There is nothing more mundane – in the best sense – than Tzedakah. It is, and has always been, something we Jews do almost reflexively.

We see an outstretched hand, and we place a coin. We attend a weekday synagogue service, and the community pushka (collection box) makes its rounds through the congregation. In Jewish day schools and Hebrew schools, pupils donating a coin is an everyday occurrence. Visit a Jewish home, and there’s a Tzedakah box next to the tray with the Shabbat and festival candles.

Indeed, the Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that there should be a generic pushka (Tzedakah box) in every child’s room, so that the idea of sharing can be nurtured from the very earliest stage in a child’s development.

The mitzvah of Tzedakah is qualitative, not quantitative. We give only what we can. Yet each act of Tzedakah is a mitzvah in its own right. Hence one should make a habit of giving something every day, rather than saving up to make a bigger splash. To this end, the simple pushka, should be ubiquitous in Jewish homes and places of business. And there is no better place to deposit one’s spare change at the end of the day. Indeed, even a single penny is an act of Tzedakah, and should not be belittled.

Of course, there are special times when giving Tzedakah is emphasized and auspicious. Since time immemorial, Jewish women have put a few coins in a Tzedakah box right before lighting their Shabbat and festival candles, as they make their blessings and offer their prayers for the health and safety of their loved ones.

It is also a special mitzvah to give Tzedakah before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, on the holiday of Purim and before Passover.