The origins of organized charity in rabbinic Judaism / Gregg E. Gardner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gardner, Gregg, 1976- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Charity laws and legislation (Jewish law).

Charity organization.

Jewish ethics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 235 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines the origins of communal and institutional almsgiving in rabbinic Judaism. It undertakes a close reading of foundational rabbinic texts (Mishnah, Tosefta, Tannaitic Midrashim) and places their discourses on organized giving in their second to third century CE contexts. Gregg E. Gardner finds that Tannaim promoted giving through the soup kitchen (tamhui) and charity fund (quppa), which enabled anonymous and collective support for the poor. This protected the dignity of the poor and provided an alternative to begging, which benefited the community as a whole - poor and non-poor alike. By contrast, later Jewish and Christian writings (from the fourth to fifth centuries) would see organized charity as a means to promote their own religious authority. This book contributes to the study of Jews and Judaism, history of religions, biblical studies, and ethics.

Contents:

Introduction

The poor and poverty in Roman Palestine

From vessels to institutions

Tamhui, The soup kitchen

Quppa, The Charity Fund

Charity with dignity

The Charity Supervisor

Conclusion: After the Tannaim.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-316-28986-9

1-316-31050-7

1-316-32388-9

1-107-47928-2

1-316-33056-7

1-316-33390-6

1-316-32722-1

1-316-32052-9

1-316-15511-0