Maimonides opens the laws of tzedakah (charity) as follows:
"It is a positive commandment to give tzedakah to the poor according to what is fitting for the poor person, if the hand of the giver can afford it. As it is said: 'You shall surely open your hand to him'; and it is said: 'You shall support him, the stranger and the settler, and he shall live with you'; and it is said: 'Let your brother live with you'" (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Poor, 8:1).
Maimonides selects just three verses as the motto for the laws of tzedakah, two of which are from our Torah portion:
(לה) וְכִֽי־יָמ֣וּךְ אָחִ֔יךָ וּמָ֥טָה יָד֖וֹ עִמָּ֑ךְ וְהֶֽחֱזַ֣קְתָּ בּ֔וֹ גֵּ֧ר וְתוֹשָׁ֛ב וָחַ֖י עִמָּֽךְ׃ (לו) אַל־תִּקַּ֤ח מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙ נֶ֣שֶׁךְ וְתַרְבִּ֔ית וְיָרֵ֖אתָ מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ וְחֵ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ עִמָּֽךְ׃
(35) If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter with you, you shall support him, whether a stranger or a settler, and he shall live with you.
(36) Do not take interest or increase from him, but fear your God, and let your brother live with you.
The repetition of the phrase “and he shall live with you” and Maimonides’ decision to cite both expressions hints at a subtle distinction between them that also complements each other.
Note the vocalization in the Hebrew. The first phrase states that we must ensure the very ability of the impoverished person to live with us. In the second, the word “live” (ḥai) is vocalized with a tzerei, meaning it is a construct form- “the life of your brother.” This shifts the focus to the quality of life of the poor.
The Netziv of Volozhin elaborates on this distinction:
“‘Let your brother live’—the word ‘live’ can mean two things... One, to be alive and not dead; and two, to live and not be miserable. The first, ‘he shall live with you,’ relates to preventing his death. The second, ‘your brother shall live with you,’ means he should be equal to you in life, not living off your flesh [i.e., not at your expense].”
In his commentary on Genesis, the Netziv expands this further:
“An animal is called a ‘living being’ when it functions according to its natural design. But a human is not truly called ‘alive’ unless their intellectual and spiritual soul is also whole within them.”
According to the Netziv, there are two commandments here:
- To ensure that the impoverished person does not die of destitution.
- To ensure they live a dignified, human life, equal to that of others.
This recalls two rabbinic teachings: “A poor person is considered as dead,” and “There is no true poverty except poverty of understanding.”
The Talmud further elaborates on the expression
... תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: ״כִּי טוֹב לוֹ עִמָּךְ״ – עִמְּךָ בַּמַּאֲכָל, עִמְּךָ בַּמִּשְׁתֶּה. שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא אַתָּה אוֹכֵל פַּת נְקִיָּה וְהוּא אוֹכֵל פַּת קִיבָּר, אַתָּה שׁוֹתֶה יַיִן יָשָׁן וְהוּא שׁוֹתֶה יַיִן חָדָשׁ, אַתָּה יָשֵׁן עַל גַּבֵּי מוֹכִין וְהוּא יָשֵׁן עַל גַּבֵּי תֶּבֶן ...
... The Sages taught: “And it shall be good for him with you,”: “What does ‘with you’ mean?” With you in food, with you in drink, with you in clothing. That you should not eat refined bread while he eats coarse bread; you drink aged wine while he drinks new wine; you sleep on soft bedding while he sleeps on straw ...
From this, we learn that in caring for the poor, we must ensure they share the same basic human needs as we do- food, drink, clothing, and shelter.
Similarly, Avot de-Rabbi Natan (Version B, Chapter 14) teaches:
... ויהיו עניים בני ביתך .... התחיל איוב אומר אני לא הייתי עושה כאחרים. אחרים הם אוכלים פת נקיה ומאכילין לעניים פת קיבר. אחרים הם לובשים בגדי מלתין ומלבישין לעניים בגדי שקין. אני לא עשיתי כן אלא ממה שהייתי אוכל הייתי מאכיל (לאחרים) [לעניים] וממה שהייתי לובש הייתי מלביש (לאחרים) [לעניים] שנאמר אם לא [ברכוני] חלציו ומגז כבשי יתחמם (שם שם כ"א) ממלתין שהייתי גוזז ולובש הייתי מלביש (לאחרים) [לעניים].
‘Let the poor be members of your household’—Job said: I did not act like others. Others eat refined bread and give the poor coarse bread. Others wear fine clothes and dress the poor in rags. I did not do so. From the bread I ate, I gave to the poor. From the clothes I wore, I dressed the poor.”
Coarse bread (pat kibar) fills the stomach but harms the body. It is one of the foods the Talmud says:
שְׁלֹשָׁה מַרְבִּין אֶת הַזֶּבֶל, וְכוֹפְפִין אֶת הַקּוֹמָה, וְנוֹטְלִין אֶחָד מֵחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת מִמְּאוֹר עֵינָיו שֶׁל אָדָם, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: פַּת קִיבָּר וְשֵׁכָר חָדָשׁ וְיָרָק.
Three [things] increase one’s waste, bend his stature, and remove one five-hundredth of the light of a person’s eyes; and they are coarse bread...
Such food is not fitting for the poor- it is not real tzedakah.
