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DEUTERONOMY — 15:7 harden

DEUT717 It is a positive commandment to give alms to the poor of Israel, according to what is fitting for them, if the giver can afford it, as it is said, "You shall surely open your hand unto him" (Deuteronomy 15:8), and again, "Then you shall uphold him; as a stranger and a settler shall he live with you… That your brother may live with you" (Leviticus 25:35-6). He who seeing a poor man begging turns his eyes away from him and fails to give him alms, transgresses a negative commandment, as it is said (this verse). You are commanded to give the poor man according to what he lacks. If he has no clothing, he should be clothed. If he has no house furnishings, they should be bought for him. If he has no wife, he should be helped to marry. If it is a woman, she should be given in marriage. Even if it had been his wont to ride a horse, with a man servant running in front of him, and he has now become poor and has lost his possessions, one must buy him a horse to ride and a man servant to run before him, as it is said, "Sufficient for his need in that which he needs" (Deuteronomy 15:8). You are thus obligated to fill his want; you are not, however, obligated to restore his wealth.… If the poor man comes forth and asks for enough to satisfy his want, and if the giver is unable to afford it, the latter may give him as much as he can afford. How much is that? In choice performance of this religious duty, up to one-fifth of his possessions; in middling performance, up to one-tenth of his possessions; less than this brands him as a person of evil eye. At all times one should not commit himself to give less than one-third of a shekel per year. He who gives less than this has not fulfilled this commandment at all. Even a poor man who lives entirely on alms must himself give alms to another poor man. Moses Maimonides Mishneh Torah -- The Book of Agriculture.

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DEUTERONOMY — 15:8 open

DEUT750 The literature on zedakah relentlessly observes that need cannot be quantified on the basis of objective criteria. An individual's needs cannot be determined through calculating the objective minimum that any person might require to be sustained. The sources refuse to "objectify" another person's need. Rather, each person is perceived as an individual with subjective, individualistic, and even idiosyncratic needs. The demands of his or her personality, past experience, self-respect, and personal dignity are never overlooked. The goal in Jewish social welfare – – not always attainable, though never forgotten--is to provide the individual that which is "sufficient for his need" (this verse).

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DEUTERONOMY — 15:11 never

DEUT806 With regard to social welfare, Jewish ethics assumes that there are infinite needs, but finite resources with which to address those needs. Jewish ethics considers poverty and hardship to be perennial features of life in a "messy," pre-messianic world. Consequently, Jewish ethics insist that the social and economic needs of the disadvantaged must be addressed and that they must be assuaged, but that it would be unrealistic to assume they could be completely eliminated. Consequently, Jewish ethical teachings regarding social and economic welfare relate more to treating the disease of the individual in need rather than trying to completely cure the economic or social afflictions of society as a whole. Jewish social welfare is individual centered, "client" centered, rather than focused on the messianic task of curing society of all of its economic and social woes. Jewish ethics deals with the problems of the individual poor rather than with trying to solve the problem of poverty.

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DEUTERONOMY — 20:19 destroy

DEUT1009 Saadya Gaon wrote that "The only reason why human beings have been endowed with the love of money is in order that they may take good care of that which God has bestowed on them and not squander it, not for any other purpose." The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, Samuel Rosenblatt, trans. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1948), book 10 chap. 8, p. 380). Saadya's admonition not to squander wealth, and Bahya ben Asher's observation that wealth should not be wasted, relate to the biblical injunction of bal tash'hit (this verse) that enjoins one against wanton destruction or a waste of God-given resources: natural, fiscal, or human. According to a midrash: "When God created the first human beings, he took them around the Garden of Eden and said to them:' Behold My works, how beautiful and commendable they are. All that I have created in My world, I have created for your sake. Be careful not to corrupt or destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one after you to repair it.'" Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:12:1. According to the eighteenth-century preacher, Jonathan Eibshitz, of all the temptations toward immoralities one faces, the greatest is posed by money. Ya'arot Devash (Lwow, 1863), part 1, sermon 7, p. 57b. As one is admonished not to waste or misuse wealth, one is warned against the temptations of avarice and arrogance that can readily afflict the wealthy.

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DEUTERONOMY — 22:4 help

DEUT1114 ... it is clearly forbidden in all cases to pray that another person die. This is so even if one is praying only that some misfortune befall an enemy. Torah commands, for example, that if you see the mule of one who hates you collapse under its burden and you refuse to help, you will be abandoned just as you abandoned the animal (this verse). Torah is concerned here that you not cause the animal's owner any material loss. How much more is Torah concerned that you not cause your enemy to lose his life. ... There is another prohibition involved, namely, that this kind of curse, in fact any curse of one's fellow, is forbidden. This is so even if done without explicitly naming the intended victim. In fact, if one pronounces a curse on another by name, the cursor is flogged. Hayyim Palaggi, Responsa Hikkeke Lev, Terumah 4b; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah-Book of Judges, "Sanhedrin" 26:1.

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DEUTERONOMY — 23:24 fulfill

DEUT1302 What one says represents the commitments one makes. What one does either validates or denies those spoken commitments. How one's deeds relate to one's speech indicate whether one is honest or counterfeit, a person of integrity or a hypocrite. As the seventeenth-century Italian rabbi, Leone da Modena, put it, "Words are the guide to acts; the mouth makes the first move." [Source not cited.] Already in Scripture, the requirement to correlate word and deed is stated: "That which has gone out of your lips you shall observe and you shall do" (this verse, see also Numbers 30:3.) According to the Talmud, "Pleasant are the words of one who practices well one speaks." Tosefta Yebamot 8:7, Genesis Rabbah 34:14.

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