BabylonianTalmud, Baba Metzia 71a
תלמוד בבלי, בבא מציעא עא.
דתני רב יוסף (שמות כ"ב) אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך, עמי ונכרי - עמי קודם, עני ועשיר - עני קודם, ענייך ועניי עירך - ענייך קודמין, עניי עירך ועניי עיר אחרת - עניי עירך קודמין.
R. Joseph learnt: "If you lend money to any of my people that are poor with you" [this teaches, if the choice lies between] a Jew and a non-Jew, a Jew has preference; the poor or the rich the poor takes precedence; your poor [i.e. your relatives] and the [general] poor of your town, your poor come first; the poor of your city and the poor of another town the poor of your own town have prior rights. [Soncino translation]

Suggested Discussion Questions:

1. What causes us to attend to the needs of some over the needs of others?

2. How do both acknowledge that we prioritize our giving and at the same time work to end all hardship?

Time Period: Rabbinic (Maccabees through the Talmud)