Rambam’s “Obligations to the Poor” from the Mishneh Torah help us understand how we should interact with the people who are less fortunate than us. As Professor Isador Twersky has said, “Maimonides’ [treatment of tzedakah] illustrates the need for sensitivity, tact, and graciousness in the act of charity. The formal, objective act of giving charity is deficient and defective if it is not characterized by kindness and sympathy.” This directly relates to the chapter in the Mishnah that we have been studying in Rabbinic Literature.
The quote said by Professor Twersky is highlighting not only the physical aspects of giving tzedakah, but also more the idea that we emotionally need to feel a certain way when giving tzedakah. We cannot just throw money at the person, but we have to be willing to help them with their exact needs, not just what we think that they need. If we decide to give to charity but not be kind about it, the giving is ineffective and it is like we have not done the mitzvah at all. We will further discuss how this relates to Rambam’s Obligations of giving to the poor below.
To begin with, halachah aleph (א) states that it is a positive commandment to give tzedakah to the poor and we should open our hands to them. We should let them live with us as if they were our brothers. In this part, Rambam is discussing that if someone is in need, we have the obligation to help them. This is a general claim; we need to be generous and help someone who is in need. This halachah relates to what was said by Professor Twersky when he discusses that we must help the poor, even though it doesn’t directly state how. Twersky is telling us that we must give to the poor; only he is being more specific in how we must feel while giving...
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...I feel bad not giving to the poor, however, I do not always know what they will do with what I give to them. In today’s society, some money that we give to them might go towards buying drugs, alcohol, or something else that they may not need. For this reason, I prefer to give through an organization that I trust so that I know the poor will be receiving the kind of help that they need and not just hoping that they will buy the right thing. This way I am also in less of a risky situation, since I do not know the person, I do not know what they are capable of doing. Rambam addresses all these concerns and explains what we should do in each situation. Next time I see a poor person, I will keep in mind what Rambam has said, as well as what Professor Twersky has described about keeping in mind how we are performing the action and how it is perceived by the poor person.
In Peter Singer’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality, he critiques the way in which modern societies have grown accustomed to their ordinary thoughts about famine, affluence, and morality in general. Singer describes a situation in which nine million refugees from East Bengal are living in poverty, and it is the responsibility of the wealthy, and better-off nations to take immediate and long term action to provide for them and to end poverty overall. (Singer, 873) Through his essay, Singer envisions a new world where giving to those in need is no longer seen as charity, but rather a moral duty. He states that in the world we currently live in, it is seen as generous and partaking in a good deed when you donate money to charity, and no one is blamed for not (876). Singer proposes that excess money should be given to those in need, rather than spending it in “selfish and unnecessary” ways (876).
Charity is love. It is devotion to others, which requires strength, effort, conviction and courage on our part. People who are generous and helpful to others don’t have many signs of envy; their charity protects them from it. Envy is the opposite of charity; it is the desire to have things that other people have, such as possessions, traits, and abilities. Charity, however, helps protect from envy, keeping one away from envious temptations.
Since I spoke about rich people, I should talk about poor people. I feel compassion, admiration, and generous when it comes to poor people. I feel they have a rough life but always tend to put on a smile and look happy. I always want to be kind and friendly to poor people and make them feel like they have a friend who will help and support them if needed. I think poor people are kind and generous. I previously said that rich people are stingy about their money, but poor people are the exact opposite. Even though they lack mone...
In the article "Changing the Face of Poverty" by Diana George, George makes claims that poverty is seen as something that is only in Third World countries, when it is also something that happens in First World countries. Although, when people see poverty in people in First World countries those living in poverty are blamed for their poverty, but when First Word countries see poverty in Third World countries their most often reaction is to help those in need. When in most cases people in poverty can get out of it with a little extra help from others. However, people in First World countries often do not ask for help because, they don't feel like they fit the poverty discretion. That is usually portrayed in advertisements to get people to donate
When people are in need you want to help them but you don’t know how. If you see a homeless person asking for money and food, buy the something to eat and when you give the the food give them some money while you're at it.
