Halakhah sa Deuteronomio 15:9: Mishneh Torah, Gifts to the Poor, Kol Bo, Kitzur Shulchan Arukh & Mishneh Torah, Negative Mitzvot

Anyone who averts his eyes from [the need of] tzedakah is called Belial ["Wickedness"], just as the idolaters worship Belial, and of the idolaters Scripture says, (Deut. 13:14) That some scoundrels [children of Belial] from among you have gone [and subverted the inhabitants of their town] by averting their eyes from [the need of] tzedakah. It says, (Deut. 15:9) Beware lest you harbor a base [belial] thought.¹⁸⁰See Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 68a. And such a person is called, "wicked," as it is said, (Prov. 12:10) The compassion of the wicked is cruelty. Such a person is called, "a sinner," as it is said, (Deut. 15:9) He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will incur a sin.¹⁸¹See Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 10a. The translation reads, "guilt," but the connection here is through "sin." The Holy One, Blessed Be He, is close to the cries of the poor, as it is said, (Job 34:28) He listens to the cry of the needy.¹⁸²Maimonides does not quote this exactly. Therefore, one needs to be especially sensitive to their cries, for they [the poor] have a covenant established [between them and God], as it is said, (Exodus 22:26) Therefore, if he cries out to Me, I will pay heed, for I am compassionate.

One who appeases a poor person with words is greater than one who gives charity. And anyone who turns his eyes away from [giving] charity is called a ruffian, cruel and a sinner — as it is stated: Be careful, lest a ruffian thought arise in your heart (Deuteronomy 15:9); the mercies of the wicked are cruel (Proverbs 12:10). And he denies his ancestry. As he is not from the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were merciful, but rather from the seed of the nations, about which it is written: they are cruel, they show no mercy (Jeremiah 50:42). Anyone who has mercy will be shown mercy, as it is stated: and He will grant you mercy, and He will be merciful to you (Deuteronomy 15:9).

It is a mitzvah to lend money to Jews who are in need, as it is said, "If you lend money to My people, to the poor amongst you," etc.¹Exodus 22:24. This applies only if you have ready cash. It is also a mitzvah to lend him vessels or other thing. (Ahavas Chesed 1:2, 3) Although it is written "if", our Sages of blessed memory, received the tradition that this "if" is not an option, but an obligation. The Mechilta states that the verse, "If you lend money to my people," denotes an obligation. Why do you say it is an obligation? Perhaps it is really optional (since it states "if")? Because we can infer from the verse, "And you shall surely lend him,"²Deuteronomy 15:8. that it is obligatory and not optional. The word "if" written here means, when you lend money, you should lend it to My people, and not to heathens. And to whom of My people? To him that is with you. From this they inferred that your poor relatives take precedence over other poor people, and the poor of your city take precedence over the poor of other cities.³Maseches Baba Metzia 21a. The mitzvah of lending money to a poor person is greater than giving charity to a poor beggar,⁴Maseches Shabbos 63a. for the latter has already been reduced to begging, while the former has not yet reached this stage. The Torah is provoked with one who refuses to lend money to the poor, as it is said, "And your eye be evil against your needy brother"⁵Deuteronomy 15:9. etc. Concerning the one who lends to the needy in time of his distress, the Scripture says, "Then you shall call and God will answer."⁶Isaiah 58:9.