Providing charity for the poor and hungry weighs as heavily as all the other commandments of the Torah combined.  

                                          Baba Bata 9a TALMUD
All the world’s great religions agree that providing help for the poor among us is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Providing for our own daily needs may be a material issue. […]

Abu Sulayman al-Darani used to say; “If I owned the whole world to put into the mouth of a brother of mine, I would still deem it too little for him.”
He also said, “I feed a morsel to a brother of mine and find the taste of it in my own throat.”

                                                          al-Ghazzali
In Sufi literature, […]

“My children, whenever you give sustenance to the poor, I impute it to you as though you gave sustenance to me.” Does God eat and drink? “No, but whenever you give food to the poor, God accounts it to you as if you gave food to Him”

                                                                         Midrash Tannaim
 
Jewish theology, like both Christian and […]

It is better for people to spend more on gifts for poor people for PurimThan to spend on their own Purim mealOr for sending packets of goodies (Mishloach Manot),For there is no greater or more glorious joyThan to bring happinessTo the hearts of poor people, orphans, widows, and strangers.One who brings joy to the hearts […]

If one takes seriously the moral, spiritual, and humanitarian values of Biblical, Prophetic, and Rabbinic Judaism, the inescapable issue of conscience that must be faced is: How can anyone justify not becoming involved in trying to help save the lives of starving millions of human beings throughout the world whose plight constitutes the most agonizing […]

We Christians mean well—feebly. We may be repelled by materialism, but we are caught up in it. We are troubled by widespread poverty, but we overly esteem wealth. In short, ours is a superficial religious identity, and a superficial religious identity is just that—superficial.

                                                                               William Sloane Coffin
 The decline of morality and the lack of ethical […]

Glorious Lord,

You are wonderous to see and know. Your glory outshines the purest gold or the clearest diamond. Take away our pride in possessions, Father, and give us humble hearts of service and compassion. Help us not to place our hope in the uncertainity of money, but in you, who generously gives us everything we […]

In Scripture charity is no substitute for justice, anymore than ritual, no matter how beautiful. “Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your hearts, I will not listen. But let justice roll down like mighty waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
                                                                                William Sloane Coffin
Prayers, poems and promises, and even […]

WHERE IS BREAD?
Tune:  Abbot’s Leigh 8.7.8.7 D    “God is Here” 
“Where is bread?” the great crowd murmured –
Thousands strong, yet all in need.
“Where is bread?”  your people wondered,
Faced with such a crowd to feed.
Who, Lord Jesus, could have guessed it?
One small boy brought food to share.
Taking what he gave, you blessed it;
All were fed, with much […]

    When God said, “My hands are your,” I saw I could heal any
                            creature in this world;

              I saw that the divine beauty in each heart
                           is the root of all time
                                  and space.

                      I was once a sleeping ocean
                         and in a dream became
                                jealous of a
                                    pond.

                  A penny can […]