[Avodah] Naming Right?

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 06:30:20PM +0000, Rich, Joel via Avodah wrote:
:>> Rama Y"D 249:13 (my free translation) - In any event one shouldn't 
:>> glorify oneself with the charity he gives...

:> Where's the contradiction?   People shouldn't brag about their 
:> donations; who does?   But it's totally OK to put ones name on the item 
:> donated...

...
: It is permitted but is it the preference of HKB"H especially if the
: item is not in danger of being switched in use?

I am personally bothered when there is so much text on the paroches or
cloth on the bimah (term?) that it detracts from the aesthetics. I am
also bothered when more space is spent naming the donors than naming
and perhaps lauding the person in whose memory the donation was given.
That said...

I think the consensus is that things have fallen to the point that we
have two offsetting values that outweigh this ill:

1- When the choice is between collecting multiples more money with giving
out honors vs operating on a shoestring and having to cut corners by
only taking more purely motivated donations, the extra tzedaqah given
is a mitzvah that outweights the alternative.

2- Even someone who has pure motives and wants to give quietly is living
in a society that will respond positively if his donation is made public
and influences the community. Peer pressure isn't just for teenagers.

I think it's parallel to choosing chalitzah as a first choice. It's clear
from the pasuq and the content of the ritual that chalitzah is something
that in the ideal no one should be encouraged to choose. But as Abba
Shaul noted, we don't live in that ideal world, and what was second-rate
has become (centuries later) mandatory practice.

GCT!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The mind is a wonderful organ
micha at aishdas.org        for justifying decisions
http://www.aishdas.org   the heart already reached.
Fax: (270) 514-1507