B"H
There are many people in Tzfat who give tzadakah (charity). They think they are good Jews and doing a great mitzvah that they will be rewarded for.
However, their sin is upon them, for they give tzadakah instead of doing tzedek. They do nothing to uproot the causes of povertization. They take no personal risks to speak out against injustice.
While it is true that tzadakah must be given to the poor in order to save them in a time of crisis, it must not be given in such a way that it perpetuates their estate. The poor must be lifted out of poverty and helped to earn a livelihood if they can, or cared for and allowed to live with dignity by society if they cannot.
There are actually Orthodox Jews who think that no action should be taken to eradicate poverty in society because it is a mitzvah to give tzedakah to the poor! May HaShem help them. They think that כי לא יחדל אביון מן הארץ means that some people must be kept poor so that others can give them charity. I actually heard this interpretation in a course of giving charity and was made heartsick by it. Such "good Orthodox Jews" cannot understand, or will not understand, that the מצוה אל תעשה means to take care that no one, God forbid, dies because no one helped them in their poverty.
Oy vay.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat
And the Peace Goes On with God's Blessings
