The requirement to give charity

This text emphasizes the importance of giving a coin, even from the smallest denomination, to the poor, and it provides an example of Talmud encouragement to give by drawing on two verses from Isaiah. Although the word tzedaqah denotes “righteousness” in both verses, in rabbinic literature this term typically refers to “giving (alms) to the poor.” This later definition enabled the rabbis to interpret many biblical verses as discussions of offerings for the poor, although they did not originally refer to giving alms. ² Furthermore, this midrash associates a coat of mail and a woven garment with charity because both are an assemblage of small, discrete components of little value. This midrash establishes that giving a small coin to the poor is akin to placing a deposit in a larger account that would be recognized as meritorious before God or, alternatively, a contribution that aggregates to yield a larger, more significant sum.