8.Besides for giving money, how else may one give Tzedakah? (Give at least two concrete examples).For one to give Tzedakah besides giving money you can do stuff for the poor. You could work in a soup kitchen and give for to the poor. Also one can give Tzedakah by doing other stuff for the poor like building homes for the poor or going down and giving clothes to them.
In this quote, Ma explains that poor people are the only people who understand suffering and the fear of suffering. They are the only ones during this time that can feel sympathy for other sufferers. So, they help others because they hope that one day, if necessary, someone else would help them.
When it comes to wealth and poverty, there are many significant roles that Islam plays in a Muslim’s life. Poverty is the term used when people live without the basic essentials that all people need in order to live adequately. These conditions are always below standard. There are two types of poverty. The first type is ‘absolute poverty’ : when a person does not have the basic essentials needed to live and the second is ‘relative poverty’: when a person does live an adequate life style but sees people richer than them and yearns for what the richer person has. This type of poverty is usually very common and which many people experience.
When people become aware of bad situations around the world, if their first instinct will not be to act and find a way to alleviate others suffering, they will at the very least think about it. Often, thoughts lead to actions. For example, if people were made aware of the terrible level of starvation the little kids in Congo are faced with daily, the next time they dine out, they will know that something better could have been done with that money. Then, if the life of a child is valued more than going to fancy restaurants, they would give that money instead to a worthy charity. This probably would make living a morally decent life- according to utilitarianism quite difficult. It may be grueling but if a person isn’t giving, then they should, at least, be aware that they are failing to live a morally decent
Arthur says that “no one has a unique status” (Arthur 708) when it comes to pain, that it is all equal, however the difference is that you can feel your own pain and even that of those close to you. Therefore, it is obvious that we would sacrifice saving more famine victims in faraway countries to allow for our family to live more comfortable lives, distant from the poverty line. However, it is still in our nature to be generous and giving, therefore it is looked amicably upon when people are charitable. Furthermore, it is generally not taught to children from a young age that it is imperative to give large amounts to sufferers in faraway countries. Instead, children learn to stay away from strangers, that they are threatening and untrustworthy, therefore we are cautious beings. To provide an excessive amount of personal resources to faraway countries in order to relieve drastic suffering takes a consequentialist view. It would drive people to living their lives always looking ahead, at how to maximise gains and most effectively give away these gains. Their lives would subsequently become worthless, living only to better others’ lives, being likened to slavery. This would surely lead to a variety of problems, suicide, for one. For if everyone’s purpose on earth is to help the suffering, and those
In conclusion, giving can make our lives more meaningful; however, I think that just contributing resources to the third world is not effective in solving poverty problem as the structural root causes that create hunger and poverty are still remain. Thus, it is not always wrong to not donate.
I occasionally do not feel sorry for them because instead of standing on the streets, they could go out and search for job opportunities if they really wanted to get off the streets. Another reason as to why we shouldn’t be obligated is that, some poor and homeless people on the streets are out there because of drug and alcohol abuse. It is a possibility that they are broke because they have spent all of their money on drugs and alcohol. If we give them our money, there is a big chance that they will just use it towards drugs and
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
More fortunate people must also be willing to help their fellow citizens in need. Volunteer programs should be overflowing with people who want to help. For example, Habitat for Humanity is one organization who builds houses for the needy. If everyone dedicated some of their extra time and money in organizations that help "poor" people, poverty would begin to see a decrease. There are many other organizations that help "poor" people, and if everyone pitches in, one world problem may be diminished in the future.
“Charity sees the need, not the cause.” (German Proverb) Many people may question “What is charity?” According to Webster’s dictionary, Charity is defined as the benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity. Charity to me is significant because it gives you a feeling of inner satisfaction while helping out your community as well. If you have the capability, then you should be able to share it with those less fortunate. The community we live in has a huge influence on us personally – it fosters safety, responsibility and sustainability – so it is important that we take our community seriously for the greater good of humanity and for our own personal benefit.