Investigating Those Requesting Charity
Jewish tradition encourages those who dispense charity to investigate whether
supplicants are worthy recipients, at least in some cases.
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Rav Huna said: we investigate the legitimacy
of a person asking for food but not one asking
for clothing. This may be demonstrated with a
verse or with logic. If you prefer logic: the
one seeking clothing debases himself by
wearing rags, but the one seeking food does
not. If you prefer a verse: (Isaiah 58:7) "Are
you not going to break your bread for the
hungry?" The word pauros is written with the
letter sin and not with the letter samach. [The
word may be spelled either way. In modern
texts, it's spelled with a samach which may undercut Rav Huna's argument.]
Paros with a sin also
means to search out. Later in the verse, it says
"And when you see the naked, clothe him." When you see the
naked, clothe him, that is
immediately. Baba Basra 9a
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Rav Yehuda reaches exactly the opposite conclusion and the law follows his opinion.
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And Rav Yehuda said we investigate the
person asking for clothing but not one asking
for food. This may be demonstrated with a
verse or with logic. If you prefer logic: The
one seeking food may be suffering and the one
seeking clothing is not. If you prefer a verse
(Isaiah 58:7) "Are you not going to break
your bread for the hungry?" Slice
immediately. With regard to clothing, it says
"when you see the naked clothe him". When
you see that he is not a fraud. A Braisa
supports Rav Yehuda as follows: if a
supplicant says "clothe me" we investigate
him;. "feed me" we don't investigate. Baba Basra 9a
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Maimonides' code sticks with Rav Yehuda's opinion.
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If a poor person who is a stranger says "I am hungry, feed me." we don't investigate whether he
is a fraud but we sustain him immediately. If he were naked and said "clothe me" we investigate
whether he is a fraud. But if we recognize him, we clothe him immediately in accordance with his
position and we don't investigate him. Laws of Gifts to the Poor 87.
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