If you seek to understand Judaism’s social vision, look at its anti-poverty legislation:

If there be a poor person among your kinsfolk in any of your towns in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart or close your hand toward your brother in need. Open your hand generously and freely lend him enough to answer all his needs, in all that he lacks. Be vigilant: let your heart not whisper a depraved thought: ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is close,’ making you miserly toward your brother in need, giving him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord about you, and you will be held guilty. Give to him generously, and do not let your heart begrudge it, for by merit of this the Lord your God will grant you blessing in all your work and all your hands’ endeavours. There will never cease to be poor people in the land. And so I command you: open your hand. (Deut 15:7-11)

If there be a poor person among your kinsfolk in any of your towns in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart or close your hand toward your brother in need. Open your hand generously and freely lend him enough to answer all his needs, in all that he lacks. Be vigilant: let your heart not whisper a depraved thought: ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is close,’ making you miserly toward your brother in need, giving him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord about you, and you will be held guilty. Give to him generously, and do not let your heart begrudge it, for by merit of this the Lord your God will grant you blessing in all your work and all your hands’ endeavours. There will never cease to be poor people in the land. And so I command you: open your hand. (Deut 15:7-11)

Ostensibly the passage is about the cancellation of debts in the seventh year (Shmittah, the year of “release”). The Oral Tradition, however, extended it to the laws of tzedakah – the word usually translated as “charity”, but which also means “distributive justice, equity”. The rabbis interpreted the phrase “freely lend him enough to answer all his needs” to mean the basic requirements of existence: food, clothing, shelter and so on. “In all that he lacks” was understood as referring to a person who was previously wealthy but has now become impoverished. He too must be helped to recover his dignity:

It is related that Hillel the Elder helped a certain poor man who was from a wealthy family. He bought a horse for him to ride on, and hired a servant to run before him. When on one occasion he could not find a servant to run before the man, he [Hillel] himself ran before him. (Ketubot 67b)

It is related that Hillel the Elder helped a certain poor man who was from a wealthy family. He bought a horse for him to ride on, and hired a servant to run before him. When on one occasion he could not find a servant to run before the man, he [Hillel] himself ran before him. (Ketubot........

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