Some citations dealt with the psychological effect on the poor - they must not be shamed, this is especially important in a small town or village setting. Acute problems always took precedence. Orphans were at the top of the list of every-day concerns. They needed proper physical care and also proper psychological care. The outstanding emergency mentioned often was the taking of hostages or kidnaping. Here men and women were in great danger and women even more than men. Everything possible had to be done, but keeping in mind that the kidnappers not be encouraged. There were issues of fairness as well as communal relations that had to do with the gentile poor. From the earliest times— in other words— the Mishnah, they were included. The Talmud expanded and clarified this while on the other hand, just as the Mishnah, refusing to take tzedakah from non-J ewish sources for the Jewish poor. If given, it was quietly diverted to gentile poor, so as not to offend the donor. Numerous scattered citations exist on this theme; they along with later ethical statements on charity were later collected by Elijah ben Solomon of Smyrna(d. 1729), who also provided a commentary on them.®
These were only a portion of the refinements made in the existing structure through discussions carried on over the centuries. Nothing absolutely new, however, was added.
Rabbinic commentaries on the biblical passages dealing with the poor abound in the talmudic and midrashic literature. As idolatry was no longer a paramount issue, the elimination of poverty ranked high.