GEN1288 You should know too, that the giving of one tenth to charity is the practice for the average person.  Whoever wishes to act generously, however, should set apart one fifth of his possessions.   Chazal have found support for this idea in [this verse]: “And of all that You give me, a tenth – a tenth will I give…” – twice one tenth equaling one fifth.   Here too, I believe, one is first to give a fifth of his net worth and then one fifth of all his subsequent earnings.   In distributing the funds, one should divide them into two: one tenth going to students of the Torah (corresponding to the first tithe given to the Priests and Levites to devote themselves to the study of the Torah, as Scripture has stated), and the second tenth for mitzvah purposes.   So I have learned from the Shittah Mekibetzeth (Kethubot 50a) quoting Harav Hameili.   AHAVCH 165

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GEN1285 It is permitted to make vows in times of distress or danger. Yoreh Deah 203:5 [this verse].  EHRMAN 499

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GEN1282 Rabbi Elazar of Bertotha said: Give Him of His own, for both you and whatever is yours are [entirely] His. And so also in [his prayers] did David say, “For all things are from Thee, and from [the bounty of] Thy hand we have given Thee” 1 Chronicles 29:14 Pirkei Avot III:8   This is indeed a fundamental concept of the Torah: charity, giving to the poor, is simply returning to the Almighty what the Almighty has given to you. The idea is graphically symbolized in the Divine commandment, “When you take the census of the people Israel, then they shall give (v’nath’nu) each man … half a shekel.” Exodus 30:12   The Hebrew word v’nath’nu (ונתנו) is a palindrome, one that reads exactly the same backwards and forwards. This suggests that in giving to the Almighty there is movement in both directions, backward and forward: Money has been given to you; therefore give some back in return. Again, give charity so that in turn you will be further rewarded and blessed. For, in the words of Rabbi Israel Salanter, the poor man’s material problems are our spiritual opportunities.   Furthermore, the cantillation note (trop) on the word v’nath’nu is called kadmah v’azlah, with means literally, “going forward and going back”: this too suggests that if you come forward with charity, reward aplenty will return to you.   There is no doubt that in the view of the Torah, the person who has been blessed from Heaven with a “surplus” of material wealth beyond his needs, is a steward, a caretaker appointed by Providence to provide for the poor, the needy and the destitute.   Rabbi Elhanan Wasserman of blessed memory once gave me a piece of splendid advice: The Torah tells us (he said) to give ten percent of our income to charity, in accordance with the great example of Jacob [this verse] and the laws of ma’aser, the tithe.   The way to do this is to reckon your income at the end of they ear and deposit ten percent of it in a special account, earmarked for charity. Then the money is no longer yours: it belongs to the needy. Hence forth, when a poor man approaches you, it will be much easier for you to give. You are merely distributing what has already been allocated and “removed” from you.   SINAI1 261-2

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GEN1283 Although Judaism has long been associated with the idea of tithing, there is no explicit verse in the Torah commanding us to donate a tenth of our annual earnings to charity. There are, however, several indications of 10 percent as an appropriate sum to designate for charitable giving. Most significantly, the Torah ordains that in the third and sixth years of every seven-year cycle one should set aside a tenth of one’s crops for the landless tribe of Levi and for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow Deuteronomy 14:28-29; see also Deuteronomy 26:12.  In addition, as noted, Jacob, when fleeing for his life, makes a vow that if he returns safely to his father’s home, he will set aside a tenth of his possessions to honor God [this verse].  Many centuries later, the Talmud [Ketubot 50a] takes for granted that it is a worthy act to dispense a tenth or more of one’s earnings to charity… Rabbi Joseph Karo—in an unusually titled chapter, “How much is a person obliged to give and how should he give it?” – writes that a Jew should give a tenth for a standard fulfillment of the laws of charity, and 20 percent for an ideal fulfillment.   One who gives less than 10 percent is, according to Rabbi Karo, regarded as giving with an “evil eye” Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Deah, 249:1.  TELVOL2:206-7

