The Rich and Poor Gave the Same Half-Shekel

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusWhy Lending to the Poor Forbids InterestThere is a moment when a poor person walks up to a wealthier neighbor and asks for a loan. The wealthier neighbor has a choice. He can treat the moment as a mar

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Hebraic Literature (1901)A String of Rabbinic Proverbs on Wealth, Pride, and SightSome rabbinic teaching comes as narrative. Some comes as argument. And some comes as short, edged sentences that land like stones. Here is a handful from the Pr

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)You Could Feed Them Like Solomon and Still Owe MoreRabbi Yohanan ben Matya instructed his son one morning to go out and make sure the Jewish workers hired for the day were fed well. "Feed them adequately," he sa

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Why Rabbi Judah Wanted to Exclude the Ignorant from AlmsA terrible famine had descended on the land. Grain was scarce. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, the Prince, the compiler of the Mishnah, the richest and most influential sa

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Five Coins at the Shore, Returned a HundredfoldBar Kappara was walking along the seashore when he saw a naked man washed up in the tide. The man was called an Antipatos, a title of rank in the imperial burea

The Rich and Poor Gave the Same Half-Shekel

Themes

Biblical References

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