once rich vs poor & tzedaka

greenfire

Fri, Dec 07 2012, 9:55 am

so as I understand it based on imamother threads

1) if a person was once rich one must provide them with the means that they are used to

2) however, a poor person cannot expect something basic because they never had the means

3) isn't this hypocrisy of sorts ???

zaq

Fri, Dec 07 2012, 1:45 pm

I think it's all about psychological pain, though the reasoning is completely counterintuitive to me, too. The reason as it was explained to me is that a rich person is humiliated by his poverty and will remain humiliated and sad so long as he is living below his previous standard of living. A poor person, having never had a proper standard of living to begin with, will be emotionally OK with whatever he has, even if it's below the norm for basic. Thus, we are supposed to return a person to his previous standard of living.

Like you understand it, that's how I understand it. Makes no sense to me to supply a formerly wealthy person with steak and champagne when somebody else doesn't have bread.

The only thing I can think is that the guidelines are assuming you have the funds to help both, and the help is not a matter of pikuach nefesh. Surely we wouldn't be expected to deny one family the money with which to buy lifesaving medication--or Torah education--in order to provide someone else with a late-model car? Because if that IS the case, I'm outta here.