 |
|
Nov. 24, 2009
JWisdom.com: You are a Philanthropist
with Aliza Bulow (5 minutes)
Nov. 23, 2009
JWisdom.com: Actually, it really is all about you with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
Nov. 20, 2009
Nov. 19, 2009
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf
with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith
with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Nov. 12, 2009
JWisdom.com Does God get tired?
with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole
in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to
have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How
to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Nov. 5, 2009
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking
Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker
With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater?
With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change
With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
|
| |
Jewish World Review
March 2, 2009
/ 6 Adar 5769
Funds and fundamentals
By
Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Q. I'd like to give charity, but I'm afraid I might end up in need myself. Does this show a lack of faith in the Divine's providence?
A. Your thinking seems to go something like this: Normally, even if I have enough for ongoing needs, I would want to accumulate some reserves for unforeseen needs. If G-d commands me to give charity with my spare money instead, He must be promising that misfortune will not strike. So your worries about what setback the future may bring are compounded by your concern that maybe your faith is not whole.
There are two answers to your question. The first, which we will discuss this week, is that Jewish law acknowledges that setting some money aside for unexpected needs, within measure, can also be considered an essential expense. (Next week we will give an additional approach.) Here is an important source for this rule:
The Shulchan Aruch (authoritative Code of Jewish law) states that eminent Torah scholars are exempt from many communal levies. Even if the Torah scholar has to work for a living and can't devote all his time to study, he is considered to be devoting all his free time to learning as long as he works only "enough for his livelihood, and not in order to enrich himself." (1)
The highly authoritative commentary of Rabbi Shabsai Rapaport states that "enough for his livelihood" includes putting some money aside for emergencies. "It is obvious that various mishaps can occur suddenly to a person, such as illness and others, which will require him to make large outlays, and there is no set limit to these."
Of course this approach can be taken too far, and no person would give charity. The Talmud also tells us:
Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: Anyone who has bread in his basket and asks, "What will I eat tomorrow?", that person is of small faith. (2)
However, putting aside a certain amount for predictable emergencies (as Rabbi Rapaport explains) does not indicate a lack of faith but is rather part of our everyday responsibility to provide for household needs.
The great recent sage Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was asked a similar question regarding insurance. Someone asked him if buying insurance didn't display a lack of faith in G-d's providence. Rabbi Feinstein replied:
Insurance is just like any other matter of commerce and the like that one does for a livelihood for himself and his children . . . And if a person wants to leave for his old age or for a legacy, he needs G-d to provide him with whatever is the most effective way according to accepted ways in the same way he would provided for by a miracle, which he may not merit and also is not appropriate [since a person should strive to support himself by natural and not supernatural means.] And since G-d gave us the wisdom in recent generations to provide us with the insurance business in the world . . . this is a good and appropriate thing even for good G-d-fearing people who trust only in G-d, for it is He Who gave us the thought to provide for ourselves, and buying insurance is also the counsel of G-d, to buy insurance and to trust in G-d that he will be able to continue to pay the premium. (3)
Your desire to put a little money aside for possible urgent needs is perfectly legitimate. Trust in G-d's providence doesn't mean that we don't need to earn a living or put aside money for future needs; it means that we trust in Him to give us the ability to do so. However, we shouldn't be save up money for mere speculative future needs if this prevents comes at the expense of giving a suitable amount of charity for quite urgent needs of others.
SOURCES: (1) Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dean 253:2 (2) Babylonian Talmud, Sota 48b. (3) Responsa Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim II:111
ARCHIVES
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan
administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology.
To comment or pose a question, please click here.
THE JEWISH ETHICIST, NOW IN BOOK FORM
You've enjoyed his columns on JWR for years. Now the Jewish Ethicist has culled his most intriguing — and controversial — offerings in book form.
HARDCOVER
PAPERBACK
Sales help fund JWR.
|
© 2009, The Jewish Ethicist is produced by the JCT Center for Business Ethics
|
