men or of their loans, but only of Your helping hand … so that we may not be put to shame nor humiliated for ever and ever”.
The greatest act of Tzedakah is one that allows the individual to become self-sufficient. The highest form of charity is one that enables the individual to dispense with charity. From the point of view of the giver, this is one of the least financially demanding forms of giving. It may not cost him anything at all. But from the point of view of the recipient, it is the most dignifying, because it removes the shame of receiving. Humanitarian relief is essential in the short-term, but in the long-run, job creation and economic policies that promote full employment are more important.
One detail of our Hebrew law is particularly noteworthy: even a person dependent on tzedakah must himself or herself give tzedakah. On the face of it, the rule is absurd. Why give X enough money so that he can give to Y? Giving to Y directly is more logical and efficient. What the rabbis understood, however, is that giving is an essential part of human dignity. The rabbinic insistence that the community provide the poor with enough money so that they themselves can give is a profound insight into the human condition.
We realise that economics is not a religious discipline. It is a secular art and science. Yet, deeply underlying Hebrew passion for economics is a religious imperative:
“For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land’”. Devarim - Deuteronomy 15:11.
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This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following through a number of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of
hosts” Mal’a’chi - Malachi
3:7. (JPS).
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May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom
Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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