Halakhah sa Job 29:15: Mishneh Torah, Gifts to the Poor

If a poor person asks of you [to give him something], and you do not have anything in your possession to give to him, comfort him with words.¹⁸⁴See Leviticus Rabbah 34:15 as well as Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 9b. It is forbidden to speak harshly to a poor person or to raise your voice in a shout, for his heart is broken and crushed. Thus it says in Scripture, (Psalms 51:19) God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart. And it says, (Isaiah 57:15) Reviving the spirits of the lowly, reviving the hearts of the contrite. And woe to anyone who shames a poor person! Woe to him! Rather, let him be like a father to him, in compassion and in words, as it is said, (Job 29:15) I was a father to the needy.