“Almsgiving” is a word that most of us rarely hear in normal, everyday conversation, yet the concept is an ancient one. It is deeply rooted in the Christian, Judaic, and Islamic Faith Traditions, and is most often associated with the concept of justice and charity.

Within the Christian Tradition, almsgiving is viewed as an act of love and justice. A look at the worldwide view of almsgiving shows that Muslims approach almsgiving as a necessary action of Faith; (one of the five pillars of their tradition) and in Judaism it is looked upon as “righteousness” – the recognition that all we have is “gift” and the obligation to reach out to others as a form of justice and accountability.