As Jews, we are very aware of the idea of our responsibility to society and the world. Historically, Jews have always been very giving of both their time and money to worthy causes and charities, many of which have nothing to do with Jews. A good example is the United Jewish Appeal, the UJA. Keep in mind that Jews constitute about 2% of the total population of the U.S. Of the approximately 5.5 million Jews in the U.S., about 800,000 of them contribute to the UJA. The UJA raises $750 million annually, making it the third largest charity in the U.S., after the Red Cross and the United Way. (Source: The UJA)

Our social consciousness goes all the way back to the Bible. This attitude is a mitzvah, a legal obligation. The Torah commands us:

When you see a human being in distress, physical or otherwise, you have an obligation to help him. This is a unique innovation in law: Judaism mandates positive behavior. In any other legal system, even America today, it's not a crime to be a bystander. In Judaism you can't watch, you must act. (This doesn't mean you have to get yourself killed to stop a mugging.) Many people would say, "I'm a good person, I don't hurt anyone." That's not the Jewish understanding of a "good person". Being a good person requires one to take an active stance, not to content oneself with merely avoiding evil. From the Jewish perspective, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. Jewish law requires us to be part of the solution.

The real message that Judaism teaches is that you're responsible for the world. That's a pretty heavy idea. The Talmud teaches that every person must say to himself, "The world was created for me." Not as a statement of ultimate self-centeredness, rather out of a sense of unique responsibility for the world. This is my world and I’m it’s caretaker. If there’s a problem, it’s happening in my backyard and I’ve got to do something about it.

The entire concept of what our relationship with our fellow human being should be is summarized by eight words:

"Love your neighbor as yourself. I am G-d." LEVITICUS 19:16

Jewish law is incredibly specific about your obligations toward others, whether it is how much money you owe to charity, what percentage of your crops belong to the poor, even how you are allowed to talk about someone (Lashon Hara).  This isn't just in theory: Every Jewish community throughout Jewish history had a social welfare infrastructure: 100 years ago, 5 million Jews lived in poverty and oppression in the giant ghetto of Eastern Europe called the "Pale" of Jewish settlement. Of those 5 million, none of whom were wealthy, 14-25% lived off community charity. That's a minimum of 700,000 people supported by the community. (That's the equivalent of about 40 to 50 million Americans living off of charity) (Source: A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People" Martin Gilbert). Every little shtettle had its tzeddakah societies. 

It was more than just taking care of Jews. Centuries ago the Rabbis decreed that for the sake of peace Jews had to also take care of the poor of gentile world. (Although, our first legal obligation is toward Jews-"Charity begins at home.")

If the world is your responsibility, that includes everything in it; not just people but also animals and the environment - Save the Whales- is a Jewish invention. In Jewish law you can not eat before your animal eats. You're not allowed to be cruel to an animal. If you see an animal in distress you have to help it. You can't cut down a fruit tree, even in a time of war. The first environmental law and animal rights comes from the Torah! This is the sweeping Jewish vision of taking responsibility to "fix" the world-tikun olam.

This is the vision of social responsibility that was adopted by modern European American thinkers during the last 200 years. The humane values of the Bible became the basis for this idea of social welfare.

Look at what Thomas Huxley, English writer and biologist, says about the influence of Jewish ideas on the concept of social welfare:

Huxley is saying that the Jewish vision of social welfare is the reality that we are all modeling ourselves after.

Kyman Abbot, an American preacher and publicist echoes a similar sentiment. (1901)

So, like the other items on our list, we see that social conscience is also largely a Jewish invention.

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