systematic, decisive, brief, and written in simple Hebrew . Its brevity and decisiveness were immediately attacked. Maimonides made zedakah the most important of the positive mitzvot and 14 of his list of 613 dealt with tzedakah. As Maimonides ’ system included all laws, even those that would be useful only in a new Jewish state, he placed the material dealing with poverty under“agricultural laws” as in the Mishnah. He considered ten percent, a tithe, as the normal contribution to tzedakah(Yad Hil. Matnat Aniyyim 7:5), which other codes also considered obligatory(Or Zarua 1:15). Maimonides produced the well-known eight degrees of tzedakah, beginning with the grudging gift, continuing through anonymous giving, and culminating in providing the means through a loan or a job to make gifts unnecessary. This presented a practical, but revolutionary step forward.
This statement was not original, the Babli(San. 63a) had stated that“Lending is greater than giving to the poor, but granting a business partnership is the greatest of all.” Another source may be a midrash that puts it colorfully:“One person can unload a donkey before it falls, but it takes five men to do so after it falls”(Sifra Behar, Lev 25.35). Al-Nakawa provided a similar final step(Menorat HaMaor, Shaar 8).°
There is no indication in the medieval codes or the responsa literature of any efforts to turn Maimonides eighth step into an obligation. Individual philanthropists through the ages, however, were inspired by it and created institutions that sought to fulfill this purpose.
TUR AND SHULKHAN ARUKH