November 13, 2020

This article originally appeared in jewishcincinnati.org.

Two women pass a beggar on the street. They have the same income and expenses. The first weeps at the suffering of the beggar and gives him $5 out of the goodness of her heart. The second notices but rushes past.

Later in the day, however, she feels compelled because of her religious beliefs and returns to give the beggar $100. Who is the better person?

Why are Jews so generous?

Many people who are not familiar with the Jewish community are often surprised at the large annual gifts that Jewish Federations and other Jewish non-profit organizations receive year in and year out. Are Jews more generous than other people? Have Jewish organizations cooked up some kind of secret fundraising sauce?

I have been privileged to work with the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati for 12 years and identify as a Reform Jew. I hope the following observations will shed some light on the nature of Jewish philanthropy.

What does it mean to be Jewish? Well, that’s like saying, “Describe an orchid,” or asking, “What does wine taste like?”

There is immense variety among Jews, and trying to make generalizations can be misleading.

Nevertheless, the following comments that describe more traditional types of Jewish giving are the basis for Jewish giving and are the motivations even for many who are not as religious in their day-to-day practice of Judaism. These age-old traditions and beliefs permeate today and help explain why Jewish giving is disproportionately high.

What about the Jewish “obligation?”

Tzedakah is a Hebrew word that often gets mistranslated as “charity.” But it’s much more like a righteous obligation than a charitable gift. Most of us pay our taxes every year more because it’s the right thing to do as a U.S. citizen. It’s not considered discretionary. We might complain a little, but we do it.

Tzedakah is like that. Give away 10 percent or more to help the Jewish people and you are doing your duty. It’s not something you think about, and it doesn’t even matter if you feel like doing it. Just do it! The concept may sound harsh to those on the outside. But it’s all part of the Jewish endeavor to act in concert with God, lead a good life, act justly, and care for those in need.

A very old man is planting a fruit tree. A passer-by wonders why he would bother to plant a tree that won’t bear fruit until decades after he is dead. The old man responds, “As my father planted before me, so do I plant for my children.”

This story from the Talmud models tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that means loosely, “repair the world.” The traditional Jewish belief is that we have an obligation to leave this world better than we found it. What we give is not so much for our own enjoyment, but to sustain and improve the world for the current as well as the next generation. It is really not a choice, but rather a requirement, to make our entire community a better place for everyone.

This is different from faith-based giving. This is peoplehood giving. Jewish history is rooted in persecution through the ages, and time and again Jews have found themselves unwelcome in the countries where they’ve lived. So there is an element of, “If we don’t take care of each other, who will?”

Now, back to the story in the beginning. Who is the better person — the one who gave $5 out of emotional impulse or the one who gave $100 out of obligation? If you chose the first person, here’s a follow-up question: Would your answer be different if you were the beggar?

Jim Friedman is Director of Planned Giving and Endowments for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared in chabad.org.

Human nature is to desire to be self-sufficient. Most of us are uncomfortable being takers and prefer earning our own keep. If, due to dire circumstances, we find ourselves on the receiving end, our reaction is generally one of mortification.

The Torah is acutely sensitive to the precarious dynamic between patrons and their beneficiaries. The Torah’s word for the act of giving to the needy, tzedakah, although commonly translated as “charity,” more accurately means “justice.” G‑d selects certain people as agents to disburse His bounty to others. Thus, when we are in a position to assist someone else, we are not behaving altruistically by giving away something that is rightfully ours. Rather, we are doing justice, by dispensing the money that G‑d entrusted to us in the way that He desires.

Although we generally associate the mitzvah of tzedakah with giving money, the mitzvah encompasses all forms of kindness. Tzedakah can be as basic as offering someone a lift or shlepping a friend’s heavy load. Tzedakah can also take forms that are more “spiritual” — cheering up a friend who is depressed, or sharing your knowledge or insights with another.

