Why I started One Dollar Movement
One Dollar Movement begins with my family, the example of generosity I received, and my desire to continue doing good.
My name is Jonathan Isaac Baddouche, and this movement has a deeply personal meaning for me.
Rav Abraham Baddouche זצ״ל was my sandak. Our family connection also runs through two ties: my grandfather, Isaac Baddouche ז״ל, was the brother of Rav Abraham’s father, and my paternal grandmother, Alia Baddouche, was the sister of Rav Abraham’s mother.
These connections mean a great deal to me. Through One Dollar Movement, I want to honor them through my actions: helping others, continuing the good, and living in a way that would make Rav Abraham proud.
My grandfather Isaac was also a giver. He helped his own family and others in need. His example reminds me that generosity begins with noticing the people around us and responding when they need help.
I want to carry that example forward.
In Rav Abraham’s book, Me’orot Avraham, the chapter “Justice and Tzedakah” (משפט וצדקה) explores our responsibilities toward others. Its teachings help explain the purpose behind the movement I am building.
Coming together to do good
The righteous should gather, consult one another, and help one another.
Rav Abraham opens by discussing the value of people gathering for a good purpose. Coming together allows us to seek advice, strengthen one another, and help one another act.
This speaks directly to the reason I am building One Dollar Movement. One person may feel that a small contribution cannot accomplish much. But many people, each taking part, can make help possible that none could provide alone.
My hope is to bring people together around a simple starting point: one dollar, a willingness to help, and a shared concern for families in need.
Each person’s participation matters. Together, our individual acts of generosity can become practical assistance.
Preparing ourselves to turn learning into action
Rav Abraham compares preparing ourselves to cultivating the ground. When soil is properly prepared, seeds can take root, water can enter, and fruit can grow. In a similar way, we must prepare ourselves to receive Torah and allow it to shape our lives.
He also describes Torah as guidance for human life: instruction that helps us find a straight path through the choices we face.
For me, these teachings raise a personal question:
How will what I learn change what I do?
Through this movement, I want to make helping others a regular part of life, something we make room for and take responsibility for together.
I want the values we learn to become visible in the care we show people.
Justice must consider the person
For justice to be complete, tzedakah must accompany it.
Rav Abraham explores why justice and tzedakah appear together so often. In his discussion of human judgment, he explains that deciding which claim prevails does not mean the other person’s circumstances cease to matter.
He brings the example of a judge who rules that a poor person must pay, and then pays on that person’s behalf from his own resources. The judgment is upheld, while the person’s hardship also receives a response.
That example matters to me. It shows how careful judgment and practical help can belong together.
In One Dollar Movement, I want us to remember that behind every request is a person with circumstances we need to understand. Reviewing information responsibly and treating someone with compassion should be part of the same work.
A family asking for help deserves attention, care, and respect for its dignity.
Going beyond the strict minimum
The chapter also discusses לפנים משורת הדין, acting beyond the strict letter of the law.
Rav Abraham draws on the Talmudic account of workers who broke a barrel of wine. Their clothing was taken in connection with the loss. They explained that they were poor, had worked all day, and were hungry. The account includes an instruction to pay their wages.
Rav Abraham uses this discussion to examine how righteousness and consideration for others belong within our responsibilities.
For me, the story is a reminder to look carefully at the people affected by a decision. A mistake or a difficult situation does not erase someone’s hunger, hardship, or need for help.
That is an attitude I want this movement to carry: taking our responsibilities seriously while remaining attentive to the human being in front of us.
Kindness for its own sake
An act of kindness is done without a reason or cause, simply for the sake of goodness itself.
Rav Abraham distinguishes chesed, kindness freely offered for its own sake, from the responsibilities associated with judgment.
This teaching expresses something I want at the heart of One Dollar Movement: helping because someone needs help. Seeing another person’s difficulty and choosing to respond with care.
My grandfather Isaac expressed generosity through helping his family and others. Rav Abraham’s teachings deepen my understanding of that responsibility.
I want to honor both through useful actions and the care we show people.
Carrying the example forward
I am building One Dollar Movement with the hope that many small acts of generosity can become meaningful assistance for families.
I want participation to feel within reach. I want those asking for help to be treated with dignity. And I want our shared responsibility to become something practical: people supporting one another through difficult moments.
My connection to Rav Abraham, my grandfather Isaac’s example, and the family ties carried through my grandmother Alia are part of why this matters so much to me.
My hope is to carry the good forward and invite others to take part.
One dollar is a beginning. Helping one another is the purpose.
כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲרֵבִים זֶה בָּזֶה
All of Israel are responsible for one another.
About Rav Abraham Baddouche
Rav Abraham Baddouche זצ״ל was a Torah scholar and educator who devoted his life to learning, teaching, and strengthening Jewish life. In Mexico, he helped establish institutions for Torah study. In their tributes at the beginning of Me’orot Avraham, Rabbis Zalman Rotberg and Yaakov Toledano recall his humility, dedication, and tireless work, and the institutions that continued after his passing. His teachings are preserved in Me’orot Avraham.
He was born in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1939 and passed away on 2 Iyar 5750 (1990).
Sources: the tributes in the opening pages of Me’orot Avraham and the biographical entry in HeHacham HaYomi. Read the biographical source in Hebrew
About the book
Me’orot Avraham preserves teachings of Rav Abraham Baddouche זצ״ל. This story draws on the chapter “Justice and Tzedakah,” in Parashat Mishpatim, pages 58 to 61. The book’s original memorial dedication is reproduced below.
From the book’s memorial page
נֵר זִכָּרוֹן בְּהֵיכַל ה׳
לאא״ז הרה״צ רַבִּי מַיְמוֹן ב״ר אַבְרָהָם בַּדּוּשׁ זצ״לנִפְטַר ה׳ אָב תשמ״ט
ולאא״ז הרה״ח רַבִּי דָּוִד ב״ר אַבְרָהָם טולדנו זצ״לנִפְטַר י״ב אֲדָר א׳ תשמ״ו
In loving memory
נֵר זִכָּרוֹן בְּהֵיכַל ה׳
לְעִילּוּי נִשְׁמַת הָרַב אַבְרָהָם בַּדּוּשׁ זצ״לשֶׁהָיָה הַסַּנְדָּק שֶׁלִּי, וַאֲשֶׁר תּוֹרָתוֹ וְדוּגְמָתוֹ מַמְשִׁיכוֹת לְהָאִיר אֶת דַּרְכִּי.
וּלְעִילּוּי נִשְׁמַת סָבִי הַיָּקָר יִצְחָק בַּדּוּשׁ ז״לאִישׁ שֶׁל נְתִינָה, שֶׁעָזַר לְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ וּלַאֲחֵרִים שֶׁהָיוּ זְקוּקִים לְעֶזְרָה.
יְהִי זִכְרָם בָּרוּךְ.