Q&A: Charity According to What a Poor Person Was Accustomed to in His Former Wealth, and Charity in General
Charity According to What a Poor Person Was Accustomed to in His Former Wealth, and Charity in General
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Two questions are bothering me:
- The Jewish law that one must give charity to a wealthy person who lost his assets according to the standard of honor he was previously used to—a horse to ride on, and so on—seems very strange and unfair to me. (Taking care of housing and food, basic necessities, is completely clear to me.)
But let him get used to the new situation! If people keep pampering him with charity for restaurants, he definitely won’t get used to it.
I drive a junker, and I’m supposed to finance a brand-new luxury car for him? Life is hard, what can you do.
Can the Rabbi explain the rationale to me?
2. More generally, the parameters of the law of charity aren’t clear to me. Let’s talk practically. My wife and I bring home a net income of 17K. We have 3 children. We spend about 12K a month. According to Jewish law, how much am I obligated to give per month/per year? Is the amount defined? And to whom—the poor (Paamonim, Mekimi)? A yeshiva where I studied for a few years?
And what about a beggar who comes to the door as a poor person (?) whom I don’t know. Or a collection in the synagogue—“Jews are compassionate,” etc. (same issue).
Tithing sounds crazy to me—every month to donate 1,700 shekels? Is that really what one is obligated to do? Does the Rabbi give a tithe (sorry for being so direct)?
I’d be happy for a practical clarification of what to do; I haven’t found a clear Jewish law.
Answer
- The rationale is exactly what you wrote. From the wealthy person’s perspective, this situation is very hard for him. If in your assessment, when we do not give him that support he will get used to it, then perhaps there really is no obligation to give. It is a matter of assessing the reality.
- The laws of monetary tithing can be found online in many places. I assume you are not expecting a general summary here. In fact, according to some halakhic decisors, monetary tithing is a custom and a pious practice, not a full obligation (and that seems correct to me).