In my experience, I have known of Orthodox Jewish communities caring for widows and orphans from these donations. Probably the most obvious of all is a tithe that was collected every three years for widows and orphans that was part of three tithes commanded in the Old Testament. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. Likewise, God made a provision for widows and orphans in Deuteronomy 24:19-22: Notice that the “fatherless child” is held in the same esteem as widows.

If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. The evidence of this is seen in the law as follows: Without getting more into the details, this account demonstrates that God places a high priority on widows being cared for. The next thing that happens is that Judah’s wife died and upon hearing the news, Tamar takes drastic action to reestablish contact and expose Judah’s wretchedness. Unfortunately, Judah does not keep in contact with Tamar, nor does he provide his son for her when he was of age. In the meantime, Judah did not take the responsibility of caring for Tamar, but instead, sent her to her father’s house until such time as Judah’s younger son was old enough to provide her a child. Onan deliberately did not complete the task so he was struck dead as well. Since she had no children, Judah told his son, Onan, to conceive a child with her. The first mention of a widow is seen in Genesis 38 when Judah, one of the sons of Jacob, had his evil firstborn son, Er, struck dead by God. What does the Bible say about widows and orphans?

There needs to be consideration of the fact that many orphaned children or fatherless children need to grow up in loving Christian homes.

Bible care for widows and orphans