Poverty And Charity In The Jewish Tradition
Poverty And Charity In The Jewish Tradition

Summary/Abstract: The article proposes an incursion into the evolution of the notions of poverty and charity and their approaches in the Jewish tradition, from the ancient times to the Middle Ages. In the Judaic outlook the issue of poverty and charity is as old as the world and it is taken very seriously. The poor are to be viewed with compassion and assisted: the act of giving is seen as a God commanded duty for the giver and an entitlement for the receiver. However, Judaism does not encourage voluntary poverty as a form of piety, and enjoins the receivers not to make a habit out of it and become dependent and a burden on the others. Rabbinic sources regard poverty as a misfortune, not as something to be exalted. But the term’s significance and use, as well as the types of charity practiced in the Jewish communities across the world, diversified along the time. In his age, Moses Maimonides was already counting an eight-degree “ladder of charity”. The article reviews this evolution and analyzes the importance granted to the various types of charity, whether private or communal: giving money and offering other kinds of support (like remunerated work), ransoming the captives and helping needy wayfarers, assisting women and waving debtors’ dues, etc. A special section of the article is devoted to the place held by poverty and charity in Jewish mysticism, starting from the works of Moses Cordovero and Isaac Luria

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