Rabbi Yitzchak Sprung
Briefly setting aside that halacha mandates that our charitable giving ought to move in concentric circles (some 50 to 75 percent of our giving ought to be local), let us consider this question. Should we set aside our regular tzedakah recipients and send all that we can to Israel right now?
The reasoning might seem obvious: Israel is in a pressing situation that is going to have long term consequences. We cannot permit it to fail militarily, economically, or socially. So we should put everything we have into that basket and let our local giving – which, after all, is less urgent – slide. If children in Israel do not have therapists to speak to, enough food to eat, and a military to protect them, we will rightfully feel that is more pressing than giving some more money to beautify another gym for our own children who are under no such circumstances.
Yet, there is another side to this. There are impoverished and ailing people in need of help in our own communities, no less than in Israel. And, unlike Israel, the eyes of world Jewry do not naturally turn to our local JFS. Likewise, the vast majority of Jews in this country do not receive a Jewish education and are likely to marry out of the faith. This is pressing in its own right. It is also true that if the American Jewish community disappears, it will not be there to support Israel any longer anyway.
On these grounds, we might turn entirely inward, and focus on our own communities and our own problems. This too, however, would not be right. Jews cannot turn their backs on Israel or the broader Jewish people.
Halacha really does give us the most reasonable approach here. We need to continue to focus on local giving even as we dig deeper into our pockets to be there for Israel. First and foremost, this may mean cutting local luxuries and reducing our non-essential spending. Then, even in charitable areas, it may mean that we shift to prioritizing the truly vital over the merely beneficial: Schools need excellent teachers, textbooks, air conditioning, and healthy food for children. But could we push off certain less essential matters until after the war?
Our people are under attack. We must shift our priorities, increase our giving, and make plans for both the short and long term. It won’t be easy. But if not we, then who?
Rabbi Yitzchak Sprung is the Rabbi of United Orthodox Synagogues in Houston, Texas (UOS). Visit his Facebook page or UOSH.org to learn about his amazing community. Find Rabbi Sprung’s podcast, the Parsha Pick-Me-Up, wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Rabbi Steven Pruzansky
Ultimately, the distribution of one’s tzedakah is a personal decision. There are certainly priorities that are presented to us by halacha, but even those sometimes contradict one another and still leave our choices somewhat subjective.
What is clear is that tzedakah is a mitzvah that has prescriptions like any other mitzvah and may not be distributed without forethought. This can easily entail temporarily re-redirecting our tzedakah when a specific and pressing need arises – pidyon shvuyim being a classic example, wartime another. Of course, even these must be balanced against one’s customary tzedakah recipients, who, if they could indeed withstand the deprivation of this money, even temporarily, why do they need it in the first place?
Also to be considered is the worthiness of the particular special causes that arise in wartime or other emergencies. In Jewish life, enemy invasions are invariably followed by invasions of meshulachim and the emergence of new, often redundant, and occasionally superfluous, organizations. We should be very wary and always ensure, to the best of our abilities, that the cause is indispensable and the largesse will be properly spent on its intended targets.
It would be unwise to redirect all of one’s tzedakah and maaser to Israel now but it would be appropriate to reallocate one’s donations in order to share the burdens, feel the pain and hardship, and deepen our connection with our brethren in Israel. As exhilarating as it has been to see scores of thousands of Israelis trying to hurry home to re-enter a war zone, it has been jarring to watch many American Jews scampering to leave Israel, presumably to join pro-Israel demonstrations back in the United States.
Don’t cut off your traditional recipients entirely, but they should make do with less at this precarious point in Jewish history.
Rav Steven Pruzansky is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun (Teaneck, NJ), Senior Research Associate at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP.ngo), and author of the Chumash commentary “The Jewish Ethic of Personal Responsibility” (Geffen).
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Rabbi Ezra Schwartz
Obviously, Israel needs us now. The existential crisis that Klal Yisrael faces with multiple wars on multiple fronts against avowed enemies presents all of us in mortal danger. Those who can go to war, of course, have a chiyuv to do so. Those of us who choose to live outside of Israel and therefore won’t be going to war in person have a responsibility to support the war effort in any way possible. This means donating money and giving of our time to volunteer to help (when we can do so).
Of course, our monetary funds are limited. There are so many worthy causes and we cannot support them all. However, we have a responsibility, halachically and morally, to assist those in greatest need. Pikuach nefesh, certainly pikuach nefesh on a mass scale, is a higher priority than any other worthy cause. We must stretch ourselves to the fullest extent possible to financially help Klal Yisrael at this unbelievably difficult time.
And yes, we have to do our due diligence. All causes are not equal. We must investigate whether those organizations that receive our tzedakah dollars are honest and genuinely serve Klal Yisrael. However, once the test for probity has been passed, there is a strong achrayus to donate to support Eretz Yisrael.
Rabbi Ezra Schwartz is a Rosh Yeshiva at Rabbi Issac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he hold the Harry Rabin Chair in Talmud and Jewish Law. He also serves as the Associate Director of the Semicha Program and teaches halacha at GPATS.
