“...he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under a tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves...” (Genesis 18:1-5)
This biblical narrative is found scant pages from the account of Eden. Eden: where God's beneficence pervaded the universe unattenuated, and where food was in eternal abundance. Following people's expulsion from Eden there have already been famines. In the scene of Gen. 18 above, in spite of being cognizant of the potential for food scarcity, Avraham and Sarah offer the strangers of their limited sustenance enthusiastically. One might judge the profound significance of their generosity by Torah's accounts: “[And God had said], 'vshamru derech Adonai la'asot tzedakah u'mishpat'”-- “...that they [Avraham, Sarah & their lineage] will keep God's way, to do what is just and right” (Genesis 18:19); and “...and [God] considered him [Avraham] tzedakah [righteous]” (Genesis 15:6). The manifestation of tzedkah in Avraham places him in the company of Noah (referred to as “ish tzadik”) as a patriarchal type. Added to the cosmic relevance of tzedakah is its place in the conversation between God and Avraham in negotiating the fate of Sodom, “And the LORD said, 'If I find within the city of Sodom fifty tzadikim, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.'” (Genesis 18:26). The centrality of tzedakah as the primary criteria for God's selection of a person as progenitior of a lineage and as the decisive virtue in establishing the fate of an errant people offers hints as to the proper orientation of the individual in the world's present circumstances.
By these indications, tzedakah is the power within the hands of every person by which world outcome can be shifted, by which we may alleviate divine decree, just as we pray during the High Holidays, “...utzedakah ma'avirin et roah hagezerah”.Tzedakah is the heartsblood of theologic attunement to the land. Itis the proper global currency, to be pursued in lieu of material goods and comforts. Tzedakah is the thread that weaves our lives into continuum with our neighbor, our earth, and our heritage, from generation to generation. To come to understand more deeply the meaning of tzedakah will be the goal of future writings.