[Avodah] Tzedaka & middot Q

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Jul 05, 2010 at 03:10:39PM +0200, Arie Folger wrote:
: 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.

Is tzedaqah supposed to be an expression of chessed? If so, why do we
call it the feminine form of the shoresh "tzedeq"?

As a hammer, let me refer back to my nail. Here's RSShkop's perspective
on tzedaqah, from the intro to Shaarei Yosher
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/ShaareiYosher.pdf> (Hebrew original in the
back):
    In my opinion, this idea is hinted at in Hillel's words, as he used
    to say, "If I am not for me, who will be for me? And when I am for
    myself, what am I?" (Avos 1:14) It is fitting for each
    person to strive to be concerned for himself. But with this, he
    must also strive to understand that "I for myself, what am I?" If he
    constricts his "I" to a narrow domain, limited to what the eye can see
    [is him], then his "I" -- what is it? Vanity and ignorable. But if
    his feelings are broader and include [all of] creation, that he is a
    great person and also like a small limb in this great body, then he is
    lofty and of great worth. In a great engine even the smallest screw
    is important if it even serves the smallest role in the engine. For
    the whole is made of parts, and no more than the sum of its parts.

    Therefore it is appropriate to think about all the gifts of heaven
    "from the dew of the heavens and the fat of the land" (Bereishis
    27:28) that they are given to the Jewish people as a whole. Their
    allotment to individuals is only in their role as caretakers
    until they divide it to those who need it, to each according to
    what is worthy for him, and to take for himself what is worthy for
    himself. With this idea one can understand how charity has the effect
    of enriching the one who performs it, as the sages say on the verse
    "'aseir ta'aseir -- you shall surely tithe' -- tithe, so that you
    shall become rich -- shetis'asheir" (Taanis 9a). Someone who is
    appointed over a small part of the national treasury who does a
    good job guarding at his appointment as appropriate will be next
    appointed to oversee a sum greater than that, if he is not promoted
    in some other way. If they find a flaw in his guard duty, no fine
    qualities to be found in him will help, and they will demote him to a
    smaller task. Similarly in the treasuries of heaven which are given to
    man. If he tithes appropriately, he satisfies his job of disbursement
    as he is supposed to conduct himself according to the Torah, giving
    to each as is appropriate according to the teachings of the Torah,
    then he will become wealthy and be appointed to disburse a greater
    treasure. And so on, upward and upward so that he can fulfill his
    lofty desire to do good for the masses through his stewardship of
    the treasury. In this way a man of reliable spirit does the will
    of his Maker.treasuries of heaven which are given to man. If he
    tithes appropriately, he satisfies his job of disbursement as he is
    supposed to conduct himself according to the Torah, giving to each as
    is appropriate according to the teachings of the Torah, then he will
    become wealthy and be appointed to disburse a greater treasure. And
    so on, upward and upward so that he can fulfill his lofty desire to
    do good for the masses through his stewardship of the treasury. In
    this way a man of reliable spirit does the will of his Maker.

I don't know how RSS is relateding tzedaqah to chessed. In the first
paragraph, before the "therefore", he is giving his definition of
chessed. However, in the idea itself, RSS discusses "their role as
caretakers until they divide it to those who need it".

BTW, someone who grew up in the Soviet Union asked me about "sheyechalqam
lenitzrakhim, lekol echad kecheileq hara'ui lo, velitol le'atzmo kefi
chelqo hara'ui lo". Compare and contrast this to "From each according
to his ability, to each according to his needs", written by Karl Marx
(Critique of the Gotha Program).

I haven't yet given this question all the thought it needs.

My instinctive response is that RSS avoids being a Marxist because he
doesn't discuss "each person according to his abilities" but rather what
HQBH gives the person. This is more than "just" the difference between a
rav and Marxist atheism, I'm pointing out the difference in the concept
of wealth implies by it.

But the entire concept of tzedaqah literally meaning "[social] justice"
and being a redistribution of wealth opens the question of exactly how
socialist halakhah expects us to be.

Thoughts?

:-)BBii!
-Micha