Changing Views of Health Care Delivery Hn

given a chance to start again. This was a wonderful appealing ideal, but remained as an ideal.

In any case neither the Sabbatical Year nor the Jubilee provided any immediate relief from poverty, however, they may have given long-term hope. Other methods were necessary.

LATER COMMUNAL CONTROLS

We do not know when the ancient Jewish communites decided to intervene in a revolutionary way and assume communal responsibility for the problem of the poor.® A quick review of the legislation indicates that it was worked out early in sufficient detail to take care of the problem and to deal with any objections which members of the community might make. The legislation specified minimal support of the poor, which had to consist of enough, so that if sold it would have the value of two meals. This was followed by statements establishing a system that separated the itinerant and local poor but provided for two collections, tamhui and kupah. along with specifics for their distribution. Kupah took care of the longer term needs of the poor on a weekly basis and so dealt with the local poor. The sums were generally distributed on Friday by three officials and were intended to provide fourteen meals, two per day, for an entire week. The necessary funds were collected by two communal officials from anyone who had been in residence for three months. Gabbai or parnas were the titles used to designate these collectors, so they were leaders of the community. The task was an honor but involved much work and responsibility.

Tamhui consisted of daily collections, which also involved the entire community. This was immediately distributed and largely intended for the itinerant poor; it was a kind of soup