Giving Until it Hurts: Tzedaka - Lesson 7
| Switch to Video |
More in this section
-
8:57The "Trickle Up" Effect
-
26:33How to Give
-
11:22The Meaning of the Word "Tzedakah"
-
10:43Wealth Distribution
-
11:55G-d Asks Us to "Test" Him
- View All »
Join the Discussion
To Elsa from Concord
To be Jewish one need not be rich and it is sad that this is how you were made to feel. Of course Judaism encourages gratitude to the donor, but it does not permit us to judge people by their money. A gift of one dollar for the poor can be more pleasing to G-d than a thousand dollars for the rich.
The sad reality of our life is that it takes money to operate a Temple and human nature is such that we flatter those who can help us most. This is not a religious value. It is a human weakness. The committed Jew works to overcome this inclination and not value people by their income and donation.
As to your concern about white cleaning a sin through charity. Charity does not whitewash sin. It only puts the finishing touches of atonement on a person who is genuinely penitent.
I am sorry you had such a terrible experience. Allow me to encourage you to try again. I hope you encounter people who respect you for who you are, rather how much you own.
Reply
good one very informative and helpful thankyou Reply
GIVE TILL IT HURTS
a way of doing pentence huh. wow, that's easy it's possible to be a real jerk, and give a
lot of money to make things right? doens't sound right to me.
do people on a very fixed income count:? i know by personal experience i did not.
seems nobdy Jewish wants to have anything to do with poor people. where is it written
that to be Jewish you have to be rich?
so one can just give money, and spend one
morning a month at a shelter giving breakfast
to homeless people and that's it!
as compared to e.g. catholic chariti
i recently belonged to a temple that literally shunned me. i volunteered, went to torah study. was introduced to study group in when the Chazan was in mid-sentence, as oh, by the way - this is Elsa Davidson she is a new member and went on with his sentence. first time i met the rabbi he spent 10 seconds with me. what is it with the rich strut about the
shul like they "own" it. i guess they do. i can't
strut.
don't get it
i have a lot to offer, but it's not money.
Reply
shunned Hi Elsa, Your note made me sad. I think you should move to a new Shul. One that is friendly and inclusive, and that values all the different ways of contributing.The one I attend is like that.