Sources from essay by Rabbi Marina Yerginin The Social Justice Torah Commentary
(ה) קְח֨וּ מֵֽאִתְּכֶ֤ם תְּרוּמָה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה כֹּ֚ל נְדִ֣יב לִבּ֔וֹ יְבִיאֶ֕הָ אֵ֖ת תְּרוּמַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃
(5) Take from among you gifts to יהוה; everyone whose heart is so moved shall bring them—gifts for יהוה: gold, silver, and copper;
(כא) וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ כׇּל־אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־נְשָׂא֣וֹ לִבּ֑וֹ וְכֹ֡ל אֲשֶׁר֩ נָדְבָ֨ה רוּח֜וֹ אֹת֗וֹ הֵ֠בִ֠יאוּ אֶת־תְּרוּמַ֨ת יְהֹוָ֜ה לִמְלֶ֨אכֶת אֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ וּלְכׇל־עֲבֹ֣דָת֔וֹ וּלְבִגְדֵ֖י הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃
(21) And everyone who excelled in ability and everyone whose spirit was moved came, bringing to יהוה an offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service and for the sacral vestments.
(א) יביאה את תרומת ה'...וביאר הכתוב מי הוא אשר יביאה ואמר כל נדיב לבו פירוש העושה דבר מנשיאות הלב אשר ידבנו לצד התנועעות הרוחנית השוכן בלב בחשק הדבר יפעיל במושכל נעלם אבל אם יביא התרומה בלא נדיבות לב אין זה פועל במושכל:
(1) יביאה את תרומת השם, "let him bring it, i.e. the offering for the Lord." ...When the Torah writes יביאה, "he (the generously minded donor) is to bring it," this means that the donor is to elevate his gift to such a spiritual level that it may merge with the תרומת השם (God's contribution). When the Torah speaks of the כל נדיב לבו, it defines the kind of person whose gift will be of the calibre that can merge with G'd's intangible gift. If the human donor does not possess the spirit the Torah describes as נדיב לב, then the gift of such a person has no chance of merging with the Divine contribution described here as the invisible contribution תרומת השם.
(ז) כִּֽי־יִהְיֶה֩ בְךָ֨ אֶבְי֜וֹן מֵאַחַ֤ד אַחֶ֙יךָ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּאַ֨רְצְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֑ךְ לֹ֧א תְאַמֵּ֣ץ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ֗ וְלֹ֤א תִקְפֹּץ֙ אֶת־יָ֣דְךָ֔ מֵאָחִ֖יךָ הָאֶבְיֽוֹן׃ (ח) כִּֽי־פָתֹ֧חַ תִּפְתַּ֛ח אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ ל֑וֹ וְהַעֲבֵט֙ תַּעֲבִיטֶ֔נּוּ דֵּ֚י מַחְסֹר֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֶחְסַ֖ר לֽוֹ׃
(7) If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kin in any of your settlements in the land that your God יהוה is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin. (8) Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need.
(א) כי פתוח וגו'. צריך לדעת מה נתינת טעם הוא זה ללב אטום, ואולי שנתכוון לומר לו על דרך אומרו (משלי י''א) יש מפזר ונוסף עוד, כי על ידי שפותח הוא ידו פותחים לו שערי שפע, והוא אומרו כי פירוש טעם שאני אומר לך שלא תאמץ וגו' כי פתוח פירוש אוצר הנעלם אם אתה תפתח את ידך, וגמר אומר והעבט וגו' פירוש כשאתה פותח את ידך לו אינך עושה אלא הלואה דוקא ותכף יהוה ישלם לך בתוספת מרובה, ובזה יש טעם נכון ללבו שלא יתאמץ וכו':
(1) כי פתח תפתח, "for you shall surely open, etc." What made Moses think that such a reason would open the hearts of insensitive people? Perhaps Moses referred to something we read in Proverbs 11,24 that "one man gives generously and winds up with more;" being charitable does not diminish one's wealth but increases it. When the Israelite "opens his hand," G'd "opens the gates of heavenly bounty for him." This is why Moses said כי פתח "in order that G'd will open His hidden treasures, etc." He continues with והעבט תעביטנו, "you shall lend him whatever he lacks, etc." The Torah means that when you open your hand for the poor all you are doing is giving him a loan seeing that G'd will repay you with interest. This is certainly sufficient reason for Moses telling you to open your hand again and again.
Whether we believe that God will repay us with interest or not, the focus is truly on the other person and how we should help them. Or HaChayim makes it seem like we are only talking about convincing the Israelites to give to those in need, but other commentators believe that we should be thinking about others and their hardship, not how it will impact our own lives.
-Rabbi Marina Yergin
(יג) ומנין שאם פתחת פעם אחת, (אתה פותח) (בבא מציעא לא וש"נ) [שסופך לפתוח] אפילו מאה פעמים? ת"ל: כי פתוח תפתח את ידך לו.
(יד) והעבט (תעביטנו). [זה שאין לו ואינו רוצה להתפרנס – נותנים לו לשם הלואה, וחוזרים ונותנים לו לשם מתנה.
