The word used in Hebrew for Charity is Tzedakah. The Hebrew word has a much wider connotation than simply giving money to the poor. It reflects the concepts of justice, kindness and honesty integral to the norms of behaviour expected in one's dealings with other people. The implication is that the giving of charity embodies all the elements of upright behaviour that marks out the righteous person.

It is, therefore, not surprising that the act of Tzedakah is regarded as a basic mitzvah - obligation - and is mentioned numerous times in Jewish literature. The Book of Proverbs (10,2; 11,4) tells us that Tzedakah Tatzil Mimavet - Charity (and charitable acts) delivers one from death - and giving charity, say the Rabbis, is one of the methods of "averting the evil decree" (Babylonian Talmud, tractate Rosh HaShanah).

Since time immemorial, the Jew has donated to charity in memory of a deceased relative, and it is particularly appropriate to do so each year, on the Yahrzeit - the anniversary of their passing. On the mystical level, we are told that the performance of this vital mitzvah has the power to elevate the soul of the deceased, but a more tangible explanation is given in the work entitled Sefer Chasidim (Book of the Saintly) by Rabbi Yehudah he Chasid of Regensburg who lived at the end of the twelfth century.

Sefer Chasidim asks: 'How can the merits of one person be credited to another person after his death?'

It explains as follows: If a parent instructs their child to learn and to carry out good deeds, then, since the rewards that the child gains for doing these things come about because of the parent's instruction, the child is able to have these actions credited to the parent.

When a Jewish parent teaches his/her child to be charitable, it is because of the instruction of the parent that the child gives Tzedakah, and so, to that parent belongs the credit for the child's charitable donations.

The great Jewish Rabbi and philosopher Moses Maimonides elucidates eight degrees of charitable giving. (matnat la'aniyim 10,10) The supreme form of charity, says Maimonides, is where one gives another not simply a donation, but the wherewithal to enable the recipient to earn an independent livelihood without having to rely upon the munificence of others.

This is the philosophy that has been adopted by ORT since its inception. The organisation exists with one primary purpose: to provide people with the skills that they need in order to maintain an honourable and independent existence.