On translations for the word "tzedakah"

[xiphias]

The word "tzedakah", in Hebrew, is often translated as "charity", which I hate. The connotations of the two words are totally different. "Tzedakah" is an obligation -- something you do because you have to; "charity" is something that you do because you are a good and kind person.

I realized a word that I like better in English to mean "tzedakah". I like the word "tithe". People who give charity do so because they want to. People who tithe do so because they have to. You can grumble about tithing all you want, just the same way as you grumble about having to pay taxes. But you still have to do it.

And that's the way "tzedakah" works.

So that's what I like. "Tzedakah" approximately equals "tithe". Instead of "charity".

Comments

[supergee.livejournal.com]

I tend to think of "tithe," like "decimate," as retaining its original meaning of 10%. Do you agree?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Yup.

[jerrymurray.livejournal.com]

Does the word "Tzedakah" carry the same weight as tithe, in that tithe in religious terms means 'tenth?

I agree with you in being 'bullied' into charity, similar to the pressure applied at work with United Way.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

No, the religious term means "justice", but you are supposed to give 10%.

[alaria-lyon.livejournal.com]

I tend to like the meaning "justice" which is what I always learned it meant. Justice implies that it is a responsibility you have and that it is an equality of some sort.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

I don't fully buy that, though. There are two words we commonly use which share that root: tzedakah and tzadik. If a tzadik is someone who is exceptional in either hir hallachic or bein adam l'chavero observances, then may we not infer that tzedakah is something given above and beyond the normal requirements of, say, terumah, where one is obliged not only to give 10% of whatever, but that it must be the choicest 10%.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

My argument isn't that it's a perfect translation; simply that it's a better one-word summary of what I'm doing, when talking to Christians, than "charity."

[cellio]

Tithes are a subset of the obligation of tzedakah. Tzedakah requires that we sometimes act more directly.

That said, "tithe" is a heck of a lot more evocative of the correct meaning than "charity" is, for the reasons you give.

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

I was going to say the same thing... that tzedakah covers both, really. And that "tithe" is also an insufficient word.

Still, I agree, Ian, that "charity" is far to limiting a word and that occasionally "tithe" evokes a stronger sense of responsibility when trying to explain to someone the obligations of tzedakah.

[dhole.livejournal.com]

Of course, Hebrew already has a word that's pretty close to tithe -- maaser. And it's used in the context of being obligated to give 10% of one's earnings to those who need it.

I do agree that charity isn't a very good translation of tzedaka.

[florafloraflora.livejournal.com]

I was just wondering about that word the other day. Thank you for an enlightening thread.

[warren8472.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of the flipside of this the other day, while discussing religious upbringings with my fiancée...

Since I have issues with organized worship, I've always had a partial objection to the old saying (I forget the source, and pardon my transliteration):

"Al shlosha d'varim ha-olam omed:"
"On three things the world stands:"

"Al ha-torah, v'al ha-avodah, v'al g'milut Hasadim."
"On Torah" (i.e. study), "and on worship" (although I'm more familiar with avodah meaning "work", which seems appropriate since organized worship has always seemed like a chore to me), "and on deeds of loving kindness."

Is g'milut Hasadim perhaps a better Hebrew equivalent for "charity"? "Deeds of loving kindness" suggests to me a voluntary action.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

"Charity" comes from the Latin "caritas", which was used as a translation of the Greek "agape", which is often translated as "brotherly love".

Gimilut chasidim comes from "chessed", which means love, kindness, mercy, caring, or something like that.

Yeah, it's pretty close.

The problem is that, while the connotative meanings are pretty darn close, the denotative meanings are not. "Charity" means, primarily, giving money to the poor. "Gimilut chassidim" specifically excludes giving money to the poor, because that's "tzedakah".

That's why I was, and am, so happy with "tithe". Because both words mean "giving money/goods, ideally a tenth of one's money or goods", and include a sense that you're doing it because you have to, rather than just 'cause you're a nice person.