Overview of project:
For my Kavod Habriyot project, I chose to host an exercise class for my friends, and all the proceeds will go to Sharsheret. It will be run by my mother's friend Jessica who is a trainer. I chose Sharsheret because it is a Jewish women's breast cancer awareness organization, and they stress the importance of keeping yourself healthy. I think it is really important to keep yourself healthy. This class will occur on December 17, and I will charge 18 dollars per person. Then the money will be donated to a woman fighting breast cancer.
Result: The class went very well and made roughly 200 dollars. Sharsheret donated that money to a woman suffering from cancer to help her get better. When people signed up for the class online, the money automatically went to Sharsheret because they created the rsvp website. If people signed up online my mom gave all the money to the head of Sharsheret in Miami. In the end, the class went very well, and I'm glad I chose that as my project.
(ז) כִּֽי־יִהְיֶה֩ בְךָ֨ אֶבְי֜וֹן מֵאַחַ֤ד אַחֶ֙יךָ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּאַ֨רְצְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֑ךְ לֹ֧א תְאַמֵּ֣ץ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ֗ וְלֹ֤א תִקְפֹּץ֙ אֶת־יָ֣דְךָ֔ מֵאָחִ֖יךָ הָאֶבְיֽוֹן׃ (ח) כִּֽי־פָתֹ֧חַ תִּפְתַּ֛ח אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ ל֑וֹ וְהַעֲבֵט֙ תַּעֲבִיטֶ֔נּוּ דֵּ֚י מַחְסֹר֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֶחְסַ֖ר לֽוֹ׃
Explanation: In Sefer Devarim Moshe was teaching the Jewish people about tzedakah. He taught us that we have a responsibility to give tzedakah to any person in need. You can not say no to a needy person. It is a sin to not give tzedakah to a jew in need of it who asks you.
Connection: This source is related to my Kavod Habriyot project. The reason why it is related is that our responsibility to give tzedakah is why I am raising money for Sharsheret. I know that I need to help others, and not harden my hand which is why I am doing this project. By doing this project I am fulfilling the Mitzvah of tzedakah.
(ח) פָּחוֹת מִזֶּה הַנּוֹתֵן צְדָקָה לָעֲנִיִּים וְלֹא יָדַע לְמִי נָתַן וְלֹא יָדַע הֶעָנִי מִמִּי לָקַח. שֶׁהֲרֵי זוֹ מִצְוָה לִשְׁמָהּ. כְּגוֹן לִשְׁכַּת חֲשָׁאִים שֶׁהָיְתָה בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ. שֶׁהָיוּ הַצַּדִּיקִים נוֹתְנִין בָּהּ בַּחֲשַׁאי וְהָעֲנִיִּים בְּנֵי טוֹבִים מִתְפַּרְנְסִין מִמֶּנָּה בַּחֲשַׁאי. וְקָרוֹב לָזֶה הַנּוֹתֵן לְתוֹךְ קֻפָּה שֶׁל צְדָקָה. וְלֹא יִתֵּן אָדָם לְתוֹךְ קֻפָּה שֶׁל צְדָקָה אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהַמְמֻנֶּה נֶאֱמָן וְחָכָם וְיוֹדֵעַ לְהַנְהִיג כַּשּׁוּרָה כְּרַבִּי חֲנַנְיָה בֶּן תְּרַדְיוֹן:
(8) One level lower than this is one who gives tzedakah to the poor and does not know to whom he gives, and the poor person does not know from whom he receives.187Maimonides holds the anonymity of both giver and receiver of great importance, but he does not require anonymity at the highest level of giving. This is perhaps because the highest level of giving addresses the source of poverty whereas giving something to a beggar only alleviates a person's temporary need. Preventing poverty is therefore of such importance that anonymity becomes secondary in that instance. This is purely a mitzvah for its own sake, such as the Chamber of Secrets in the Holy Temple, for there the righteous would give in secret [and leave], and the poor, of good background, would sustain themselves from it in secret. Very close to this is one who gives to the kupah of tzedakah, but one should not contribute to the kupah of tzedakah unless one is certain that the one who counts it is trustworthy and wise and behaves competently, as was Rabbi Chanania ben Teradion.188See Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 10b and Avodah Zarah 17b. Rabbi Chanania ben Teradion had a reputation for competence and honesty, so he dealt with the collection and distribution of charity funds. He was later tortured and executed by the Romans.
Explanation: In the Rambam's Sefer on the laws of tzedakah he established 8 different levels of giving charity. They are listed as 1 being the highest and 8 the lowest. The source above is what the Rambam qualifies as the second level of Tzedakah. That level is when a person gives tzedakah anonymously and the person who receives it gets it without knowing who it is from. The reason this is a high level of tzedakah is that it allows the person who gets tzedakah to not be embarrassed because the giver knows who he is.
Connection: My Tzedakah project is on the second level of tzedakah. I know this because I do not know the person I am giving tzedakah to and the person receiving it does not know I gave it. Therefore, it is anonymous from both sides. Which the Rambam qualifies as the second level of Tzedakah.
(ב) שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים:
(2) Shimon the Righteous was from the remnants of the Great Assembly. He would say, "On three things the world stands: on the Torah, on the service and on acts of lovingkindness."
Explanation:
Pirkei Avot is a guideline for how a person should act. In this book it says that the world stands upon three concepts. One being that we do acts of chesed. This shows the importance of doing chesed for one another. Without Chesed the world would be unable to work how it does now. That is why Chesed is so important.
Connection: Another reason why I am doing this project is that I know the importance of giving tzedakah. Tzedakah is a chesed and chesed is one of the 3 pillars on which the world stands. If we did not do chesed and give tzedakah the world would not function properly. If chesed is so important that the world would not work without it we must have a responsibility to do chesed. Which is why I am doing this chesed project.