Oral Law- Sam Banen

'You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kinsman fairly'" (Leviticus 19:15). Give to all of those who are in need, not just those who you deem as deserving. "You often say, 'I would give, but only to the deserving.' The trees in your orchard say not so," (Gibran 21) for the trees in your orchard give fruit without hesitation, and like the trees, you too shall give. But what of those who can support themselves and their family and the families around them? What more do they need? Everybody has something to offer to somebody. "It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" (Kahlil Gibran 19). The gift of one's self is greater than anything else. You have your friendship, your time, your wisdom to give to someone in need of it, and these things do not come to the rich or poor with preference. Also, think of the song Lean on Me by Bill Weathers and think about how it's all about needing a friend. Now think about how there has never been a song about donating to charity

I have here a picture of a “homeless” man (Michael) and a fruit tree. The homeless man is accepting the fruit of my tree just like the hand in the picture on the right. I picked up Kahlil Gibran’s quote about the fruit tree from his book, “The Prophet.” To me, his quote painted a beautiful picture of the state of being in a natural world; consumers take from the plants around us without hesitation, predators take from herbivores without hesitation, decomposers take from dead animals without hesitation, and even plants take from the decomposers and the sun without hesitation. It’s how the world works, and to me, nothing is more beautiful.