Sacred Giving: When?
The Torah provides some models for when we were to "do tzedakah". Here are two of them:
Deuteronomy 24
19) When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow – in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
Leviticus 9
9) When you reap harvest of your land you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field… 10) You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
The Torah was written in a particular time and for all time. These mitzvot (commandments) are directed at farmers. We are no longer farmers, but the teachings are for our time.
According to Deuteronomy 24
According to Leviticus 9
These texts are not merely about WHAT we should do, but WHEN we should do it. They are about making tzedakah a part of one’s everyday acts and life, about creating a "tzedakah habit".
Tzedakah is traditionally given at major moments in life: in honor of a birth or accomplishment, in memory of someone who has died, in gratitude for something amazing that has happened to you.
You can add to the tzedakah-times of life! Think of some times in your life that giving tzedakah seems appropriate: