It isn't going to surprise you, probably, to hear that the Jewish religion - which, apart from standing by itself, also provided inspiration for Christianity and Islam - has rules about charity. When I say "charity" I specifically refer to aid to the poor.
For what it's worth, I am deriving my writing here almost entirely from Kitzur Shulhan Aruch, by Rabbi Solomon Ganzfried in 1864. The original Shulhan Aruch was written by Rabbi Yosef Karo in 1563. Kitzur means "abbreviation", so this is in effect the "Abridged Shulhan Aruch". When my wife became Jewish she acquired this book and studied it to understand the laws and customs that, if she were to adhere fully and totally to all the rules, she would be required to follow. (Fun fact: virtually no adherent of any religion obeys all the rules to the letter, no matter how observant he claims to be.)
But I get beyond the topic here, which was charity. The basic concept of charity is laid out in the Bible - one should donate a portion of his wealth to the public good, whether tithing for the poor, tithing for the priests (members of the hereditary priesthood did not own land, and those who weren't scheduled for priestly duties were expected to teach for a living) or leaving a portion of one's fields unharvested for the use of the needy, or any other means. But there's more to it than just that.
Let me add a disclaimer, before proceeding: my only qualification here is that I can read Hebrew. I am not a scholar in matters of halacha, Jewish law. I am presenting what I read as I interpret it. If you are or wish to become Jewish and have serious practical questions, ask someone who knows what he's talking about, not me.
Chapter 34: Charity. Now with extra editorial commentary!
34:1 - "Whoever sees a poor man requesting help and and turns away from him without giving him charity violates a negative command, as it is said: 'Do not harden your heart or close your hand to your needy brother.'" That is the essence of the commandment, and the ethical requirement, to give charity. And for those who might read this halachic text and not understand the ethical requirement, the author explains further: "A person should consider deeply that at every moment, he asks God for his livelihood. Just as he requests that [the Lord] hear his prayer, so too should he hear the calls of the poor." Adding a little self-interest to the mix gives motivation, I suppose.
34:2 - How much should one give? Well, certainly one should not give enough to cause himself to become poor. "Anyone who has no more than what is necessary for his own living is not required to give to charity, for one's own livelihood comes before that of others." It would be self-defeating. However, if he has more, "even if he is able to give only a small amount, he should not hold back, for his small amount is as important as the large amount given by a rich man." It is a collective responsibility to ensure that everyone can eat, sleep under a roof, wear decent clothing and shoes, etc. See the following paragraph.
34:3 - But how much are we required to give, collectively, to a poor person? "Enough to meet all his needs... At least he should be given, in the entire city, enough for two meals and a place to sleep." Of one who "receives charity secretly, the people of his city are required to [help him] meet his needs as he was accustomed to before" he became poor. And of course, "We must support and clothe Jewish and non-Jewish poor alike, for this is the way of peace." Apart from serious wealth disparity being death to peace and social order in general, it exacerbates fault-lines of ethnic tension - which, despite we people being generally decent, are always there. Even if it weren't just the right thing to do (see: ethics), self-interest demands it.
34:4 - How much should the individual give? "The first year [of marriage? living separately from parents? unclear], one-tenth of the principle." In other words, in this first year, one should donate to charity one-tenth of his net worth. After this, though, "one should give one tenth of the profit one makes each year." Some editions of Kitzur Shulhan Aruch add to this sentence brackets containing the phrase "after deducting household expenses", which leads me to suspect that the word translated "profit" would be better translated "income". After all, profit is defined as income minus costs. But onward: "The most desireable way of fulfilling this commandment is to give one fifth of the principle... and then one fifth of the yearly [income]. A person should not give more than a fifth, lest he then need help from others." See 34:2 - giving so much that one undermines one's own livelihood is counterproductive. "But this is only during his lifetime; on one's deathbed, one may give up to one third of his wealth to charity." Dead people don't need food, clothing, etc.; so give to your heirs two-thirds, let them pay applicable taxes if any, and the remaining third would go toward feeding, clothing and housing those who cannot feed, clothe or house themselves. Once when my brothers and I were cold and had no suitable coats, a friend of ours who lay dying remembered us, despite his agony, and told his wife to make sure that we received his large, warm coats. His name was Louis Haber, although that's not important to the diary.
