Article: Must I give Tzedakah to anyone who asks?

Must I give tzedakah to anyone who asks?

It is a Mitzvah to give tzedakah to anyone who asks for it. One is not allowed to turn them away without giving them something.

This is based on a pasuk in Tehillim, al yoshev dach nichlam, one can’t turn them away empty-handed so that they are not insulted or hurt.

In addition, there is a Mitzvas Lo Ta’ase min haTorah of lo se’ametz es levovocho – not to hold back and stiffen one’s heart from giving a person tzedakah.

[Lo se’ametz es Levovcho does not apply if one already gave their requisite amount of tzedakah that they are supposed to give for that year.]

Is there a minimum amount of tzedakah you must give to a collector?

The Rambam writes that one can fulfill this mitzvah even by giving them food the size of k’grogeres, a single fig or an actual fig. This means, translated to money-terms, that it could be a small amount of money, and does not even have to be a shove prutah.

Regarding a person who is collecting from door to door, one has to give that person only a small amount. One does not really have to give them everything that they need, dei machsoiro, because they are collecting from other people as well.

What if he is collecting for an institution?

This is not about the mitzvah of tzedakah; this is about not offending the person. It therefore does not apply to someone who is collecting for other people or for institutions, as in these particular cases, one is not letting the collector personally go empty-handed and humiliated, but only the third-party, which is not a problem in this case.

Does it mean I need to stop all I’m doing anytime someone comes to collect?

Sometimes one is bombarded with people all day long while learning and davening or at home. Therefore, if one is in the middle of a mitzvah, even if one is busy with their children which is also a mitzvah, they do not have to do another mitzvah. However, if one is in the middle of learning, they have to interrupt their learning and give the person tzedakah.

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From Halacha2Go Archives
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