וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם רְאוּבֵן אַל תִּשְׁפְּכוּ דָם הַשְׁלִיכוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל הַבּוֹר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בַּמִּדְבָּר וְיָד אַל תִּשְׁלְחוּ בוֹ לְמַעַן הַצִּיל אֹתוֹ מִיָּדָם לַהֲשִׁיבוֹ אֶל אָבִיו: – And Reuben said to them: 'Shed no blood; cast him [Joseph] into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him'--that he might save him from their hand, to restore him to his father. (Genesis 37:22)
It is not a secret that institutions throughout the Jewish world have been built by philanthropic dollars; indeed, there are nameplates in almost every synagogue attesting to this fact. And yet, there remains debate and misunderstanding about the appropriateness of such forms of recognition of tzedakah. The great code of Jewish law, the Shulchan Arukh (Y.D. 149:13), teaches that in no fashion should a person be boastful about her philanthropy and that should she act in such a way not only does she forego whatever heavenly reward was due her for her tzedakah, but the community may even punish her as a result of such a display. However, with reference to this Torah verse whereby Reuven's reason for action is cited – that he might save him – this same code of law does say that it is not only permitted but even appropriate to attach one's own name to such gifts for the purposes of remembrance.
