Tzedakah is often translated as “charity,” but it really means justice. Here’s what Jewish giving is all about, from Maimonides’ ladder to tzedakah boxes, and how families can give together this season.
The end of the year is a season of giving. Giving Tuesday falls on December 1, and Chanukah begins at sundown on December 4. Many families are already thinking about how to share what they have.
Jewish tradition has a word for this: tzedakah. It is one of the oldest and most central values in Jewish life, and it is something everyone can practice, from preschoolers dropping coins in a box to grandparents supporting the causes they care about most.
Here’s what tzedakah means, where it comes from, and how your family can make it part of everyday life.
What Is Tzedakah?
Tzedakah (tzeh-dah-KAH) is usually translated as “charity,” but that isn’t quite right. The word comes from the Hebrew root tzedek, which means justice or righteousness.
That difference matters. Charity suggests a generous extra, something we give when we feel like it. Tzedakah is different: in Jewish tradition, giving is simply the right thing to do. When we help someone in need, we are helping make the world more fair.
Tzedakah is so important that the Talmud teaches even a person who receives tzedakah should give tzedakah. Everyone has something to share, and everyone deserves the dignity of being a giver.
Maimonides’ Ladder: The Eight Levels of Giving
In the 12th century, the great Jewish scholar Maimonides (also known as the Rambam) described eight levels of tzedakah, from good to best. Here they are in simple terms, starting at the top:
- Helping someone become self-sufficient, with a job, a loan, or a partnership, so they no longer need to ask for help.
- Giving when neither the giver nor the receiver knows the other.
- Giving when the giver knows who receives, but the receiver doesn’t know the giver.
- Giving when the receiver knows the giver, but the giver doesn’t know who receives.
- Giving before being asked.
- Giving after being asked.
- Giving less than you could, but giving cheerfully.
- Giving reluctantly.
Notice that every level counts. Even reluctant giving is still tzedakah. The ladder isn’t about judging people. It is about protecting the dignity of the person receiving help, and inviting each of us to climb a little higher.
More Than Money: Kindness and Repairing the World
Tzedakah usually refers to giving money, but Judaism pairs it with two related ideas:
- Gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness): giving your time and your presence. Visiting someone who is sick, bringing a meal to a new parent, or comforting a mourner are all acts of loving-kindness. (Our guide to Jewish mourning customs explains how the community supports families who are grieving.)
- Tikkun olam (repairing the world): working to make the world a better, more just place.
The ancient teaching of Pirkei Avot says the world stands on three things: Torah, worship, and acts of loving-kindness. Giving isn’t a side project in Jewish life. It is part of what holds the world up.
Why Do Jews Give in Multiples of 18?
You may have noticed Jewish gifts in amounts like 18, 36, or 180. That’s because of chai, the Hebrew word for “life.”
In Hebrew, every letter has a number value. The two letters of chai add up to 18, so giving in multiples of 18 is a way of wishing someone, or some cause, a long and good life. At Temple Sinai, we even honor our most generous supporters as Chai Donors, a reminder that their generosity brings life to our congregation.
Bringing Tzedakah Home
Tzedakah is one of the easiest Jewish values to practice with children, because it is hands-on and happens every day. A few ideas:
- Keep a tzedakah box (sometimes called a pushke) in your home. Kids can decorate their own.
- Give before Shabbat. Many families drop a few coins in the box before lighting Shabbat candles on Friday night. (Learn more in Exploring the Meaning and Importance of Shabbat.)
- Let children choose. When the box is full, let kids pick where the money goes: a food bank, an animal shelter, or a cause they care about.
- Make one night of Chanukah a giving night. Instead of opening presents, the family chooses a cause and gives together.
- Give in memory of loved ones. Many families give tzedakah on a loved one’s yahrzeit, turning remembrance into something that helps others.
For more ways to build Jewish values into family life, see Raising Jewish Children in Miami: What Parents Should Know.
Giving and Volunteering at Temple Sinai
Our congregation is built on the idea of partnership: everyone contributes something, whether it’s time, talent, or financial support. Temple Sinai welcomes those who are seeking a Jewish community, regardless of financial capacity, and that’s possible because of the generosity of our partners.
Here are a few ways to get involved:
- Caring Community. Volunteers organize meal trains, deliver pre-Shabbat challah, visit congregants in the hospital, and support families who are grieving. You can learn more and support the Caring Community.
- Teen Mitzvah Corps. Teens in 8th through 12th grade choose a community need each month and take action together, earning community service hours along the way. Learn more on our Teens page and in Youth Programs at Temple Sinai: A Jewish Journey for Every Age.
- Dor Sinai. Our group for partners 55-ish and older volunteers alongside our Social Action Committee, including assembling amenity kits for homeless shelters. Visit the Dor Sinai page.
- Sisterhood Circle. The Sisterhood Circle gives back through social action and tikkun olam projects throughout the year.
- Sponsor a Shabbat service. Celebrate an anniversary, a birthday, or a new grandchild by sponsoring a service. Details are on our Worship page.
- Support a campaign. Our campaigns include the Annual Giving Campaign, the Caring Community, the Gan Sinai Fund, programming donations, and our clergy discretionary funds.
Looking to give beyond our walls? Our guide to Jewish Community Resources in North Miami & Aventura highlights local organizations that provide food assistance, senior care, and crisis support.
This Season, Give Together
Giving Tuesday and Chanukah arrive within days of each other this year, which makes this a perfect moment to start a new tradition. Pull out a tzedakah box, talk with your kids about what matters to them, and choose a way to give, whether it’s a few coins, an afternoon of your time, or a gift that helps someone stand on their own.
However you give, you are part of a tradition thousands of years old, and you are helping build a more just and caring world.
Happy Chanukah!
