136 Selected Reform Responsa

There are a variety of rules in the Talmud which deal with the poor and define those eligible for gifts, So, for example, those who still have enough provisions for two meals may participate in public food distribution in a soup kitchen, while those who still possess enough for twenty-four meals may not participate in distributions from a charitable box. Furthermore, those whose possessions consist of two zuzim could not glean in the fields(M. Peah 8.7, 8; J. Peah 29h). There were, of course, other rules, too, about the sale of possessions and family responsibility for those relatives who were poor(Ket. 68a; Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 253.1; 257.8).

Local poor individuals were always given priority over those at a distance, and members of the family over outsiders(B. B. M. 71a;

M. B. K. 11.9: Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 251.3).

The Jewish community took care of its own poor and except

under special circumstances charity from non-Jews was not accepted. On the other hand, non-Jews could be beneficiaries of Jewish charity (M. Git. 5.8; 61a f, Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 254.2).

Charity in the form of food or clothing was arranged by loans to the poor(B. Yeb. 62b f); items were sold below cost when the prices had risen excessively(Sefer Hassidim#1049).

Every effort was made to adopt orphans(B. San. 19b; B. Ket. 50a) or to arrange for orphanages although the latter is a development of modern times. The first Jewish orphanage was opened in London in 1831.

Different forms of giving were listed but unsysternatically and few priorities on distribution were provided; among the noblest was the anonymous gift through which the recipient and the donor were unknown to each other. A large number of sayings which encourage