How may one give to charity? "One should not use his charitable 'tithe' to perform other commandments, such as donating toward [synagogue expenses], but should give it to the poor. If the chance to fulfill a commandment presents itself, such as to... provide for the wedding of a poor bride and groom, or to purchase texts to study from and to lend to others to study from - if one does not otherwise have the means to do so, he may use his tithes. If he purchases texts with his tithes, he must take care to lend them to others... he should also write in them that they were purchased with tithes, so that they will not be kept by his heirs as their private property." So if circumstances prevent you from donating directly to the welfare of others - helping them pay their grocery bills and rent - well, at least you can offset their educational expenses, which in theory helps them by giving them more intellectual and social capital, helping them advance themselves.
34:5 - It might be obvious, but... if you're going to buy something with your charitable donation, you should try to buy a nice example of it. E.g., if you buy food, buy healthful food that is useable by those who will receive it. If you buy clothing and shoes, buy good-quality clothing and shoes; those who receive them will not be embarrassed to wear them, and furthermore the articles will last longer between repairs or replacements. And if you want to give an item of your own as charity, it should be the best of what you own. Remember Lou, and his coats?
34:6 - One is obligated to support his own young children, of course; but he may use his tithes to educate his children or support his parents, if he is unable to use other assets to do so. (Put another way - the way the text actually puts it, to be honest - he may consider expenses incurred in these activities as charity.) As a general principle, one takes care of his own needs first, then those of his family, then those of his city, then those of his realm. However, the manager of a charitable foundation, regardless of what he does with his personal wealth, must take care not to favor his family with the foundation's resources.
34:7 - The manner in which charity is given matters as much as the amount, if not more so (as in 34:2). "One who gives charity to the poor in an unfriendly manner or with downcast face, even if he gave a thousand gold pieces (approx. $1.66 million in contemporary 1-oz coins), forfeits the merit of the act, and even sins... One must give in a pleasant manner, with happiness, and sharing [the recipient's] suffering, as Job said: 'Did I not weep for him that was troubled? Did not my soul grieve for the needy?'"
34:8 - "No one who asks for help may be turned away empty-handed. It doesn't matter if all you have to give is a dried fig. If you haven't even got a fig, console him and comfort him with words. It is forbidden to scold the poor man or to raise your voice against him, for his heart is broken and oppressed." Another diary today mentioned a woman, driving past an Occupy Reading, PA gathering, shouting "Get a job!" at the assembled multitudes. This is a classic example of total failure to observe this principle.
34:9-10 - One may set aside money in a personal charitable fund, to distribute as the need and opportunity arise.
34:11 - One who organizes charitable donations or manages a charitable fund is considered greater than one who merely donates, although (34:12) the best way to give charity is to do so in a way that prevents a person from falling into utter poverty (rather than merely caring for him afterward). Ideally (34:13), one should give in such a way that he does not know who receives his aid, and that the recipient does not know who donated, lest the recipient be shamed or be made to feel indebted to the donor - who, after all, is merely performing his moral and ethical duty. However, if one donates an item to charity, it is permitted for his name to be attached to it so it may stand as a memorial.
34:14 - If a person who needs charity will not accept it directly, it is proper to favor him in business - buying from and selling to him on favorable terms, even investing in his business on favorable terms (favorable to him, that is). Granted (34:15), a person should endeavour not to require charity if he faces hardship, even taking on menial tasks to cover his expenses. One who overcomes difficulty in this way (34:16) is considered praiseworthy and will be able to help others. However, if he cannot cover his expenses without charity, he should accept charity. One who is in dire need (e.g., starving) but refuses assistance out of pride is, effectively, committing suicide.
Charity is a big deal. As shown here: it's a community's collective responsibility as well as the individual's. This is an answer to those who call for collective aid to the public (tax-funded social spending) to be cut and insist that voluntary private charity can and will make up the difference. It simply ain't so. If you folks give charity, I am not therefore entitled to refrain from giving what I can, saying, "Well, what those others give far outweighs anything I can contribute".
This is also at the core of a lot of the teachings of Jesus. I'm no Christian, but look, the guy was espousing the core values of a religion that his peers had forgotten in favor of displays of outward piety - "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men." As Christians say:
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, [36] I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
The highly-orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote that American religious culture has become consumed with comparatively trivial arguments against same-sex marriage and abortion, while we have forgotten the core values of our country's most common religion (and at least two of its highly-visible minority religions as well). We are all responsible. If any one individual goes hungry, homeless, sick, uneducated, barefoot or naked for lack of cash, we have all failed him.