Rebranding Tzedakah: From Charity to Sacred Spending
What if we rebranded tzedakah from our more modern conception of charity and giving to a rabbinic-inspired sacred spending?
Rabbi Daniel Nevins
What if we rebranded tzedakah from our more modern conception of charity and giving to a rabbinic-inspired sacred spending?
The degree to which a person was obligated to contribute to the poor became the mark of membership in a community.
Fundamentally, Jewish law offers some clear guidelines responding to the problems of poverty, the best of which is to prevent poverty itself.
Are bingo and more serious forms of gambling allowed to raise funds for synagogues and other Jewish institutions?
Saying Kaddish for a loved one is a cherished and prized custom, but it is not the only way to remember and honor the lives of loved ones.
The Torah provides many examples and legal provisions which are the foundation of our understanding of tzedakah.
Jewish tradition does not see contributions to the community’s welfare as mere charity, but rather as tzedakah, literally “acts of justice.”