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Birthday Month Charity Custom
The sources found do not address the question of whether there is a custom to give additional charity on one's birthday each month. The passages discuss general principles of tzedakah—its spiritual merit, power to avert misfortune, and role in sustaining the world—but do not mention birthday-specific giving practices or any teaching from Rav Chaim Palagi on this subject.
צִדְקָתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד
Calculating Maaser Kesafim: Gross or Net Income
Sources address the halakhic basis for calculating the annual charitable obligation of maaser kesafim, including whether to account for business expenses, losses from different transactions, and the proper timing of calculation.
עושה חשבון כללי, ומה שנשאר ריוח – נותן מעשר לצדקה
Torah and Talmud on Poverty Relief
Jewish sources address the obligation to support those in poverty, establishing both individual and communal responsibility for providing food, clothing, and basic needs. The sources span biblical commandments, rabbinic precedent, and codified communal institutions for poverty administration.
לְפִי מַה שֶּׁחָסֵר הֶעָנִי אַתָּה מְצֻוֶּה לִתֵּן לוֹ
Tzedakah as a Test of Faith in God
These sources explore the paradoxical permission to 'test' God specifically through the act of giving tzedakah and tithes, despite the general prohibition against testing God. They explain how tzedakah represents an act of faith and trust in divine reciprocation, with God inviting the giver to verify His promise of blessing.
וּבְחָנוּנִי נָא בָּזֹאת
Secret Giving and the Giver's Inner Transformation
These sources explore how giving tzedakah in secret transforms the giver's character and spiritual state. They emphasize that anonymous giving cultivates humility, sincerity, and inner purification while freeing the giver from arrogance and ego-driven motivations.
מַתָּן בַּסֵּתֶר יִכְפֶּה־אָף
Chesed: Kindness as Foundation and Practice
These sources explore chesed (loving-kindness) as a foundational Jewish value, examining its theological significance, practical application, and spiritual depth. They span from Tanakh to Talmud to medieval philosophy, presenting chesed both as the ground of creation itself and as a central ethical obligation that surpasses other forms of giving.
עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה
The Obligation of Tzedakah
Jewish law establishes tzedakah as a binding positive commandment rooted in Torah, with detailed obligations about giving according to one's means, the scope of giving, and the prioritization of recipients. Classical sources from Tanakh through the Shulchan Arukh outline both the duty to give and the prohibition against refusing or neglecting the poor.
כִּֽי־יִהְיֶה֩ בְךָ֨ אֶבְי֜וֹן מֵאַחַ֤ד אַחֶ֙יךָ