The Origins of Organized Charity in Rabbinic JudaismThis 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 C.E. 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
3 | 63 |
4 | 84 |
22 | 87 |
52 | 94 |
Lodging for the Poor | 98 |
Hospitality and the Origins of the Tamhui | 105 |
Quppa The Charity Fund | 111 |
Charity with Dignity | 139 |
After the Tannaim | 180 |
| 193 | |
| 213 | |
| 219 | |
| 225 | |
| 229 | |
| 231 | |
7 | 157 |
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Common terms and phrases
almsgiving Amoraic Amoraic texts Amoraim ancient world beggars begging Ben Sira benefactor bread Brill Cambridge University Press century C.E. Charity in Roman charity supervisor Christian civic clothing collection conjunctural poor contributions Demai Didache discussion in Chapter distribution early rabbinic texts economic extrarabbinic sources Fraade gabbai tsedaqah Galilee Gardner gift Greco-Roman Hamel Hebrew Hezser History hospitality important institutions Israel Jerusalem Jerusalem Talmud Jewish Jewish Leadership Jewish Society Jews Ketubbot Late Antiquity legumes Leiden and Boston Lieberman likewise Menahot Mishnah narrative needs Neusner obligation olive oil one’s organized charity Parkin parnas parnasim Pe'ah poor individuals Poverty and Charity quppa quppa provides rabbinic literature rabbinic texts rabbis rabbis instruct reciprocate Roman Palestine Sabbath Safrai sages Satlow Schwartz Second Temple Shabbat Sifra SifreDeut slave social soup kitchen synagogue tamhui tamhui and quppa tamhui provides Tannaim Tannaitic compilations Tannaitic texts tax collectors Tosefta town Translation based urban wellborn poor wine Yerushalmi