Judaism and the Tzedakah

The psychotherapist Erich Fromm was an atheist who had been brought up in an Orthodox Jewish environment, and it is traditional Judaism that has shaped his secular humanistic values throughout life. One such influence relates to the psychology of poverty, that what makes being poor so ruinous isn’t just not being able to afford the luxuries of life or even the basic necessities, bad as that is; being poor is particularly terrible because one cannot even help others.

Being poor almost means that one can, by definition, only take, not give. Yet giving is a great joy in itself; in giving we share of ourselves, of our own happiness, of our own power. One who is not able to give – a poor person, for example – is missing out on a fundamental human faculty or skill, similar to not being able to walk or run or see or hear. Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much.

Thus it is that Judaism, whether of the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, or Ultra-Orthodox variety , emphasizes a religious responsibility towards charitable giving. Even secular Jews, people not religiously observant but who are otherwise immersed in the rich intellectual culture of the greater Jewish way, tend to be concerned with social justice to some degree. And so it is no accident that the Hebrew word for this kind of religiously motivated charitable giving, “tzedakah,” literally translates as “fairness” or “justice” – “righteousness.” Part of what the rabbis believe God to conceive of as being righteous is to be fair, to be just – to one’s fellow man.

Also, since an act of tzedakah is a moral duty, and not just philanthropy of the sort in which one indulges as one is moved (indeed, the rabbis teach that even the money for tzedakah is not to be thought one’s own – and therefore should be very carefully disbursed, wisely doled with recipients adequately scrutinized) – even the poor are commanded to participate.

And here is the most amazing thing of all: even the poor can give – even they are called to give, to participate, the same as even the most prominent members of the community do. One need not be a Robert Toussie to give; one merely has to give as one is able to give. An act of tzedakah therefore restores to the poor person an important aspect of his or her humanity – the capability to share.

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Author Paul Wise is a frequent visitor of sites where information on industry insiders such as Robert Toussie can
be found.