Tzedakah on the Street

An integral part of being Jewish is the giving of tzedakah. What is tzedakah? It generally refers to the giving of money to people in need or organizations that help better society in some way. (Many people translate tzedakah as "charity" but it literally means "justice.")

I am a strong believer of tzedakah and I do my best to give. In the Shulchan Aruch, it says, "One must be very careful about the Mitzvah of Tzedakah because one can reach the spilling of blood if the poor person who requests dies because he did not give right away." So tzedakah is very, very important and one must be careful not to turn away form someone in real need.

However, I have been tested here. There are so very many people along the streets who ask for money. Some sit quietly, a few play an instrument, but most are in your face and will follow you until you give them something. (To be honest, I really don't like it when they follow me around.) I have been giving something to many of them, but I would literally go broke if I gave something to all.

What is my responsibility? Do I have to give to everyone? Should I give something more substantial to a few and not a pittance to many? I am so conflicted as to what to do.

For now, until I can solve my issues about this, I will continue to make sure I have some change in my pocket and continue to give.