The Ladder That Changes How We Give
You want to give. Something inside you already knows that giving matters. But have you ever stopped to think about how you give? Not just how much, but the way you place the money into someone’s hand, the look on your face when you do it, the feeling you leave the other person with afterward?
Nearly a thousand years ago, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) sat down and organized something that Chazal had been teaching for generations. In his Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Matnos Aniyim (chapters 10:7–14), he laid out the 8 levels of tzedakah, a ladder of giving that starts at the bottom, where a person gives with a sour face, and climbs all the way to the top, where a person helps another Yid stand on their own two feet. This teaching has shaped the way Klal Yisrael gives tzedakah ever since.
Before You Learn This
Before you learn these words of the Rambam, take a moment to stand before Hashem. You are about to study a teaching about giving, and that itself is an act of avodas Hashem. Let your heart be open. Speak to Him simply:
Ribono Shel Olam, You are the Source of all generosity. Everything I have comes from You. As I learn the Rambam’s teaching on tzedakah, open my heart to give the way You want me to give, with dignity, with compassion, and with joy. Help me see every person who needs help the way You see them. Let my giving bring blessing to those who receive and to those I love. Elokah d’Meir aneni!
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, may Hashem open the gates of parnassah and blessing for me and my family. Just as I am caring for the poor of Eretz Yisrael, may Hashem care for all my needs.
The Rambam’s 8 Levels of Tzedakah: The Full Text
Level One (Highest)
הַמַּחֲזִיק בְּיַד יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁמָּךְ וְנוֹתֵן לוֹ מַתָּנָה אוֹ הַלְוָאָה אוֹ עוֹשֶׂה עִמּוֹ שֻׁתָּפוּת אוֹ מַמְצִיא לוֹ מְלָאכָה כְּדֵי לְחַזֵּק אֶת יָדוֹ עַד שֶׁלֹּא יִצְטָרֵךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת
One who upholds the hand of a fellow Jew who has faltered, and gives him a gift, or a loan, or enters into a partnership with him, or finds him work, in order to strengthen his hand so that he will not need to depend on others.
Level Two
שֶׁלֹּא יֵדַע הַנּוֹתֵן לְמִי נָתַן וְלֹא יֵדַע הָעָנִי מִמִּי נָטַל
Neither the giver nor the recipient knows the other. This is giving for the sake of the mitzvah alone.
Level Three
שֶׁהַנּוֹתֵן יוֹדֵעַ לְמִי נָתַן וְהָעָנִי אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ מִמִּי נָטַל
The giver knows to whom he gave, but the poor person does not know from whom he received.
Level Four
שֶׁהָעָנִי יוֹדֵעַ לְמִי נָתַן וְהַנּוֹתֵן אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לְמִי נָתַן
The poor person knows who gave to him, but the giver does not know to whom he gave.
Level Five
הַנּוֹתֵן לְעָנִי קֹדֶם שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל
.One who gives to the poor person before being asked
Level Six
הַנּוֹתֵן לְעָנִי אַחַר שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל
One who gives a proper amount to the poor person, but only after being asked.
Level Seven
הַנּוֹתֵן מְעַט לְעָנִי בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת
One who gives less than is fitting, but gives it with a pleasant face.
Level Eight (Lowest)
הַנּוֹתֵן צְדָקָה בְּעֶצֶב
One who gives tzedakah with sadness, with a grudging heart.
The Rambam drew this teaching from deep roots in the Gemara and in Torah law. The principle that giving with a pleasant face is essential is rooted in the Mishnah in Avos (1:15) and the Gemara in Kesuvos (111b), and the Gemara in Bava Basra (9b) teaches that one who gives tzedakah and accompanies it with kind words receives many blessings — the manner of giving can matter as much as the gift itself. And the highest level, helping another person become self-sufficient, echoes the pasuk in Vayikra (25:35): “V’hechezakta bo”, “You shall strengthen him.” The Rambam understood that tzedakah is not simply about money changing hands. It is about one Yid lifting another back to their feet.
Why This Ladder Matters Here
Hanoisen tzedokoh b’etzev — “One who gives with sadness” “Giving with a grudging heart.”
The Rambam places this at the very bottom of the ladder, and it tells you something important. Hashem does not only care that you give. He cares how you feel when you give. B’etzev, sadness, resentment, a heavy reluctance. We all know that feeling. Someone knocks on your door, and something inside you tightens. The Rambam is not condemning the person who feels that way. He is saying: that feeling is real, and you can grow past it. The fact that you gave at all still counts. But there is somewhere higher to climb.
B’seiver ponim yofos, “With a pleasant face” “A warm countenance.”
This short phrase carries enormous weight. The Gemara in Bava Basra (9b) teaches that one who gives tzedakah to the poor receives six blessings, and one who accompanies the gift with words of comfort receives eleven — the warmth of the giver carries enormous weight, while Chazal elsewhere (Avos 1:15) teach that one should receive every person b’sever panim yafos. Think about what it feels like to receive help from someone who looks annoyed. The money helps, but the shame lingers. The Rambam is teaching us that the ladder of giving is not only about how much you hand over or whether the recipient knows your name. They are about what you leave the other person feeling.
Sheloi yeida hanoisen l’mi nosan, “The giver does not know to whom he gave” “Neither giver nor recipient knows the other.”
