Is Giving a Choice?

By JENN ABELSON

Remember putting change in the tzedakah box at synagogue or selling candy in school to raise money for needy causes? Remember thinking how generous you were? Remember feeling benevolent, perhaps even noble? Well, you were wrong.

Confused? In Judaism, giving to the poor is not an option. It's an obligation, a mitzvah. There is no word in the Hebrew vocabulary for "charity" in the modern sense. The word used is tzedakah, which literally means righteousness. According to Albert Vorspan, a leading authority on social action and Jewish author, "Tzedakah is the fulfillment of an obligation to a fellow-being with equal status."

Giving to the poor is an act of justice, a performance of a duty that benefits the donor more than the recipient. As givers, we become better people. Tzedakah, a cornerstone of Jewish identity, helps bind Jews to their community and remind them of the humanity of themselves and others.

What's our exact obligation?

Some sages have even said tzedakah is the highest of all commandments. According to Jewish law, we are required to give one-tenth of our income to the poor, unless we are dependent on public assistance or on the edge of subsistence.

So, as young people with limited resources--but certainly not on the brink of poverty--we too are obligated to contribute. You can give a percentage of money raised from babysitting, newspaper delivery and other tasks to their charity of choice. Some traditional outlets for tzedakah include synagogues and health care and educational institutions.

But giving to causes that are meaningful to you are important as well. Although Jews should never rank who deserves tzedakah more, except in life or death matters, the Torah tells us to give to those who are closest to us. Sound self-centered? Maybe it is on the surface. From Judaism's perspective, however, how can you give to other people if those closest to you are suffering? Subsequently, giving to needy relatives or people and organizations in your city, state, and so on should come first. In addition, anonymous donations are the most ideal forms of tzedakah. This avoids embarrassment and underscores the idea that tzedakah is about the giver, not the receiver.

How to start giving

Check your phone books for listings of local charities or contact your rabbi. To help donors make more informed allocations of their funds, a web site, http://www.just-tzedakah.org/reports, offers over 60 profiles of Jewish tzedakah organizations. If you feel passionately about specific causes outside of your community, pursue those avenues as well. For example, Rainforest Action Network (www.ran.org) works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. Ben Jerry, those quirky ice cream makers from Vermont, have a foundation that offers grants to grassroots projects that are working towards eliminating underlying causes of environmental and social problems. Ben Jerry's philanthropy website, http://www.benjerry.com/foundation/index.html, lists organizations who have received such grants, from organic farmers to gay rights activists.

If money is a problem, a plethora of alternatives to cash exist, including giving food, clothing and time. Tzedakah should be viewed as an opportunity, not a burden. And never forget that time is money. Volunteering in a local shelter of food bank serves as a form of tzedakah. For hundreds of listings in your area, check out http://www.idealist.org. Tzedakah is an obligation, a commitment to becoming a better person.