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Ruth Messinger

President, American Jewish World Service

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Tzedakah: 9 Designs That Challenge Our Notions Of Philanthropy (PHOTOS)

Posted: 04/23/2012 3:11 pm
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Like many people in my generation, I first associated tzedakah, the Hebrew word for charity, with the pushke -- the little metal box given out in Hebrew school, rusting on my parents' windowsill. I learned in the 1950s that Jews were supposed to collect pennies in the pushke to plant trees in Israel. There was no passion or intensity embedded in this ritual; no real understanding of the values or texts behind this seemingly strange act of generosity; and no opportunity to innovate. It was just something Jews did.

The truth is, no one in my family talked much about giving money; they talked about giving time. My parents and grandparents devoted untold hours to serving on the boards of local Federation agencies -- an ethic that has deeply informed my own professional and personal commitments.

But, of course, time isn't the only marker of giving. Money matters, too. It matters a lot. Money defines our needs, our wants and our luxuries. It shapes our responsibilities and informs our life choices. Subsequently, I discovered that my parents were, in fact, giving money -- but it was apparently not a subject for "polite" conversation.

My parents' perception was misguided. We need to talk about money and it shouldn't be considered "taboo."

About 15 years ago, I decided that I wanted to raise my grandchildren's consciousness about money early on in their lives. Beginning on their ninth birthdays, my husband and I started giving each grandchild $100 to donate to causes or organizations of their choice during the year. For me, the cause itself -- be it animal rights, marriage equality, children's mental health or ending genocide in Darfur -- is less important than the questions and values that inform their decisions. Which issues do they care about and why? How do they determine who needs their money most?

American Jewish World Service's Where Do You Give? initiative has pushed these questions into the Jewish communal spotlight to spark a national conversation about giving in the 21st century.

Central to Where Do You Give? is a national competition that called upon artists to translate tzedakah's meaning into a compelling, relevant design -- far beyond the pushke on the windowsill.

AJWS received dozens of amazing submissions for the competition and I, along with our distinguished panel of judges, have now narrowed them down to nine finalists.

Many of the submissions were conceived in an effort to cut through the morass of what people look at every day and focus their attentions on giving. One entry is a large public installation that cleverly plays with the meaning of the word "change" and another seeks to elevate the grocery shopping experience so that people can understand and engage with issues related to their everyday purchases.

But I particularly love the submissions that seem designed to get people together to have these discussions -- whether it is through a community baking project, computer game or an interactive pixel map.

Looking at these pieces of art gives me great hope that a new generation of globally conscious designers are celebrating the critical role that tzedakah plays in today's world and that the next generation of Jews will both give and talk about giving. Working for justice depends on re-imagining the possibilities for this work. It requires that we take a good, hard look at the values that animate our philanthropic choices.

AJWS will announce the Where Do You Give? grand prize winners on May 15.

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Like many people in my generation, I first associated tzedakah, the Hebrew word for charity, with the pushke -- the little metal box given out in Hebrew school, rusting on my parents' windowsill. I le...
Like many people in my generation, I first associated tzedakah, the Hebrew word for charity, with the pushke -- the little metal box given out in Hebrew school, rusting on my parents' windowsill. I le...
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The people most likely to misreport high levels of giving were those who said faith was very important to them and those who attend services more than weekly.

 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
bi-partizan
citizen with integrity
232 Fans
09:56 PM on 04/24/2012
It sounds so much like SADAKA in islamic religion. but if I am right they have established a norm: Norm is once year your networth is established and divided to 40 equal parts and one part is distributed amongst the needy of the family, neighbours and the community..in that order.
For a moment I thought about it, if it is done justly, correctly and globally, there would not be any poor person in the world. Nice, is it not? Allegedly, perhaps Marx got the 15000 DUCA gold pieces from a French Banker who was trying to buy all of the English rail system from the Baron just putting this norm in to a system. and called something like living in a paradise .but he forgot one thing....individual Greed of the Human race....
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larry cifuentes
35 Fans
11:57 AM on 04/24/2012
Philanthropy, is indeed tangible means of attaining self transcendence, much like hands on building your own house.

Knowing not "the divine process," however, the house build is for "divine doll playing."
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Pratitya
161 Fans
09:29 PM on 04/24/2012
But one can discover the divine through building a house.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
larry cifuentes
35 Fans
10:36 PM on 04/24/2012
Most certainly,
Earthly houses are build for man to reside. The way of doing so, becomes qualitative build up preparation for the divine to reside in man too.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Naithom
Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me vide
646 Fans
 
02:38 AM on 04/24/2012
We also taught our son to find charities to give to and assist at an early age. His tzedakah box was a large plastic crayon. He's 15 and tutors learning disabled children at the local elementary school.
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Pratitya
161 Fans
09:30 PM on 04/24/2012
Thank you for your excellent example of service to others
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Pratitya
161 Fans
08:56 PM on 04/23/2012
"But, of course, time isn't the only marker of giving. Money matters, too"

But what have you taught your grandchildren?

Service is not merely serving on a board of directors but the direct involvement with people in providing a service such a helping a child to read, serving food to needy families, and listening to the stories of an elderly person who lives alone. Giving money although virtuous is not the whole story because the donor does not see the faces of the people benefiting.

And, as a community activist and public figure who has embraced issues of social justice, you should be aware that many of us do not have the financial means to donate money. Do not minimize the significance of willing hands and the importance of mutual aid especially in these difficult times by juxtaposing this with money donations.

What can be of greater importance than exposing your grandchildren to community service: food pantries, community gardens etc.
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violettefemme
781 Fans
06:23 PM on 04/23/2012
You don't seem to know the most basic tenets of tzedakah, which are to remain anonymous and, quite specifically, not to talk (boast, brag, announce, advertise) about your charitable giving. And even more specifically, not to say where or how much one gave. Complete anonymity in both giver and receiver, in order to maintain both person's sense of self, privacy and pride.

Doing good works is something completely different from tzedakah, which is an anonymous cash donation. Anonymous. Key word. Yet here you share who, how much and your ideas for giving. All of which are very noble, none of which are tzedakah.

That is the absolute basis for tzedakah. To me, your essay goes against that very basic, very important, aspect.
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Pole
retired professor of History, Comparative Religion
225 Fans
06:01 PM on 04/23/2012
Long live the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
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bi-partizan
citizen with integrity
232 Fans
09:57 PM on 04/24/2012
Amen
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