GEN1277 To encourage people to make donations, Jewish law permits making conditional vows to charity: I will donate [state the amount] to charity if such-and-such happens.”   Rabbi Moses Isserles, the Ramah (sixteenth century), explains: “If a person says, ‘If so-and-so, who is deathly ill, will be cured…I will donate such-and-such to charity,’ but then the sick person dies, the person is not obliged to fulfill his vow because it was clearly conditional” Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 220:15.   Normally, setting conditions for one’s observance of a Jewish law is prohibited.  Thus, it is forbidden to say, “I’ll observe the Sabbath if I become rich” since Jews are obliged to observe the Sabbath whether they are poor or rich. [Therefore, we are permitted to set conditions only for that portion of charity that is over and above that which we are expected to give [i.e. a minimum of 10%; see 28:22].  That Jewish law allows such conditional vows underscores how eager the Rabbis were to encourage charitable giving by any means necessary.   TELVOL2:164

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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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GEN1467 Jacob is the Bible’s most prominent example of a parent who could not be consoled.   … Though we can all understand unending grief, particularly after the death of a child, the Shulchan Arukh law rules that a person “should not grieve too much for the dead, and whoever grieves excessively is really grieving for someone else.   [The ArtScroll translation and commentary understands this Talmudic passage as being more in the nature of a curse than of a psychological observation and renders it as follows: “Anyone who grieves over his dead to excess will ultimately weep for another dead.” The commentary explains this teaching (in line with a statement of Rashi) as meaning that “whoever chooses to wallow in grief will be paid with further grief.”] The Torah has set limits for every stage of grief, and we may not add to them. Yoreh Deah 394:1, based on Mo’ed Kattan 27b.   TELVOL 2:131-2

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EXOD26 The most famous non-Israelite villain in the Torah is the unnamed Pharaoh of Egypt, who launches a campaign to drown all male Israelite infants at birth [this verse]. Yet the Bible does not want the Israelites to hate all Egyptians. Indeed, one of its commandments states, "You shall not a abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land" Deuteronomy 23:8. As a reminder to Israelites not to let their antagonism toward Pharaoh escalate into dislike of all Egyptians, the Bible teaches that the infant Moses was saved by the daughter of the very Pharaoh who issued the order to kill the Hebrew babies. There is perhaps no stronger repudiation of racism in the Bible than this; the man who tried to destroy the Israelites was thwarted in his plan by his own daughter. Pharaoh was evil, but his daughter was righteous.

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EXOD41 Jewish law does not require someone to intervene when the risk to his life is substantial. Prof. Aaron Kirschenbaum explains: "The whole purpose of the obligation 'You shall not stand by while your neighbor's blood is shed' is the preservation of life. If its fulfillment can be accomplished only by the sacrifice of the life [of the would-be rescuer], then its purpose has been undermined and frustrated. Under such circumstances, the obligation falls away." [But while there is no obligation to intervene, it is still viewed as an act of heroism, and worthy of great praise. Thus, Louis Jacobs cites several instances from the Bible in which people put their lives In great danger to save others:... Moses saw an Egyptian overseer mercilessly beating a Jewish slave and, at the risk of his life, attacked and killed the man [this and previous verse]. In addition, Jewish law that does not require us to intervene (though it encourages us to do so) even when the danger to our life is not great (e.g., at the scene of a fire, where we can pull a person out of a room that is not yet engulfed in flames) but views it as a saintly act midat chasidut to do so (Aaron Kirschenbaum). ... The Jerusalem Talmud requires a person to put himself in some danger if the danger to the other party is great; however, this ruling is not accepted as binding by most legal scholars.

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EXOD54 This episode reminds us of what should be self evident, but often isn't: Take special care to be kind and hospitable to those who have helped you. Also, bear in mind, as Jethro did but his daughters did not, that all people, even those who appear to be self-sufficient, might be in need of hospitality.

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EXOD156 …there is one annual holiday meal during which the Bible mandates meat eating: The Passover feast, at which every Jewish family is instructed to consume the Pascal Lamb Exodus 12:21 – 27. So basic was participation in the eating of this lamb that a Jew subjected himself to the punishment of karet -- which involves the possibility of premature death at the hand of God--by refusing to participate in this ritual Numbers 9:13. It is, therefore, clear that Judaism in the past did not sanction a complete vegetarian lifestyle. However, Jews have not sacrificed Paschal lambs since the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.), and so the issue today is a moot one. (Also… Rabbi Kook ... [believes] that in messianic times all sacrifices will consist of vegetation, not animals). Therefore, there is now no meal at which a Jewish vegetarian is specifically enjoined to eat meat.

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EXOD173 Throughout history, strangers in societies all over the world have often been denied basic rights and discriminated against. In contrast, the Torah insists, "There shall be one law for you and for the stranger who lives among you" [this verse, see also Numbers 15:15]. To this day, this ancient biblical injunction represents the cornerstone of a just society.

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