What is the best charity?

The obligation to give charity (tzedakah) can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health institutions, synagogues or to educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required, or the support of his parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving to both Jews and Gentiles.

Contrary to popular belief, Jews not only take care of our own sake, rather, a report of the study indicate that the Jews "mega-donors" (who give more than $ 10 millions per year to charities) found that only 6% of their mega-dollars were specifically for Jewish causes.

Levels of Charity
Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered more meritorious than others. The Talmud describes these different levels of tzedakah, the Rambam organized in a list. The levels of charity, from the least merit. for the most meritorious, are:

1 - Giving unwillingly.
2 - Giving less than you should, but giving it cheerfully.
3 - Giving after being asked.
4 - Giving before being asked.
5 - Giving when you do not know the identity of the recipient but the recipient knows your identity.
6 - Giving when you know the identity of the recipient but the recipient does not know his identity.
7 - Giving when neither party knows the identity of another.
8 - Giving, helping and allowing the recipient to become self-sufficient, so that no more will be needed to charity!