What is Tzedakah?

Most people think of giving money to someone who needs it. A few coins in a cup. A check written at the end of the year. That picture is not wrong, but it is missing something. When the Torah speaks about helping another person, it uses a word that carries far more weight than “charity” ever could.

That word is tzedakah. And if you have ever wondered what is tzedakah at its root, the answer might surprise you. It does not come from a word meaning kindness or generosity. It comes from tzedek (justice). In the Torah’s view, giving to someone in need is not an act of goodwill you choose to do when the mood strikes. It is something you owe. It is the right thing, the just thing, and Hashem commands it directly in Sefer Devarim, perek 15.

This article walks through the Torah’s core commandment of tzedakah, what the word really means in its Hebrew roots, how to give properly according to halachah (Jewish law), and how generations of Yidden have paired their giving with tefillah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness.

Before You Give

There is a moment before you open your hand that matters as much as the giving itself. The kavanah (intention) behind tzedakah shapes what that tzedakah becomes. A person can give a hundred coins with a closed heart, or one coin with a heart turned fully toward Hashem. Chazal teach that Hashem wants the heart.

Before you give, take a quiet moment. Let the rush of the day settle. Speak to Hashem simply, in your own words or with this tefillah:

Ribono Shel Olam, I am about to fulfill Your commandment of tzedakah. Please accept this gift and use it to bring relief to those who are suffering. Open my heart so that I give not out of obligation alone, but out of love for Your children. Bless the work of my hands so that I always have enough to share. Let this tzedakah be a zechus for me, for my family, and for all of Klal Yisrael. Elokah d’Meir aneni.

If giving tzedakah, add:

In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, Master of the World, please hear my tefillos. I am helping Your children in Eretz Yisrael. Please help me and mine in return.

Devarim 15:7-11: The Torah’s Commandment of Tzedakah

These five pesukim form the Torah’s most direct commandment about tzedakah. Moshe Rabbeinu delivered these words to Klal Yisrael before they entered Eretz Yisrael. He was not offering a suggestion. He was laying down a foundation for how a Jewish society must function. The poor will always be there, the Torah says plainly, and so this mitzvah will never expire.

What These Words Mean for You

Lo s’ametz es l’vovcho “Do not harden your heart.”

The root of s’ametz is א-מ-ץ, the same root as emtzah (strength) and the same word we use in “chazak v’ematz.” Strength is a good thing when it drives you forward. But the Torah warns that the same force can work in the wrong direction. A heart that strengthens itself against feeling someone else’s pain becomes hard, closed. Hashem is telling us: do not let yourself become strong in the wrong way. When you see someone who needs help, let yourself feel it.

Poso’ach tiftach es yodcho “You shall surely open your hand.”

The Torah doubles the verb here: poso’ach tiftach, “open, you shall open.” The Sifrei explains that this doubling teaches: even if you must give again and again, even a hundred times, you open your hand each time. The root פ-ת-ח means to open, to unlock. An open hand is the opposite of a clenched fist. This is the posture Hashem asks of us. Not a reluctant half-gesture, but a full opening. When you give tzedakah, you are physically enacting what Hashem commands in these words.

Dei machsoro asher yechsar lo “Enough for whatever he lacks.”

The Gemara in Kesubos (67b) takes this phrase very seriously. It teaches that dei machsoro means according to what that specific person needs. This is measured according to the individual person, not according to a flat standard chosen by the giver. That is why Chazal say that if a formerly wealthy person genuinely needs the kind of support that preserves his normal dignity and functioning, the obligation can extend even that far. If someone once had a horse and a servant and lost everything, you help restore them to dignity, not merely keep them alive. The root ח-ס-ר means lacking, missing. Tzedakah, the Torah says, is about filling what is empty in another person’s life. You look at the person in front of you and ask: what do they need right now? That is how Hashem wants you to give. You are commanded to supply what he lacks, but you are not commanded to make him wealthy.

