Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

The LEAGUE

Charity in the Bible (Private-Religious)
Lesson 2:
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Lesson
Handouts
Academic Standards
Philanthropy Framework
9th-12th Grade
Subjects:

Language Arts, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view
ELA: Analyze/ Interpret; Cause/Effect; Compare/Contrast; Creative Writing; Group Discussions; Main Idea; Reading; Reflection; Response to Text/Others
PHIL: Act of Kindness; Charity; Civil Society; Giving; Judaism; Religious Perspectives; Values
SOC: Common Good; Communities; Consumption; Environment; Ethics; Land Use; Parochial; Production/Producer; Resources

Purpose:

This lesson will familiarize the learners with basic laws of charity (tzedakah) in Biblical literature.  Through laws and stories, students will begin to understand the level of importance that the Bible places on acts of charity (tzedakah), specifically as it relates to farming and giving to the poor. 

Duration:

Two to Three - Fifty Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

  • understand the concepts of ma’aser ani, leket, and peah -acts of charity in farming.
  • read the story of Ruth, and identify the charitable acts of Boaz.
  • identify and understand the non-monetary rewards of giving charity, according to the Bible.

Service Experience:

Although this lesson contains a service project example, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

Create a Bible-like story, in writing, that explains how an act of charity changes the lives of two people, the giver and the recipient. Identify a real person or create a fictional person who emulates the qualities of Boaz and develop a story that shows acts of charity and the non-monetary rewards of giving charity.

Materials:

  • Attachment One: Biblical Laws of Tzedakah
  • Attachment Two: Character Qualities
  • Student copies of The Story of Ruth: (A copy may be found at
    http://www.ou.org/chagim/shavuot/ruth.htm )
  • Lined paper
  • Pens or pencils
  • Poster board
Handout 1
Biblical Laws of Tzedakah
Handout 2
Character Qualities

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:
Ask the learners to think of different acts of charity. Write each one of them on the poster board.  As the students think of the different examples, ask them to describe the type of person that would give charity in that way. Explain to the students that the Bible highlights different acts of charity, many of them that revolve around farming.

 

  • Attachment One: Distribute Biblical Laws of Tzedakah

  • Read the laws and discuss the Biblical reason behind the law.  Why is it necessary to institute laws to help the poor of the community.

  • Obtain copies of The Story of Ruth from the Internet. Distribute them to the students and read together, highlighting the section dealing with of charity.

  • Distribute Attachment Two: Character Qualities.  Discuss the two characters in the story, Ruth and Boaz.  What type of person was Boaz-the donor, and what type of person was the Ruth- the recipient?

  • Have the learners write each of their character qualities in the appropriate columns found on Attachment Two.

  • Discuss the reward that Boaz received from being a charitable person---marrying Ruth and being the great grandfather of King David.

  • Distribute paper and pens/pencils to the students and ask  them to create a Bible-like story that models itself after the story of Ruth and Boaz. In their writing, have the learners use the qualities identified on the Attachment Two: Character Qualities to help them create and develop characters that emulate those qualities of a generous person. 

Assessment:

Learners will be assessed based on their participation in class discussions.  Their stories will be assessed based on their understanding of charitable acts, development of charitable personalities/qualities, and an understanding of a non-monetary reward for giving charity. 

School/Home Connection:

The learners will share the Story of Ruth with their families.  They will inquire and indentify a family member or family friend (grandparent, great-grandparent or even generations before) that fit(s) the model of a generous giver and compare the qualities of this generous giver with that of Boaz. 

Extension:

The learners will write a short biography of the identified family member or family friend (See School/Home Connection) who models the qualities of a generous person. 

Bibliographical References:

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Eytan J Apter
Areyvut
http://www.areyvut.org
New York, NY 10018

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Biblical Laws of Tzedakah

Leviticus
25:35
When your brother becomes impoverished and loses the ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid. Help him survive, whether he is a proselyte or a native [Israelite].

Deuteronomy
15:7
When, in a settlement in the land that God your Lord is giving you, any of your brothers is poor, do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy brother.

15:8
Open your hand generously, and extend to him any credit he needs to take care of his wants.

15:9
Be very careful that you not have an irresponsible idea and say to yourself, 'The seventh year is approaching, and it will be the remission year.' You may then look unkindly at your impoverished brother, and not give him anything. If he then complains to God about you, you will have a sin.

15:10
Therefore, make every effort to give him, and do not feel bad about giving it, since God your Lord will then bless you in all your endeavors, no matter what you do.

15:11
The poor will never cease to exist in the land, so I am commanding you to open your hand generously to your poor and destitute brother in your land.

Certain 'levies' [Matanot] on agricultural produce grown in Eretz-Israel must be paid by the physical removal from the produce of certain amounts to be given to certain people. There were basically two kinds of levy: Matnot Aniyyim and Matnot Kehunah - levies to be given to the destitute and levies to be given to the priesthood.


A. Levies to be given to the Destitute:

1. Pe'ah: one corner of each field had to be left unharvested by the owner. It was the privilege of the destitute to enter the field when it had been harvested and to harvest for themselves what had been left in the Pe'ah [corner]. The Torah itself leaves the amount to be left up to the generosity of the owner, but the sages set the average at around 2 percent of the whole. The poor did their own harvesting of the Pe'ah to avoid the impression that what they got from the field was the result of the farmer's personal generosity: it is their privilege granted them by God, who is the real owner of the field - and not the gift of the farmer.

2. Shikhechah: after the produce had been bundled into sheaves and so forth it was loaded onto carts for transportation to the granary. Any sheaves or bundles that on account of an error were not loaded could not later be reclaimed by the owner: the forgotten bundles [Shikhechah] had become the privilege of the destitute.

3. Leket (called in the vineyard and olive orchard Peret): the destitute had the right to follow after the harvesters and pick up anything that accidentally fell from their hand. (This was what the biblical Ruth did in the field of Boaz.)

4. Olelot: underdeveloped grapes that were harvested in error became the privilege of the destitute.

5. Ma'aser Ani: In every seven-year cycle [Shemittah] there was a levy of ten percent of what remained of the produce (after all the above 'deductions') in the third and sixth years of the cycle. This produce had to be given to the destitute person of the owner's choice.

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Character Qualities

 

Character Qualities

Ruth

Boaz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Philanthropy Framework:

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