Taking care of the unfortunate – צדקה

– has always been a key ethic of Judaism. The Sages taught that the best way to deliver such aid is anonymously. They called this מתן בסתר

– secret charity or secret giving.

For example:

מתן בסתר מונע בושה ממקבל הצדקה.

Giving in secret prevents embarrassment on the part of the recipient of the charity.

מתן

– giving – comes from the root נ.ת.נ

, which also gives us נתינה

– the literal act of “giving”, as well as מתנה

– gift.