CCAR RESPONSA
Contemporary American Reform Responsa
23. Historical Basis for Jewish Social
Services
QUESTION: What is the historical basis for social services as
we now know them? (Dr. S. Busis, Pittsburgh, PA)
ANSWER: If we turn to the
Biblical period, we find most emphasis placed upon alleviation of poverty either through outright charity (Deut. 15.10 ff, etc.), tithing for the benefit of the poor (Deut. 14.28 f), participating in the harvest and the produce of the sabbatical year (Lev. 19.9 f, 23.22, etc.). In addition to this, there was an attempt to bring about economic equality every fifty years through the Jubilee Year when all Hebrew slaves were set free and all land was returned to its original owner (Lev. 25.8 ff). Those legislative statements of the Torah were constantly reinforced by the message of the prophets. A similar emphasis on charitable acts was continued in the Mishnah and Talmud reflecting the period of the second Temple and the Babylonian exile. Perhaps the grandest statement about charitable acts is to be found in Maimonides’ Yad Hazaqah, which listed eight degrees of philanthropy with emphasis upon helping the poor toward independence (Yad. Hil. Matnat Aniyim 10.7 ff). “The highest degree is attained by those who give him a gift or a loan, or go into partnership with him, or find work for him to strengthen his hands so that he need no longer appeal for help.” A discussion of some other aspects of charity and charitable gifts will be found in the responsa “Priorities for an Adoption Agency” and “Priorities in Charitable Distribution.”
All such charitable directives were addressed to
the individual and were more concerned with the physical needs of the poor than with their psychic and emotional needs. As the former matters are now part of the services of the secular government, the emphasis of Jewish social services is on the latter. This, too, has a long tradition in our history.
Sick-care societies on a communal basis did not appear until
the Spanish-Jewish period. They may have begun as early as the thirteenth century in Spain (A. A. Neuman, Jews in Spain, II, 161 ff). Such societies were responsible for the physical and spiritual welfare of all who were ill, burial of the dead, and counseling of the bereaved.
Similar societies were founded in Germany in the seventeenth century,
probably under the influence of Spanish-Jewish immigrants (J. R. Marcus, Communal Sick- Care, p. 64). At the same time, we find such societies beginning in Italy. Throughout Central Europe they patterned themselves somewhat after Christian groups which also cared for the sick, but two major differences continued to exist between the Jewish organizations and their Christian counterpart. The Christian organizations were also social clubs and tended to look only after their own sick members. The Jewish Brotherhood had few social overtones and worked for the benefit of the entire community. These societies, often called “Holy Brotherhood” or “Brotherhood of Loving-kindness,” were motivated by strong religious forces. Their constitutions often quote Psalm 41 or the Ethics of the Fathers–“by three things is the world upheld, by Torah, service, and by deeds of loving-kindness,” or “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19.18).
The Brotherhoods were tightly organized and funded through
the community. All the members of the Brotherhood were duty-bound to serve in whatever capacity they could. There were rigid schedules of visiting the sick and caring for the bereaved. As much attention was given to the religious and emotional needs as to the physical needs of the sick. The basic feeling of these groups has been best stated by Dr. Abraham Wallich, a seventeenth century university trained physician, who in his Sefer Dimyan Harefuot felt that the sickness must be cured not only by physical but also by spiritual means. Manuals were written for the guidance of those who counseled the sick and the bereaved. Many of them, like Sefer Hahayim or Maaneh Lashon, were very popular and went through many editions.
We also find Jewish hospitals as specific Jewish institutions beginning in
Germany in the thirteenth century. Through communal pressure, they became modernized in the eighteenth century. Often they were guided by a Brotherhood as well as the general community. It was felt necessary to have Jewish hospitals as their counterparts were specifically Christian rather than secular. Both the Brotherhoods and the Jewish hospitals could also be found in the Eastern European Jewish communities. Brotherhoods were present in communities both large and small in the last two centuries, while hospitals existed only in the large Jewish centers.
We may then see that there is a long history of continuous Jewish social
service through well organized groups which looked after the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the members of the community during times of personal stress and crisis.
March
1974
If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.