221. Giving the Best; Priority in Giving

34:5 If a person wants to accrue merit for himself, he should restrain his urges and open his hand wide. Things that are done for a mitzvah should be done in the best way possible so one should feed a needy person from one’s best food and clothe him from one’s nicest clothes. If one wants to dedicate an object to God, it should be the best of its kind that he has.

34:6 A person is not obligated by Torah law to support older children so one may use money he has earmarked for charitable purposes towards their education. Similarly, one may support an elderly parent from his charity money. In fact, they take priority over other people in these matters. Relatives take priority over non-relatives, members of one’s household take priority over others in his city, those of his city take priority over people from another city. This is only speaking of one’s own personal charitable donations; a person who manages a fund must make sure he shows no favoritism to his own family members over others.