What it is
Tzedakah is usually translated as “charity,” but the Hebrew root is closer to justice or righteousness. In Jewish law, giving to people in need is an obligation rather than an optional kindness.
The ladder
In his code of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides ranked eight levels of giving. The lower levels describe how a gift is given: grudgingly or cheerfully, less than one should or enough, openly or anonymously. Higher levels protect the dignity of the person receiving help, for example when neither side knows the other.
The highest level is different in kind. It is to help a person become self-sufficient through a gift, a loan, a partnership or a job, so that they no longer need to ask for help at all.
Through the source lens
Charitology’s depth scale runs from relief to source. Maimonides put prevention of need at the top of his ladder eight centuries ago. The tradition doesn’t treat relief as unworthy, since every level on the ladder is still a fulfillment of the obligation. It ranks them, and the ranking points upstream.