Tzedakah Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tzedakah - Term Paper Example The Hebrew word â€Å"zedakah† or â€Å"tsedakah† has been translated into English meaning either â€Å"righteousness† or â€Å"charity.† In earlier times it was referred to also as â€Å"almsgiving.† It can be defined as â€Å"an act of duty incumbent upon men of means to provide for those in want.† (Jacobs et al.: 2011, no page number). One of the main principles of Jewish faith is obedience to God’s laws, and within the Torah there is provision for widows and orphans through a system of giving from the rich. Heilman reports that when he conducted a survey on charity among Orthodox Jews, one man responded â€Å"I give tzedakah for lots of reasons but foremost because it is a mitzvah that the Torah commanded me to do and by doing so I am fulfilling my obligation to be a good Jew.† (Heilman: 1991, p. 134). This shows that giving tzedakah is seen as an important way of expressing one’s identity as a Jew, and of showing one ’s righteousness before God and before other people. It is not just a voluntary sign of goodwill, but a formal ritual that is a compulsory and fundamental part of being Jewish. There is a saying â€Å"charity begins at home† (Goldman: 2000, p. 250) and this encompasses the duty that parents have towards their children and children have towards their parents. ... Each person is expected to give according to his or her means, and this might be a small or large amount. In ancient times there were strict rules on reserving a portion of one’s wealth for giving to the poor and to strangers in the community. This is called â€Å"tithing†, and its purpose is to help people remember that all good things come from God, and that they have a duty to share their good fortune with others who are in need. In modern times it is all too easy to forget this, and get caught up with the materialism of our consumer society, but practising the act of tzedakah is a good way of keeping our feet on the ground. If everyone took this commandment seriously, then there would be far less poverty in the world. The origins or of the term tzedakah come from Deuteronomy 15:4 â€Å"There shall be no needy among you.† From the earliest times, when the Jewish people lived at times in a precarious land, with deserts, bandits and all kinds of famines and disa sters, feeding the needy was seen as a priority. Husbands died of illness or were killed in wars, leaving weaker members of the family in need of support. Many of the ancient stories speak of strangers in need, and the great Jewish teachers are famed for stopping what they are doing to help the needy. Hospitality is a basic duty in the Middle East, and it offers an opportunity to be charitable and generous even to strangers. When Jewish people were spread out across Europe and the Middle East in the diaspora, there were often persecutions and it was only by sticking together and sharing their wealth with each other that many Jewish communities survived. Today there is often a connection between the giving of tzedakah and the life of