Tsedakah, Social Justice, and Human Rights

Publication Date: March 1983

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Rabbi Daniel Nussbaum

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Fundraising and Philanthropy; Social Justice; Communal Responsibility

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

In an effort to enhance the understanding of the implications of tsedakah for Jewish communal agencies whose self-image and identity include a commitment to social justice and human rights, this paper analyzes the values and value orientations which guided the formulation and implementation of traditional Jewish social welfare policies generated by tsedakah, focussing on the extent to which tsedakah both fostered and inhibited the attainment of social justice. The author suggests ways of revaluating tsedakah to make it more relevant to the contemporary American Jewish community.

In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, 59:3.