​Parashat Re’eh 5786, 2026: "The Essence of Tzedakah"

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​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha contains two seemingly contradictory pasukim:

However, there will be no needy (evyon) among you, for Hashem will surely bless you in the land Hashem, your God, is giving you for an inheritance to possess.” (Sefer Devarim 15:4)

For there will never cease to be needy (evyon) within the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, you shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor one, and to your needy one in your land. (15:11, All Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
When taken in tandem, these pasukim raise the following contradiction: “How can the first pasuk proclaim, ‘there will be no evyon among you,’” when the second no less explicitly states, “For there will never cease to be evyon within the land?’” The second century Midrash Sifrei suggests this resolution: “When you perform the will of the Omnipresent One, the poor will reside [solely] among the other nations; when, however, you fail to fulfill the will of the Omnipresent One, then there will be poor among you.” (Section 118:11, translation and brackets my own)
 
Unfortunately, to paraphrase the Sifrei, we live at a time in history when there are many poor among us. As such, we are obligated to fulfill Hashem’s decree, as found in the second half of 15:11: “You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor one, and to your needy one in your land.” In sum, this is the mitzvah of tzedakah. The word “tzedakah,” derives from the root word “tzedek” and connotes justice. Moreover, it is used precisely in this sense in the well-known verse, “Justice (tzedek), justice (tzedek) shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land Hashem, your God, is giving you.” (Sefer Devarim 16:20)
 
Tzedakah looms large in the collective experience of our people. Little wonder, then, that the Rambam (1135-1204) devotes an entire chapter of his Mishneh Torah to its singular import. Moreover, even though the Mishnah teaches us that Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi declared, “Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you do not know the rewards of the mitzvot,” (Pirkei Avot 2:1) the Rambam, basing himself upon Talmud Bavli, Baba Batra 9b, writes: “We are obligated to be careful with regard to the mitzvah of tzedakah to a greater extent than all [other] positive commandments… (Sefer Zeraim, Matnot Aniyim, 10:1, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)  In other words, even though we are urged to treat every mitzvah as being equal in kind, tzedakah is nonetheless different than all other positive commandments.
 
At this point we may ask in classic Jewish fashion, “How and why is this mitzvah different than all other positive commandments?” The Rambam offers the following response: “… because tzedakah is an identifying mark for a righteous person, a descendant of Avraham Avinu, as [the Torah] states: ‘I have known him, because he commands his children... to perform tzedakah.’” (Sefer Bereishit 18:19) Congruent with Talmud Bavli, Yevamot 79a, the Rambam is teaching us that giving tzedakah is one of the defining characteristics of the Jewish people, to the extent that “whenever a person is cruel and does not show mercy, his lineage is suspect” (Sefer Zeraim, Matnot Aniyim, 10:2, see, as well, Talmud Bavli, Beitzah 32b).
 
Given the fundamental nature of tzedakah within the behavior patterns of our people, the Rambam urges us to look upon all members of Klal Yisrael as being inextricably bound to, and responsible for, one another, “Kol Yisrael aravim zeh l’zeh:”
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The entire Jewish people and all those who attach themselves to them are as brothers, as [the Torah] states: “You are children unto Hashem, your God.” (Sefer Devarim 14:1) And if a brother will not show mercy to a brother, who will show mercy to them? To whom [in this world] do the poor of Israel lift up their eyes? [Clearly, to one another.] (Sefer Zeraim, Matnot Aniyim, 10:2, brackets my own)
 
This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevorchim Chodesh Elul. As Chazal teach us, Elul is particularly dedicated to introspection, self-analysis and authenticity in our mitzvot observance. Moreover, it is the time to embrace new and better behaviors toward one another and live lives wherein tzedakah helps define who and what we are. With Hashem’s help may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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