Be'er Moshe 4:92*

I was asked regarding what is written in Yoreh Deah 247:1, that one who averts his eye from “the tzedakah” transgresses the commandment “Do not harden your heart and shut your hand [against your needy kinsman]” (Deuteronomy 15:7). Does this also apply to letters requesting money that are sent through the mail? Because it’s possible that this case is different because the poor person himself is not asking, or it’s possible that this law doesn’t apply at all to requests in the mail. Regarding whether the statement that one who averts his eye from “the tzedakah” transgresses the commandment, “Do not harden your heart and shut your hand,” also applies to mail solicitations. In my humble opinion, it seems that this law would not apply to mail solicitations. Our rabbi the Chatam Sofer already addressed this issue and explained that the Torah was careful to require verbal testimony and not written testimony because one who testifies in writing is not like one who testifies verbally, because in writing it’s easy for a person to say something that is not true because paper bears everything. But when someone testifies verbally, one can recognize whether he is lying or telling the truth because it’s visible on his face. And therefore, the Torah required that witnesses must testify verbally before the court so that the judges can recognize if they are telling the truth. And see also in Baba Batra 9a that when someone asks for food, we don’t investigate because he is troubled, but this reason only applies when the poor person is present, but if he is not present then it does not apply. And similarly, in Teshuvah Me’ahavah Vol. 3 Yoreh Deah 384, someone who curses in writing is not liable. (And see the responsum of the Chatam Sofer on Yoreh Deah 227 on this issue.) And someone who takes God’s name in vain in writing is not liable. Similarly, a request for tzedakah seems to occur only when the poor person stands before him. And because of this, the language specifically says, “Anyone who averts their eyes” from tzedakah is like an idol worshipper (Baba Batra 10a). But, according to this interpretation, there is a question because Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah should have said, “Anyone who averts their eyes from the poor person” and not “from the tzedakah.” Therefore, I would like to say something new: that if the Beit Din or an expert rabbi or a trustworthy person signs his name on the solicitation letter and testifies with his greatness that the request of the poor person is true and the obligation rests on our fellow Jews to help him, then the commandment of tzedakah exists for the one who receives the letter and it’s relevant to say: Anyone who averts their eyes from “the tzedakah . . .” even if the poor person is not standing before him. And truly, this is what I myself do—whenever I receive a solicitation letter that is signed by a Beit Din or a rabbi who knows the suffering of the poor person, I send what I am able with the help of God . . . And in my humble opinion, this is similar to the statement that we investigate someone who asks for clothing, because with clothing the verse says “When you see a naked person, clothe him” (Isaiah 58:7) and our sages explained that this applies when you see him (Baba Batra 9a). And Rashi explains that you see that he is not a liar. And in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 251:10) the language is: And if we “recognize” him [that he’s not a liar], we clothe him immediately. And if a poor person asks for the needs of his household and the Beit Din signs his solicitation letter, it’s as if they recognize that he’s not a liar and the obligation rests to save him. . . . But truly, the proof is evident that also in the case of tzedakah we can say this—what does it matter to me whether I know the suffering of the poor person face to face or whether I know the suffering of a poor person through writing.