Anonymous giving sits near the very top of the Rambam’s ladder. Why? Because when no one knows, there is no room for pride on one side or shame on the other. The dignity of the poor person is fully protected. The Rambam, in Hilchos Matnos Aniyim (10:8), praises the lishkas chasho’im, the secret chamber that stood in the Beis HaMikdash, where people would leave money quietly and the poor would take what they needed without anyone seeing. That is the model. Giving that disappears into the act itself, with nothing left but the mitzvah.
Hamachazik b’yad Yisroel shemoch — “One who upholds the hand of a Jew who has faltered” “Strengthening someone before they fall completely.”
This is the peak. The Rambam’s highest level is not about giving money at all. It is about finding someone work, offering a loan, creating a partnership, anything that helps another person stand on their own feet again. The word shemoch means “who has become impoverished,” from the same root as ki yamuch achicha in Vayikra 25:35 — someone whose financial standing has sunk. The Rambam teaches that the greatest act of tzedakah is to hand a person back their life. This is the vision behind the Rambam’s entire ladder: that giving, at its best, restores a person’s ability to give in return.
How to Learn and Live This Teaching
The Rambam’s eight levels of tzedakah are not just something to study once and put away. They are a mirror you hold up to your own giving. The next time someone asks you for help, or the next time you see a need before anyone asks, think about where on the ladder your response falls. Not to judge yourself harshly, but to grow.
You can read through the Rambam’s words in Hebrew or in English, quietly, the way you would learn a piece of Torah. Some people review them before giving tzedakah as a way to set their kavanah.
Tefillah and tzedakah go hand in hand. When you give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are pairing your act of chesed with a call to Hashem. You are not praying to Rabbi Meir. You are asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the merit of this great tzaddik and in the merit of the tzedakah you are giving right now. After you give, you may say: Elokah d’Meir aneni!
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness was one of the greatest Tannaim. The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) tells us that his sister-in-law was imprisoned by the Romans in a terrible place. Rabbi Meir traveled there to help. When the guard challenged him, Rabbi Meir told him to say “Elokah d’Meir aneni!” if he was ever in danger, and Hashem would protect him. And that is exactly what happened. Through mesiras nefesh and trust in Hashem, she was brought to safety.
For generations, Yidden have given tzedakah and called out in the zechus of Rabbi Meir when they needed Hashem’s help. This is not a prayer to Rabbi Meir. It is asking Hashem to listen in the combined zechus of a great tzaddik and your own act of chesed. You are living out the Rambam’s teaching with your own hands.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. The scholars in Tiberias will daven at the kever of Rebbe Meir on behalf of those who reach out. The charity supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael — families who depend on the generosity of Yidden around the world. When you give, you are climbing the Rambam’s ladder yourself.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
How to Apply This in Daily Life
Learning the Rambam’s ladder is one thing. Living it is another. Here is what that can look like in your daily life.
Start by noticing your face. The next time someone collects tzedakah at your door or approaches you in shul, pay attention to what your expression says before your hand reaches for your wallet. A warm word, eye contact, a moment of real attention, these cost nothing and they change everything for the person standing in front of you.
Look for ways to give before you are asked. If you know someone is struggling with parnassah, you do not have to wait for them to come to you. A quiet phone call, a job lead passed along, an introduction to someone who can help, the Rambam would recognize that as one of the highest forms of giving.
If you are in a position to hire someone, to bring them into a partnership, or to help them learn a skill that will let them support their family, that is the top of the ladder. That is hamachazik b’yad Yisroel shemoch. And if you are not in that position, there are organizations like Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities that channel your tzedakah into exactly this kind of work, supporting families and talmidei chachamim so they can live with dignity.
The Rambam lists them from lowest to highest in Hilchos Matnos Aniyim (10:7–14). The lowest level is giving with resentment. The levels climb through giving with a pleasant face, giving after being asked, giving before being asked, anonymous giving where only one party is unknown, fully anonymous giving, and finally the highest: helping someone become self-sufficient through work, a loan, or a partnership.
Because anonymity protects the dignity of the recipient. When the poor person does not know who gave, they are spared the shame of being seen in their need. The Rambam points to the lishkas chasho'im in the Beis HaMikdash as the model for this kind of giving, where t he righteous would place money there secretly, and poor people of good family would support themselves from it quietly . It is tzedakah at its purest, done entirely for the sake of the mitzvah.
The Rambam and the Gemara both make clear that the manner of giving matters deeply. A smaller gift given with genuine warmth and a pleasant face can be worth more in Hashem's eyes than a large gift given with resentment. The goal is to grow in both generosity and joy over time.
For generations, Yidden have given tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness when asking Hashem for help. This is not praying to Rabbi Meir. It is asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined merit of this great tzaddik and the act of chesed you are doing right now. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities channels that giving to support Torah scholars and families in Eretz Yisrael.
A Blessing for Your Generosity
You came here to learn about the Rambam’s ladder of giving, and that tells me something about who you are. You are not someone who just gives and moves on. You want to give well. You want your giving to mean something, to the person who receives it, and in Hashem’s eyes.
May Hashem bless the work of your hands so that you always have enough to share. May He open doors of parnassah for you and your family, and may every act of tzedakah you do, whether it is a coin given with a warm face or a job offered to someone who needs it, rise before the Kisei HaKavod as a zechus for you and for all of Klal Yisrael. May you climb the Rambam’s ladder in your giving, and may the One who sustains the whole world sustain you with dignity, with joy, and with shalom.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars of Tiberias at no cost, they will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
