4. Zakat:

Charity is highly regarded by Jews. The Torah says: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.”[1] The Torah also says: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.”[2] Zakat (charity) is enjoined on whoever has passed the age of twenty.[3]

One tenth of the tithe was given to the priests. “However, the Jews’ zeal and activity to collect the funds of zakat (charity) fluctuated between strength and weakness. With the passage of time the negligence of paying this right overwhelmed them so much that the priests got annoyed and had to warn the followers of their religion that they would be punished for that and that the wrath and indignation of the Lord would be inflicted on them. But the public people among them did not respond to the call of the priests, which resulted in more hoarding of wealth and excessive richness, and they resorted to interpretation and justification to avoid carrying out this obligation.”[4]