That is that He commanded us to give charity (tzedekah) and to strengthen the weak and to ease [their situation]. And this command has already appeared with varying words: His, may He be exalted, saying, "you must surely open your hand, etc." (Deuteronomy 15:8); and He said, "you must support him" (Leviticus 25:35); and He said, "and your brother shall live with you" (Leviticus 25:36). But the intention of all these expressions is one; and that is that we help them and support them sufficiently for their requirements. And the laws of this commandment have already been explained in many places in Ketubot and Bava Batra. And the received tradition has appeared about this, that even a poor person living off of charity is obligated in this commandment - meaning charity - whether to someone lower than him or similar to him, and even with something small. (See Parashat Re'eh; Mishneh Torah, Gifts to the Poor 6.)

Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need.

If your kin, being in straits, come under your authority, and are held by you as though resident aliens, let them live by your side:

do not exact advance or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let your kin live by your side as such.

Anyone who sees a poor person asking and turns his eyes away from him and does not give him charity transgresses a negative commandment, as [Deuteronomy 15:7] states: "Do not harden your heart or close your hand against your brother, the poor person."

We are commanded to give a poor person according to what he lacks. If he lacks clothes, we should clothe him. If he lacks household utensils, we should purchase them for him. If he is unmarried, we should help him marry. And for an unmarried woman, we should find a husband for her.Even if the personal habit of this poor person was to ride on a horse and to have a servant run before him and then he became impoverished and lost his wealth, we should buy a horse for him to ride and a servant to run before him. [This is implied by Deuteronomy 15:8 which] speaks [of providing him with] "enough to [fill the] lack that he feels." You are commanded to fill his lack, but you are not obligated to enrich him.

Concerning this issue, the Sages taught: “Sufficient for his deficiency”; this teaches that you are commanded with respect to the pauper to support him, but you are not commanded with respect to him to make him wealthy, as the obligation encompasses only that which he lacks, as indicated by the word deficient. However, the verse also states: “Which is deficient for him”; this includes even a horse upon which to ride and a servant to run in front of him for the sake of his stature, if necessary. For someone accustomed to these advantages, their absences constitute a true deficiency, not an extravagant indulgence. The Gemara relates: They said about Hillel the Elder that he obtained for a poor person of noble descent a horse upon which to ride and a servant to run in front of him. One time he did not find a servant to run in front of him, and Hillel himself ran in front of him for three mil, to fulfill the dictate “which is deficient for him.”

With regard to an orphan for whom people are seeking to find a wife for him to marry: First, we rent for him a house, provide for him a bed and all his household necessities and then we seek to find a wife for him to marry.

When a poor person comes and asks for his needs to be met and the giver does not have the financial capacity, he should give him according to his financial capacity.How much? The most desirable way of performing the mitzvah is to give one fifth of one's financial resources. Giving one tenth is an ordinary measure. Giving less [than that] reflects parsimony. A person should never refrain from giving less than a third of a shekel a year. A person who gives less than this has not fulfilled the mitzvah. Even a poor person who derives his livelihood from charity is obligated to give charity to another person.

We provide sustenance and clothing for the poor of the gentiles together with the poor of the Jewish people as an expression of the ways of peace.When a poor person begs from door to door, we do not give him a large gift. Instead, we give him a small gift. It is forbidden to turn away a poor person who asks [for charity] empty-handed. Even giving him one fig [is sufficient], as [Psalms 74:21] states: "Let not the dejected turn away in shame."

When a poor person does not desire to take charity, we trick him and give it to him as a present or as a loan. When a rich man starves himself, because he is miserly with his money, using it for neither food nor drink, we do not pay any attention to him.

When a person does not want to give charity or desires to give less than what is appropriate for him, the court should compel him and give him stripes for rebellious conduct until he gives the amount it was estimated that he should give. We take possession of his property when he is present and expropriate the amount that is appropriate for him to give. We expropriate property for the sake of charity even on Fridays.

It is forbidden to demand and to collect charity from a soft-hearted person who gives more than is appropriate to charity or from a person who causes himself difficulty and gives to charity collectors so that he will not be embarrassed. When a charity collector embarrasses such a person and asks him [for charity], [the charity collector] will be subjected to retribution in the future, as [implied by Jeremiah 30:20:] "I will visit My providence on those who pressure him."

A poor person who is one's relative receives priority over all others. The poor of one's household receive priority over the poor of one's city. And the poor of one's city receive priority over the poor of another city, as [implied by Deuteronomy 15:11]: "[You shall surely open your hand to] your brother, the poor, and the destitute in your land."

If there were many poor people or many captives and one does not have the means to provide sustenance or clothing for all of them or to redeem all of them, a priest is given precedence over a Levite. A Levite is given precedence over an Israelite. An Israelite is given precedence over a challal, a challal over a shituki, a shituki over an asufi, an asufi over a mamzer, a mamzer over a netin, and a netin over a convert. [The rationale for the latter is that] a netin grew up with us in holiness. A convert is granted precedence over a freed servant, for [the latter] was originally among those who were "cursed."

When does the above apply? When the two [captives] were equal in knowledge. If, however, a High Priest was unlearned and a mamzer was a Torah scholar, the Torah scholar receives precedence. Whoever surpasses his colleague in knowledge receives precedence over his colleague.If, however, one [of the poor or the captives] is one's teacher or father, His father or teacher who is a Torah scholar receives precedence over another who surpasses him in wisdom.

We have never seen nor heard of a Jewish community that does not have a kupah for charity. A tamchui, by contrast, exists in some communities, but not in others. The common practice at present is that the trustees of the kupah circulate [among the community and collect] every day and divide [the proceeds] every Friday.