(טו) תעביטנו. זה שיש לו ואינו רוצה להתפרנס], נותנים לו [לשם מתנה] (וחוזרים וממשכנים אותו) [ונפרעים ממנו לאחר מיתה], דברי ר' יהודה. וחכמים אומרים, [יש לו ואינו רוצה להתפרנס – אין נזקקין לו. אין לו ואינו רוצה להתפרנס –] [אומרים] לו הבא משכון כדי להפיס דעתו.
(טז) די מחסורו. אי אתה מצווה להעשירו.
(יז) אשר יחסר לו. אפילו סוס ואפילו עבד. ומעשה בהלל הזקן שנתן לעני בן טובים, סוס אחד שהיה מתעמל בו ועבד אחד שהוא משמשו.
(13) And whence is it derived that if you open (your hand) to him once, in the end you will open it many times? From (Ibid. 8) "But open shall you open your hand to him."
(14) "and lend shall you lend him": If one is impoverished but does not want to take charity, he is given the money as a loan, and then, (when he wishes to return it), it is ceded to him as a gift.
(15) "shall you lend him": If one has the means, but does not wish to fend for himself, he is given the money as a gift, and payment is exacted of him after his death. The sages say: If he has the means and does not wish to fend for himself, he is not attended to. If he is impoverished and does not want to take charity, he is told "Bring a pledge" (as security), in order to appease him.
(16) "sufficient for his lack": You are commanded to sustain him, but not to enrich him.
(17) "which is lacking to him": even a horse, even a servant (if that is what he is used to). And it happened with Hillel the Elder that he gave a pauper of high pedigree a horse with which to work and a servant to attend him.
In the simplest terms, people refer to tzedakah as "charity." However, much more than "charity" is implied by that Hebrew word. It is not just about giving money. The root of the word is tzedek, "justice" or "righteousness," so tzedakah implies necessary action tobring justice to the world. Monetary gifts are important, and at the same time, we must take a further step and do the work of making our world a better place every day.
-Rabbi Marina Yergin
תַּנְיָא רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר גְּדוֹלָה צְדָקָה שֶׁמְּקָרֶבֶת אֶת הַגְּאוּלָּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כֹּה אָמַר ה׳ שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה כִּי קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבֹא וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר עֲשָׂרָה דְּבָרִים קָשִׁים נִבְרְאוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַר קָשֶׁה בַּרְזֶל מְחַתְּכוֹ בַּרְזֶל קָשֶׁה אוּר מְפַעְפְּעוֹ אוּר קָשֶׁה מַיִם מְכַבִּין אוֹתוֹ מַיִם קָשִׁים עָבִים סוֹבְלִים אוֹתָן עָבִים קָשִׁים רוּחַ מְפַזַּרְתָּן רוּחַ קָשֶׁה גּוּף סוֹבְלוֹ גּוּף קָשֶׁה פַּחַד שׁוֹבְרוֹ פַּחַד קָשֶׁה יַיִן מְפִיגוֹ יַיִן קָשֶׁה שֵׁינָה מְפַכַּחְתּוֹ וּמִיתָה קָשָׁה מִכּוּלָּם [וּצְדָקָה מַצֶּלֶת מִן הַמִּיתָה] דִּכְתִיב וּצְדָקָה תַּצִּיל מִמָּוֶת
It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: Great is charity in that it advances the redemption, as it is stated: “So said the Lord, uphold justice and do charity, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed” (Isaiah 56:1). He would say: Ten strong entities were created in the world, one stronger than the other. A mountain is strong, but iron, which is stronger, cleaves it. Iron is strong, but fire melts it. Fire is strong, but water extinguishes it. Water is strong, but clouds bear it. Clouds are strong, but wind disperses them. Wind is strong, but the human body withstands it. The human body is strong, but fear breaks it. Fear is strong, but wine dispels it. Wine is strong, but sleep drives it off. And death is stronger than them all, but charity saves a person from death, as it is written: “And charity delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2, 11:4).
When making a decision, these questions may guide us as we identify the organizations and causes that merit our support:
- What value do I hold most dear that I would like to support?
- What organization's work inspires me?
- How much of my donation goes to the causes about which I am passionate, and how much is absorbed by administrative costs?
- How much can I feasibly contribute to make a difference for the organization that inspires me?
- How can I support this organization beyond a financial contribution?
-Rabbi Marina Yergin
Discussion Questions by Ariel Tovlev
- Tzedakah is often translated as “charity.” How does the Hebrew word tzedakah go beyond charity? Does this additional meaning change your understanding of this Jewish value?
- Rabbi Yergin emphasizes that it is not enough to just give tzedakah, but one must do so with intention: to give with one’s heart and with the recipient in mind. What do you think it means to give with intention? What are some examples of giving with intention and not giving with intention?
- The tzedakah we see in Vayak’heil is not monetary, and it includes the whole com- munity. What are some ways you can give without donating money? How might you include your community in this act of giving?