Tzedaka for the Holiday

Parsha Halacha | June 27, 2025

One should remember to provide the necessities of the holidays for those in need. Sufficient support should be provided so that the poor have enough to make Yom Tov in a comfortable and enjoyable manner. This is especially important regarding the holiday of Shavuot, which is only two days long and its needs may therefore be overlooked. This Mitzvah benefits both the giver and the recipient.
Maimonides writes: “When a person eats and drinks [in celebration of a holiday], he is obligated to feed converts, orphans, widows, and others who are destitute and poor. In contrast, a person who locks the gates of his courtyard and eats and drinks with his children and his wife, without feeding the poor and the embittered is not rejoicing with a mitzvah, but rather is rejoicing with his belly.”
It is especially important to provide for Torah scholars and other righteous poor people who refrain from asking for help.

One should remember to provide the necessities of the holidays for those in need. Sufficient support should be provided so that the poor have enough to make Yom Tov in a comfortable and enjoyable manner. This is especially important regarding the holiday of Shavuot, which is only two days long and its needs may therefore be overlooked. This Mitzvah benefits both the giver and the recipient.
Maimonides writes: “When a person eats and drinks [in celebration of a holiday], he is obligated to feed converts, orphans, widows, and others who are destitute and poor. In contrast, a person who locks the gates of his courtyard and eats and drinks with his children and his wife, without feeding the poor and the embittered is not rejoicing with a mitzvah, but rather is rejoicing with his belly.”
It is especially important to provide for Torah scholars and other righteous poor people who refrain from asking for help.

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