"If there shall be a needy person among you, any of your brethren in any of your cities, in the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you, you shall not harden your heart or close your hand against your destitute brother.
Rather, you shall open your hand to him; you shall lend him his requirement, whatever is lacking to him."
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:7-8
"The commandment to give tzedakah (charity) is included in the Torah portion of Re'eh...
The section of Re'eh is invariably read on the Shabbos on which we bless the new month of Elul, or on Rosh Chodesh Elul itself. Since all Torah portions are related to the timeframe in which they are read, it follows that it is especially appropriate to give tzedakah during the month of Elul."
http://www.sichosinenglish.com/books/chassidic-dimension-3/47.htm
In an anecdotal remark to a community that was not sufficiently giving, the Maggid (Preacher) of Kelm once said, "Hashem assures us that "Ki lo yechdal evyon mikerev ha'aretz", - "For destitute people will not cease to exist within the Land;" (Devarim 15:11)
"In other words, there will always be poor people. If we do not see to the needs of the poor, they will unfortunately not survive. Someone will have to replace them. It quite possibly might be you."
Read full article which contains anecdotes of individuals who were spared death by giving charity.
http://www.torahtots.com/parsha/devarim/reeh3.htm
In the same week that the mitzvah of charity is discussed in the parsha, the act of giving charity has made headlines in the media.
America's ultra-rich are queuing to join in a grand gesture of generosity. Forty US billionaires have signed up to pledge at least half of their fortunes to charity under a philanthropic campaign kicked off by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
In an unprecedented mass commitment, top figures including New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg, the hotel heir Barron Hilton, CNN media mogul Ted Turner, and the Star Wars director George Lucas have lent their names to the "giving pledge", an initiative founded six weeks ago to encourage America's richest families to commit money to society's most pressing problems.
....."If you really care about your family, it's best to do something to make the world a better place for your children and grandchildren, rather than just giving them money," said Bloomberg, whose charitable interests include anti-smoking campaigns and road safety.
Read full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/04/us-billionaires-half-fortune-gates
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