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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Tzedakah Defined
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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, one of the world's greatest Jewish scholars and contemporary thinkers, offers insights into Tzedakah Defined. Watch the whole collection of these inspiring videos on www.jinsider.com.
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Sedaka is a fascinating idea and let's
see it immediately what is the English
for Sedaka there isn't an English F
sedoka you ask 100 Jews what is the
English F sedoka 50 will say charity 50
will say justice and that's exactly
right because sadaka means both charity
and Justice the only trouble is in
English something can't be charity and
Justice at the same time here's why
supposing I give you
$1,000 I may do so for two different
reasons reason one I owe it to you
reason two I don't owe it to you I just
think you need $1,000 and out of the
kindness of my heart I give it to you if
I give it to you because I owe it to you
that is Justice if I give it to you not
because I owe it but because you need it
that's charity so a thing can be either
Justice or charity but not both in
English they cannot live together
they're like magnets that drive each
other apart in Judaism they're bonded
with superglue and they are bonded in
that one concept
Saka how come the Hebrew language can do
something the English language can't the
answer is very simple in Judaism what we
possess we don't ultimately
own everything we have is ultim
ultimately God's and God merely lends it
to us gives it to us in trust and one of
the conditions of that trust is that we
share it with people who have less than
we do and that is why in Judaism charity
is Justice and Justice takes the form of
Charity so there is a concept so
important in this world where people
some people are unbelievably Rich so
many people in the world are incredibly
poor unable almost to have food shelter
medical facilities and somehow we want
to say to people yes that's charity but
it's also Justice and for that you need
the word Sedaka that is one word that
has the power to change the world