Tzedakah (Charity) – Should it be without conditions?

I was in a rather spirited debate with my very Christian mother the other day around the topic of charity (tzedakah).  This was in response to some recent policy statements from the likely future mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani.  Mamdani has put forth a plan to create some non-profit grocery stores to sell at lower prices residents, thereby attacking the food insecurity that plagues many of those in the lower socioeconomic tiers of NYC.  Whether you agree with his politics or not, this is actually an admirable idea.

My mother’s position – someone has to pay for that (the pilot is estimated to cost $60 million after all) and that will be the taxpayer.  Instead, these people should be working and paying their way.  The Bible is clear on this point as well – give to those who are in need, but they need to be pulling their own weight as well.

Now, I do not entirely disagree with her – there are an awful lotta folks out there who are just not doing what they could to support themselves.  And, let’s be honest – the system has a ton of issues, making it difficult to maneuver otherwise.  That said…the religious reference caught my attention.

My position was simple – Torah places absolutely zero conditions on tzedakah.  We are commanded to give to those who are in need – period, end of discussion.  There are no caveats around WHY someone is needy, whether they lack some kind of ambition or such.  Charity is to be given freely, without judgment or attached strings.

The support for her position is found in the New Testament, specifically in 2 Thessalonians 3:10.  The apostle Paul writes, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat”.  It is important to note that Paul often renders his own pronouncements in his writings; they are not the words of G-d, Jesus, or otherwise divine.  This statement was a reflection of the times, of course.  He is addressing a community that had become idle, and stating clearly – charity should not subsidize willful idleness.  (It is also worth noting that there are contrary teachings in the New Testament as well, such as Luke 6:30 which says, “Give to everyone who asks of you”.)

While many of us will agree that all who are of able body and mind should contribute to the community, the problem here is that Paul’s teaching is a moral filter and contradicts the teachings of Torah.  Torah pulls no punches on this one; tzedakah is plainly a non-negotiable duty:

• Deuteronomy 15:7–8 – “Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy brother, but you shall surely open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he lacks.”

→ No caveat about why he’s needy. The only condition is that he lacks.

• Leviticus 19:9–10 – Laws of gleaning: “You shall not reap to the very edges of your field… you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.”

→ Again, no check on whether the poor man is industrious; the margin of your field belongs to him by divine decree.

• Leviticus 25:35 – “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.”

→ The goal is to preserve life and dignity — not test moral worthiness.

Rabbinic teachings later systematized this, making clear any murky waters.   Case in point, my favorite rabbi, the Rambam (Maimonides), lists eight levels of tzedakah, none of which say, “only give if the poor man deserves it.” In fact, refusing is itself seen as a transgression!

The Torah’s call to support the poor without hesitation was amplified and clarified by generations of rabbinic commentators. From the Talmud through the modern era, influential rabbis consistently underscored that tzedakah is not merely an act of kindness, but a binding obligation rooted in justice and human dignity.

Already in the Talmud (Ketubot 67b), the sages teach that if a man was once accustomed to riding with a servant before him, the community must provide even this: “You shall lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he lacks” (Deut. 15:8). The Mishnah likewise rules: “If a poor person goes from door to door, we are not obliged to give him a large gift, but we must not send him away empty-handed” (Pe’ah 8:8). Immediate needs, especially food, were never to be denied.

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040–1105), commenting on Deuteronomy 15:8, affirms this teaching: “Whatever he lacks—even a horse to ride upon and a servant to run before him, if he is accustomed to it.” For Rashi, the mitzvah of charity extends beyond basic survival; it preserves the dignity of the recipient.

Maimonides (Rambam, 1135–1204) placed charity at the very center of Jewish life. In his Mishneh Torah (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 7:1–2), he declares: “We are obligated to be more scrupulous in fulfilling the commandment of charity than any other positive commandment, for charity is the sign of the righteous descendants of Abraham.” Famously, he lists eight levels of charity (10:7–14), with the highest being enabling a person’s self-sufficiency through a loan, partnership, or work. Yet every level still obligates giving, even if only begrudgingly. For Rambam, tzedakah is foundational, sustaining the very “throne of Israel.”

Nachmanides (Ramban, 1194–1270) emphasizes the inner disposition of the giver. On Deuteronomy 15:7–8 he notes the doubled phrase “open, you shall open,” interpreting it as a command to give generously and without resentment. The Torah, he argues, prohibits both the hardening of the heart and the closing of the hand.

In the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575) codifies this obligation universally: “Every person is obligated to give charity, even the poor who receive from charity must give from what is given to them” (Yoreh De’ah 249:1). No Jew is exempt; giving is intrinsic to covenantal life.

Later thinkers carried this forward. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) interpreted tzedakah not as mercy but as justice. To deny the poor man is not merely a failure of generosity but a violation of what is rightfully his. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, the Chofetz Chaim (1839–1933), warned against over-cautiousness in Ahavat Chesed: “Do not rationalize by saying: perhaps he does not need, perhaps he deceives… for the Torah obligates us to give.” Better, he taught, to give unnecessarily than to withhold wrongly.

Does this mean we should just give until we no longer have enough for ourselves?  Of course not.  Along with giving sustenance, we should also be teachers.  There is an old proverb, likely linked back to the Chinese (it’s not biblical), “If you give a man fish, he is hungry again in an hour.  If you teach him to catch a fish, you do him a good turn”. (Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, 1885) BTW, this ties back to the Rambam’s highest rung of charity as well.

Torah calls upon us all to be not only charitable to our fellow man, but also to be teachers.  Teachers of Torah to our children, future generations…these are the role of leaders and priests.  The word “rabbi”, at its core, means “teacher”.  Torah commands that we will work, supporting ourselves, our families, our communities.  Teaching others how to do so is honoring the words of Torah.

This question of charity and responsibility is not one of politics alone, but of principle. The Torah speaks with clarity: when another human being is in need, you open your hand. This is not an act of mercy, not subject to a determination of worthiness — it is, in and of itself, justice.

Centuries later, Paul introduced a moral filter: that charity should not subsidize willful idleness. His words on this, and many other matters, have shaped much of the Christian moral imagination — even when they stand in contradiction to the unconditional command of Torah.

Across traditions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Eastern philosophies — the refrain is markedly similar: labor is dignified, generosity is indispensable.

“If your brother is in need, you open your hand.”

That is a vision worth carrying forward.