The Jewish Wisdom Database

Be not slow to visit the sick!

Never call a halt to your visiting of the sick!

Good deeds are done by good people.

Let no man spill the water of his cistern while others need it!

The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.

The giving of charity, which brings sustenance to a needy individual, is a life-sustaining act - one that effectively allows us to imitate G-d, 'the animator of the living,' and provides each person with the noblest direction in life - to 'walk in His ways.'

Let not your hand be open wide to take, and clenched at a time of giving back!

He who refuses a suppliant the aid which he has the power to give, is accountable to justice.

You shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother, but...lend him sufficient for his need.

What you save from frivolity, add to your charity.

To him who has the means and refuses the needy, the Holy One says: Bear in mind, fortune is a wheel!

A community which has no synagogue and no shelter for the poor, must first provide for the poor.

Every Jew must either give or take charity for Passover.

Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole.

Who gives to the poor shall not lack.

By benevolence man rises to a height where he meets God. Therefore do a good deed before you begin your prayers.

Turn not away your face from any poor man, and the face of God will not turn away from you.

If you have much, give much; if you have little, be not afraid to give according to that little; for you lay up a good treasure for yourself against the day of need.

Charity is a magnet with more power to attract the divine influence than any other precept.

As lightning springs out of its concealment in dark clouds to flash through the world, so the divine light, imbedded in matter, emerges through charitable deeds...Thus, through charity, a sort of divine revelation occurs in the soul.

Charity and loving-kindness intercede greatly and promote peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven.

Charity is as potent for atonement as the altar.

Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.

If you see a man giving liberally, it means his wealth will grow; if you see one who shuns charity, it means his wealth will dwindle.

The door which does not open to the poor will open to the physician.