Dvar Torah: Social Justice (Rabbi Maurice Michaels)

Written by Writings & Sermons by others — 21 March 2015

During the Mussaf Service on Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur we sing the refrain, ut’shuvah, ut’filah, uts’dakah ma’avirin et ro’a hag’zerah, translated in our Machzor as ‘Yet repentance and prayer and good deeds can transform the harshness in our destiny’.  Generally, ts’dakah is translated as ‘charity’, but the editors of the machzor realised that the meaning behind the word goes a lot deeper than charity.  For starters charity is something we do out of the kindness of our hearts, whereas ts’dakah in Judaism is a Mitzvah.  It is an obligation placed on us by God and, like prayer and repentance, it is particularly appropriate at this time of year.

Dr. Philip Birnbaum, a prolific author, translator and editor of Judaica in his ‘Encyclopaedia of Jewish Concepts’ writes, ‘The biblical term tsedakah is often used synonymously with justice, truth, kindness, ethical conduct, help and deliverance.  It is applied, in post-biblical Hebrew, specifically to the relief of poverty as an act of justice and moral behaviour.  The word tsedakah,designating any work directed toward aiding the poor, signifies that the poor man’s right to food, clothing and shelter, is considered by Judaism as a legal claim which must be honored by the more fortunate.’  Thus ts’dakah implies both the necessity of working to aid the poor and the poor person’s right to that aid.  Ts’dakah is not, therefore, an act of philanthropy, but of justice; and the Torah includes a number of laws that enable this to happen, as does the Talmud.

In his Mishneh Torah, a legal compendium, Maimonides devotes ten chapters to the rules and regulations related to this subject.  He writes, ‘Anyone who can afford it must give charity to the poor according to their needs.  One’s first duty lies toward his poor relatives, then towards the needy of his own town, and finally towards those of other towns.  Anyone who stays in a town for thirty days should be compelled to contribute to public charity.  Any man who gives aid to the poor in a surly manner and with a gloomy face completely nullifies the merit of his own deed.  Charity should be given cheerfully, compassionately and comfortingly.  He who induces others to contribute to charity is more deserving than they.’

However, we should not forget that our actions for social justice are not just limited to ts’dakah.  There is another concept in Judaism, just as important, ofg’milut chasadim, usually translated as acts of kindness and here we are required to give of our time and talents, not just our money.  It is the combination of these two concepts that provides true social justice.