Thinking About Giving Charity

There is an interesting discussion in מסכת שבועות, regarding whether one is obligated to give צדקה if he only thought about giving. The question was whether he must verbalize his intention in order to be obligated, or was the intention enough.

This argument is based on the words of our Parsha that described the generous contributor as נדיב לב, “generous of heart.”

The ruling in יורה דעה is that if one makes a non-verbalized vow regarding הקדש, sanctified matters, he is certainly obligated. Even though there is some question as to whether funds designated for צדקה, have the same rule as designating an animal for הקדש, the conclusion is that if one merely intended in his mind to give charity, he should convert this intention into practice, and give that amount to charity.