{"id":68453,"date":"2020-01-13T00:23:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T22:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=68453"},"modified":"2023-08-06T13:44:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T10:44:45","slug":"deep-tzedakah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/deep-tzedakah\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep Tzedakah"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[868,468,573,777],"acf":{"old_id":"68453","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"392","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Both heart and hand are necessary\u00a0","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chapter 58 of Isaiah opens with God\u2019s criticism of the way in which the people have conducted themselves. Central to God\u2019s displeasure is the way in which they carry out their religious obligations. Specifically, they dispense with them as rote acts of piety rather than with thoughtfulness and intentionality of spiritual growth, and then wonder why God doesn\u2019t answer their prayers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God gives us a very specific example of how we correct this all-too-common tendency to act mindlessly, and the answer touches on respect and human connection: \u201cGive bread to the hungry and bring the poor into your home (58:7).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This commandment for giving charity (tzedakah) has two parts. The action of giving plus investment in the recipients. It is not enough, God tells us, to simply feed the poor. We must also try to identify and empathize with them and discern what the recipient\u2019s full needs are so that we may help in a meaningful, deeper way. In Deuteronomy 15:7 this dual nature of charity is reflected as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDo not close your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.\u201d Hand and heart are both required to properly fulfill the commandment of tzedakah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maimonides (Rambam) delineated eight levels of charitable giving, and at the top of the list is \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">entering into partnership with him or finding him work so that his hand will be fortified so that he will not have to ask others\u201d (Mishneh Torah<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Laws of Giving to the Poor). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rambam\u2019s number one level of charity involves not merely providing handouts but striving to establish a more equitable world in which the need for personal charity is reduced through our efforts to increase personal self-sufficiency. We are also taught to be mindful of not causing embarrassment through our acts of tzedakah, and Rambam\u2019s second level is giving anonymously, where neither donor nor recipient know the other\u2019s identity. That respect for privacy, understanding and dignity also comes from the heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hebrew word for charity \u2013 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tzedakah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 is also the word for righteousness and justice. Charity is not meant to be an act of personal magnanimity but is a foundation for personal development and for building a just society. Though it\u2019s both physically and emotionally more comfortable to give charity from a distance, God is telling us to break down barriers, and connect with others, especially those who need our help.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68454,"id":68454,"title":"is58-heart-hand","filename":"is58-heart-hand.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/deep-tzedakah\/is58-heart-hand\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is58-heart-hand","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68453,"date":"2020-01-12 22:22:43","modified":"2022-02-27 21:52:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":1230,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-300x288.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":288,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-768x738.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":738,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1024x984.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":984,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1230,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1230,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1200x1153.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1153,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-437x420.png","home_baner-width":437,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Deep Tzedakah","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Both heart and hand are necessary\u00a0","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":68454,"id":68454,"title":"is58-heart-hand","filename":"is58-heart-hand.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/deep-tzedakah\/is58-heart-hand\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is58-heart-hand","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68453,"date":"2020-01-12 22:22:43","modified":"2022-02-27 21:52:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":1230,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-300x288.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":288,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-768x738.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":738,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1024x984.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":984,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1230,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1230,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1200x1153.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1153,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-437x420.png","home_baner-width":437,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68455,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68453\/revisions\/68455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}