The other side of Tzedakah
Many people know of the idea of charity in a Greek mindset. The benevolent act of giving to those less fortunate than you, or an act of philanthropy. But in Hebrew the word for charity is translated from the word Tzadik which actually means righteous. This is because the act of giving is seen as the ultimate act of righteousness.
Part of the reason why is, because it is an act of equaling out the scales. The idea goes as follows; if I have, and you have not, I will give some of what I have so we are both equal. No one is better than, or above the other and all needs are met.
Many forget that the act of giving is a command,
“I am not speaking about tithing” !!!
Deu 15:4 “Only, there should be no poor among you. For Hashem does greatly bless you in the land which Hashem your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance,
Deu 15:7 “When there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, within any of the gates in your land which Hasehm your Elohim is giving you, do not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
Deu 15:11 “Because the poor one does not cease from the land. Therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall certainly open your hand to your brother, to your poor and to your needy one, in your land.
To give is an act of righteousness. Many have taught that giving is how we can best be the image of our creator. Think about it, what if the image of God is less about physical appearance and more about our actions. To be His representatives in this world. In truth, tzedakah is not about giving, tzedakah is about being. The book of Genesis tells us that we are made in God’s image.
None of us look alike, so the image of God can’t be just a physical likeness. What, then, is it to be Gods image? What does it mean to be God’s image in the world? Tradition teaches that what is essentially divine about God is that God loves unconditionally and that God gives freely.
We don’t earn God’s gifts, blessings, or salivations. God gives simply for the joy of giving. Many know this to be Grace, and are somewhat surprised to learn that Grace wasn’t invented in the New Testament.
To be God like means to give, and to be free means to be able to choose to give. To be free means to be able to love and to give. We are reflections of that divine image, which means that when we rise up in our freedom and we offer gifts of love, caring, and support then we are truly acting as the image of God.
We are in this material world, so to bring light into the world, and to share it with each other is our mission. A person who doesn’t give isn’t whole. A person who doesn’t reach out is, in some ways, not human. The fullest expression of our humanity is possible only when we reach out to each other and we connect with each other.
But there is another side of Tzedakah as well. It is easy to think of it from the side of giving and receiving needs, goods, or money. But what if we were not speaking of those types of things. What if we are speaking of hardship in general?
From ancient times the good in this world is represented by light, even in Judaism today sending a spark of light through tzedakah and mitzvahs is said to be spreading the light of God to the world.
But if this is the case then there is another side to it as well. All coins have two sides. What if by going through trials and hardships you are keeping others from having to go through them themselves. What if their faith isnt where it needs to be to fully go through it? Would you help and take some or all of there burden?
Taking on the sufferings of others so they do not have to.
(Note: see article, The Purpose of trials)
This is also a form of Tzedakah. It is what our Messiah did for us in taking on our sins and sufferings, in taking the death sentence to give us a chance not to have to redeem the rightly deserved penalty of our sins.
Isa 53:3 despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and knowing sickness. And as one from whom the face is hidden, being despised, and we did not consider Him.
Isa 53:4 Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Yet we reckoned Him stricken, smitten by Elohim, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
And as Disciples of Messiah aren’t we called to emulate him and do the same thing?
1Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps,
1Pe 2:22 “who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth,
1Pe 2:23 who, being reviled, did not revile in return; suffering, did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
1Pe 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His body on the timber, so that we, having died to sins, might live unto righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.
1Jn 2:6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.
In the past few years my family and I have gone through great trials and periods of loss. And as a man, I have struggled with it greatly at times. It is very easy to lose yourself in the selfishness of self loathing. Thankfully, I serve the one true God, and He is not only great and wonderful, but He is faithful , and never left me, or let me pull myself to deep into the pit of despair.
During one of the nights where I was going through a particular rough period, the Lord spoke to me. He made me see and think of the idea of Tzedakah as I described at the beginning of this article. He made me start to see things in a new light. What if my loss was keeping others from having to go through loss?
You may think it sounds strange, but it is really basic economics. Think of it like this, there is only so much money in an economy, only so much pie available. If my lack of money can help someone, who’s faith may not be as strong as mine, by giving them more pie, why not take less so they can have more? We must also keep in mind for some the riches this life offers will be there only reward, so shouldnt we give it freely?
This helped me a lot, because I could no longer see my lack as a curse but a blessing. The strongest time of repentance, and study for me came through my times of hardship and loss.
Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I myself was going astray, But now I have guarded Your word.
Psa 119:71 It was good for me that I was afflicted, That I might learn Your laws.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for the sake of Messiah. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I realized this many times before, and knowing this helped me keep my faith strong through those times. But that wasn’t all I needed to see.
Through this new understanding I was led not only to help myself, but to understand our Messiah much better. The fact is if I have to be, or can be afflicted so another doesn’t have to. If I have to, or can experience pain and loss so another doesn’t have to, is fine, it is even great.
But the real pain doesn’t come from my personal loss, it comes from having to see my family have to suffer as well.
We all want the best for our family’s, and being the head of a family that is lacking in many things is hard. To see them have to do without, when so many seem to have so much is the real pain.
This gave me an even greater perspective into our Messiah. Its harder to see those you love suffer than to go through suffering yourself. This is true almost across the board in almost any situation and with almost any person.
Now imagine our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
The beatings, torture, humiliation, and suffering to death on the cross, tree, branch, stake or what ever you want to call it, was in fact only temporary. What if that wasn’t the hard part? Think of all I have written so far. What do you think the hardest part was?
As written earlier the hardest part for most is not the suffering of oneself, but seeing those we love suffer. I believe the hardest part was going through all this suffering , so the world didn’t have to, and then watching them still make the same mistakes, and take the wrong path anyway!
We often think of Yeshua on the cross, and many teach it as if that was the end. Sure they speak of a resurrection and the hope we have in it. But often we don’t realize that Yeshua is still with us. Yeshua was resurrected, and Yeshua is still with us today. I believe the real pain for Yeshua is seeing us suffer needlessly and continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Our sin causes our Messiah real pain. Our lack of repentance causes our God real pain!
Hopefully this will give us all more cause for, and a deeper understanding of the need for, and understanding of repentance!
As we go forth and test these new ideas in Scripture let us pray that our Father gives us His Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and truth. So we may see and walk as our Messiah walked, and be true disciples in the Name of Yeshua (Jesus). May we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to change for the glory of our God
