<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt><tt><a href="mailto:regalkit@aol.com">regalkit@aol.com</a> wrote:<br>
> I don't know if this was discussed in the past, however I was wondering <br>
> if anyone knows the source for calling Torah Institution donations <br>
> tzeddakah?<br>
<br>
Zev Sero responded:<br>
No, it's not tzedakah in the strict sense. But today the word "tzedaka"<br>
in common usage means any worthy cause, any mitzvah, whether it's actual<br>
tzedaka or talmud torah or other mitzvos. In part this comes from our<br>
minhag to give maaser, which can be used not just for mitzvat tzedaka<br>
but also for any other mitzvah or good cause. So all of those get lumped<br>
under the term tzedaka, which they are in a broader and more vague sense.<br>
<br>
Frankly, as no one disputed your interpretation of tzedakah, it would seem<br>
that there would be universal agreement to this definition among the group <br>
here. In other words most people (AFAIK most lump all charity together)<br>
mistakenly feel that they are obligating their Mitzvah of Tzedakah <br>
with donations to all charitable causes, thinking that all the benefits <br>
linked with the giving of Tzedakah are theirs as a result of their charity donations.<br>
<br>
Binyomin Hirsch<br>
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