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Rabbi Yeshoshua ben Korcha says: Anyone who averts their eyes from tzedakah is like one who worships idolatry. It is written here: "Beware lest you harbor the base thought, ['The seventh year, the year of remission, is approaching']…" (Deuteronomy 15:9), and it is written there: "Base people have gone out [from among you and subverted the inhabitants of their town]..." (Deuteronomy 13:14); just as there it is idolatry, so here it is idolatry.
[Soncino translation. Edited for gender neutrality]

1. In what way is not giving charity the same as idol worship?
2. This text teaches us that tzedakah is a core tenet of Judaism. Why is mandating tzedakah an important part of religion? What does this teach about how we should construct our communities?