BLOG

Who's Responsible for Charity?

Share Share
The term mitzvah is often translated as ‘good deed’ but much of the understanding of its meaning is actually lost in this very translation. A mitzvah is indeed a good deed but its essential root really lies in the concept of command and authority. A mitzvah is an imposition from God upon an individual and/or society. This is not to say that there is no value in someone also personally recognizing, incorporating and feeling the motivation to do this good deed as well. There truly may also be great value in the development of such personal sensitivities in conjunction with the commitment to action. The essence of a mitzvah, though, lies in the focus on the result and not the inspiration. It is a command from God to undertake and/or refrain from certain action.
 
This recognition of the nature of Jewish Law was recently highlighted for me in a clip of a question I saw posed to Ben Carson and the response given by the former candidate for the Republican nomination for President. A woman asked Dr. Carson how he reconciled traditional Christian values, specifically the caring of the indigent, with present Republican policies to cut welfare and limit other assistances to the poor. He responded that it was obviously important to respond to the needs of the poor but such assistance should be a role for ‘the people’ – i.e. individuals and the community -- and not a role for government. Reading between the lines, he was basically saying that assisting the indigent should flow from the feelings of caring within a society and not from a directive from government and essentially law. What is lost, though, in such a perspective is that the result of assistance is thereby not ensured.
 
It is on this point that Traditional Judaism maintains that: taking care of the poor must be a role for government and law. Of course, Torah also clearly values the development of such feelings of caring within individuals. Furthermore, how one feels in the performance of an action affects the nature, intensity and performance of the action. Even as the focus of Halacha [Jewish Law] may be on the action, how the one performing the action connects with the action is clearly still of great importance. Nevertheless, in contradistinction to Dr. Carson’s statement, it is the action and the result of assisting the indigent that must be recognized as the real objective. It is not enough to have feelings of caring in regard to the poor; the call must be to actually assist them. The ultimate focus, as such, cannot be on the feelings but the result. This enters the realm of government and law as this ensures the necessary result. This is reflected in a full understanding of the word mitzvah.
 
The focus of Halacha, in commanding one to give charity, is the result. The poor must be helped – and this must be ensured even as certain individuals may not wish to act upon this responsibility. In times of indigenous Jewish communities, the Jewish court could actually take action to enforce these halachic requirements upon an individual if he/she did not meet his/her duty. Charity was a Torah law and the Jewish government could enforce it. This is because it is indeed the role of government to ensure that what is right be done.
 
This is an idea that many people do not recognize in regard to Halacha. As we, influenced by Western thought, promote the value of autonomy, we perceive ultimate value in a person acting as he/she wishes. While Torah, indeed, also acknowledges great value in autonomy, it also recognizes the inherent value in the correct undertaking even as a person may not be so motivated. There is also a value in correct authority. This is at the core of Traditional Judaism and the essence of a mitzvah. It is our responsibility. It is our duty. It is an action which we must abide even as we may not have such personal emotions. At the core of a mitzvah is a good deed that must be done even as individuals may not be so motivated on their own or may be weak in this regard. A mitzvah demands of us to do what is right and to thereby create a society and community that will ensure this.
 
Tzedakah, thus, is more than chosen charity but, within the perspective of Torah, it is an imposed and dutiful responsibility. Of course, it should be accommodated by charitable emotions of giving but what is more important is that we have the structure that ensures that the obligation is met. As such, within Torah, it is Law and part of the role of government. We, as citizens of society, carry this responsibility to us, to those in need, and to the structures of our very society. (If someone is further interested in this topic, the Torah view of our financial communal obligations, I invite you to also see my Beyond Tzedakah: Understanding the Torah Expenditure.
 
----
 
Have something to add? We'd love to hear from you. Please comment below to share.
 
For more great Jewish content, please subscribe in the right hand column. Once you confirm your subscription, you'll get an email whenever new content is published to the Jewish Values Online blog.
 
Any comments below have been contributed by third parties through social media. Jewish Values Online does not moderate comments and assumes no responsibility for the opinions expressed therein. In case of abuse, click the grey arrow in the upper right corner of any comment to report it.
 

Share Share

 
 
 
 
 
Jewish Values Online

Home | Search For Answers | About | Origins | Blog Archive 

Copyright 2020 all rights reserved. Jewish Values Online
 
N O T I C E
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN ANSWERS PROVIDED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL JVO PANEL MEMBERS, AND DO NOT
NECESSARILY REFLECT OR REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE ORTHODOX, CONSERVATIVE OR REFORM MOVEMENTS, RESPECTIVELY.