Different Meanings of Tzedakah

Hurricane Katrina has affected each of us in some way; most of us spent last weekend and the beginning of the week riveted to the television, craving any news, any change in the devastation, any relief from the horror.

And, as the days moved forward, things, slowly, began to improve. Our New Orleans neighbors found safety, found food. They began to receive health care. They were fed, offered clothing, able to hold a caring hand. Law and order was restored in New Orleans. The victims in Mississippi are beginning to clean up, receiving help from the Red Cross, FEMA, and the National Guard, as well as hundreds of other groups. The water is beginning to be pumped out of New Orleans.

But even as we do not watch the television as obsessively, we are keenly aware that the situation is far from healed. Our friends have no homes. The death count grows every day. The are perhaps 250,000 without jobs. There are still families that have not been reunited. The enormity of the situation continues, even as the landscape of needs changes.

One month ago, as I submitted my sermon topic for this evening, “Different meanings of Tzedekah”, I had no idea how eerily appropriate it would become. As I watched the news unfold on August 29, and the days since, I knew that my original outline would change drastically, even as my sermon title remained utterly, freakishly timely. Who could have known a month ago that a discussion of tzedekah would prove so apt to us today, in the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina?

Most of us think that a direct translation of the word Tzedekah is “charity”. Surprisingly, this is not the case. The root of the word charity, from Latin, is caritas, which means from the heart. The root of the word tzedekah means justice or righteousness. While charity, giving from the heart, is important, the pursuit of tzedekah, righteousness or justice, is not an option - it is a sacred obligation.

The pursuit of justice, of creating a right and fair society is crucial. We are taught, in the Talmud, that Tzedekah outweighs all the other commandments. Being responsible for helping to ensure the health of social welfare is a vital Jewish value and obligation. Importantly, one of the reasons for these commandments is that it is one way we connect ourselves to God. We are created in God's image, as God's partners in this world. Therefore, pursuing justice, or righteousness, is one of our most serious obligations in our covenantal partnership with God.

This week, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, our obligation to pursue justice and righteousness has known no boundaries. Our community has taken the commandment, to pursue justice, seriously. Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches, about this verse, from our Torah portion, this evening: Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof - Justice, Justice, shall you pursue: “It implies more than merely respecting or following justice-we must actively pursue it”. We uphold the commandment to pursue justice not by simply getting it done, but by eagerly going after the opportunity to give tzedekah, to provide justice.

I have been overwhelmed in the last days by our active pursuit, rodef, of tzedekah, righteousness and justice. Our community has pursued tzedekah in two very important ways, which must be highlighted.

The first is through financial donations. The Jewish Federation, which set up a disaster relief fund, to be distributed through various agencies, has collected, to date, $18,000. Our own Landsman Family Relief Fund has received approximately $2,000, of which $700 was used to purchase uniforms for new students at San Antonio Independent School District. And the Union for Reform Judaism has received approximately 1 million dollars, of which $230,000 has already been distributed. This is just the beginning of the financial contributions our community has made: there is no way for me to tally the donations made by the entire Jewish community to the many other worthy organizations helping victims of Katrina.

We, indeed, pursue righteousness, when we offer our financial wherewithal to those who are left with little, or nothing. This is truly tzedekah.

We have also fulfilled our obligation to give tzedekah in the way that we have given our time, our belongings, and our expertise. Jewish Family and Children's Service was on the front lines of setting up a mental health services network, helping trauma victims. They continue to see victims constantly. Jewish Family and Children's Service, together with the Community Relations Council, mounted a drive for donations over the last weekend, and through the week. Last Sunday and Monday, I was at the Jewish Community Campus, as objects were sorted. I was awed by the response-mountains of clothing, books, games, shoes. . . I was equally impressed with the number of people who came to sort, and handle the material. On Monday, my husband, Charlie, and I were able to borrow a flatbed trailer from Temple members Larry and Paulette Goodman. The Jewish Community's donations filled the trailer, and the back of our truck-twice-with more left over than we could have ever imagined. I want everyone to know that when Charlie and I pulled into KellyUSA early Monday afternoon we were welcomed by applause and admiration for all that was given by our community.

This Wednesday, members of our Jewish community went to KellyUSA to provide childcare for children ages 2-5, for the entire day. We have promised to continue this effort as long as is necessary.

As I've talked to members of our Jewish community, the numbers of people who have sorted clothes, answered phones, held children's hands, housed victims, is remarkable.

Tzedekah is not simply placing stray coins into a pretty box, or pushke, as we have seen with our efforts with Katrina. Tzedekah is our pursuit for a just and righteous society, and our mission, right now, depends on our time and money. By being active pursuers of this obligation, we indeed underline our covenant with God, as God's partners in healing our broken world.

As we heal this broken world, our commitment to tzedekah must continue. R. Hanina taught: "the one who acts in the fulfillment of an obligation is greater than the one who acts spontaneously" (Kiddushin 31a). At first glance, this is counter-intuitive. Shouldn't we honor the person acting spontaneously, free of any obligation, more than the person who only acts because she feels compelled to do so? Isn't the former person demonstrating free will, an "open heart," while the latter is merely complying with some kind of coercion?

Actually, R. Haninah's spiritual insight recognizes that actions that one does not feel obligated to perform may be spontaneous, but they are also, for that very reason, arbitrary, lacking commitment. For example, if I genuinely feel no obligation to give tzedekah, then once my desire dissipates, then I will cease to serve others. The feeling that we are commanded or in some sense compelled to carry out tzedekah provides us with a purpose. Because we are commanded to pursue justice, to give tzedekah, we can guarantee that we will continue to provide assistance to the victims of the Hurricane. Even when the headlines change, even when rebuilding begins, even when KellyUSA does not shelter thousands of homeless, we must make sure to continue to give tzedekah. Even as we look over our shoulder and bask in the pride of all we've accomplished in the last week, we look to the future, secure that, tzedekah-both time and money-will continue. Tzedekah has different meanings-time and money. This past week, we have heard our prophetic call to give both. God, make us slow to forget those who need our help. Help us to pursue the obligation of rebuilding ruined lives and ruined cities. Let us continue to hear Your cry, and let us heed our continued obligations to bring righteousness and justice to this world. Inspire us to fulfill our commandment to give tzedekah, to pursue a just and righteous world.

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