Does Jewish law say that we should attempt to give tzedaka and aid to those in need, even to those who reject our help because they reject us?
Hi,
Thanks for this question. Our idea of charity is that we want to give to help those who need our assistance. At times of great need there are few who would refuse the aid that is being offered to them.
In a case where people are so ideologically backwards that they would not accept someone’s money because they are a Jew I think that one need to ask themselves if that is the place where they should be spending their resources. I once heard from a great rabbi that the person who comes and asks for help from you defines how much merit you deserve for that action. In other words, if a starving person knocks on your door and you save their family’s life by helping them then you deserved to have that person knock on your door. If, however, a person asks you for money and they use it for drugs or alcohol then that could mean that you did not merit being able to help that person and you should use that for your own spiritual development as a source of growth. That is not
to make any statement about you, but we should all think hard about where our charitable resources go. It is a very important commandment in the Torah and has enormous spiritual rewards.
With all of that said I need to directly answer the last part of your question. If a person is in dire need of help (physical, psychological, or otherwise) it might be necessary to force them into the appropriate care. This is, of course, on a case by case basis. This is not the case for organizations or groups giving away money en masse to a person or a group of people unless you implicitly trust the organization doing the work.
Be Well,
Rabbi Litt