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Giving Away One’s Tzedakah Money

If someone gives tzedeka to a Talmud Chocham, exclusively for him, is the Talmud Chocham allowed to give the money to a different person that needs the tzedeka?

Answer:

Once the talmid chacham in question has received the money, he has the right to give tzedakah to others.

However, he must be wary of not giving an impression that he needs the money, when in fact he does not need it, and can give it to others.

If somebody gives tzedakah to support a talmid chacham, he clearly understands that the money will be used to support the person in question, and he is apparently searching for the virtue of supporting a talmid chacham. If the money is simply transferred to somebody else, it seems that the talmid chacham is not actually in need of support, and the donation is not being received in good faith.

Therefore, although after having received the money a person can do with it as he pleases, care must be taken that no fraud is involved.


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3 Comments

  1. It doesn’t matter that this persons intention was that the money should solely go to this talmid chocham? Or that it should be used for his own benefit (i.e. living costs, etc.) Assuming of course he is really in need. The fact that he would give it over to someone else might just be his desire to do chessed, however the money was originally intended for his own well-being.

    1. Part of the talmid chacham’s wellbeing is his ability to give money to causes he feels are worthy. Once the talmid chacham receives the money, provided he is really needy and there is no misrepresentation, he can do with it as he pleases.

  2. After investigating this shailo I would say the din is not so clear cut l’halacha however l’maseh like what it says here.

    The Sefer Chassidim writes that someone who receives food for Shabbos shouldn’t eat it during the week. The M”B and SA HaRav in OC Siman 242 both mention this Sefer Chassidim. The M”B writes however to see what it says in OC Siman 694 (Hilchos Purim) that according to the Rema an ani can use the money he gets on Purim for whatever he wants. The M”B writes that there are machmirim and to see the Tur over there (who is from the machmirim.) The SA HaRav writes that what the Sefer Chassidim says is “Middos Chassidus” and not ikar ha-din. He also writes to see what it says in OC Siamn 694 that one may use tzedeka for anything he wants.

    To pay off debt Igros Moshe says is ossur (See here http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=917&st=&pgnum=309&hilite=)

    See also ShuT Chavas Yoir (here – http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=857&st=&pgnum=257&hilite=) that from there seems it’s dependent on the “hakpada” of the one giving the Tzedeka.

    In Or Zaruah Hilchos Tzedeka Siman 11 he also comes out quite machmir using the tzedeka for other purposes (ex. paying off debt. See here – http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14579&st=&pgnum=28&hilite= ) He does however bring a maaseh from Yerushalmi Pe’ah (Perek 8 Halacha 8) that money was given to R’ Chama (who was an ani) that in turn gave the money over to other anaim (exactly our shailo!) Seemingly the way the Or Zaruah understand the Yerushalmi would be a good re’ah. Rabbeinu Meshulam in his pirush to Yerushalmi Shekalim understood the maaseh in Pe’ah differently and that he was only posing himself as an ani in order give over the money to other anaim that the gabboim didn’t know about. Seemingly pashut is like the Or Zaruah (like many other mafarshim understood. Tzrich Iyun.)

    I heard from one Talmud Chocham that with all of this we can say now a days that when someone gives money stam we can assume he has no hakpadah on what the ani does with it (not only to give or to someone else but perhaps even to back debt.) However if there would be a hakapadah (probably not normally the case) that the money should only go to one Talmud Chocham in particular than the money should stay by him to be used for his own expenses.

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