Shemot/Exodus 22:21(22)
Kol-almanah veyatom lo te’anun
You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child.

The widow and the fatherless are helpless. In addtion, they have suffered great loss. Therefore, we should show compassion to them, because they may not have way of supporting themselves.

This is the purpose of leaving the sheaves when you harvest:

Devarim/Deuteronomy 24:19
When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that YHVH your Elohim may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Part of the tithe would go the the widow and fatherless:

Devarim/Deuteronomy 26:12
When you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.

Iyov/Job 22:9
You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

We make sure that their needs are provided for.

Tehillim/Psalms 82:3
Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

We are also to defend them.

Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not wrest the justice due to the foreigner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow’s clothing to pledge;

There are serious consequences when one takes advantage of the widow or the orphan:

Shemot/Exodus 22:22-23(23-24)
22 (23) Im-aneh te’aneh oto ki im-tsa’ok yits’ak elay shamoa eshma tsa’akato.
If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
23 (24) Vecharah api veharagti etchem becharev vehayu nesheychem almanot uvneychem yetomim.
and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

Mishle/Proverbs 23:11
For their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.

Mishle/Proverbs 22:22-23
Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; And don’t crush the needy in court; For YHVH will plead their case, And plunder the life of those who plunder them.

YHVH is their defender.

Mark 12:38-40
As he taught them, he said, "Watch out for the kind of Torah-teachers who like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces, who like to have the best seats in the synagogues and take the places of honor at banquets, who like to swallow up widows’ houses while making a show of davvening at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!"

Yeshua talked against showing religiousity without compassion.

Ya'akov/James 1:27
The religious observance that Elohim the Father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being contaminated by the world.

Elohim desires compassion.

Hoshea 6:6 For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of Elohim more than burnt offerings.

Mattityahu/Matthew 12:7
If you knew what ‘I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifice’meant, you would not condemn the innocent.

Sha'ul wrote to Timothy about how to take care of the widows:

1 Timothy 5:3-16
Show respect to widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, first let them learn to do their religious duty to their own family and thus repay some of the debt they owe their forebears, for this is what is acceptable in the sight of Elohim. Now the widow who is really in need, the one who has been left all alone, has set her hope on Elohim and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But the one who is self-indulgent is already dead, even though she lives. And instruct them about this, so that they will not be open to blame. Moreover, anyone who does not provide for his own people, especially for his family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Let a widow be enrolled on the list of widows only if she is more than sixty years old, was faithful to her husband, and is known for her good deeds—as one who has reared her children well, showed hospitality, washed the feet of Elohim’s people, helped those in trouble, and engaged in all kinds of good work.
But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they begin to feel natural passions that alienate them from the Messiah, they want to get married. This brings them under condemnation for having set aside the trust they had at first. Besides that, they learn to be idle, going around from house to house; and not only idle, but gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t. Therefore, I would rather the young widows get married, have children and take charge of their homes, so as to give the opposition no occasion for slandering us. For already some have turned astray to follow the Adversary.
If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, she should provide relief for them—the congregation shouldn’t be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are really in need.

The general principles here are:

• The surviving family of the widow has first responsibility to take care of her needs. (v.3-8)
• The congregation helps the widow if she has no family to support her, if she is over 60
• Younger widows are encouraged to get married

Shalom v'brakhot v'simcha,
Moreh Chizkiyah Shlomo (Carl)