Biglal hadovor hazeh y’vorechecho Hashem “Because of this thing, Hashem your God will bless you.”

The word biglal comes from the root ג-ל-ל, meaning to roll or to cause. Chazal in the Midrash (Ruth Rabbah 5:9) note that the word biglal shares letters with the word galgal, a wheel. Wealth rolls. It comes and goes. Today you give, tomorrow you may receive. Hashem is making a promise here: the person who gives with a full heart will be blessed in everything they do. Not as a transaction, but as a natural consequence of living the way Hashem designed the world to work.

How to Give Tzedakah

Knowing what is tzedakah in concept is one thing. Knowing how to do it properly is another. The halachah gives real guidance on how to fulfill this mitzvah in daily life.

Many have the minhag (custom) to give tzedakah before davening each morning. The connection is straightforward: you open your hand to help another Yid, and then you open your mouth to speak to Hashem. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 92:10) mentions that one should give tzedakah before tefillah. Some keep a few coins near their siddur for this purpose.

The Rambam (Hilchos Matanos Aniyim 10:7-14) famously lays out eight levels of tzedakah. The highest is helping a person become self-sufficient, through a loan, a job, or a partnership, so they no longer need to rely on others. The lowest, but still a mitzvah, is giving reluctantly. Every level counts. What matters is that you give.

But the Torah’s guidance is not only about how much you give. It is also about how you give it. The Torah says to give in a way that your heart is not pained by the giving (Devarim 15:10). Tzedakah is meant to open the hand and soften the heart. A person can hand over money and still leave the other person feeling small. Or he can give with warmth, with respect, with a smile, and lift the other person’s spirit together with meeting the need.

When you give, give with a pleasant face. The Rambam writes that one who gives with a sour expression loses the merit of the giving, even if the amount is large. And one who gives even a small amount with warmth, empathy, and words of encouragement fulfills the mitzvah in a beautiful way (Hilchos Matanos Aniyim 10:4). Sometimes the smile, the tone, and the sense that the other person is being seen with dignity can mean as much as the money itself.

Chazal go even further: “More than the householder does for the poor person, the poor person does for the householder” (Ruth Rabbah 5:9). The receiver is helped in a practical way, but the giver may receive even more. He is given the chance to become softer, less self-centered, more aware of Hashem’s kindness, and more worthy of brachah. The poor person receives support for the moment; the giver receives the opportunity to become a better person. In that sense, tzedakah is not only an act of generosity. It is one of the ways Hashem shapes the heart of the giver.

Tefillah and tzedakah have always gone together. Generations of Yidden have given in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness alongside their tefillos. This is not davening to Rabbi Meir. It is asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined zechus of this great tzaddik and your own act of chesed. After giving, 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 the story of his sister-in-law, who was captured by the Romans and held in a terrible place. When there seemed to be no human way out, Rabbi Meir’s merit, invoked through the words “Elokah d’Meir aneni”, brought her to safety. It was a pure cry to Hashem in the merit of a great tzaddik, and Hashem answered with miraculous salvation.

For centuries, Yidden have followed this path. In moments of need, in times when the heart is heavy and the way forward is unclear, they give tzedakah and call out to Hashem in the zechus of Rabbi Meir. The giving itself is an act of emunah. You care for Hashem’s children, and you ask Hashem to care for yours.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799 and supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. When you give through this fund, your tzedakah reaches families in the Holy Land and your name rises together with their tefillos. Scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven on behalf of those who contribute.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

A Blessing for Your Giving

Tzedakah is not just a mitzvah you check off a list. It is a way of walking through the world with open hands and an open heart. Every coin you give, every kindness you extend, sends something upward.

May Hashem bless the work of your hands so that you always have enough to share. May He open doors for you the way you open your hand for others. May the tzedakah you give bring healing and comfort to those who receive it, and may it stand as a zechus for you and your family in every moment of need. And may you feel, deep in your heart, the quiet joy that comes from living the way Hashem asks.

You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in 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.

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