ought to give what his means afford. How much? He
that gives a fifth of his property fulfils the commandment
well. He that gives one part in ten fulfils it in a middling
manner. He that gives less must be regarded as a person
with an evil eye." (Hilchoth Matt'noth Aniim, cvii. 1-5.)
In this definition of the nature and extent of the duty of
almsgiving, there is much that is good and worthy of our
admiration, especially in this selfish and money-loving age,
when poverty is regarded, if not punished, as a crime,
and the poor are, by many, considered as unworthy of all
domestic comfort. Without binding ourselves to the approval
of all the details here specified, we must acknowledge, that
the spirit of this passage is agreeable to the idea of true
charity, and, if universally acted upon, would do more for the
happiness of mankind than some theories now afloat. But
though ready to admire and to acknowledge the general
beauty and excellence of this passage, we must also remark
that the main feature of charity is, by the rabbinical system,
excluded. God commands that this help should extend
beyond the narrow limits of selfishness and nationality, to
"the stranger and the sojourner," but the oral law neutralizes
the mercifulness of God's commandment by making the word
stranger signify a proselyte to Judaism. The original Hebrew
word (
Hebrew characters) (Ger) plainly means a stranger, as may be seen in the
words of Moses—
(Hebrew characters)
"Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Deut. x. 19.) It is certain that the Israelites were not proselytes, but strangers; this word, Ger, therefore, signifies stranger, not proselyte; and yet the oral law says that no one can be a Ger without sacrifice, circumcision, and baptism, or now, that there is no temple, without the two last requisites:—
(Hebrew characters)
"At the present time when there is no sacrifice, circumcision and baptism are necessary, and when the temple is rebuilt, he must bring a sacrifice. A Ger who is circumcised but not baptized, or baptized but not circumcised, is not a Ger, until he be both baptized and circumcised. (Hilchoth Issure Biah, c. xiii. 5, 6.) This rabbinical definition of what is meant by Ger, restricts the exercise of charity within a much narrower limit than that prescribed by God, and does, in fact, destroy one of the most beautiful features of the Mosaic law, namely,
