From CM re my May 5 piece about charitable giving: 

“I really enjoy your e-letters. They are both informative and entertaining. Your article on charity was outstanding, and so were the links! Since you quoted the Torah, a subject I’m familiar with, I hope it’s okay if I share some insight.

“‘The highest form of giving charity is giving anonymously’ is not from the Torah. The Torah doesn’t have a hierarchy of giving charity or ‘tzedakah’ – which comes from the root word of ‘tzedek,’ which translates to ‘justice.’

“Maimonides does list a hierarchy of tzedakah in his code of Jewish law.

“Giving anonymously is number two and number three out of eight. Number one is preventing someone from needing tzedakah… such as finding someone a job, partnering with them in business, etc.

“I believe it’s not so much to prevent them from becoming a burden on the community. It’s more so that they don’t suffer a loss of dignity.”

My Response: Thank you for the correction, CM! (I knew I should have looked that up!)

From SA: 

“You said: ‘I have an abiding interest in charitable giving. Not because I think it is virtuous, but because I see it as a contributing factor to being a happy person.’ So honest.

“I have always known that about myself but never mentioned it to anyone, because I felt I was supposed to feel altruistic, when instead I felt happy. Therefore, my being charitable made me a selfish man. Now, I feel I can openly admit it, while still being charitable. So what if I’m selfish.”