After the last long weekend (almost a week, really) of consumption (Thanksgiving aka Turkey Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday) two clever nonprofit executives have come up with the idea of “Giving Tuesday.” So let’s see: first give thanks, then consume, then give?
Jewish tradition suggests that giving be part of our budget from the beginning, not an afterthought at the end. However this new holiday (?) offers is a reminder near the end of the secular year that our lives are not just about us. One measure of a person is the good that he or she manages to do in the world.
How much should we give for tzedakah? That’s the Jewish word for charitable giving. Let me ask you that question another way: guesstimate the following figures:
- the cable bill per month
- amount spent on coffee drinks per month
- or some other not-necessary-for-survival budget item
Now compare that to “given in tzedakah a month.” Tzedakah includes:
- money to charities
- to your temple
- to Cousin Fred to pay his rent last month
- in-kind gifts to charities (canned goods to the Food Bank)
- the dollar to the homeless woman
The idea is that this giving relieves suffering and makes life more livable for people who need help. The question is, how much was it? And how does that compare to your cable bill? Your coffee bill? How does it compare to any other nice-but-not-necessary-for-life item in your budget?
If the numbers appear to be out of balance in favor of tzedakah, good for you! If they are out of balance the other direction, I encourage you to think about writing a check on Giving Tuesday. It’s another way of keeping life in balance.
(If you’d rather do this by a more traditional method, you can use Maimonides‘ rule of thumb: 5% of income if you have a low income, 10% if you are well-off. I know, those are challenging percentages, but it is the ideal, and there are people who manage to do it, most of them on the lower, not the upper end of the income scale.)
Consider giving for justice’s sake, not just on Tuesday, but on a regular basis. As Hillel says, “Who is rich? The person who is happy with what he has.” (Avot 4.1) The more we give, the richer we feel. That’s the miracle.