Changing the designation of charity funds

Changing the designation of charity funds - lending charity funds - and more.

Article topics:

Does a commitment to charity obligate a person? And what is the law if one says “without taking a vow”? Can a person who committed to donate to a specific organization change the designation of the donation to another charity? Is it permitted for a person to take a loan from charity funds that he has donated or contributed? In case a person needs some cash urgently, can he take it out of the charity box? Can a person who committed to give charity to a specific poor person decide to donate to another poor person instead? And what is the solution, if this matter is very important to him? If a person saw a poor man in a synagogue and took out a coin to give him, and the pauper left, is he now obligated to chase after him and look for him? Is it permitted to exchange foreign currency using charity funds? Is it obligatory to pay charity commitments immediately, or can the payment be delayed?

Does a commitment to charity obligate a person?  

A person who committed to giving money to charity, for example, a person who committed at the synagogue to give a specific amount to the synagogue, is obligated to give the donation. If he bought a Torah reading, or committed in a charity drive, even if he did not use the language of a vow, the commitment is considered a vow, and the obligation is binding. In case one explicitly said “without a vow”, which is what one should always do, then the obligation does not bind him as a full-fledged vow, but the commitment must be fulfilled because it is forbidden to make a commitment to charity and not keep it. However, this prohibition is much lighter than the prohibition of transgressing a vow, and there are several things in which one can be more lenient if the commitment was made without taking a vow ( “bli neder” ).

Similarly, a person who donates money to charity, even if he did not make a commitment, and is not obligated to give, cannot change his mind, and must actually transfer this money to charity.

Changing the purpose of a donation

If the donor did not change his mind about making a donation, but wishes to change the purpose of the donation, for example, a person who committed to donating a Torah scroll to a synagogue and even set aside funds for this purpose, but now wants to donate an Ark instead, or wishes to donate a Torah scroll to another synagogue, then it depends:

If the money is still in the possession of the donor, he is allowed to change the purpose of the donation.

However, if the money has already left the possession of the donor and has reached the hands of the charity collector, for example, the synagogue treasurer, or the person in charge of the community charity fund, or even if the neighbor transferred the money to a representative in the building who collects charity funds for the local fund or another charity organization, it is forbidden to change the purpose of the donation, and the money must be transferred it to the intended recipient. (Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah 259:1)

These laws are correct whether the decision arises from a new reality, for example, he became aware that he needs to move to a different address and wants to donate to the synagogue in his new city, or if another Torah scroll has already been donated and he wants to donate to a place where there is no scroll, or if the matter is simply due to his changing his decision without any other reason.

Is it permissible to borrow from charity money?

Another question is whether it is permissible to borrow charity money. The answer to this, again, depends on whether the money is still in the possession of the donor, in which case it is permitted to borrow charity money, or if it has already reached the hands of the charity collector, in which case it is forbidden for the collector to lend it. However, if the poor are in need of the money at present, and the donor is obligated to transfer the money immediately to the poor, then it is forbidden to borrow from it. Similarly, if a synagogue or an association to which he has donated is in an immediate need of funds, then the money must be transferred immediately.

Loan from Charity Fund

A common question is whether it is permissible to borrow money from a home charity box (“zdokah pushkeh”) when one is in need of a few dollars or some change and does not have any small bills or coins at home, or when one does not have any cash on hand at all. Is it permissible for him to take what he needs from the charity box and then return it before the arrival of the person in charge of emptying the box?

The answer to this question is complex and involves several parts. First, we must clarify whether a charity box is considered to have already come under the control of the charity organization, since the money is already deposited in the charity box of that organization (and the box is located in its designated place under the authority of the owner of the place), or whether the funds are still considered to be under the private ownership of the donor, and therefore it is still permissible to borrow from these funds. Particularly in a charity box where there is no obligation to bring the money to the charity organization until the person in charge of emptying the fund arrives.

In fact, the halachic decisors are divided on this matter. The opinion of the Ma'amar Mordechai (Ittinga, chapter 15) and the Levushei Mordechai (Winkler, Yoreh De'ah, Second Edition, chapter 115) is that money is considered to have reached the treasurer once it has been placed in the organization's box. On the other hand, the Beit Yitzchak (Orach Chaim, chapter 21) qualifies this by saying that this only applies if there is a key to the box, and the key is in the hands of the person responsible for emptying the box. There are other opinions as well. Apparently, according to those who hols that the funds have already reached the treasurer, it would be prohibited to borrow money from the charity box.

However, the Chamudei Daniel (Pischei Teshuva, Yoreh De'ah, chapter 259, subsection 4) wrote that nowadays it is customary to borrow money from charity even if it has already reached the treasurer. And since this is the accepted custom, it is considered as if the donor stipulated that he still has the right to borrow from the treasurer the funds that he donated, or that the treasurer has the right to do so.

Therefore, practically, one can be lenient with the charity box, and write the amount of the loan on a note and place it inside the box. And in the event that the person responsible for emptying the box arrives, an effort should be made to pay back the loan immediately.

Exchanging foreign currency from charity funds

A person who deals regularly with both the local currency and foreign currency may at times lack one of the currencies. However, when donating to a charity box, he always contributes from the currency he has on hand. The question arises whether he is allowed to convert the money that he currently lacks using the charity box located in his home, and if so, at what exchange rate?

