Please take a shot at reconciling this statement with current practice, and what HKB"H wants from us:
Rama Y"D 249:13 (my free translation) - In any event one shouldn't glorify oneself with the charity he gives, not only won't he receive reward but he is even punished and in any event one who dedicates an item to charity is permitted to write his name on it to be a memorial for (to?) him and it is worthy to do so (Taz - so the community cannot switch its use).
GCT
Joel Rich
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Where's the contradiction? People shouldn't brag about their donations; who does? But it's totally OK to put ones name on the item donated; so plaques and building names are fine. It's also completely proper, of course, for a mosad to honor a donor -- yehalelcha zar velo ficha.
Rama Y"D 249:13 (my free translation) - In any event one shouldn't
glorify oneself with the charity he gives, not only won't he receive
reward but he is even punished and in any event one who dedicates an
item to charity is permitted to write his name on it to be a memorial
for (to?) him and it is worthy to do so (Taz - so the community cannot
switch its use).
Where's the contradiction? People shouldn't brag about their
donations; who does? But it's totally OK to put ones name on the item
donated; so plaques and building names are fine. It's also completely
proper, of course, for a mosad to honor a donor -- yehalelcha zar velo
ficha.
:>> Rama Y"D 249:13 (my free translation) - In any event one shouldn't
:>> glorify oneself with the charity he gives...
:> Where's the contradiction? People shouldn't brag about their
:> donations; who does? But it's totally OK to put ones name on the item
:> donated...
...
: It is permitted but is it the preference of HKB"H especially if the
: item is not in danger of being switched in use?
I am personally bothered when there is so much text on the paroches or
cloth on the bimah (term?) that it detracts from the aesthetics. I am
also bothered when more space is spent naming the donors than naming
and perhaps lauding the person in whose memory the donation was given.
That said...
I think the consensus is that things have fallen to the point that we
have two offsetting values that outweigh this ill:
1- When the choice is between collecting multiples more money with giving
out honors vs operating on a shoestring and having to cut corners by
only taking more purely motivated donations, the extra tzedaqah given
is a mitzvah that outweights the alternative.
2- Even someone who has pure motives and wants to give quietly is living
in a society that will respond positively if his donation is made public
and influences the community. Peer pressure isn't just for teenagers.
I think it's parallel to choosing chalitzah as a first choice. It's clear
from the pasuq and the content of the ritual that chalitzah is something
that in the ideal no one should be encouraged to choose. But as Abba
Shaul noted, we don't live in that ideal world, and what was second-rate
has become (centuries later) mandatory practice.