Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom

From Devarim 15:7–8

The Verse  15:7
כִּי־יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ בְּאַרְצְךָ אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת־יָדְךָ מֵאָחִיךָ הָאֶבְיוֹן.
“If there will be among you a needy man, from among one of your brothers, within one of your gates, in the land that God, your God, is giving you, you shall not make your heart unfeeling and close your hand to your brother, the needy man.”
Rabbi Hirsch’s Commentary
1. The words כִּי יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן — “If there will be among you a needy man” can be said only to a community, for one cannot say to an individual concerning himself alone, “If there is a needy man among you.”
2. On the other hand, the words לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ — “You shall not harden your heart” and the statements that follow are directed primarily to the individual, as is evident from their wording.
3. Thus, the mitzvah addresses both the community and the individual. The duty of caring for the poor devolves equally upon the community and upon the individual, and it depends upon both.
4. This clarifies an essential principle of the mitzvah of tzedakah. There may be no other mitzvah that requires the continuous and simultaneous activity of the community and the individual in the same manner.
5. The requirements of this mitzvah cannot be met by the individual alone, nor can they be met by the community alone. Each must strive to outdo the other, and both must work side by side if the goal of this mitzvah is to be attained.
6. Signs on houses warning beggars to stay away because the occupants already contribute to public relief funds are not in keeping with the Jewish spirit that emanates from this mitzvah.
7. The words מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ — “as a result of one of your brothers being poor” teach that even if there is only one needy brother in your city or country, he is still considered to be among you, within the sphere of your responsibility, and you may not turn away from him.
8. The Halachah derives from the wording of the verse—אחיך, שעריך, ארצך—the order of precedence in receiving assistance.
9. Relatives have precedence over non-relatives.
10. The poor of one’s own city have precedence over the poor of another city.
11. The poor of Eretz Yisrael have precedence over those residing outside the Land.
12. The words לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ literally mean: Do not forcefully impose hardness upon your heart.
13. The implied assumption is that if Jewish hearts are permitted to give free rein to their natural impulses, they will do good. Only cold, calculating and selfish considerations can suppress these impulses.
14. Jewish hands, too, are by nature open to the poor. They can be closed only by unnatural selfishness. Hence the command: וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ — “You shall not close your hand.”
15. Again and again in this chapter, the needy person is referred to as אחיך — “your brother.”
16. Every needy person who stands before you—even if you do not know him—is your brother, a child of your Father in Heaven.
17. When he turns to you, he does so, as it were, with a letter of recommendation from God, Who is the Father of you both.
Part 2: Devarim 15:8
The Verse
כִּי־פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת־יָדְךָ לוֹ וְהַעֲבֵט תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ אֲשֶׁר יֶחְסַר לוֹ.
“Rather, you shall surely open your hand to him, and you shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he lacks.”
Rabbi Hirsch’s Commentary
1. All the mitzvos of tzedakah appear here in an intensified form:
פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח — You shall surely open.
נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן — You shall surely give.
הַעֲבֵט תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ — You shall surely lend him.
2. From the indefinite form of the infinitive, we derive that the act must be repeated without limit, even a hundred times.
3. The addition of the finite verb extends the obligation in other directions.
4. Thus, the duty applies not only at every repeated opportunity, but also to the poor of another city.
5. The mitzvah devolves not only upon wealthy people who can afford to give large sums, but also upon people of lesser means who can afford to give only small sums.
6. The mitzvah is fulfilled by large and small donors alike, so long as each person gives according to his ability.
7. According to the Sifrei, the repetition also extends to the manner in which the mitzvah is to be performed. Assistance must be adjusted in accordance with the requirements of each particular case.
8. The words וְהַעֲבֵט תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ teach that, according to the circumstances, one should support the needy person with a loan.
9. In Shabbos 63a, our Sages state that helping through a loan is a higher form of benevolence than giving charity.
10. A loan helps the borrower continue working to earn his livelihood, and receiving it does not cause him humiliation.
11. Our Sages further teach that if a person of means wishes to help someone earn a livelihood, he should invest money in the other person’s business and thereby acquire a share in it.
