Giving charity is really not a luxury; it is a necessity for both the recipient and the donor. If we want to survive this recession, we need to survive it together...
Do not be misled by the legendary philanthropy of the Jews, by their saturation of social and humanitarian movements, by their invention of the pushka, the meshulach and the UJA. Jews do not practice charity, and the concept is virtually nonexistent in Jewish tradition.
They asked the Baal Shem Tov: "The Talmud tells us that for every thing G-d forbade, He provided us something permissible. What did He permit that corresponds to the sin of heresy?" Replied the Besht : "Acts of kindness"
Tests revealed that participants were wrong about the impact of money on happiness. A significant majority thought that personal spending would make them happier than pro-social spending...
"Here is a wise Jew, who understands that this is only an attempt to test him. He also understands that when he will withstand the test, not only will his business be as prosperous as beforehand, but it will be better than before..."
Imagine a stock trader selling off his computers, a cab driver cutting back on gasoline purchase or a printer auctioning off his presses. You don't tamper with whatever is generating the income!
"Everyone is obligated to give charity. Even people supported by charity must contribute from what they receive." A law that seems radical on the one hand, and absurd on the other...
Are you investing your life savings based on wikinformation? Are you treating a fatal condition based on a health blog you found? Are you calling a once-in-a-lifetime business contact on a VOIP line?
What would you do if you had a fortune worth millions?
By Mendel Kalmenson
Millionaire Karl Rabeder decided to give it all away to charity, down to the last penny, or Euro. Would our world be healed if more people did the same? Hardly.
He held two backpacks, one full of sandwiches and the other money. He strolled down the aisle offering the patrons a choice: "If you have, please give. If you need, please take."
We arranged an appointment. I came prepared. I made my pitch, explained our plans, emphasized the opportunities that lay ahead and then paused. The pause. That time it didn't work.
"When the king asked me to disclose my holdings," the rabbi explained, "I included only the funds that I have donated to charity. Those are the holdings I know will always be mine..."
Jewish wisdom sees the saving of physical life and the giving of spiritual life as two sides of the same coin of charity. To some we give dollars, to others we give sense.
Why did G‑d create a world with those who have resources and those who are in need? It could have been much simpler if G‑d just evenly distributed the resources to all.
So, at the risk of ending my career, I would like to share with you a wonderful piece of news: The world is becoming a very generous place. You want proof?
I have a confession. I can’t stand to be thanked for giving charity. I just hate it when the person to whom I gave a dollar heaps lifelong blessings on me.
Teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah commonly translate as "repentance," "prayer" and "charity." But these English words fail to express the full significance of these concepts, and even convey the very opposite of their true import
Open your wallet. Take out a single dollar bill. Place it on the table in front of you. Take a long, contemplative look at it. In many ways, this is the most spiritual thing you own
Preserving the dignity of the receiver is a cornerstone of mitzvah of charity: Maimonides lists eight levels of giving, correlating to the degree to which the giver is sensitive to the needs and feelings of the recipient
The Talmud states that everyone is obligated to give charity, including someone who is totally dependant on, and supported by a communal welfare fund. Isn't this a little absurd?
It's not very often that a person gets to see, printed in a newspaper, how he will be remembered after his death. One man did, and what he saw horrified him...
Do these people deserve my money? Since when does cash drift gently from leafy poplars? Even my pastry was a momentary weakness. As these uncharitable thoughts flash through my system, I suddenly recall my mallards . . .
"Here is a wise Jew, who understands that this is only an attempt to test him. He also understands that when he will withstand the test, not only will his business be as prosperous as beforehand, but it will be better than before..."
Here is where things are really upside down. We have this false illusion that when someone gives money to someone else, the giver is the big hero, the generous one, the amazing one. And that poor, pathetic receiver . . . should just be grateful that someone felt sorry enough for him to help . . .
At times, sharing opportunities may appear at our doorstep, neatly wrapped with a shining bow. At other times, the gift is hurled through an open window, perhaps during a thunderstorm at 3:00 AM. Perhaps when we least expected or wanted it...
This woman is like a bottomless cup of coffee. I give, and she wants more, and I give more, and she’ll want even more. I sincerely do feel badly for her. But I am equally scared to let a person who is in chronic, desperate need become dependent on me . . .