Philanthropy and Religion, Judaism

In both Judaism as a religion and within Jewish societies across different eras, the principles of assisting others, solidarity, and charity stand as core values. These values were initially outlined in biblical instructions and later codified into Jewish law (halakha). Throughout the years, these instructions and guidelines have not only molded the day-to-day behavior of Jewish communities but have also transformed into educational values that play a pivotal role in defining the essence of community.

This entry traces the evolution of Jewish philanthropy as a core value and a mode of action across Jewish history. It follows the transformations and adjustments of patterns that developed in antiquity and demonstrates the consistencies and continuity in attitudes to the role of tzedakah, its various implementation options, and the institutional frameworks that serve its objectives.

The settings of Jewish self-rule that developed throughout history and in various geopolitical...

• Almog-Bar, M., Bar, R., Barkai, R., & Marmus, H. (2023). Civil society engagement in Israel during the Iron Swords war: Emerging trends and preliminary insights. Jerusalem: Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in Israel.

  Google Scholar 

• Bar, R., Almog-Bar, M., Arnon, L., & Rosenfeld, A. (2022). The 2022 yearbook of volunteering, social involvement and activism. Jerusalem: Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in Israel.

  Google Scholar 

• Baron, S. W. (1945). The Jewish community. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America.

  Google Scholar 

• Bartal, I. (2004). Jewish autonomy in the modern period: Changing contours. In I. Bartal (Ed.), Kehal Israel: Jewish self rule through the ages: The modern period (Vol. 3, pp. 9–16). Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

• Ben-Naeh, Y. (1998). Jewish confraternities in the Ottoman Empire in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Zion, LXIII(3), 277–318. (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

• Ben-Sasson, M. (1996). The emergence of the local Jewish community in the Muslim world: Qayrawan, 800–1057. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Berman, L. C. (2020). The American Jewish philanthropic complex: The history of a multibillion-dollar institution. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

  Book  Google Scholar 

• Corwin Berman, L. (2017). How Americans give: The financialization of American Jewish philanthropy. American Historical Review, 122(5), 1459–1489.

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Dash-Moor, D. (1996). Bonding images : Miami Jews and the campaign for Israel Bonds. In: A. Gal (ed.), Envisioning Israel: the Changing Ideals and Images of North American Jews (254–267). Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Eliav, M. (1978). Eretz Israel and its Yishuv in the 19th century, 1777–1917. Jerusalem: Keter (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

• Fleisch, E., & Sasson, T. (2012). The new philanthropy: American Jewish giving to Israeli organizations. Waltham: Brandeis.

  Google Scholar 

• Frenkel, M. (2009). Charity in Jewish society of the medieval Mediterranean world. In M. Frenkel & Y. Lev (Eds.), Charity and giving in monotheistic religions. Berlin: De Gruyter.

  Chapter  Google Scholar 

• Friedman, M. (2001). Society in a crisis of legitimization: The Ashkenazi old Yishuv 1900–1917. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

• Friesel, E. (1990). Atlas of modern Jewish history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Gafni, I. M. (1990). The Jews of Babylonia in the Talmudic era: A social and cultural history. Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center.

  Google Scholar 

• Gidron, B., Bar, M., & Katz, H. (2004). The Israeli third sector: Between welfare state and civil society. New York: Springer Science + Business Media.

  Book  Google Scholar 

• Gidron, B., Babis, D., & Elon, Y. (2007). Jewish ultra-orthodox (Haredi) NPOs in Israel: Protecting and crossing community borders. In G. Gemelli (Ed.), Religions and philanthropy: Global issues in historical perspective (pp. 297–322). Bologna: Baskerville.

  Google Scholar 

• Handlin, O. (1961). A continuing task: The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 1914–1964. New-York: Random House.

  Google Scholar 

• Hacker, Y. (2004). Jewish community organizations in ottoman empire (צריכה לוודא כותר אנגלי). In A. Grossman & Y. Kaplan (Eds.), Kehal Yisrael, Jewish self-rule through the ages: The Middle Ages and early modern period (Vol. 2, pp. 287–310). Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center.

  Google Scholar 

• Haski-Leventhal, D., & Kabalo, P. (2009). A historical overview of modern philanthropy in and for Israel in the 20th century. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: The Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel.

