Friday, 27 October, 2017

Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verse 13

[The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil;] Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.

This is part of the discourse of wisdom where she speaks invitingly, giving a threat only in the last line. The theme of this chapter is Wisdom’s desire for intimacy with God and desire to be with human beings. Jesus, like Wisdom, calls out to people to listen to him, promises to tell them the truth, seeks disciples, invites them to a banquet, and gives them life. The truth and sincerity of wisdom are absolute because they are of divine origin. They can neither deceive nor tolerate deception. The intelligent understand and accept this. “Straight” and “crooked” in Hebrew and English are metaphors for true, trustworthy and false, deceitful. She is God’s friend and intimate and invites human beings to a similar relationship to God through her.[1]

If only wisdom would visit congress the center of pride, arrogance, the evil way and the perverse mouth. Pray for our country. St. Jude is the patron Saint of the impossible.

Families First[2]

WASHINGTON—In a letter today addressed to all members of Congress, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, called for legislators to consider bedrock moral principles as they approach tax reform. "The U.S. bishops have long emphasized that '[t]he tax system should be continually evaluated in terms of its impact on the poor,'" Bishop Dewane wrote. Quoting Pope Francis concerning the family, Bishop Dewane stressed that "[t]hose services which society offers its citizens are not a type of alms, but rather a genuine 'social debt' with respect to the institution of the family, which is foundational and which contributes to the common good." As Congress formulates proposals for tax reform based on the "Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code," Bishop Dewane's letter articulated six moral principles that should guide lawmakers' decisions:

Care for the poor;
Strengthening families;
Maintaining progressivity of the tax code;
Raising adequate revenue for the common good;
Avoiding cuts to poverty programs to finance tax reform; and
Incentivizing charitable giving and development.

Bishop Dewane called on legislators to remember the poor and the common good when considering taxes, writing that "you are urged to recognize the critical obligation of creating a just framework aimed at the economic security of all people, especially the least of these."

Charity[3]

Traditional Jews give at least ten percent of their income to charity.

· Traditional Jewish homes commonly have a pushke, a box for collecting coins for the poor, and coins are routinely placed in the box. Jewish youths are continually going from door to door collecting for various worthy causes.

· A standard mourner's prayer includes a statement that the mourner will make a donation to charity in memory of the deceased.

· In many ways, charitable donation has taken the place of animal sacrifice in Jewish life: giving to charity is an almost instinctive Jewish response to express thanks to G-d, to ask forgiveness from G-d, or to request a favor from G-d.

· According to Jewish tradition, the spiritual benefit of giving to the poor is so great that a beggar actually does the giver a favor by giving a person the opportunity to perform tzedakah.

The Meaning of the Word "Tzedakah"

"Tzedakah" is the Hebrew word for the acts that we call "charity" in English: giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes.

· The nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word "charity" suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy.

· The word "tzedakah" is derived from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness.

· In Judaism, giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due.

The Obligation of Tzedakah

Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need.

· Tzedakah is the highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper.

· This is probably hyperbole, but it illustrates the importance of tzedakah in Jewish thought.

· Tzedakah is one of the three acts that gain us forgiveness from our sins.

· The High Holiday liturgy repeatedly states that G-d has inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah can alleviate the decree. See Days of Awe.

· According to Jewish law, we are required to give one-tenth of our income to the poor.

· This is generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes.

· Taxes themselves do not fulfill our obligation to give tzedakah, even though a significant portion of tax revenues in America and many other countries are used to provide for the poor and needy.

· Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less, but must still give to the extent they are able; however, no person should give so much that he would become a public burden.

· The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to synagogues or to educational institutions.

· It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age.

· The obligation includes giving to both Jews and gentiles; contrary to popular belief, Jews do not just "take care of our own." Quite the contrary, a study reported in the Jewish Journal indicated that Jewish "mega-donors" (who give more than $10 million a year to charity) found that only 6% of their mega-dollars went to specifically Jewish causes.

· Judaism acknowledges that many people who ask for charity have no genuine need. In fact, the Talmud suggests that this is a good thing: if all people who asked for charity were in genuine need, we would be subject to punishment (from G-d) for refusing anyone who asked.

· The existence of frauds diminishes our liability for failing to give to all who ask, because we have some legitimate basis for doubting the beggar's sincerity.

· It is permissible to investigate the legitimacy of a charity before donating to it.

· We have an obligation to avoid becoming in need of tzedakah.

· A person should take any work that is available, even if he thinks it is beneath his dignity, to avoid becoming a public charge.

· However, if a person is truly in need and has no way to obtain money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah.

· No person should feel too proud to take money from others.

· It is considered a transgression to refuse tzedakah. One source says that to make yourself suffer by refusing to accept tzedakah is equivalent to shedding your own blood.

Levels of Tzedakah

Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered more meritorious than others. The Talmud describes these different levels of tzedakah, and Rambam organized them into a list. The levels of charity, from the least meritorious to the most meritorious, are:

Giving begrudgingly
Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
Giving after being asked
Giving before being asked
Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant

Fitness Friday-Hamstrings

Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6^th day I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and renew yourself in strength; mind, soul and heart.