DEUT732 The verse speaks about when poverty exists "within you" or "within your community" (this verse). Based on this verse and the Talmudic discussion, Rema in the Code of Jewish Law rules that you come first (Rema on Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 61:28). If you are poor, then you come before anyone else and you give to yourself first, in order to escape poverty. Mishna Berurah commentary, however, is quick to add that it is forbidden to rationalize in this area and be lenient with your own needs in order to give yourself more funds than you are actually entitled to (Mishna Berurah commentary on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 156:2). You are only permitted to give yourself enough funds for subsistence and to remove yourself from abject poverty before you are obligated to begin giving to others. If any person extends his or her hand to receive charity, even a non-Jew, unless a Jew is certain that this person is a fake and not actually poor, the Jew must give this person some small amount at the minimum (Tur, Yoreh De'ah 251). Even if a Jew possess relatively little for himself or herself, he or she must never turn away a person putting out his or her hand for charity (Rema on Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 249:4).

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DEUT796 God promises to always take care of the downtrodden in society, and at the same time, commands Jews to help the downtrodden and give to them. (Exodus 22:21-22, Deuteronomy 24:19, this verse). Therefore, the act of giving Tzedaka fulfills both obligations at the same time -- God's and each Jew's. Since this is the only Mitzvah which accomplishes both goals in the same act, Tzedaka is unique, and God allows Jews to make giving conditional.

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DEUT851 It should be noted that there is a fine line between the concept of "justice," which is always advisable and legitimate, and one who seeks "revenge," which always has negative connotations and is forbidden. Almost everyone who seeks revenge would not call it revenge, but "justice" carried out in order to correct how that person has been wronged. And seeking justice is certainly a Mitzvah (this verse]. Because of this rationalization that will become the mantra of anyone seeking revenge, that may be part of the reason why the Torah prohibited this sin altogether.

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DEUT852 Judaism, as will be shown through numerous sources, places caring about others and acting benevolently towards other people as the absolute highest priority of the religion. From Scripture to the Talmud to the Midrash and beyond, the value of behaving ethically towards other human beings describes the essence of being Jewish. For example, when declaring which one principle epitomizes Judaism, Rabbi Akiva states it is the verse, known to many: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Jerusalem Talmud, Nedarim 30b). He mentions nothing about God, beliefs, or man-to-God Mitzvot-commandments in describing the essence of Judaism. Rather, only good behavior towards one's fellow man. In a similar vein, Hillel was forced to encapsulate all of Judaism to the potential convert standing on one foot. Hillel stated essentially the same thing as Rabbi Akiva, except he couched the idea in a more negative but practical manner: "Do not do to your neighbor what you would not want to have done do you (Shabbat 31a). He continues and says that all the rest of Judaism is only commentary based upon this one essential principle and that the convert should now go learn all of Torah. The Torah itself also emphasizes this concept. It tells us not merely to attain it, but to run after and pursue righteousness (sometimes mistranslated as "justice") [this verse]. This is commonly understood to signify that each Jew should ensure that he or she should do the right thing in every situation, i.e., specifically between man and his fellow man. The Torah emphasizes the importance of this notion in the verse in two different ways: it repeats the word "righteousness" twice and it also tells us to run after this concept. In no other place in the Torah (and only in one place in Psalms, about pursuing peace) does God use the term "run after it" concerning any other Mitzvah-commandment. Jews are not commanded to run after keeping Kosher or run after eating Matzo on Passover. Only with regard to treating others in the right manner must one actively pursue this goal. The prophet Micah also informs us exactly what God wants from each Jew: to do justice and kindness as one walks modestly with God. According to the commentaries, this refers only to the commandments that pertain to our goodness and how well we treat our fellow man (Micah 6:8 with Ibn Ezra commentary).

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DEUT867 According to Jewish tradition, the corpus of Oral Law was given along with the Written Torah at the very same time, in order to render the bare bones legal system of Torah verses into a working Jewish society of law for everyday living. Therefore, if we examine the details of capital punishment along with the details of its oral laws, we will discover that it was almost impossible to actually punish a perpetrator of any of these crimes or sins with the death penalty. For example, while the Torah says that a court needs two witnesses to convict a murderer [this verse], it does not set down the conditions or details about those witnesses or what they saw. The details of all the conditions that need to occur, which are specified in the Oral Law, make it almost impossible to actually convict a murderer or perpetrator of any of the sins mentioned above. The Talmud on tractates Sanhedrin and Makkot discusses the specific elements and conditions of all that must occur in order to convict a murderer in a Jewish court. For example, the two witnesses have to be adult Jewish men who keep the Commandments, know the Oral Law fairly well, and have legitimate professions. Both witnesses must have been able to see each other at the time of the act or sin. The witnesses must be able to speak clearly, without any speech impediment or hearing deficit. They are invalidated if they are related to the accused or to each other. In addition, the witnesses have to give a warning to the person right before the sin, saying that the sin he or she is about to commit is a capital offense. If the warning is not delivered within proximally ten seconds before the sin/crime, it is not valid. In that short time period after the warning, the sinner has to respond that he or she is familiar with the punishment, is going to commit the crime/sin anyway, and then begin to act immediately thereafter. In court, the following conditions must also be present: The judges have to examine each witness separately, and if even one point of their evidence is contradictory (even the eye color of the sinner), the witnesses' testimony is not admitted. Of the twenty-three Jewish judges in a capital case, a simple majority vote of twelve to eleven is not enough to convict (it needs to be at least thirteen to ten) and if all twenty-three unanimously vote to convict, the sinner goes free (based on the logic that if at least one judge cannot find something exculpatory about the accused, then there is something wrong with the court). Thus, it would be nearly impossible to satisfy each and every one of these conditions. While the punishment of death for sins or crimes is clearly stated in order to show the severity of each sin or act, and while the person who commits such crimes may indeed deserve to be killed, in practice, Judaism and Jewish courts could almost never actually convict and put someone to death.

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DEUT870 See [[DEUT610]] Deuteronomy 13:6 death AMJV 354

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DEUT872 See [[NUM470]] Numbers 35:19 avenger AMJV 280

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DEUT886 See [[DEUT610]] Deuteronomy 13:6 death AMJV 354

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DEUT900 Because it is so easy for powerful people to become greedy, God tried to ensure that the most powerful person in Jewish society, the king, would not succumb to this natural inclination. Therefore, He forbade the king from taking too many wives (physical desire) or having too many horses (material desire). God also commanded the Jewish king to write an "extra" Torah scroll, to bring it with him wherever he went, and also to study it carefully. In this way, the king will be reminded that he must obey the Torah and not grow haughty, which will lead to greediness [this verse, Deuteronomy 17:15-20]. Unfortunately, as is the case with today's most powerful people, i.e., the CEOs of major companies who earn hundreds of millions of dollars yearly while, at the same time reducing the wages or benefits of their workers, all these safeguards did not prevent most Jewish kings in the past from succumbing to their greedy desires.

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DEUT919 See [[LEV919]] Leviticus 23:10 first AMJV 298

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