[Avodah] Tzedaka & middot Q

[Arie Folger]

Moraj verbaussaj,

The Sfer ha'Hinukh in 679 and 66 gives the rationale for the mitzva of
tsedaqa. Remarkably, he does not speak of any mutual obligations to
fellow Jews, nor of a moral obligation to help those in need or those
less fortunate. Yes, he does explain - once we accept the mitzva -
that the mitzva applies both to poor and even rich unfortunates, but
he doesn't stress any covenantal or lovingkindness aspect for the
ba'al tsedaqa. I would have expected a reference to mah Hu ra'hum af
ata ra'hum, for example, but came up empty-handed.

Do the august members of Avodah have any recommendations for sources
that may discuss the mitzvot of tsedaqa and 'hessed from this angle? I
would also be interested in sources that may reject this reasoning.

--
Arie Folger,
Recent blog posts on http://ariefolger.wordpress.com/
* The New Face of Jewish Studitainment
* Should Humanity Call it Quits
* Sollten wir alle Kohanim sein?
* Videovortrag: Wer hat die Psalmen verfasst?
* Die Gaza-Hilfsflotte kritisch betrachtet