by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 26, 2016
If asked which mitzvah obligates us to help the poor, we would immediately respond, “The mitzvah of tzedakah.” There’s only one problem: no such mitzvah exists in the Torah. Nowhere in the Torah does it say that if a poor person asks us for money, we must give it to him.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 6, 2016
Loaning as a Mitzvah Is there a mitzvah to loan money? Many of us would think that the answer is “no” – it’s not real tzedakah, because the person has to give the money back in the end. What is obvious to us is that there is a mitzvah of tzedakah – giving money to a person in need. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 8, 2016
In halakha, our obligations towards the other are mostly, if not exclusively, directed towards our fellow Jews. In other lectures [hyperlink here to Circles of Responsibility and to the Jew-Gentile lectures that are relevant], we explore to what extent there is a basis in halakha for an obligation of assistance and support towards Gentiles as well.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 5, 2016
Many Jews champion social justice as a Torah mandate of tikkun olam. This term contains two notions – one, a universalist ethos, a care for the world at large, and not just the Jewish community. And two, it is a call to address the deep, systemic problems within society – to get at the root causes of injustice and inequality, and not just focus on addressing its symptoms, such as helping individuals who are without food, or health care, or education.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 5, 2016
The Torah in many places obligates us to take care of our “brother”. It is clear from many verses that this word often does not mean generically “another person,” but specifically someone of our tribe – a fellow member of the people of Israel. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 5, 2016
Two major figures in the Torah – Moshe and Avraham – act in ways to protect others who are being oppressed, even those who are not their own people. In this way, that can serve as a model for a religious leadership that incorporates a vision of a universalist social justice.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 5, 2016
The holiday of Shavuot is generally assumed to commemorate the giving of the Torah, which occurred on the sixth of Sivan. In the Torah, however, Shavuot is only described as an agricultural holiday and occurs not on any particular calendrical date, but at the culmination of seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest season that occurs on the second day of Pesach.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on May 24, 2012
(An earlier version of this appeared in the 5769 AJWS Chag v’Chesed) The holiday of Shavuot is generally assumed to commemorate the giving of the Torah, which occurred on the sixth of Sivan. In the Torah, however, Shavuot is only described as an agricultural holiday and occurs not on any particular calendrical date, but at the culmination of seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest season that occurs on the second day of Pesach.…
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