וְכִֽי־יָגוּר֩ אִתְּכֶ֨ם גֵּ֜ר א֤וֹ אֲשֶֽׁר־בְּתֽוֹכְכֶם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְעָשָׂ֛ה אִשֵּׁ֥ה רֵֽיחַ־נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהוָ֑ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּעֲשׂ֖וּ כֵּ֥ן יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
Dan apabila seorang pendatang tinggal bersamamu, atau siapa pun yang ada di tengah-tengahmu turun-temurun, lalu ia hendak mempersembahkan kurban api-apian, aroma yang menyenangkan bagi Yang Mahakekal, maka sebagaimana kamu melakukannya, demikian pula ia harus melakukannya.
Rabbeinu Bahya
You also find a statement in Midrash Tehillim which is an allusion to this (Midrash Tehillim 17,14) on the verse אני בצדק אחזה פניך, “I will be able to behold Your ‘face’ by means of charity (performed).” The author writes: “observe the power of charity; a person donates a copper coin to a poor person and as a result he merits a vision of Shechinah,” whereas according to the norms prevailing in our world when a lady of great social standing wishes to welcome the king in her home, she makes elaborate and expensive preparations to demonstrate her regard for the honored guest. Only after such elaborate preparations will she be able to entertain the king. Jews, by comparison, only have to make a minor contribution to charity or a person in need of charity, and already they are admitted to the king’s presence. The author of the Midrash proceeds to quote verse 14 in that chapter as proof.
The reason this paragraph began with the words: “in one of your gates in your land,” and the paragraph also concludes with the words “in your land,” teaches that the Torah places the major emphasis on charity performed in Eretz Yisrael. Chapter 12 already started with the words: “these are the statutes and social laws which you are to observe and carry out in the land which the Lord your G’d gave to your ancestors.” Performance of the commandments of the Torah in the Diaspora basically only serves as a preservative measure, i.e. to ensure that during the long years of exile we do not forget the Torah and its commandments. This is the way Sifri explains Deut. 11,18: “put these My words on your heart;” The Torah refers to times when G’d’s words are incapable of being carried out except with our hearts, periods when we are exiled from Eretz Yisrael. We are to continue to lay Tefillin, put a mezuzah on our houses, etc., etc., in the Diaspora to ensure that we do not forget these laws.
An alternative way of understanding the words: “in your land” is: even when you are in your land. “ Even in your land where you already demonstrated that you believe that the earth is the Lord’s through releasing debtor from debts, allowing all and sundry to pick the harvest of “your” field every seventh year, the Torah still commands you to perform deeds of charity as outlined in our paragraph. If you have to perform charity even in an environment where you demonstrated the virtue which charity symbolises, then when you are in the Diaspora and you cannot demonstrate this virtue in any other way you are most certainly obliged to practice charity even more meticulously. The commandment of charity is one that is called מצות הגוף, a commandment to be performed with one’s body, i.e. personally; as such its application is world-wide regardless of whether the Temple is standing or not.”
The reason this paragraph began with the words: “in one of your gates in your land,” and the paragraph also concludes with the words “in your land,” teaches that the Torah places the major emphasis on charity performed in Eretz Yisrael. Chapter 12 already started with the words: “these are the statutes and social laws which you are to observe and carry out in the land which the Lord your G’d gave to your ancestors.” Performance of the commandments of the Torah in the Diaspora basically only serves as a preservative measure, i.e. to ensure that during the long years of exile we do not forget the Torah and its commandments. This is the way Sifri explains Deut. 11,18: “put these My words on your heart;” The Torah refers to times when G’d’s words are incapable of being carried out except with our hearts, periods when we are exiled from Eretz Yisrael. We are to continue to lay Tefillin, put a mezuzah on our houses, etc., etc., in the Diaspora to ensure that we do not forget these laws.
An alternative way of understanding the words: “in your land” is: even when you are in your land. “ Even in your land where you already demonstrated that you believe that the earth is the Lord’s through releasing debtor from debts, allowing all and sundry to pick the harvest of “your” field every seventh year, the Torah still commands you to perform deeds of charity as outlined in our paragraph. If you have to perform charity even in an environment where you demonstrated the virtue which charity symbolises, then when you are in the Diaspora and you cannot demonstrate this virtue in any other way you are most certainly obliged to practice charity even more meticulously. The commandment of charity is one that is called מצות הגוף, a commandment to be performed with one’s body, i.e. personally; as such its application is world-wide regardless of whether the Temple is standing or not.”