  Google Scholar 

• Horowitz, E. (1995). Charity, poor and social supervision in European Jewish communities between the Middle Ages and early modern times. In M. Ben-Sasson (Ed.), Religion and economy: Connections and interactions (pp. 209–232). Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center.

  Google Scholar 

• Horowitz, B. J. (2015). Jewish philanthropy and enlightenment in late-tsarist Russia. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Kabalo, P. (2009). The historical dimension: Jewish associations in Palestine and Israel 1880s–1950s. Journal of Civil Society, 5(1), 1–19.

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Kabalo, P. (2015). Community driven philanthropy: Jewish voluntary associations and social service institutions in Eretz Israel 1880s–1948. In G. Gemelli (Ed.), Religioni e Filantropia nel Mediterraneo (pp. 299–324). Bologna: Baskerville.

  Google Scholar 

• Kabalo, P., & Suissa, E. (2021). The third angle in Israel studies: Boundaries between government and non-governmental entities in early Israel. Israel Studies Review, 36(2), 66–86.

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Katz, J. (2000 [1957]). Tradition and crisis: Jewish society at the end of the middle ages (5th ed.). Jerusalem: Bialik Institute.

  Google Scholar 

• Katz, H., & Greenspan, I. (2015). Giving in Israel: From old religious traditions to an emerging culture of philanthropy. In The Palgrave handbook of global philanthropy (pp. 316–337). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

  Chapter  Google Scholar 

• Kaufman, M. (1996). Envisaging Israel: The case of the United Jewish appeal. In A. Gal (Ed.), Envisioning Israel: The changing ideals and images of North American Jews. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Lurie, H. (1961). A Heritage affirmed: The Jewish Federation Movement in America. Philadelphia: JPS.

  Google Scholar 

• Payton, R. L. (1988). Voluntary action for the public good. New York: Macmillan.

  Google Scholar 

• Penslar, D. (2001). Shylock’s children: Economics and Jewish identity in modern Europe. Berkeley: University of California Press.

  Book  Google Scholar 

• Raphael, M. L. (1982). A history of the united Jewish appeal: 1939–1982. Providence: Brown Judaic Studies, Scholars Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Ray, J. (2023). Jewish life in Medieval Spain: A new history. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

  Book  Google Scholar 

• Safrai, Z. (2001). The local Jewish community in the Mishnaic and Talmudic period. In I. Gafni (Ed.), Kehal Yisrael: Jewish self-rule through the ages (Vol. 1, pp. 147–168). Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

• Sanua, M. R. (2007). Let us prove strong: The American Jewish Committee, 1945–2006. Hanover: University Press of New England/Brandeis University.

  Book  Google Scholar 

• Shaul Bar Nissim, H., & Brookner, M. A. (2019). Ethno-religious philanthropy: Lessons from a study of United States Jewish philanthropy. Contemporary Jewry, 39, 31–51.

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Sherzer, A. (2019). Mamlakhtiyut from across the ocean: Ben-Gurion and the American-Jewish community. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 6(3–4), 309–323.

  Article  Google Scholar 

• Shilony, Z. (1998). Ideology and settlement. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.

  Google Scholar 

• Stein, D. (2006). The contemporary Torah. Melrose Park: Jewish Publication Society.

  Google Scholar 

• Stock, E. (1987). Partners and pursestrings: A history of the United Israel appeal. Lanham: University Press of America.

  Google Scholar 

• Touger, E. (2007). Mishneh Torah / Maimonides - a new translation with commentaries. Jerusalem: Moznaim Publications.

  Google Scholar 

• Troen, I. S. (1988). Organizing the rescue of Jews in the modern period. In B. Pinkus & I. Troen (Eds.), National Jewish solidarity in the modern period (pp. 3–18). Beer Sheva: Ben Gurion University of the Negev Press (Hebrew).

  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors and Affiliations

1. Seymour Fox School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

   Adi Sherzer

2. Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism, Ben Gurion University, Sede Boker, Sede Boker, Israel

   Paula Kabalo

3. Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker, Israel

   Inbar Livnat

Editors and Affiliations

1. Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

   Regina A. List

2. Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

   Helmut K. Anheier

3. Schar school, George Mason University, ARLINGTON, VI, USA

   Stefan Toepler

1. Hamburg, Germany

   Regina A. List