12. This is the highest form of benevolence, because the supporter treats the needy person as an equal, enables him to earn his own living and does not hurt the recipient’s feelings.
13. In general, the supreme task of one who engages in good works is to support another person so that he does not fall into poverty.
14. We were already commanded concerning this task in Vayikra 25:35.
15. In addition, the words וְהַעֲבֵט תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ teach that if the person who needs help is reluctant to accept a gift, it should be given to him in the form of a loan.
16. With the words דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ — “sufficient for his need,” the mitzvah of tzedakah reaches its highest point.
17. We are to provide fully what the person lacks.
18. The Sifrei teaches:
“You are not commanded to make him rich.”
Nevertheless, you are commanded to provide him with what he lacks.
19. The words אֲשֶׁר יֶחְסַר לוֹ — “whatever he lacks” teach that one must take into account the person’s individual circumstances and the habits he formed when his financial condition was better.
20. The mitzvos of פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח, נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן, דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ, together with the warnings לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ, have produced all the wonders of Jewish benevolence.
21. Because of these mitzvos and warnings, the dispersed children of the House of Yaakov have become one great charitable society.
22. Its activities are evident throughout the world, and Jewish homes and Jewish hearts have come to the aid of all those in distress and in need of help.
23. The duty to provide in every respect for the needs of the poor has made it necessary that the care of the poor be the concern of every Jewish community.
24. The community has the authority to compel its members to contribute from their material means toward these purposes, as stated in Bava Basra 8b.
25. However, the duty of the Jew does not end with the communal fund.
26. Individual acts of kindness and voluntary relief organizations are also required, for there are endless opportunities to perform charitable acts.
27. The task imposed by the mitzvah of tzedakah is so great and important that only a combination of three factors can accomplish it:
Communal responsibility, charitable organizations and private individuals.
28. Our Sages state in Nedarim 65b that when a person becomes needy, he does not immediately become dependent upon the communal fund.
29. First, his relatives are obligated to come to his aid.
30. Only if their support is insufficient is the community obligated to supplement their efforts.
31. The benevolence of individuals is especially necessary to help those who have become impoverished and are ashamed of their financial distress.
32. Individual assistance is also necessary in order to meet a person’s private and personal needs.
33. There are, however, needs that only the community can provide.
34. Among them is ensuring the Torah education of the children of the poor.
35. This has always been considered so much a communal responsibility that people commonly use the term Talmud Torah to refer specifically to the community’s obligation to provide Torah instruction for poor children.
36. The cultivation of the Jewish spirit of benevolence and the blessing it brings depend especially upon two principles.
37. In Jewish thought, benevolence—גמילות חסדים—is considered צדקה. It is not merely a voluntary gift, but a duty that devolves upon a person according to the principle of justice.
38. One who does not help the poor to the utmost of his ability commits a sin and bears a heavy burden of guilt before God.
39. This approach makes “doing good” independent of feelings of pity, which may change according to the donor’s mood.
40. Instead, tzedakah becomes a measured and obligatory duty.
41. The recipient is thereby spared the crushing humiliation of feeling that he is merely receiving charity.
42. In Judaism, the Jewish poor do not receive “alms”—a gift of mercy. They receive that which justice and duty require others to provide.
43. Our Sages also compared the law of tzedakah to the law of ma’aser ani, as stated in Ta’anis 9a, citing the Sifrei.
44. They established the minimum amount of tzedakah at one tenth.
45. A person must give to tzedakah one tenth of newly acquired capital and one tenth of the annual income produced by that capital.
46. As a result, every Jew regards himself as the administrator of a charitable fund—large or small—that has been entrusted to his care by God and consecrated to God.
47. He therefore rejoices when he finds an opportunity to perform a good deed with those assets, which are no longer entirely his own, but have been entrusted to him for charitable purposes.