Whatever form it takes, the Torah regards preserving the dignity and self-respect of the receiver as a cornerstone of tzedakah. Accordingly, the great codifier of Jewish law, Maimonides formulated a list of eight levels of giving, correlating to the degree to which the giver is sensitive to the needs and feelings of the recipient.

Level Eight: Giving grudgingly, with a sour countenance.

Giving grudgingly is certainly better than not giving at all, and thus merits the eighth place on Maimonides’ list. But this is the lowest of all forms of charity. This form of giving is ironically selfish — it is not motivated by true caring or love, but rather by a sense of guilt or obligation. True tzedakah is accompanied by warm words and gentleness.

Level Seven: Giving less than you can afford, but doing so pleasantly.

The benefit of a friendly response is so powerful that it even offsets the sting of an underwhelming donation. Even if you don’t feel ready to commit yourself to meeting someone else’s needs to the full extent of your capacity, you can express genuine interest and empathy. A sincere expression of caring can satisfy the person emotionally and give him the strength to go on, even if you weren’t able or willing to grant his request completely.

Level Six: Giving generously, but only after being asked.

While it’s certainly preferable to be pro-active, at the very least, don’t give a cold shoulder to those who approach you for help. You can never know just how laborious and awkward it was for them to ask you for a favor, and how desperately they are counting on you to respond graciously.

Our society tends to encourage us to say “no” to the demands and requests of others. We are made to feel like fools or wimps if we allow people to appeal to our soft nature. The Torah certainly does not advocate that we abrogate all personal boundaries and let others walk all over us. However, if we are honest with ourselves we can always find a way to fill the other person’s need, or refer them to someone else who can.

Level Five: Giving before you are asked.

Learn to anticipate the needs of others even before they approach you. Don’t wait for the self-destructive behavior or the cry for help before stepping in to lend a hand. Don’t limit your involvement to those who appeal to you; seek out opportunities where you can make a difference.

Level Four: The recipient knows the giver, but the giver does not know the recipient.

In levels five through eight, the recipient and the giver are both known to each other. So even when the giving is done with utmost sensitivity and happiness to help, theirs is a relationship of superiority: the giver’s ego is gratified, and the recipient feels shame and inferiority because of his dependency.

This is partially rectified in the form of charity that occupies Level Four in Maimonides’ list: the giving is done in such a way that the recipient is aware of the identity of his benefactor, but remains anonymous to him. In this case, the donor feels humbler, since he is not aware of to whom he is giving. However, the recipient’s feelings are not spared to the same extent, since he knows who gave him the charity.

Level Three: The giver knows the recipient, but the recipient does not know the giver.

In this level of tzedakah — which is the converse of Level Four — the donor’s ego has some room to express itself. Since the giver knows who is receiving his bounty, there is room for some sense of one-upmanship or dominance over the receiver. However, the beneficiary is unaware of who the donor is, and so his dignity is preserved.

(The fact that Level Three is higher than Level Four is proof of the Chassidic adage that we should take into account the other’s benefit before considering the possible disadvantages to ourselves — in spiritual matters as well as material. While it is certainly important to avoid ego and arrogance wherever possible, it is more important to salvage the dignity of someone else.)

Level Two: Giving anonymously, where the recipient does not know the giver and vice versa.

Receiving mutually anonymous tzedakah takes much of the sting out of being on the receiving end. It is far better when we lend aid to others unconsciously — when we give ourselves over to others so completely that our egos merge with theirs, and neither is conscious of being in a superior or inferior position.

Thus, Jewish communities of all generations established charity funds, administered by individuals of supreme honesty and discreetness, who acted on a voluntary basis (with nothing deducted for “overhead”) to collect and distribute funds to the needy in a way that facilitated this high level of tzedakah.

Level One: Helping someone become self-sufficient.

The most basic need of a human being is to feel needed and capable. Thus, the highest form of tzedakah is to help someone find a job or set them up in business. This preserves their dignity, and at the same time transforms them from being a recipient into one with the capacity to give to others. Similarly, if you are in a position to counsel or give advice to someone, it is important to instill in them confidence in their own ability to find solutions to their dilemmas, and even be a source of strength to others.

