 It exists in a number of religions and regions.The word, in the modern English language, comes from the Old English "ælmesse", "ælmes", from Late Latin "eleemosyna", from Greek ἐλεημοσύνη "eleēmosynē" ("pity, alms"), from ἐλεήμων, "eleēmōn" ("merciful"), from ἔλεος, "eleos" ("pity").In Judaism, "tzedakah" - a Hebrew term literally meaning righteousness but commonly used to signify "charity"  - refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just.