The Curses of Apathy Printed with permission from "The Chesed Boomerang" by Jack Doueck www.judaicapress.com The Talmud (Ketuvot 67b) curses people who close their hearts and refuse to give charity. “He who shuts his eye against charity is like one who worships idols.” The Talmud declares (Betsah 32b): “Rav said: ‘The rich of Babylon will go down to Gehinom’. Their sin: they refused to perform acts of charity and kindness.” The Midrash tells us (Leviticus Rabbah 34:12): “Let the mitzvah of helping the poor never appear trivial in your eyes — for its nonperformance evokes twenty four curses, while its performance earns twenty four blessings”. The Talmud (Bava Batra 10a, quoting Jeremiah 16:5) tells us that by refraining from giving charity and acting benevolently, we cause God to withdraw His peace from the Jewish people. Return to 'Our Tradition' Menu