DEUT800 The Torah says, "The needy will never cease from amid the land; therefore I command you, saying: You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor and to your needy in your land" [this verse]. But what is the basis for our obligation to the poor? Why are they our concern? The L-ord made them poor; let the Lord provide! In answer, let us translate the beginning of the above verse somewhere differently: "The needy will not be missing from amid the land." The poor are not "missing persons" or "the forgotten men" in the sight of Heaven. For them too, Divine Providence has put oil, coal, minerals, precious metals in the earth. For them too the warming sun shines its golden light on the crops. It is for us to see that they receive their share.