We are obligated to be careful with regard to the mitzvah of charity to a greater extent than all [other] positive commandments, because charity is an identifying mark for a righteous person, a descendant of Abraham, our patriarch, as [Genesis 18:19] states: "I have known him, because he commands his children... to perform charity." The throne of Israel will not be established, nor will the true faith stand except through charity, as [Isaiah 54:14] states: "You shall be established through righteousness." And Israel will be redeemed solely through charity, as [ibid. 1:27] states: "Zion will be redeemed through judgment and those who return to her through charity."

A person will never become impoverished from giving charity. No harm nor damage will ever be caused because of charity, as [ibid. 32:17] states: "And the deed of charity is peace." Everyone who is merciful evokes mercy from others, as [Deuteronomy 13:18] states: "And He shall grant you mercy and shower mercy upon you and multiply you." Whenever a person is cruel and does not show mercy, his lineage is suspect, for cruelty is found only among the gentiles, as [Jeremiah 50:42] states: "They are cruel and will not show mercy."The entire Jewish people and all those who attach themselves to them are as brothers, as [Deuteronomy 14:1] states: "You are children unto God your Lord." And if a brother will not show mercy to a brother, who will show mercy to them? To whom do the poor of Israel lift up their eyes? To the gentiles who hate them and pursue them? Behold their eyes are pointed to their brethren alone.

Whenever a person gives charity to a poor person with an unpleasant countenance and with his face buried in the earth, he loses and destroys his merit even if he gives him 1000 gold pieces. Instead, he should give him with a pleasant countenance and with happiness, commiserating with him about his troubles, as [Job 30:25] states: "Did I not weep for those who face difficult times; did not my soul feel sorrow for the destitute?" And he should speak to him words of sympathy and comfort, as [ibid. 29:13] states: "I would bring joy to a widow's heart."

If a poor person asks one for a donation and he has nothing to give him, he should conciliate him with words. It is forbidden to scold a poor person or to raise one's voice against him while shouting, because his heart is broken and crushed, and [Psalms 51:19] states: "God will not scorn a broken and crushed heart." And [Isaiah 57:15 describes as Divine the attribute of] "reviv[ing] the spirit of the lowly and revitalize[ing] the heart of the crushed." Woe unto he who shames the poor, woe be he! Instead, one should be like a father to him, both in mercies and in words, as [Job 29:16] states: "I am a father to the destitute."

There are eight levels in charity, each level surpassing the other. The highest level beyond which there is none is a person who supports a Jew who has fallen into poverty [by] giving him a present or a loan, entering into partnership with him, or finding him work so that his hand will be fortified so that he will not have to ask others [for alms]. Concerning this [Leviticus 25:35] states: "You shall support him, the stranger, the resident, and he shall live among you." Implied is that you should support him before he falls and becomes needy.

A lower [level] than this is one who gives charity to the poor without knowing to whom he gave and without the poor person knowing from whom he received. For this is an observance of the mitzvah for its sake alone. This [type of giving was] exemplified by the secret chamber that existed in the Temple. The righteous would make donations there in secret and poor people of distinguished lineage would derive their livelihood from it in secret.A level close to this is giving to a charity fund. A person should not give to a charity fund unless he knows that the person managing it is faithful, wise, and capable of administering it in a proper manner as Rebbe Chananya ben Tradyon was.

A lower level than that is an instance when the giver knows to whom he is giving, but the poor person does not know from whom he received. An example of this were the great Sages who would go in secret and throw money into the doorways of the poor. This is a worthy way of giving charity and it is a good quality [to express] if the trustees of the charitable fund are not conducting themselves appropriately.

A lower level than that is an instance when the poor person knows from whom he took, but the donor does not know to whom he gave. An example of this were the great Sages who would bundle coins in a sheet and hang them over their shoulders and the poor would come and take them so that they would not be embarrassed.

A lower level than that is giving [the poor person] in his hand before he asks. A lower level than that is giving him after he asks. A lower level than this is giving him less than what is appropriate, but with a pleasant countenance. A lower level than that is giving him with sadness.

A person who gives money to his sons and daughters who are past the age of majority and whom he is not obligated to support in order to teach the males Torah and to direct the females in a course of upright path so that they will not become objects of derision and similarly one who gives food to his father and his mother is included among [those who give] charity. Indeed, it is a very important charity, for precedence is established on one's degree of closeness.Anyone who gives food and drink to the poor and orphans at his table,he will call out to God and [God] will answer him and he will derive pleasure from Him, as [Isaiah 58:9] states: "Then you will call out and God will answer."

Our Sages commanded that the poor and orphans should be members of a person's household rather than servants. This is preferable for him to employ these people and thus enable the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to benefit from his possessions rather than the descendants of Cham. Whoever increases [the number of] servants in his possession adds sin and transgression to the world every day. [Conversely,] if the poor are members of one's household, at every hour he adds merits and mitzvot.

A person should always construct himself and bear hardship rather than appeal to people at large and make himself a burden on the community. Our Sages commanded, saying: "Make your Sabbaths as weekdays, and do not appeal to people at large." Even a distinguished sage who becomes poor should involve himself in a profession - even a degrading one - rather than appeal to people at large. It is preferable for a person to skin the hide of animal carcasses, rather than tell people: "I am a great sage..." or "I am a priest, grant me sustenance." Our Sages commanded conducting oneself in such a manner.There were great sages who were woodchoppers, porters of beams, water-carriers for gardens, and iron-smelters and makers of charcoal, but they did not ask anything from the community, nor did they accept gifts that were given to them.