So, Which Is It?
4 There shall be no needy among you — since the Lord your God will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion… 7 If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman… 11 For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land. D’varim / Deuteronomy 15:4, 7, 11
Feeling a bit confused? Are you wondering how Moshe managed to contradict himself so completely within just a few verses? You are in good company as biblical commentators have been working to explain this for over two millennia. Amongst the interpretations is the suggestion that Moshe’s initial statement is an idyllic expression of a utopian society while Moshe’s second statement is the recognition that even in a society wherein individuals are empowered to thrive and succeed there will inevitably be members of the community who will, on occasion, need the support and succor of the society. The third statement reflects Moshe’s grudging acceptance that poverty is an inescapable reality and therefore Moshe articulates the Torah expectations regarding our individual and collective response to that painful phenomenon.
I was particularly struck by a teaching attributed to the Maharal1 in which he asserts that the prevalence of poverty within a society inevitably disrupts the unity and fraternity within a community. Performing acts of Tzedakah, the Maharal states, restore the order and harmony that has been lost but only when the act of Tzedakah is done with the intention of bringing justice and balance to the community; with the goal of moving the society closer to the ideal vision articulated by Moshe.
The current pandemic, along with the protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, have highlighted the tremendous disparities and inequities within our society; the stratification and the separations that pervade our nation.
The persistence of social, educational, and fiscal inequities, limitations in access to health care, as well as pervasive racial and ethnic divisions, have together fostered the disunity and discord described by the Maharal. The challenge remains for us to make our unique contribution to the repair of our society and to foster the collective will to take on these debilitating systemic problems. Together, with great and concerted effort, we can move closer to Moshe’s ideal of a just, fair, and equitable society.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
1 Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel was born between 1512 and 1526 and died on 17 September 1609. He is widely known by the Hebrew acronym The Maharal, “Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew”, (of Prague). The Maharal was an important Talmudic scholar and philosopher who was also known for his involvement in Jewish mysticism. This latter gave rise to the attribution to the Maharal of creating the Golem of Prague, a mythological being fashioned from clay and animated through the Maharal’s knowledge of arcane Jewish mysticism.
Copyright © 2025 Rodef Sholom Temple. All rights reserved. Website designed by Addicott Web.