Our sages say, “In the measure one metes out to others, so is meted out to him.” In the course of our lives we face many situations when we are dependent on the kindness and generosity of others to make it through difficult times. The way we reach out to others when fortune is on our side will often determine how fate will treat us in our moment of need.

Tzedakah is actually a cycle — the gifts that we give to others will eventually return to us. Furthermore, G‑d is acutely tuned in to our small acts of goodness and kindness. Our acts of giving stimulate G‑d’s blessings to shower down upon all of us, the giver and the receiver alike.

Chaya Shuchat is the author of “A Diamond a Day,” an adaptation of the Chassidic classic “Hayom Yom”for children. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner.

This article originally appeared in jewinthecity.com

“It started as a spreadsheet, a very basic spreadsheet,” Elana Sichel, a recent graduate of University of Maryland says.

She and Hadassah Raskas, a U Penn rising senior, are the co-founders of Corona Connects, an initiative that pairs volunteers with organizations needing the extra hands during this chaotic time of living through the Coronavirus pandemic.

The idea originated in a strong desire to be of service, stemming from their observant upbringing. Raskas explains, “I think it really was our Jewish values that really created this thing inside of us…it’s so deeply ingrained.”

Both share similar lifestyles by being raised on the east coast, going to Orthodox schools, and taking the classic gap year in Israel before attending secular college. Even though their time on campus this year was shortened due to COVID-19, they recognize the blessings of their health while acknowledging the struggle of staying at home.

Sitting at home alone months ago and catching up with friends virtually, they were shocked that all of them shared a common sentiment, “There’s gotta be something I could do to play a little tiny role, not being a frontline worker, not being a healthcare worker.”

Raskas says she “was just looking for something to grasp onto.” These days, people have unprecedented time on their side. “They want to help but they can’t figure out how to…we said ‘how could we bridge this gap? How could we make it easy for volunteers to connect to the existing opportunities and needs?’”

The Corona Connects website is built with two options to choose from. One is for individuals to connect with organizations requesting assistance and the second is for the organizations themselves to submit a need.

Once logging onto CoronaConnects.org, those options then lead to selecting filters for location, availability, type of work, a job done remotely or in-person, and more.

“There are over 170 opportunities on there for you to choose. It [is] an easy process,” Sichel says. People can choose to tutor kids or help serve and deliver at food pantries or train to be a crisis counselor via the Crisis TextLine, which has been the most popular service so far. Transforming the project from an Excel sheet to a professional website was simple, thanks to the help of a web developer, a product designer, and a social media point person all of whom connected to the young women through Facebook.

They created a team of 25 diverse individuals within the Jewish community as well as the non-Jewish one to help with their networking efforts and the site’s maintenance. This has allowed the co-founders to make kiddushei Hashem on numerous occasions.

Once the project spread, they received an overwhelming amount of responses to contribute, Raskas shares, “I think there’s just this amazing energy and desire to pitch in and to help all over the world.”

The project also includes regional coordinators who gather information on opportunities from their area and upload them to the site, which now spans across 15 states and counting. Everyone on the board is a volunteer and their funding comes from generous sponsorship. Working with basic, free WordPress tools has limited their progress, they explain “we’ve been kind of looking… to take it to the next step and really do more and drive our impact more.”

Since their founding only a few months ago, they’ve been featured in the Washington Post and U.S. News and World Report, and have attracted thousands of visitors to the site. Some have returned for a second round of volunteering after a successful first match. The site can’t confirm who participates and follows through with the service chosen; for now their process is to simply connect prospective volunteers opportunities.

What Sichel and Raskas do know is that they’ve had thousands of “connect now” clicks. The feedback is heartwarming. Visitors tell Sichel, “I’m not being told that I have to stay home and do nothing. I’m really told [to] use this time wisely and make a difference.” This is the Corona Connects mission during this challenging time: it’s about linking people with each other by spreading kindness instead of the virus.