Jewish Advocacy

“And God created the human in God’s image, in the image of God, God created him”​

(17) Thou shalt not pervert the justice due to the stranger, or to the fatherless; nor take the widow’s raiment to pledge. (18) But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence; therefore I command thee to do this thing.

(14) Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. (15) Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favour the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. (16) Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.

Our rabbis taught: We provide for the gentiles' poor with Israel's poor, we visit gentiles' sick with Israel's sick, and we bury the gentiles' dead with Israel's dead, due to the ways of peace.

(10) And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

We provide sustenance and clothing for the poor of the gentiles together with the poor of the Jewish people as an expression of the ways of peace.

When a poor person begs from door to door, we do not give him a large gift. Instead, we give him a small gift. It is forbidden to turn away a poor person who asks [for charity] empty-handed. Even giving him one fig [is sufficient], as [Psalms 74:21]: "Let not the dejected turn away in shame."

(1) Any city with a Jewish population must establish tz'dakah gabbaim, men who are known and reliable, who will go about among the people from one Friday to the next, taking from each what he ought to give and that which is fixed for him, and they distribute the money for the Friday-to-Friday period, giving to each poor person enough food for seven days, and this is what is called "kupah."
(2) And likewise they establish gabbaim who will take each day, from each courtyard, bread and foodstuffs, or fruit, or money from whoever donates at that time, and they distribute the collection in the evening among the poor people, giving from it to each poor person a day's sustenance, and this is what is called "tam'hui."

(7) If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; (8) but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.