DEUT718 Maimonides writes, "Whoever sees a poor person begging and averts his eyes and gives the poor person nothing, has violated a negative prohibition of the Torah [this verse; "Laws of Gifts to the Poor" 7:2)]. It is acceptable, however, to give a beggar a small sum. As the Ramah suggests, "Give him something, if only a fig [that is, a small amount]" (Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 249:4). Rabbi Avrohom Feuer notes that, in modern terms, this would translate into giving, as a minimum, "the smallest coin that can buy some food item at the market." Feuer, Tzedakah Treasury, 371. However, in large cities, where we may be confronted by several dozen beggars every day, it is permitted to give to some and not all of them.