Jewish Charity

Although Jewish Charity has a cental agenda among Jews worldwide and is a focus being called the Big Mitzva in the Torah, it seems that most of the Jewish Money that is donated today is misused and worse adding to the problems that the money was intended to solve.

How can a charity that has been fund raising for over a hundred years justify paying a half a million dollars to a CEO that has less involvement in the charities cause than most of the upper management pencil pushing insiders. Before you give, Look for a second at what your giving to. For example The American Jewish Committee (AJC), David A. Harris being the current Executive Director. Yes, David is responsible for carrying out the mission of the charity and for that he receives a whopping $432,988. Thats just under 1 percent of all the money that the charity raises in a year. So, what’s 1%, especially when we are talking about a total revenue of $67,911,956. But thats not all, other administrative expenses run $3,667,925. Nothing like a little petty cash and a couple floors of money dispersing administrators to run up a budget, for another floor of accountants bookkeeping all these “PROGECTS” for Dear Mr. Harris. David Harris and the IRS that is.

When calling the main office, my stomach told me that there are people getting quite rich on Jewish money. Is it legal? Yes. Do you have to throw your money down into their bureaucratic washing machine? No, there are better choices where your dollar will make more of a difference. As far as the AJC, beware of any charity that lists themselves as an international think tank and advocacy organization that attempts to identify trends and problems early - and take action. My guess is the action they take is expense paid lunches and the type of trends they identify are free trips to Israel and hotels most of us never get a chance to enjoy.

Lets not spend the whole article looking at stink tanks. Instead, lets find out where Jewish money can be best served, how? and why? To define Jewish Charity I looked at wikipedia and found that for once they got it right. I immediately recognized the truth in the wiki add from my basic Torah learning. They define it like this… Tzedakah is a Hebrew word which although translates to charity, is based in a root word meaning justice (tzedek).

The Why? is simple. Because G-d says so, we have to do it. Much like eating kosher, putting on Tefilin and keeping Shabos. In Torah values, tzedakah is an obligation to give, or perform charity. This act is emphasised as one of the most important parts of living a spiritual life.

The how is a bit more complex. Jewish tradition stipulates that the second highest form of tzedakah is to give money anonymously to an unknown recipients. Unlike philanthropy or charity by definition, Tzedakkah is not at all voluntary, rather a religious obligation, which must be performed by every Jew regardless of their financial standing, be they poor, rich or other. This act is also prescribed by the Rabbis as one of the three main acts that grant forgiveness of sin, and the annulment of bad decrees.

So how do we best do it? The highest level of Tzedakkah is to find someone who is in need of a job so that the person can go on and work to support their families and themselves. It should start at home with needy family members and continue in an outward fashion to first consider neighbors and the poor that live in the same town or city. The consideration should continue to the Jews in the givers country and finaly the rest of the world. It is a much higher level of Tzedakkah to help a fellow Jew than a gentile. And it is common practice for many Jews around the world to give to charitable organizations in Israel as well.

Lev Leviev Speaks on Giving!

Money is power and Tzedakkah is seen as a part of the giver themselves. Tzedakkah becomes a revealed miracle When the person giving money to a starving person to buy food and right away sees that starving person eat the food and become full from the givers power and self, allowing the hungry to leave behind their hunger pains. This revelation of G-dliness is the fruit of the donation when given in the correct manner. It is also said that giving Tzedakkah brings the world closer to the Era of Redemption when the Jewish Third Temple will stand in it’s place in Jerusalem.