I read "Rambam's Ladder" by Julie Salamon this week. One of my purchases from the clearance corner in the BYU Bookstore over the past semester. I thought it might be interesting, the subtitle being "A Meditation on Generosity and Why It Is Necessary to Give"; I bought it for like 3 bucks. It had some interesting things to say, but was not exactly a great literary work. The writing was not that great, and the author's train of thought was a little jumpy, rarely sticking with any thought long enough to really dissect the ideas. It turns out that the book is just a modern rehashing of Maimonides' (his Greek name) "The Eight Degrees of Almsgiving". Maimonides was born as Moses ben Maimon and was driven out of Spain during the Islamic invasion. He spent his life as an exile, traveling the world and often relying on the help of strangers for support. Rambam was his nickname.

Maimonides suggests that there are 8 ordered levels of charity. The higher level you attain the better person you are, in terms of your charity anyways. Salamon gives each level a cute, single-word description, which I'll use here in conjunction with further detail.

From Highest to Lowest, the 8 levels of Almsgiving:

8. Responsibility - Helping others become self-sufficient
7. Anonymity - Giving to those you don't know via a third party, so they don't know you either
6. Corruption - To bypass corrupt middlemen in level 7 - Giving to those who are known to you, but you are unknown to them
5. Boundaries - Giving to those unknown to you, but you are known to them
4. Shame - Giving before being asked, both parties know each other, may produce shame an embarrassment for one or both parties
3. Solicitation - Giving to those who ask you directly for it
2. Proportion - Giving, but less than is proper
1. Reluctance - Giving begrudgingly

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