04-16-2013, 01:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-02-2018, 07:29 AM by Director Michael.)
Citing "The Divine Code", Part I, topic 3:9 (p. 73):
"Gentiles are obligated to give charity, and whether as an individual or a community, they are obligated to be concerned about help for the poor and needy, to help them appropriately in any way possible."
The applies even for a person who is "very poor" (which is a relative designation; a person who is considered poor in a wealthy country might be considered well-off in a disadvantaged country). This includes even someone who goes begging for his livelihood; he is obligated to give at least a bit of his livelihood, at least once in a while, as proper charity to help another poor person - especially for someone who is more poor than he is.
At the same time, a Gentile is not obligated to endanger his own life by giving away money that he or his dependents need to survive - especially since the giving of charity does not have to be only with money. One suggestion is that a poor person can donate blood at a hospital or a Red Cross center. A person can also do charitable deeds with his time and effort, such as spending time helping someone who needs physical assistance (for example, helping people who are elderly or disabled), or caring for or visiting a sick person, or volunteering at a charitable institution. Note that if you drive your car as part of doing a charitable deed, the cost of the gasoline you expend is part of the charity.
But in order to be considered true charity, goods deeds must be done with a generous, friendly, caring attitude toward the person who is being helped. If the one helping shows anger or belittles or humiliates the person being helped, that is likely to be counted as a sin.
Dedication to giving proper charity is especially important in our time. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe declared to a CNN reporter in 19'91: "Moshiach is ready to come now, we all must only do something additional in the realm of goodness and kindness.”
https://asknoah.org/video/the-rebbes-mes...g-moshiach
"Gentiles are obligated to give charity, and whether as an individual or a community, they are obligated to be concerned about help for the poor and needy, to help them appropriately in any way possible."
The applies even for a person who is "very poor" (which is a relative designation; a person who is considered poor in a wealthy country might be considered well-off in a disadvantaged country). This includes even someone who goes begging for his livelihood; he is obligated to give at least a bit of his livelihood, at least once in a while, as proper charity to help another poor person - especially for someone who is more poor than he is.
At the same time, a Gentile is not obligated to endanger his own life by giving away money that he or his dependents need to survive - especially since the giving of charity does not have to be only with money. One suggestion is that a poor person can donate blood at a hospital or a Red Cross center. A person can also do charitable deeds with his time and effort, such as spending time helping someone who needs physical assistance (for example, helping people who are elderly or disabled), or caring for or visiting a sick person, or volunteering at a charitable institution. Note that if you drive your car as part of doing a charitable deed, the cost of the gasoline you expend is part of the charity.
But in order to be considered true charity, goods deeds must be done with a generous, friendly, caring attitude toward the person who is being helped. If the one helping shows anger or belittles or humiliates the person being helped, that is likely to be counted as a sin.
Dedication to giving proper charity is especially important in our time. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe declared to a CNN reporter in 19'91: "Moshiach is ready to come now, we all must only do something additional in the realm of goodness and kindness.”
https://asknoah.org/video/the-rebbes-mes...g-moshiach