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Beit Midrash
- Family and Society
- Financial Laws and Tzedaka
- Tzedaka - Charity
Though I have no empirical proof to back up this statement, I am convinced that the ability to be regularly charitable is connected with observance of Jewish ritual and other Torah commandments. My anecdotal experiences buttress this contention of mine. People who need help invariably turn to neighborhoods of religious Jews to find it. The religious Jewish world has constructed a firm and elaborate system of help to those in need. This system includes hundreds of free-loan societies, medical referral help, social and educational welfare programs, wedding sponsorship for indigent families and a host of other services and charitable outreach. Though governmental help can often be found to help these situations as well, the vast majority of all of this charitable help is privately funded and by the general Jewish religious community and not by the wealthy alone. I have seen poor beggars share their meager collections with others whom they somehow deem to be less fortunate than even they are. The Talmud even justifies giving charity to the charlatans and cheats who exploit our generosity by stating: "If it were not for the presence of those whom we suspect to be charlatans we would possess no excuse whatsoever for not truly fulfilling our obligation of giving charity!" The Torah always demands of us that we err on the side of goodness and compassion. We should never regret or feel badly about having given charity or help to others.
In our over-organized society many people never give charity to individuals directly. Charity is given to large organizations that are then charged with its distribution. These organizations are valuable and necessary and most of them are clever and honest and efficient in doing their charitable work. Yet this type of charitable giving is faceless, unemotional and to a great extent impersonal. This type of giving also restricts the number of times a person gives. Maimonides points out that it is better to give five shekel to ten different poor people than to give fifty shekel to one lone person. The amount of charity given remains the same. But in giving ten times, one trains one’s hand to give, so that the muscles of charitable giving will not atrophy over time. The Torah also wished us to have personal contact with the poor and the needy. Halacha not only dictates that we should give charity but also the attitude that we exhibit when so doing. A good word and a smile is also part of the charitable act. People who give charity as a part of a daily routine of their lives find it easier to overcome any feelings of resentment or being exploited and put upon. Thus charitable giving, in order to benefit the giver as much as it does the taker, must be a regular and ongoing feature of one’s life and deeds.
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
