a bike for a 7 year old boy: necessity or luxury? something that community tzedakah funds should be used for? ❌ -> no to both ✅ -> necessity but not tzedakah 🪙 -> necessity and tzedakah-able

similar question: smartphone for a 15+

Also camp. And new clothes for yomtov. And, well, anything else related to "everyone else."

I'm not sure I understand the question about using tzedakah money. It sounds like there's a deeper question being asked and I don't want to assume what it is. Regarding it being a necessity, there's no absolute answer to that. What I've learned is that everyone has their own definition of that word. It's hard to even come to a shared understanding of what that word means. That being said, from my perspective. I would never consider it a necessity, but I will say a bike is extremely healthy, especially for a young boy. Its good for physical health as well as socially. I would have no issue with someone I know using tzedakah money I gave them for a bike for their kid assuming it's not a regular bike and not a $600 bike from a specialty shop.

I take solace in the fact that Tzedakah is meant to be given to help a person get to the level they're used to living (paraphrasing ). When I start to cheshbon how people receiving tzedakah should spend their money it makes me frustrated and probably a worse person on the balance. When I start to feel that way, I remember to thank Hashem that I'm on the giving end, and can't begin to understand the cheshbonos being made that makes a person spend that way.

hey @steep-dog-55906 how are you doing?

Also keep in mind you don't know what other people are going through, even outside of money issues. They can have physical or mental health issues that they're dealing with. Sometimes those things are the one spark of light in the person's life. I've had similar concerns with how my tzedakah money is being spent, but I started to think of it this way. Most people are good at some things and bad at others. Some people are doctors and can give people peace of mind with a 10 minute conversation. Some are in the trades and can help people fix the small issues in their homes. Others are good at how they make and spend money and they can help those who aren't. It might seem like they're bad with money and how dare they use my tzedakah money that way, but the doctor could look at the person having a panic attack because they have a cold in a similar way. This is what I'm good at and I want to be happy to be able to provide people relief with what I'm good at, even if they're not.

I guess it could depend on the situation, if it will help the child integrate into the chevra in his neighborhood. Can't be less beneficial than therapy and no one's debating if therapy is worthy of using tzedakah funds for

Can't be less beneficial than therapy

Bold statement, highly debatable

compared to the same $ amount spent on therapy, not compared to an entire season of therapy

my boys have three ways to get to school: 1) we drive 2) they bike 3) they take the public bus so in my case, I would say it's a necessity.

in other words: 1. you drive 2. they drive 3. someone else drives.

1 and 3 are b'dieveds, I really hate driving if I don't have to, and it's very difficult to get out at the time they would need to go, and the bus costs money, plus they would make it there on time the bike gets them to school in about 10 minutes, and they want

Tzedaka is for די מחסורו as per halacha. That means to provide what is missing, based on a lifestyle someone is used to. For a wealthy person, this can mean tzedaka so he can continue a high lifestyle, believe it or not. It also includes basic needs for kids to fit into the community, not only funds for basic survival. So an inexpensive bike should not be any issue. Ask your LOR for more details.

once you bring in LOR, this whole thread becomes obsolete.

Agree with Yaakov. We all know to ask our LOR, but the discussion is still worth having. While I think this is a crucial discussion, we definitely work with rabonim whenever this shilo comes up for our members. At the same time, public discussions on these topics eventually impact the Rov's psak, so we need to keep having them

is that self-ordained smicha?