In the book Levush Mordechai (Winkler, Yoreh Deah, second edition, chapter 115), there is a discussion regarding the exchange of silver coins, whose value corresponded to the price of silver in each coin, for paper notes that were subject to inflation and other changes. The author writes that since the money in the charity box is considered to have reached the treasurer's hands, this exchange is forbidden.

However, in practice, if it is beneficial for the charity fund to make the exchange, for example, if the organization needs shekels, and the donor currently needs dollars, it is better for the organization to make the exchange. This is allowed even according to the opinion that the charity fund is considered to have reached the treasurer's hands. Also, if the currency in the possession of the person who wants to exchange it is a stable currency, while the currency in the charity fund is subject to high inflation, and it is reasonable to assume that the value of the currency will decrease until the one responsible for collecting the funds empties the box, then it is permissible to make the exchange in order to preserve the value of the money. This is based on the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch (chapter 359, subsection 1) that in any case where the charity will benefit, it is permitted to borrow the funds, even if the money has already reached the treasurer's hands.

Still, in the case of currency conversion, the conversion fee should be added to the donation (Tractate Sheqolim, 1:6).

  Committed to donate to one charity, and wants to transfer his commitment to another

Question: A person committed to give charity to a specific needy individual and now he changed his mind and wants to transfer the donation to another needy person. Is he allowed to do so, or is there a specific case in which he can do so?

Answer: The Machane Efraim (Tzedaka, chapter 7 in the name of the Radbaz) and Ketzot HaChoshen (chapter 87, subsection 21; chapter 212, subsection 4) wrote that since there is a law whereby one’s declaration to the Most High is equivalent to transferring an item to a common person, therefore, the money is acquired by that specific needy person to whom he committed to donate, and one cannot retract the commitment, even if he wants to give the money to another needy person.

However, if one wants to do so, there is a solution how to do it, and that is to perform an annulment of vows to release the obligation, and then donate the money to the other needy person he wants to transfer it to. And even though charity vows are not generally annulled, if he does not regret the commitment to charity altogether, rather, he only wants to transfer the donation to another needy person, then there is no reason not to do so.

Wanted to give to a certain pauper, but he left

Question: It is common for a person to come to a synagogue and tell the congregation about his difficult situation and to ask for donations. One of the worshippers feels pity for the person and decides to donate a certain amount to him, sometimes even taking out a bill or coin from his wallet to give to the needy person. However, before he has a chance to reach the collector, he leaves the synagogue and goes on his way. The question arises whether it is permissible to pass on the donation to another needy person. Is there an obligation to give the donation specifically to this person, and is it necessary to run after him and try to find him, or to try to clarify who he is and how he can be reached in order to give him the intended donation?

Answer: The question can be divided into two parts: whether the donor is obligated to give the donation to charity or whether he can return it to his wallet. If he is indeed obligated to give the donation to charity, is he required to give it specifically to this particular needy person?

There are disagreements about whether a definite and decisive intention to donate is binding and considered a vow or not. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 258; Choshen Mishpat 212) maintains that intention is not binding, whereas the Rema (ibid.) believes that it is. Therefore, Sephardi Jews can return the money to their pocket without concern, whereas Ashkenazim are obligated to donate the money to charity. At first glance, this is considered as if one vowed to give to a specific poor person.

However, in this case, according to all opinions, he can give the money to another poor person, because even according to the Rema who holds that even a thought to give to charity obligates, it does not fall under the category of “declaration to the Most High is equivalent to transferring an item to a common person”. Therefore, in this case, the obligation is like any other charitable commitment, which can be redirected before it reaches the treasurer. [Additionally, there really is a double doubt here, as there is doubt as to whether a thought for charity obligates according to Halacha, and even if it does obligate, there is doubt as to whether one who committed to one poor person cannot transfer it to another poor person.]

Is it permissible to delay payment of a commitment to the synagogue?

The question arises as to whether it is permissible to postpone the payment of a commitment until the time that he’ll have funds available for this?

The answer is that even if he eventually pays the debt, there are cases where he violates the prohibition of "do not delay" if he does not pay immediately. But in many cases, he does not violate the prohibition of delaying, as we will explain.

• If the treasurer demands payment from him, he violates the prohibition of delaying if he does not pay immediately. And if the treasurer is not aware of the commitment, he must be informed, and if he demands the money, he must be paid immediately.
• If it is known that the synagogue needs the donation money now, it appears that he violates the prohibition of delaying, even if the treasurer does not demand payment from him. This is an open question.
  
• If the treasurer does not demand payment and it is also not known that the synagogue needs the money immediately, there is no prohibition of delaying payment.
  
• If the donor does not have the money, he does not violate the prohibition of delaying payment. However, this only applies if he does not have any money beyond his most basic needs.
  

Definition of “basic needs” according to halacha is much more bear-minimum that what is usually meant by this term today.

Sources: Rema (section Yore Deah, chapter 157, §3); Siphsei Cohen (section Yore Deah, chapter 194, subsection 6); Mordechai (Rosh Hashanah, chapter 702; Bava Bathra, chapter 491; cited in Beis Yosef, section Yore Deah, chapter 357, §3); Me'iri (Rosh Hashana 6a); Shulchan Aruch (section Yore Deah, chapter 357, §3, chapter 359, §1); Azmara LiShmechah newsletter (issue 157).