Question:
Whenever i daven in the shtibel here, there are always alot of beggars that come ask for money.
I once heard that a certain gadol( don’t remember who, and i didn’t hear it first hand) said that one does not always have an obligation to give to them. I am just confused with what to do. what I sometimes do is purposely take no money so when i say no it is more sincere and truthful. But my question is if one does have money on him what is the halacha?
on the one hand the torah tells us not to turn away a poor person, on the other hand if i would give to every beggar that requests , i would end up giving way more than my 10% obligation and perhaps even more than 20% which could be forbidden?(by takant usha, kesuvos 60a) .also for e.g there could be a stage in the month where i have not given 10% but i know that i also want to keep some money for other institutions like the yeshiva i learn at or the like. I know there is also a concept , that since some beggars are fake,they take away our issur altogether as rebbi eliezer suggest in kesuvos at the top of 68a, but again i do not know how far one can take that? I would like a clear derech in how to act?
Answer:
There are definitely times that a person is not obligated to give a person that asks him. See attached article, .The Obligation to Give a Poor Person Who Asks for Tzedaka when it applies.Regarding your specific question, it is difficult to answer you, and it is questionable what should be done. When indeed it would apply, if you are not sure about the person’s integrity, the best thing would be to give him something small to keep yourself safe.
Best wishes
