וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמְרוּ אֵין לַפֵּאָה שִׁעוּר. הַכֹּל לְפִי גֹדֶל הַשָּׂדֶה, וּלְפִי רֹב הָעֲנִיִּים, וּלְפִי רֹב הָעֲנָוָה:
And although they [the Sages] say that there is no definite amount given for Peah, it is all based upon the size of the field and upon the number of poor [who will be collecting it] and upon the abundance of the crop.
Our Sages taught: Gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) is greater than tzedakah in three ways: Acts of tzedakah involve only one's money -- gemilut chasadim can involve both money or one's personal service. Tzedakah can be given only to the poor -- gemilut chasadim can be done both for the rich and for the poor. Tzedakah can be given only to the living -- gemilut chasadim can be done both for the living and the dead.
אָמַר רַבִּי סִימוֹן, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִבְרֹאת אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, נַעֲשׂוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת כִּתִּים כִּתִּים, וַחֲבוּרוֹת חֲבוּרוֹת, מֵהֶם אוֹמְרִים אַל יִבָּרֵא, וּמֵהֶם אוֹמְרִים יִבָּרֵא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים פה, יא): חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת נִפְגָּשׁוּ צֶדֶק וְשָׁלוֹם נָשָׁקוּ. חֶסֶד אוֹמֵר יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁהוּא גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים. וֶאֱמֶת אוֹמֵר אַל יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ שְׁקָרִים. צֶדֶק אוֹמֵר יִבָּרֵא, שֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה צְדָקוֹת. שָׁלוֹם אוֹמֵר אַל יִבָּרֵא, דְּכוּלֵיהּ קְטָטָה.
R. Simon said: When the Holy One, blessed be God, came to create Adam, the ministering angels formed themselves into groups and parties, some of them saying, 'Let him be created,' while others urged, 'Let him not be created.' As it is written, "Lovingkindness and truth met, justice and peace kissed." (Psalms 85:11): Lovingkindness said, 'Let him be created, because he will dispense acts of lovingkindness'; Truth said, 'Let him not be created, because he is full of lies'; Justice said, 'Let him be created, because he will perform acts of justice'; Peace said, 'Let him not be created, because he is full of strife.'
The beauty of justice is that it belongs to a world of order constructed out of universal rules through which each of us stands equally before the law. Hessed, by contrast, is intrinsically personal. We cannot care for the sick, bring comfort to the distressed or welcome a visitor impersonally. If we do so, it merely shows that we have not understood what these activities are. Justice demand disengagement...Hessed is an act of engagement. Justice is best administered without emotion. Hessed exists only in virtue of emotion, empath and sympathy, feeling-with and feeling-for. We act with kindness because we know what it feels like to be in need of kindness. We comfort the mourners because we know what it is to mourn. Hessed requires not detached rationality but emotional intelligence.
ואמר רבי יוסי יהא חלקי מגבאי צדקה ולא ממחלקי צדקה
Rabbi Yosi said: Let my portion be with those who collect charity, and let it not be with those who distribute charity.
האומר סלע זו לצדקה בשביל שיחיה בני או שאהיה בן העולם הבא הרי זה צדיק גמור
If a person says, "I am giving this coin to charity so that my child will live," or "so that I will make it into the next world," he is regarded as completely righteous.