Tsedaka

The Tsedaka , Tzedaka , Tsedaqa or Tzedaqa (to pronounce Tzdaqa , in Hebrew: צדקה) is the Hebrew term indicating in the Judaïsme the religious principle of the " Alms ". The radical of the word is the same one as in the Hebrew term indicating the " Justice " (צדק).

Tsedaka and charity

Although the word tsedaqa is usually returned in French by " charité" , the word means actually " Justice " or " droiture". In fact, verses calling with the " charité" fall under a context much major than the simple mutual aid

: If there is at home some poor among your brothers, in one of your doors, with the country that the Eternal, your God, gives you, you will not harden your heart and you will not close your hand in front of your poor brother. But you will open your hand to him, and you will lend what to him to provide for his needs.

This chapter treats sabbatical year, where all the loans must be cancelled and the restored social equality.

: When you make the harvest in your country, you will leave a corner of your field without harvesting it, and you will not collect what remains with glaner. You will not gather either the bunches remained in your vine, and you will not collect the grains which will have fallen from there. You will give up that with poor and abroad. I am the Eternal, your God.

The 19th chapter of the Lévitique treats regulations given in order to be holy like the Eternal is Saint.

The Judaism teaches that God is the ultimate owner, the temporary man being only one tenant or a servant on the ground which is allocated to him. Goods that this produced ground are indebted with the Eternal, who decides to share the resources between rich person and the poor. Moreover in the passage of quoted Lévitique, food is left with the abandonment, so that the poor one can preserve its dignity by collecting what God wants to give him, rather than to be constrained to beg near the rich person what they want to leave him well.

The Jewish design of the tsedaka thus differs from charity to the common direction, because this one is the fact of the decision and the mood of the Philanthrope S, whereas the tsedaka is an obligation given by God to all the Jews independently of their financial statute or their will to give (although it is preferable to want to give, cf infra).
La tsedaka is, with the Teshouva and the Tefilah, one of the three acts making it possible to obtain forgiveness for the Péché S.

Eight levels of charity

In its Mishné Torah, Maïmonide distinguishes eight levels from Tsedaka, according to the proximity between the giver and that which receives the gift, that the gift is known publicly or anonymity, that it is made in a spontaneous or requested way, which it meets the needs for poor partially or that it allows him the self-subsistence (to offer of work or a partnership):

preventive charity: Maïmonide summarizes by its famous sentence: Gives a fish to a man, it will eat one day. Learn how to him to fish, it will eat all its life .
This level is divided into four under-degrees:
1. To give work to a poor person.
2. Etablir a partnership with him (this is regarded as inferior, because the recipient of this charity could have the impression that it does not take part in it enough).
3. To make a loan.
4. To make a gift.
To anonymously give the tsedaka to an unknown member elect.
To anonymously give the tsedaka to a known member elect.
To publicly give the tsedaka to an unknown member elect.
To give the tsedaka before it is asked.
To give the tsedaka in an adequate way after it was asked.
To give full sound liking, but inadéquatement (too much little).
To give against its liking.

Tsedaka and Judaism

The principle of the tsedaka is rather inherent in the Judaism.

On the one hand, God Are Right, Généreux and Miséricordieux. Its Justice is Its generosity is SA mercy. It is thus right to be generous.
In addition, this being related to that, the Judaism prescribes an ethical solid of mutual aid and solidarity in order to sanctify itself.

This led most of the Jewish community to the Philanthropie. The small metal kitty with the profit of a good work is often on the counter of a store held by a Jew, or within a hearth.
De more, the second degree of charity being the gift with an unknown member elect without publicity, the anonymous donations are very frequent in the Jewish communities .

Judaism and tsedaka

The tsedaka being so important with the eyes of the Judaism, it is often associated with its great moments and demonstrations:

one day of Jewish marriage, the tsedaka symbolizes the crowned character of the day.
at the time of the Jewish holiday of Pessah, the poor are invited to the table of the Seder during which the period of slavery of the Jewish people in Egypt is recalled.
at the time of the Jewish holiday of Pourim, it is prescribed with any Jewish person to offer food (the equivalent of a dish) to at least two people to increase the joy of this happy moment of the Jewish Calendrier.

The tsedaka is not the " quête". In addition, the rich person givers, if they are honoured, therefore are not placed above all. The Rabbin brings back a witty remark of his/her grandfather, him also rabbi, in connection with the feigned humility:

“a rich person giver, who would have been entitled to a place of first rank, preferred to request with the last so that it is known that it was humble… My grandfather says to him: " It is to better request in the forefront by thinking that its place is with the last that to request with the last by thinking that its place is with the premier." ”

Sources

Joseph Telushkin, the Large Book of Jewish Wisdom , Calmann-Levy editions, 15 seven 1999, ISBN 2-70212-977-3

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