Tzedakah Committee
(also look at the Social Action Committee for other community social action work)

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The act of giving charity (Tzedakah) is a moral obligation willingly assumed by the individual members of Congregation Beth Israel. Our congregants are avid supporters of many charitable organizations and projects in Charlottesville and beyond. During the past two years a small committee initiated by the Social Action Committee has met to discuss how to better coordinate charitable giving by CBI and the Jewish community of Charlottesville/Albemarle, as a whole. The Congregation Beth Israel Tzedakah Fund has been created to fill this need.

Last year, individuals and companies donated over $12,000 to the Tzedakah Fund, money that was used to sustain programs helping the needy in our community. Our current funding is far more limited and this is impacting the Tzedakah Committee's ability to answer numerous local pleas for assistance. Please consider making a donation to the Tzedakah Fund at CBI. Do you own a local business? Please consider making a matching funds donation.

History

Jews in every generation have created community institutions to provide social services for the needy. The Torah (Deuteronomy 15:7)commands that "you must open your hand and lend sufficient for whatever he needs." By the time of Maimonides, in the 12th century C.E., each Jewish community had established a formal system to meet those needs.

In the United States, this tradition led to the creation of Jewish Federations and Jewish Family Services, enabling Jewish communities to provide for their members' needs as well as the needs of others. Such entities recognized that while individuals have a duty to give tzedakah, such support can be more effective when given as a community.

Mission Statement

Congregation Beth Israel's Social Action Committee has created the Congregation Beth Israel Tzedakah Fund. The fund will offer an opportunity for the greater Charlottesville Jewish community to join together to perform tzedakah.

Contributions to the fund will be directed primarily to worthy local causes, but also may be directed to appropriate national or international causes in times of great need. Non-profit organizations that deliver direct services will be the primary recipients of tzedakah donations. Themes of giving - housing, domestic violence - may change from year to year.

The fund will strive to further awareness among CBI members of the importance of tzedakah and of a broad array of local needs along with the many organizations that work to meet these needs.

The fund will enable CBI members to pursue social justice, serving the religious mandate of the community, while increasing the impact and visibility of Jewish charity outreach, particularly in the larger Charlottesville area.

The fund offers an opportunity for the greater Charlottesville Jewish community to pool some of their donations in order to benefit worthy recipients of charitable funds. The CBI Tzedakah Fund will not fund congregational social action programs. Rather, it offers a new way for individuals to help CBI raise its profile in the community and at the same time to benefit worthy service organizations.

Contributions to the fund will be directed primarily to worthy local causes, but also may be sent to appropriate national or international causes in times of great need. Non-profit organizations that deliver direct services will be the primary recipients of Tzedakah donations. Themes of giving -- such as housing or domestic violence -- may change from year to year.

Along with promoting awareness of the importance of Tzedakah among CBI members, the fund will help our community educate itself about a broad array of local needs and the organizations that work to meet them. The fund will enable CBI members to perform charitable giving, an important religious mandate of our tradition, while increasing the impact and visibility of the community in the Charlottesville area.

The fund directors will research a range of charitable organizations, selecting a new list of recipients each year. Synagogue members will be encouraged to submit recommendations in advance of the selection process.

Please consider this new fund as you make your discretionary charitable contributions.

- Sandy Schustek, Chair

Grant Application (adobe PDF)