Alongside teshuvah (repentance) and tefillah (prayer), tzedakah (צְדָקָה — literally ‘righteousness’ or ‘justice,’ commonly translated ‘charity’) is identified in Rabbinic tradition as one of the three practices that ‘avert the evil decree’ (Talmud Yerushalmi, Taanit 2:1). The Talmudic teaching: ‘Repentance, prayer, and charity avert the evil decree’ (uteshuvah utefillah utzedakah ma’avirin et ro’a ha-gezeirah) — recited in the Unetanneh Tokef prayer on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tzedakah as atonement is not charity in the sense of voluntary benevolence but justice — the restoration of proper social order by giving those in need what is rightfully theirs. Daniel 4:27: ‘Atone for your sins by practicing righteousness (tzidkah) and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed.’ This doctrine gives Rabbinic atonement theology a strong social justice dimension: one cannot fully atone before God while ignoring the poor and vulnerable.