You're absolutely right about the larger goal of user experience and how it
relates to helping people help themselves. As a user experience designer, it
is our responsibility to discover what people need and give it to them in
the most intuitive, most pleasurable way possible. We clear the road so that
they can get it done on their own, no hassle, no hurdle. I'm certain that
that completely embodies the spirit of the highest level of Tzedakah.

Thank you again for taking the time to write here. Now you can use the
“reblog” link to send this to your blog :)

You got me to go back and learn more about Tzedakah especially and who Maimonides was, how he came up with the Mishna Torah, and all that Jazz — which led to even more insights. And then reading your post again with comments led to more ideas still. So thank you! I think the blog post was pretty high up on the Tzedakah depth chart!

I do what I do in terms of strategy and user experience, and work in general always attempting to reach the top level of Tzedakah. While I may not get there, I always want to help people learn something new, have something of utility; and at best, provide work for talented, hard-working professionals. That is the ultimate reward.

If I can spend my time exchanging ideas so that someone can learn a new way to support themselves or their family: that is the most gratifying time spent. Giving to charity is of course great, but to be honest, dropping the coins in the Tzedakah box doesn't even compare to presenting ideas on some aspect of user experience to people and watch their faces light-up with the delight of learning something new, or finding a new approach to something old. To me, a day in the office like that is worth more than a high-holiday pray-a-thon.

Wait a second. Finding out something new and sharing it with others, who can share that information with others…. sounds like social media. Today, social networking and the ideas of companies being part of the conversation between people is often termed “disruptive.”

Funny, but this is how Maimonidies was viewed way back (like 800 years ago) when he wrote the notions of Tzedakah. Today, we take these ideas as gospel, as though they so self-evidently represent universal truths. No matter what you're religion, we can all agree that helping someone help themselves is a great idea. But back then, these ideas were tremendously disruptive. His writing was burned by orthodox congregations in the name of G-d (only to be brought back to europe and vaunted to spur the renaissance later). Now they are revered, and we can't help but think about them during this annual time of renewal.

This brings me to the point of your post and the comment from Arnie correcting you in terms of the “actual” text from the Mishna Torah. As I was looking back on the guidelines of Tzedakah and the study of these works in the context of Maimonides' life as a social-networking node in his job as an Egyptian doctor and local spiritual leader on the weekends — it really shows off how unimportant the texts are, and how incredibly important critical thinking, questioning, and interpretation are.

Just like Shakespeare a few hundred years later, is any of Maimonides writing really written by him? Who cares about the correct wording? When I came to your post, I had always thought about Tzedakah as justice, plain and simple. I'm making it a mission to learn as much as I can, and share as much as I can back filtered through my experience because it's my job as a person. Justice. Period.

This viewpoint was mostly informed by an cartoon poster at hebrew school about Tzedakah that followed the popular commercial Schoolhouse Rock series. At the top was a man shaking another man's hand in congratulations for his new job.

Over the years, I have heard many different interpretations, including ones like the views on this page, that have added depth, interest, and complexity. On one of the sites I saw while clicking for more information on Tzedakah wrote at the bottom, “This page is designed as a guideline and to help formulate more questions.”

So to end this ramble, I hope the readers of this post, regardless of denomination, will take this as a spark plug to spend the first few weeks of September renewing themselves, asking questions, and finding something new to learn and to share.

Who knows. Maybe in 800 years, someone will discover one of your ideas, and it will make a big difference in the way they live their life.

Project Peanut Butter looks wonderful: http://www.projectpeanutbutter.org/ Thanks for pointing me to it.

There are eight degrees of giving Tzedakah:
1. The highest degree is to strengthen the hand of a Jew who is poor, giving that person a grant or loan or becoming a partner or finding a job for that person, to strengthen the person’s hand, so that the person will not need to ask for assistance from others…

2. A lesser degree, is one who gives Tzedakah to a poor poor and is unaware of the recipient, who, in turn, is unaware of the giver. This is indeed a religious act achieved for its own sake.

Of a similar character is one who contributes to a Tzedakah fund. One should not contribute
to a Tzedakah fund unless he or she knows that the person in charge of the collections is
trustworthy and wise and knows how to manage the money properly…

3. The [third], lesser, degree is when the giver knows the recipient, but the recipient does not know the giver. The great sages used to go secretly and cast the money into the doorway of poor people. Something like this should be done, it being a noble virtue, if the Tzedakah
administrators are behaving properly.

4. The [fourth], still lower, degree is when the recipient knows the giver, but the giver does not know the recipient. The great sages used to tie money in sheets which they threw behind their backs, and poor people would come and get it without being embarrassed.

5. The [fifth], still lower degree is when the giver puts the Tzedakah money into the hands of poor people without being solicited.

6. The [sixth], still lower degree is when he or she puts the money into the hands of a poor person after being solicited.

7. The [seventh], still lower degree is when he or she gives the poor person less than he or she should, but does so cheerfully.

8. The [eighth], still lower degree is when he or she gives the poor person grudgingly/with a feeling of pain/unhappily.

(Mishna Torah, Laws of Gifts to Poor People, 10:7-14)

this is danny siegel's translation (http://www.dannysiegel.com). i prefer to translate #8 (as i wrote, not as per your numbering) as 'giving via sadness/pain'.

we can discuss this more. keep up the great tzedakah thinking!

arnie draiman
http://www.mitzvahheroesfund.org
http://www.draimanconsulting.com

This year I’ve committed to not just talking the cranky-NYC democrat’s talk, but walking the walk. People talk about how good giving feels, and of course it does. But I often wish that we talked more about how 10-15% more of an effort to help a cause that you care about can make a serious difference. I regularly donate to my fav charity now (Project Peanut Butter) and coordinated a bake sale at my office (Comedy Central). We raised a ton of money, (more than I could have hoped for really), and it was pretty much one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.

It just needs to be scheduled into your life as an everyday personal chore/responsibility; like paying a bill.

-Sarah

This year I've committed to not just talking the cranky-NYC democrat's talk, but walking the walk. People talk about how good giving feels, and of course it does. But I often wish that we talked more about how 10-15% more of an effort to help a cause that you care about can make a serious difference. I regularly donate to my fav charity now (Project Peanut Butter) and coordinated a bake sale at my office (Comedy Central). We raised a ton of money, (more than I could have hoped for really), and it was pretty much one of the easiest things I've ever done.

It just needs to be scheduled into your life as an everyday personal chore/responsibility; like paying a bill.

-Sarah