We take a sacred pause at the point in our service to honor the holy act of giving.

For those of us with little to nothing to spare financially, this is a time often ripe with feelings of discomfort and inadequacy. Let us address that in our giving.

We give what we have been blessed with a surplus of: ranging from time, energy, and prayers, to talents and finances. Sometimes we have all of these to offer the bounty of, and other times only one or another. In certain seasons, we have nothing to offer and are granted the equally important blessing of receiving. No one is more or less beloved because of how much they can give or how much they need to receive.

The Hebrew word for this act, צדקה, (ts-dah-kah) is often mistranslated as charity. It is more accurately translated as justice. We give our surplus not out of fear of divine punishment nor for a transaction of prosperity. We give what we can, when we can, because when we do so, we build a more just world. We receive what we need, how we need it, as we live out our values by releasing our cares into the embrace of our beloved community.