Corporate Torah

Shabbat Re’eh Dvar Torah - Radical Responsibility This week the Torah introduces to the mitzvah of  Tzedaka  (charity). Embedded within the narrative of this commandment is a paradox. On the one hand the Torah promises that "there shall be no needy among you," but just a few verses later states that "the needy shall never cease from the land." How do we reconcile this? The 19 th century commentator Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch explains that the phrase "from the land" refers to the natural order of the world. Even if two people begin life with the exact same resources, variables like health, family circumstances, and personal abilities will inevitably create disparity. Left to its own devices, the natural course of a society guarantees that some people will live in poverty. However, the Torah does not want us to simply accept this natural order, but highlights what happens in "the land" generally, versus what is incumbent on us in "y...