Opening our Hands, Softening our Hearts
David Goodman

In this week’s portion, R’eih, we read one of the Torah’s clearest calls to take up the cause of our neighbors when they are struggling: “If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kin in any of your settlements in the land that the Eternal your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin. Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8).                             

As the Religious Action Center’s Legislative Assistant for economic justice issues, the inspiration for the advocacy work I have done this year on behalf of low-income Americans can be summed up by the words of R’eih. However, programs intended to aid those in need do not always garner strong support from the public or legislators. Perhaps that is because, though the directive of the commandment is strong, it also leaves some things unclear. Who is “needy?” How do we know what is “sufficient” to meet their needs?

The Rabbis, of course, have discussed these questions. The phrase “that which is sufficient” is generally understood to mean that we are commanded to provide a pauper with sustenance (i.e. his basic needs) but not to make him wealthy. The phrase, “that which he is lacking” is interpreted in the Talmud to mean that even if a poor man is lacking a horse to ride and a servant to run before him (i.e., his subjective needs), we must provide these for him. In other words, we must not ourselves be the judge of what someone in need requires (K’tubot, 67b). In both cases, our tradition is clear: giving to those in need is not a matter of personal choice – it is an obligation, a commandment, a prerequisite for receiving the blessings of God.

Even as the Torah directs us to help those in need, there is a recognition that poverty will always be with us, despite both our best instincts and the resources we have available. The words of R’eih continue, noting “For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land” (15:11, italics mine).

How are these ancient lessons reflected in the present-day?  We see the wisdom of the Torah’s words even in our own society of boundless opportunity.  Farmers can produce enough food to feed everyone in the United States and yet, in 2008, more than 14% of households (comprising more than 49.1 million Americans) had difficulty putting enough food on the table. In Canada last year, nearly 800,000 men, women and children relies on food banks each month to ensure they have enough to eat. Can we assume that those who struggle do so out of some sort of perverse choice, or do we acknowledge that the world is an imperfect place, where opportunity may be boundless but circumstances remain unequal? 

The Torah’s acknowledgement of the realities of poverty is coupled with an admonishment to not accept these circumstances.  We are taught by R’eih not to “harden our hearts” simply because there will always be people struggling. We must never stop working to identify our community’s own shortcomings, and address them with open hearts.

Unfortunately, this message does not appear to be a source of guidance or inspiration for many in Congress who have been critical of extending unemployment benefits to jobless Americans whose benefits have run out.  Opponents of the program claim that the extra financial help is a deterrent to finding a job, despite the fact that there is currently only one job available for every five unemployed workers.  This hardening of our national heart is hurting American families who continue to struggle with the effects of the nation’s greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Maimonides tells us that the greatest we can do for somebody is to “strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others” (Hilchot Matanot Aniyim,10:7-14). These words, along with those of R’eih that remind us to open our hearts, help guide our thinking about the government’s responsibility to aid its struggling citizens.  By urging our government to make anti-poverty programs live up to these ideals, we can find the holiness of being an economic justice advocate: As we read in Psalm 109, “God stands at the right hand of the needy.”

David Goodman is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

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