Daily Mitzvah (Rambam)

The 130th mitzvah is that we are commanded to give ma'aser ani [a tenth of one's harvest to the poor] every third year—i.e., the third and the sixth—of the seven-year (shemittah) cycle.

The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "At the end of each three year period, you must bring out all the tithes of your crop..."

This Biblical precept, too, applies only in Eretz Yisroel.

The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractate Pe'ah,2 Demai,3 and Ma'aseros. It is also mentioned in various passages of the other tractates of [Seder] Zeraim, and in Machshirin4 and in Yadayim.5

Footnotes

1.

Deut. 14:28.

2.

Ch. 8.

3.

Ch. 4.

4.

End of Ch. 2.

5.

Ch. 4, Mishneh 3.

The 195th mitzvah is that we are commanded to give charity—to support and relieve the poor.

This command is expressed in the Torah in various ways: "Open your hand generously";1 "Help him survive, whether he is a convert or a born Jew";2 "Help your brother survive with you."3 These verses all have the same point—that we must provide for our poor and support them in accordance with their need.

The details of this mitzvah are explained in a number of places, the majority in tractates Kesubos4 and Baba Basra.5

The Oral Tradition relates that even a poor person who himself lives from charity is also obligated in this mitzvah—to give even a small amount of charity to someone less fortunate than him or on the same level as himself.

Footnotes

1.

Deut. 15:8.

2.

Lev. 25:35.

3.

Ibid. 25:36.

4.

See 67a.

5.

See 8a.

The 232nd prohibition is that we are forbidden from withholding charity and assistance from our needy brethren once we have become aware of their difficulty and know we have the ability to help them.

The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy brother."

This prohibits being cruel and stingy to the extent that we do not give to those who deserve our assistance.

Footnotes

1.

Deut. 15:7.