Archive for the Tzedaka Category

The parsha discusses the mitzvo of tzedaka and promises a special bracha to one who fulfils this mitzvo b’simcha: “You will surely give to him [the poor man] and you should not feel bad in your heart when giving him; because of this thing (davar hazeh) Hashem,

Author: Jacob Berkman Jews take 5 of top 6 spots in annual list of top US givers By JACOB BERKMAN / JTA  02/09/2011 17:05  19 of 53 on Chronicle of Philanthropy survey are Jewish, though less than one quarter of money given goes to overtly Jewish causes. Talkbacks (12)

Kindness and tzeddekah are the safeguards of riches – Kesubos 66b Tzeddekah lengthens the days and years of man.  Tanna de’Bei Eliyahu Zutta 1 Tzeddekah tears up all evil decrees.    Zohar   2:20a No man is ever impoverished by giving tzeddekah, nor is harm ever caused by it. 

Author: Nathaniel Popper If it had not been for Warren Buffett’s charitable gift of $43.5 billion last year, the world might have taken more notice of the year’s next three largest gifts — all of which were given by Jewish philanthropists.The two largest donations after Buffet were

“Take for me an offering.” (Exodus 25:2) The donations requested of the Israelites for the construction of theMishkan (tabernacle) are described as being “taken” rather than “given.”What does that mean? Moreover, God is the Master of the Universe and allthat it contains. Did He need contributions and

SEFER AHAVAS CHESED — Part II Chapter XVI “Talk is cheap,” says the world. When that talk is a pledge to charity, however, it is far from cheap. It is almost as valuable as the act of giving itself. The Chofetz Chaim relates that when a person makes a

Author: Sefer Ahavas Chesed – Part II Chapter IV footnotes Doublethink is a word coined to describe the process of convincing oneself that something is exactly the opposite of what it really is. With the yetzer hara’s able assistance, an entire town can convince itself that kindness

Author: Sefer Ahavas Chesed Day 104 – Ways to Give SEFER AHAVAS CHESED – Part II Chapter XIX Anyone who has ever encountered a pile of charity solicitations in his mailbox knows that the world is a needy place. The Chofetz Chaim explains that some of these

Author: Sefer Ahavas Chesed- Part II Chapter XII Electricity is a powerful, complex force. One perceives it only in its final manifestation; it can light up a city, make factory machinery hum, empower vast computer networks or just shed a little light on the dinner table. If

Author: Sefer Ahavas Chesed- Part II Chapter XII Following the directions set by the first six letters in the alef-beis, one could still be left with a major question: If Torah study and acts of kindness are to be the primary activities of a Jew’s life, how

The time comes, and a person wishes to leave instructions for thehandling of his estate. He understands that the money he leaves for charity is the only bequest with the power to deliver riches to his door in the World to Come. The instructions he gives, the

A good businessman knows his target market. He does not just blindlyassemble random merchandise in hopes that some of it will sell to someone.He aims precisely at the needs he is best suited to fill. In the business of tzedakah, the Torah defines the target market, assuring

Some people give charity just because they are supposed to do so. Most people, however, have other motives as well. It brings honor and recognition, protects one’s family, acts as a merit for recovery from illness, brings forgiveness for sins and provides many other tangible and spiritual

MADRICH GUIDE 1. HOW IT WORKS Every participant receives package of sheets below. It’s good to have the room set up like a board room meeting, with sheets, pencil, pad of paper and water already set around the table. Each participant reads the material and decides his

Author: Sefer Ahavas Chesed Day 35 – Close Calls SEFER AHAVAS CHESED – Part II Chapter IX Most people envision charity as something one gives to strangers. It seems especially laudable to share one’s money with people outside one’s circle of family and friends. Certainly, supporting charitable

The Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 249.6-13 To give a gift or loan, or join in a partnership, or find the poor person work in order to “strengthen his hand” that he will not need people and not need to beg…I.e. “give a man a fish you feed

As I waited for a bus the other day, a car stopped in front of me at a traffic light.  The teen-age boys inside stared at me and smiled – in a peculiar way that I, an identifiably Orthodox Jew, have come to recognize as something other

Author: Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld Building Better Community Through Tzedakah: Source Book Jewish Community Federation Campaign Staff Retreat, August 27, 2001Facilitated by: Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld Aish Hatorah of San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area2275 Ramona St.Palo Alto, CA 94301(650) 566-9000bayarea@aish.comwww.aish.comCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TZEDAKA: AN INSPIRATIONAL LOOK AT