Tzedakah or Ṣ'daqah in Classical Hebrew (Hebrew: צדקה‎; Arabic: صدقة‎) is a Hebrew word literally meaning righteousness but commonly used to signify charity. It is based on the Hebrew word (צדק, Tzedek) meaning righteousness, fairness or justice, and it is related to the Hebrew word Tzadik meaning righteous as an adjective (or righteous individual as a noun in the form of a substantive). In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life. Maimonides says that, while the second highest form of tzedakah is to anonymously give donations to unknown recipients, the highest form is to give a gift, loan, or partnership that will result in the recipient supporting himself instead of living upon others. Unlike philanthropy or charity, which are completely voluntary, tzedakah is seen as a religious obligation, which must be performed regardless of financial standing, and must even be performed by poor people. Tzedakah is considered to be one of the three main acts that can annul a less than favorable heavenly decree.

Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Kt (born 8 March 1948, London) is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi. As the spiritual head of the United Synagogue, the largest synagogue body in the UK, he is the Chief Rabbi of the British Orthodox synagogues, but he is not a religious authority for the Federation of Synagogues or the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations or the other movements, Masorti, Reform and Liberal Judaism.

He is married with three children. One of his daughters, Gila Sacks, is a former Special Adviser to Gordon Brown.

Sacks was educated at St Mary's Primary School and Christ's College Finchley, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (MA), New College, Oxford, King's College London (PhD), Jews' College London and Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London).

In addition to the PhD he earned at King's College, he has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of: Cambridge; Glasgow; Haifa; Middlesex; Yeshiva University; Liverpool and St. Andrews, Roehampton University and is an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius and King's College London.

David J. Wolpe (born 1958) is an author, public speaker and rabbi of Sinai Temple (Los Angeles, California). Named the most influential Rabbi in America by ''Newsweek Magazine'' (2012) and one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the ''Jerusalem Post'' (2012), he is considered a leader of the Conservative Jewish movement. Wolpe was named one of The Forward's Forward 50, and one of the hundred most influential people in Los Angeles by Los Angeles magazine. Author of six books and a regular weekly column in The Jewish Week, Wolpe became the focus of international controversy when he gave a Passover sermon that discussed the historic validity of the Exodus from Egypt. In April 2012 he was named America's most influential rabbi by Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

Wolpe has taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, and served as assistant to the Chancellor of that institution; at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles; and at Hunter College in New York. At UCLA he teaches modern Jewish religious thought.^{[citation needed]} Wolpe is a regular contributor to several publications such as The Jewish Week, The Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times. He frequently is featured on documentaries on Biblical topics produced by A&E Networks (A&E, The Biography Channel, History Channel and History Channel International). He has also appeared as a commentator on CNN and CBS This Morning. Wolpe's most recent book, Why Faith Matters, is both an answer to books about atheism and a recounting of his battle with illness (he has undergone surgery for a brain tumor and chemotherapy for lymphoma). In 2008 and 2009, he had public debates with Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Steven Pinker, Roger Cohen, and Indian yogi and mystic Sadhguru, among others.^{[citation needed]}