The Hida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) writes in his commentary Chomat Anakh on Isaiah:
(א) הלא פרוס לרעב לחמך וכו'. פי' דעיקר הצדקה לתת לו לחם וכמ"ש דמקרב הנאתיה ואמרו רז"ל דהנותן לחם לעני כמקריב קרבנות. ודקדק לומר לחמך שיתן לו מהלחם אשר הוא אוכל שלא יאכל הוא לחם קמח סלת ויתן פת קיבר לעני ולז"א לחמך:
“‘Is it not to share your bread with the hungry?’—The essence of tzedakah is to give bread, as it brings the recipient benefit. The sages said: ‘One who gives bread to the poor is like one who offers sacrifices.’ The prophet emphasizes your bread—give them the bread you yourself eat. Don't eat fine white bread and give the poor coarse bread. And not even cold bread—give it warm, to satisfy the soul.
A just society is not one that merely ensures the poor are not starving- it is one in which there are no class distinctions or social gaps in meeting basic human needs.
This year marks the fourth annual Social Justice Week, taking place during Parashat Behar. We chose this year to raise the issue of the rising cost of living and the need for nutritious, accessible food for all segments of the population.
The cost-of-living burdens all of us. Food companies shamelessly raise prices, and it seems as if no one is regulating them, although:
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah,
(כ) חַיָּבִין בֵּית דִּין לְהַעֲמִיד שׁוֹטְרִים בְּכָל מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וּבְכָל פֶּלֶךְ וּפֶלֶךְ שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מְחַזְּרִין עַל הַחֲנֻיּוֹת וּמְצַדְּקִין אֶת הַמֹּאזְנַיִם וְאֶת הַמִּדּוֹת וּפוֹסְקִין הַשְּׁעָרִים ... וְכָל מִי שֶׁמַּפְקִיעַ אֶת הַשַּׁעַר וּמוֹכֵר בְּיֹקֶר מַכִּין אוֹתוֹ וְכוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ וּמוֹכֵר כְּשַׁעַר הַשּׁוּק:
(20) The courts are obligated to appoint inspectors in every province and district, to oversee the shops and standardize weights and measures, and to set fair prices... Anyone who inflates prices and sells at a premium shall be punished and compelled to sell at the market price.
The public is overwhelmed and preoccupied with survival and security. The state, which bears ultimate responsibility and has multiple regulatory bodies, is not fulfilling its duties.
As a result, most people grit their teeth and press on. But many cannot continue. For families in the lowest economic classes, the cost of living often means cutting food expenses- the easiest family budget line to reduce (unlike rent, for example).
This usually means buying cheaper- and often less healthy- food. The long-term consequences of malnutrition, especially in early childhood, are well known. The connection between unhealthy diets and heart disease, diabetes, and shortened lifespan is well established.
And this is where our parashah comes in, reminding us: “Let your brother live with you.” At age seventy, can we truly look around and say that our brothers and sisters live with us?
Is life expectancy in Israel the same for the lower economic deciles as it is for the middle class?
If not, can we truly call ourselves a just society?
When some citizens live to old age while many others die prematurely—literally—due to preventable diseases linked to poor nutrition?
Furthermore, what are the poor eating? Coarse bread or refined bread?
Who gave us the right to say the poor should eat less nutritious food than we do?
We are not talking about luxury or indulgence, but about basic, healthy sustenance.
As Rabbi Hayyim Korah of 19th-century Yemen taught (quoted in “Daily Sage’s Page”):
“This teaches that we must not blame poverty on the laziness of the poor, as if they brought it upon themselves. This is evil under the sun. The hint here is that one should not give the poor coarse bread while eating refined bread themselves. Nor should one give cold bread, even if it is refined. Rather, give it warmth, satisfying their soul. Remember: wealth and poverty are both from God. Therefore, whenever you can do an act of tzedakah, do it. Do not say, ‘My strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth,’ nor blame the poor for their condition. That is the evil under the sun—the tendency to blame misfortune on happenstance.”
Food inequality is an attempt to create a moral hierarchy between the rich and the poor, and that is a spiritual offense. It’s not just an unjust society - it’s a fundamentally bad one.
It is customary to end on a hopeful note. We cited the prophet Isaiah,
(ז) הֲל֨וֹא פָרֹ֤ס לָרָעֵב֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֤ה עָרֹם֙ וְכִסִּית֔וֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִתְעַלָּֽם׃
(7) It is to share your bread with the hungry, And to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe them, And not to ignore your own kin.
so we’ll conclude with the continuation of his prophecy:
(י) וְתָפֵ֤ק לָֽרָעֵב֙ נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ נַעֲנָ֖ה תַּשְׂבִּ֑יעַ וְזָרַ֤ח בַּחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲפֵלָתְךָ֖ כַּֽצׇּהֳרָֽיִם׃ (יא) וְנָחֲךָ֣ יהוה תָּמִיד֒ וְהִשְׂבִּ֤יעַ בְּצַחְצָחוֹת֙ נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְעַצְמֹתֶ֖יךָ יַחֲלִ֑יץ וְהָיִ֙יתָ֙ כְּגַ֣ן רָוֶ֔ה וּכְמוֹצָ֣א מַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יְכַזְּב֖וּ מֵימָֽיו׃ (יב) וּבָנ֤וּ מִמְּךָ֙ חׇרְב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם מוֹסְדֵ֥י דוֹר־וָד֖וֹר תְּקוֹמֵ֑ם וְקֹרָ֤א לְךָ֙ גֹּדֵ֣ר פֶּ֔רֶץ מְשֹׁבֵ֥ב נְתִיב֖וֹת לָשָֽׁבֶת׃
(10) And if you offer your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul...
(12) ... You shall rebuild the ancient ruins and raise the foundations of many generations.
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Rabbi Kobi Weiss directs the Education Department at "Rabbis for Human Rights" and serves on the staff of its Social Justice division.