Tzedakah: Justice, Not Performance
by Ram ben Ze’ev Tzedakah: Justice, Not Performance There is a profound difference between what the world calls “charity” and what the Torah calls צדקה (tzedakah – righteousness, justice). The difference is not semantic; it is foundational. One is rooted in ego. The other in truth. The nations speak of charity as an act of kindness. It is optional, generous, even admirable. A person gives because he chooses to give, because he feels compassion, or, increasingly in our age, because he wishes...
