Eight Levels of Tzedekah: Righteous Charitable Giving

For the Jewish community, after the temple was destroyed, the sacrifices ceased. But the destruction has not meant the end of Jewish religious life. Rabbis began to teach that each person was to consider him self a temple and tephillah (prayer) was to be offered as the sacrifice of ones lips.

Teshubah (repentance) became a new means by which atonement was sought, and tzedakah (righteousness in the sense of charity) was taught and encouraged. The twelfth century Jewish scholar and physician, Maimonides, developed and taught the, “Eight Levels of Tzedekah,” (charitable giving). His list was formed from the least to the most honorable.

His list is as follows:

8.     “When donations are given grudgingly) People that give in this way tend to lose the blessing of their giving. Jesus admonishes, “freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matt 10:8)

7.    “When one gives less than he should but does so cheerfully” God loves a cheerful giver but also one who demonstrates faithfulness. The word of the Lord tells us, “every man according as he purposes is his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” However, He prefaces this in verse 6 by saying, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:6-7)

6.    “When one gives to the poor upon being asked” Jesus instructed us to “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.” (Matt. 5:42)

5.    “When one gives to the poor without being asked” Jesus said when we give to the poor, we are actually giving to Him. He said, “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40)

4.    “When the recipient is aware of the donor’s identity, but the donor does not know the identity of the recipient” It seems that zaccchaeus gave this type of gift to the poor in his act of contrition and repentance saying, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.” (Luke 19:8) It is righteous to give with no expectation of recognition or of any return favor.

3.    “When the donor is aware of the recipient’s identity, but the recipient is unaware of the source” Before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He sent his disciples to receive the gift of a colt from a donor seemingly unknown to them. (Luke 19:30-31) This giving is more righteous in that it allows the recipient to receive a gift with a greater freedom of not knowing the source. 

2.    “When the donor and recipient are unknown to each other” The bible speaks about this type of giving in Matt. 6:3-4, “But when thou doest alms, let not thyleft hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

1.    “The highest form of charity is to sustain a person, before they become impoverished, by offering a substantial gift in a dignified manner or be extending a suitable loan, or by helping them find employment or establishing themselves in business, so as to make it unnecessary for them to become dependant on others.” The old parable says that we can give someone a fish and feed them one meal or we can teach them how to fish and feed them the rest of their lives.

It is the role of the church to disciple the nations teaching and admonishing men and women along the narrow path of salvation. They attain stability and learn stewardship in their daily lives with an understanding that a life of giving is a life of blessing. Jesus expressed succinctly that reciprocal blessed nature of giving when He said, “Give and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)

 

 

Maimonides, The Writings of Maimonides, (Twelfth Century Jewish scholar and physician)

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