What "There Are No Judeo-Christian Values" Means, Part II - Charity
FIRST of all, the English word 'charity' was coined in Old English to mean 'Christian love of one's fellows'. The etymological root is 'caritas', a Greek word used frequently in the New Testament. So, not Jewish
FIRST of all, the English word 'charity' was coined in Old English to mean 'Christian love of one's fellows'. The etymological root is 'caritas', a Greek word used frequently in the New Testament. So, not Jewish
Aquinas identifies it as specifically the (Christian) love of God, as expressed through lovingness towards one's neighbors. And, of course, the modern understanding of charity is the act of giving money or resources to the less fortunate; generosity; giving.
The generosity is central. Giving charity is an act of being generous towards the less fortunate, bestowing kindness on someone of lower status. The virtue expressed by the giver is of loving a needy person or group enough to give to them.
The Hebrew word that gets translated as "charity" is tzedakah. It's the same root as tzedek - justice. In the Torah, it's used in contexts where it really makes no sense as "generosity", or giving money. It's better translated as "righteousness" - the pursuit of what is just.
Tzedakah, unlike charity, is not about lovingness or kindness. It's about justice. It's about righting what is wrong. And it's not about generosity - it's an obligation. We're *commanded* to perform tzedakah.
So how did this get mixed up with the Christian ideal of charity? Because economic balance is at the core of the Judaic idea of justice. It's a given that you cannot have a just society in which not everyone has their material needs met.
Tzedakah is at the root of the most often repeated command in the Torah, to care for the stranger and the unfortunate. It's at the root of the laws regarding leaving the corners of the field un-harvested and leaving dropped produce where it falls for the poor to take from.
It's the root of the commandment to forgive all debts every seven years, and return all property every fifty years. Economic equality is so central to the Judaic idea of justice that the Talmud says tzedakah is equivalent in importance to all the other mitzvot combined
What tzedakah looks like, in modern rabbinical Judaism, is often giving money. It looks similar to giving charitably, but the motivation and the value associated with it is completely different. And there are rules, and there are priorities.
To truly fulfill the mitzvah, the giving of tzedakah should be anonymous in both the giving and receiving parties, in excess of the minimum threshold but not so much that it might impoverish the giver, and it should serve to sustainably improve the life of the receiver.
Not giving too much is important. There is no virtue to giving away so much of your own resources that you yourself end up requiring tzedakah from someone else. That doesn't create economic balance - it doesn't right the wrong, it just shifts it from one party to another.
Maimonides defines a "ladder of tzedakah" defining levels of righteousness. The lowest level is giving after being asked. The very best form of tzedakah is an interest free loan or a business partnership that makes the receiver self-sufficient, elevating his economic status.
The entire thing is structured not as an act of love, or kindness, or mercy. It's an act of Justice - the correction of a societal failure that has led to someone not having their needs met.
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