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GEN1286 Offer donations at vulnerable and dangerous times.   The Talmud teaches that “people on their way to perform a mitzvah will not be harmed, either on the way there, or on the way back” Pesachim 8b.   Based on this text, a long-standing custom exists to give a sum of money to anyone embarking on a long trip, to be dispensed as charity upon arrival at her destination.   The amount is generally modest – often only several dollars – and is usually donated to beggars. Such a gift is commonly called by the Hebrew/Yiddish term shaliach mitzvah gelt (“money for a messenger to perform a commandment”). Widely practiced by traditional Jews, this custom is little known among non-observant Jews, but it should be adopted.   As well as acting as a shield to protect travelers, as the Talmud promises, it also elevates family and business trips.   The traveler has to spend at least a few minutes thinking about how to distribute this money, and then spend time locating a person or cause to give it to.  While this custom originally involved only giving money to Jewish travelers, spreading the word to non-Jews (both by telling them about it and giving them funds to disperse) would be a contribution of Jewish ethical practices to the world.  TELVOL 2:216

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GEN1287 The Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh Deah 247:3) promises that “whoever is merciful to the poor, God will be merciful to him.”   Thus, it is customary for someone in need of mercy (such as one who is very ill) to increase here charitable giving.   For example, if you are about to have an operation, you should make a charitable donation or several charitable donations before entering the hospital.   TELVOL 2:217

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GEN1281 [lit., “I will tenth; I will tenth”] – It was taught: “One who gives more than the required amount of charity should not exceed that amount by more than a fifth, for he might come to be beholden to his fellows.   Whence is this derived? From the verse: ‘And all that You give me, I will tenth; I will tenth it [(two-tenths, or, one-fifth)] to You’” Ketubot 50a TEMIMAH-GEN 129

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GEN1289 We should speak in a polite and friendly manner to everyone. Toward the end of the journey to his Uncle Lovon’s home, Yaakov met some shepherds.   Rabbi Naftoli Tzvi Berlin writes that it was Yaakov’s practice to speak in a polite and friendly manner to everyone.   Therefore he called these shepherds whom he had never seen before “my brothers.” (Haamek Dovor, on this verse).   PLYN 99

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GEN1290 Seven things are [typical] in a clod, and seven in a wise man; about something that he has not learned [the wise man] says, “I have not learned it” Pirkei Avot V:9  … “Teach your tongue,” advises the Talmud, “to say I do not know” [when you do not] lest you be led to lie and then be caught out.” Derech Eretz Zuta iii, cited in Berakoth 4a.  Nor will wisdom and Torah dwell in health and comfort in one who lies and boasts to raise his prestige. The spirit of a “status-climbing’ mendacious braggart is not a good vessel in which Torah will keep. It thrives in the honest and the modest. … In Scripture itself, as Avoth d’R. Nathan (B40) notes, we can already find examples of such candor: When Jacob journeyed to Haran to stay with his uncle Laban, he met some shepherds at a well, and asked about Laban: “Is it well with him?” And they said [briefly], “Well; and here comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep.” [this verse] In other words: If you want more information, ask her—she knows; we do not.  Again, we read that a group of Israelites approached Moses in the wilderness for advice: All were commanded to offer the Passover sacrifice on the proper day; but they could not, being ritually unclean. Moses simply replied, “Stand, and I will hear what the Lord will command about you.” Numbers 9:8 He was not ashamed to thus admit that he did not know the answer. Similarly, when the daughters of Zelophehad brought their plea before Moses – their father had died leaving no son; should they inhere? – we read, “Moses brought their cause before the Lord.” Numbers 27:5 He did not pretend to more knowledge than he had. SINAI3 108-9

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GEN1291 Inquire about a person’s status and welfare before meeting him. Yaakov inquired about the welfare of Lovon before he met him.   He did this because a guest should not greet his host in the same manner when the host is joyous as when he is unhappy (Sforno).   Similarly, it is beneficial to inform someone that another person is divorced or childless in order to prevent him from saying something that could prove embarrassing.  PLYN 99

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