Opening your hand – Re'eh
“You shall surely open your hand” is the basic duty of tz’dakah (Deut. 15:11). The Hebrew comes through a doubling of the verb: “pato’ach tif’tach”, literally “(to) open you shall open”. The doubling of a verb for the sake of emphasis is common. Another example is the second paragraph of the Sh’ma, which instructs us, “shamo’a tishm’u” – “you shall surely listen (to God’s commandments)” (Deut. 11:13). Translators sometimes render the extra verb with the English adverb “diligently” – e.g. “you shall listen diligently”. In the case of charity the rabbinic commentators explained that there were two possibilities. A person had to respond when a poor man asked for charity (“pato’ach”) – but also when the poor man needed help but did not ask for it, perhaps because of embarrassment (“tif’tach”). Charity is valuable whether it is reactive or pro-active, whether one gives when asked or without an actual request. A good citizen does not wait. He sees what is happening around him and offers a supportive hand on his own initiative.
