Philanthropy of Ancient Jews: By the Letter of the Law and the Word of the Prophets

The author, relying on the works of established scholars in the field and on Biblical texts, attempts to answer the following questions: - How Biblical commandments influenced the social ethics and social assistance practices of ancient Jews? - What were the views of Jewish sages on the origins and growth of inequality, on the poor and the rich, and on their mutual social obligations? - What were the "share of the harvest" for the poor, the "poor man's tithe", and how the Biblical commandments of Sabbatical and Jubilee years helped poor debtors? - What were the labor laws of ancient Jews, their "healthcare" and education, and their support for orphans and widows? - When and how the tradition of individual assistance to the poor was supplemented by the activities of communal funds? - When and how did ancient Jews and their philanthropy organizations support foreigners and people of other faiths? - How Biblical ideas and practices of social assistance differed from those in ancient Greece and Rome? - Which features of ancient Jewish philanthropy did Christianity inherit at its birth, and how the two traditions differ? As a popular overview of the concepts and practice of social assistance in ancient Judea and in the Diaspora, the book may be useful to Russian speaking personnel of secular and religious charities, as well as to teachers and students working on the subject, particularly in the system of Jewish education. The book may also interest researchers who study the concepts of social assistance and the practice of philanthropy in different religions. Finally, the book may attract the readers who are interested not only in the philanthropy of Jews in the Biblical and Talmudic period, but also more broadly in the exciting Jewish history of this fifteen hundred year long period.