What is the difference between tzedakah and charity?

Tzedakah comes from the Hebrew word for justice, not the word for love or charity. In Jewish tradition, giving to those in need is treated as an obligation tied to fairness rather than an optional act of generosity, though the practical result — helping someone in need — is similar.

How much money should I give as tzedakah?

A common guideline is ma'aser kesafim, setting aside about 10% of net income for giving, though many people give more or less depending on their circumstances. Consistency matters more than hitting an exact percentage, and giving should never put a household's own stability at risk.

Does tzedakah have to be money?

No. Tzedakah includes volunteering time, offering skills, and everyday acts of practical support, alongside financial giving. Many people find that recurring small acts of help matter as much as monetary donations.

What are Maimonides' levels of tzedakah?

Maimonides described eight ascending levels of giving, from giving reluctantly at the bottom to helping someone become self-sufficient at the top. The framework emphasizes that how you give — with dignity, anonymity, and care for the recipient — matters alongside how much you give.

Should I give locally or to national organizations?

Jewish tradition generally emphasizes giving locally first, since the needs of one's own community take priority, but many people also support national and international Jewish organizations focused on hunger relief and poverty alongside local giving.

Tzedakah: A Practical Guide to Jewish Giving

Quick answer: Tzedakah is the Jewish practice of giving — rooted in the word for justice, not charity — and it applies to money, time, and everyday acts of support. A common guideline is ma’aser kesafim, setting aside about 10% of income for giving, but tzedakah also includes volunteering, hosting, and helping neighbors directly.

What Tzedakah Really Means

Tzedakah is often translated as “charity,” but the word actually comes from tzedek, meaning justice or righteousness. That distinction matters. In Jewish tradition, giving to those in need isn’t framed as an optional kindness — it’s understood as an obligation, a way of restoring balance and fairness in the world. Whether you’re a longtime giver or just starting to think about what giving means to you, tzedakah offers a practical, everyday framework rather than an abstract ideal.

This is one reason tzedakah shows up in so many forms across Jewish life: a coin dropped in a pushke (charity box) before candle-lighting, a check written to a local organization, a shift volunteering at a food pantry, or a meal brought to a new parent. All of it counts.

The Levels of Giving

The medieval scholar Maimonides famously described eight levels of tzedakah, ranked from good to best. At the lower end is giving reluctantly or after being asked. Higher up is giving before being asked, giving anonymously so the recipient doesn’t feel shame, and giving in a way that lets the recipient not know the identity of the giver at all. The highest level, according to Maimonides, is helping someone become self-sufficient — a loan, a job lead, or a partnership that helps a person stand on their own.

You don’t need to memorize the list to use it. The underlying idea is simple: giving with dignity and thoughtfulness matters as much as giving itself. A gift that helps someone find steady work, for instance, may do more long-term good than a one-time handout — which is part of why community job boards and local hiring networks are themselves a quiet form of tzedakah.

How Much Should You Give?

Many Jewish households use ma’aser kesafim — tithing roughly 10% of net income — as a starting benchmark, with some giving up to 20% and others giving what they can manage. There’s no single “correct” number, and Jewish tradition is generally sensitive to real financial circumstances; giving shouldn’t put a household at risk. What matters more than the exact percentage is consistency: building giving into a budget the same way you’d budget for any other recurring commitment.

A few practical starting points:

Set a giving amount or percentage and automate it, even if it’s modest.
Keep a small charity box (pushke) at home for spare change and everyday giving.
Give in multiples of 18 (representing chai, “life”) as a common and meaningful tradition — $18, $36, $180.
Revisit the amount once a year, rather than deciding fresh every time a request comes in.

Where the Giving Goes

Tzedakah is flexible about destination. Some people give primarily to their synagogue or day school; others prioritize hunger relief, poverty organizations, or disaster response. National organizations like Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger and American Jewish World Service focus on food security and global poverty from a Jewish lens, while your local Jewish Federation typically funds a wide range of community needs — from eldercare to emergency assistance — in one place.

Local giving has a particular resonance in Jewish tradition, since the sages taught that the poor of your own city take precedence. That’s a good reason to look close to home first: a neighbor quietly struggling, a family in your community facing an unexpected expense, or a local organization doing steady, unglamorous work. Browsing your community explorer listings is often the fastest way to find out what’s actually needed nearby.

Giving Time, Not Just Money

Tzedakah isn’t only financial. Volunteering — cooking for a shiva house, driving someone to a medical appointment, tutoring a student, organizing a clothing drive — is a form of giving that many people find just as meaningful, and sometimes more sustainable, than writing checks. Acts of chessed (loving-kindness) overlap heavily with tzedakah in practice, even though they’re technically distinct categories. If you’re looking for a place to start, browsing chessed opportunities in your area is a low-pressure way to find a need that matches your time and skills.

Community life offers steady, recurring chances to give in small ways: helping set up for a simchah, welcoming a new family, or showing up for a neighbor’s community event. None of it requires a formal donation to count as tzedakah.

Practical Ways to Start This Week

If you’re not sure where to begin, keep it simple:

Pick one local cause and commit to a small, recurring gift.
Check whether your community has a gemach — a free-loan society or lending pool for items like baby gear, medical equipment, or interest-free loans — and consider both borrowing and contributing to one.
Look at your local listings for organizations already doing work you care about, rather than starting something new from scratch.
If you have something usable to give away — furniture, baby items, event supplies — consider posting it as a free community listing instead of discarding it.
If your household is renting or between homes, remember that helping a family find stable housing or navigate a move is itself a recognized form of practical tzedakah.

Tzedakah, in the end, is less about a single grand gesture and more about a habit — a recurring choice to notice need and respond to it, in whatever form fits your life right now.

By the HeimishMart Community Desk — HeimishMart is the community marketplace for Jewish homes, jobs, and local life across North America.