Hillel Torah 6th Grade Tzedaka Circle

Solu had the pleasure of spending the week with one of Hillel Torah's 6th grade Chumash classes. We came together to speak about the hilchot of tzedaka and where and how much we should be contributing. The students delved into the Gemara of Gittin as well as the teachings of Rambam and Rav Yaakov Emden to get a better understanding of the laws around tzedaka. We were so impressed by all of their insights and their commitment to learning such an important topic. 

After learning all the hilchot, the students voted on the what, the who and the how many, in order to narrow down where they would allocate their donations. 

The what refers to the issues that the students wanted to address. The group narrowed their issues down to homelessness/poverty, mental health, health, and education. 

The who identified the people we want to help. The class created circles of responsibility starting with themselves in the inner most circle. From there they branched out to other groups they should help, like family, friends, their local Jewish community, the larger local community, and those living in Israel. 

The how many pertained to the amount of organizations they would like to donate to. Would it be best to give the entire pot to one organization or distribute it to more?

The class decided to allocate their funds to 5 organizations that target the issues they want to help solve and the people they want to reach.

These are the organizations they chose:

1. My Stuff Bags Foundation

2. Jewish Children and Family Services

3. Lev LaLev

4. Niles Township Food Pantry 

5. IDF Widows and Orphans Organization

We want to wish a Yashar Koach to the 6th graders for the hard and amazing work they put into this tzedaka circle. The chesed that you have done is important and will be much appreciated by the recipients.