Reciprocal kindness

Hi,

"One who eulogizes others – others will eulogize him. One who buries others – others will bury him. One who carries others – others will carry him. One who elevates his voice [in eulogy] – others will elevate their voices for him."

(Talmud, Moed Katan 28b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Generosity and Honesty

Hi,

"Do not allow generosity and honesty to leave you; bind them to your throat, inscribe them upon the walls of your heart, and so find favour and a reputation for insight in the eyes of Gd and man."

(Mishlei 3:3-4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

King David and the Givonim

Hi,

Why the Givonim were forbidden from marrying into the Jewish people:

"'And the Givonim said to him: We have neither silver nor gold with Shaul and with his household, and we have no man [to kill in Israel]… Let seven men of his children be given to us, and we will hang them before Gd.' (Shemuel II 21:4-6) 

"King David tried to appease them, and they would not be appeased. He said, 'There are three signs for this nation: Merciful, bashful, and generous... One who has these three signs is suited to cleave to this nation.'"

"ויאמרו לו הגבעונים אין לנו כסף וזהב עם שאול ועם ביתו ואין לנו איש וגו' יותן לנו שבעה אנשים מבניו והוקענום לד' וגו'." מיפייס ולא פייסינהו. אמר, שלשה סימנים יש באומה זו: הרחמנים, והביישנין, וגומלי חסדים; רחמנים, דכתיב... כל שיש בו שלשה סימנים הללו ראוי להדבק באומה זו. 

(Talmud, Yevamot 79a)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The greatest chesed is for yourself

Hi,

"Even greater is the obligation to perform chesed [generous kindness] for one's self and body; Proverbs 11:17 says, 'One who gives to himself is a man of chesed.' And as they said of Hillel the Elder: When he dined he said, 'I will go perform chesed for my guest,' meaning his soul…"

וביותר ויותר יגדל החיוב עשות חסד עם עצמו וגופו, "וגומל נפשו איש חסד" (משלי יא) וכמו שאמרו על הלל הזקן שכשהיה הולך לאכול היה אומר אלך ואגמול חסד עם אכסניא שיש לי דהיינו נשמתו...

(Rabbi Eliezer Papo, Pele Yoetz חסד)

Have a  great day,

Mordechai

So many opportunities!

Hi,

"Anyone who has the power to act should act; there is no difference between a lot and a little, one is fulfilling a biblical mitzvah. For example: opening a door for one who knocks, or giving change for one's money, or extending an item to someone. There are many opportunities for kindness which are simple, to the point where one side gains and one side loses almost nothing. And yet, people denigrate these opportunities, not knowing what they lack and how great they are!"

וכל איש אשר בכחו לעשות יעשה, אין חילוק בין רב למועט, מצוה דאורייתא קעביד כגון לפתוח הדלת לדופק על הדלת וכגון להחליף מעות בפרוטות וכגון להושיט דבר לחבירו וכדומה, כמה דברים יש שהם קלים לעשות חסד עד שכמעט זה נהנה וזה אינו חסר ובני אדם מזלזלים בהם ולא ידעו מה שהוא חסר ומה רב טובו!

(Rabbi Elazar Papo, Pele Yoetz: Chesed)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Physical assistance trumps Financial assistance

Hi,

"As great a mitzvah as financial charity is, acts of physical kindness are so great that they are the equal of any mitzvah in the Torah:

"Financial charity is only applicable to the living, whereas physical kindness can be done for the deceased as well.

"Financial charity is only applicable for the needy, whereas physical kindness can be done for the wealthy as well.

"Financial charity can only be done from one's assets, whereas physical kindness can be done with one's body as well."

(Talmud Yerushalmi Peah 1:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Stick with generosity

Hi,

"If you see that the merit of our patriarchs fails, and the merit of our matriarchs has failed, then go involve yourself in acts of generosity. As Yeshayah 54:10 says, 'Because the mountains will depart, and the hills will fall' – the mountains are the patriarchs, and the hills are the matriarchs – 'but My generosity will never depart from you.'"

אם ראיתה זכות אבות שמטה וזכות אמהות שנתמטטה לך והטפל בחסדים הה"ד (שם /ישעיהו/ נד) כי ההרים ימושו והגבעות תמוטינה, הרים אלו אבות והגבעות אלו אמהות ואח"כ וחסדי מאתך לא ימוש

(Midrash, Vayikra Rabbah 36:6)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Self-Improvement through Repetition

Hi,

"Great qualities will not be achieved via great deeds, but via a great number of deeds… For example: One who gives 1,000 dinar to a suitable recipient, once, to one person, will not achieve generosity via this one great deed, as will one who gives 1,000 dinar over one thousand occasions, each one generously."

(Rambam to Pirkei Avot 3:15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Help your enemy first

Hi,

"One who could either unburden his friend's animal or load his foe's animal is instructed to help his foe, to control his spirit."

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 32b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Give to others in order to become generous

Hi,

"Gd desired that His nation should be crowned in every good and precious trait, with a spirit of blessing and generosity. As I have already written, the soul is inspired by our activities, and so it will become good, and Gd's blessing will come to it.

"There is no doubt that when a person leaves some of his produce in his field, rendering it ownerless for all to benefit, you will see in his spirit satisfaction, a proper and blessed spirit, and a sense that Gd has sated him with His plenty, and His spirit will rest in goodness. One who gathers everything into his house, and who will not leave behind any blessing for the needy who saw the field with its standing grain and who longed to fill their desire with it, for they hunger, demonstrates a wicked heart and bad spirit."

(R' Aharon haLevi, Sefer haChinuch 216)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #39 - Share the burden of others

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The thirty-ninth of the 48 is nosei b'ol im chaveiro, that one bear the burdens of others with them.

As we have said for other items in this list, this attribute may be understood as part of the refined character necessary for success in Torah study. However, one might also take it as part of the learning process; one who feels a responsibility to help others in their studies will learn a great deal in aiding them.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #33 - Love generosity

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The thirty-third of the 48 is oheiv et hatzedakot, to love generosity. [One might also translate this as "to love righteousness", but I don't think that works here, based on the next of the 48.]



The previous "way" was that one must love others, and we suggested that a misanthrope will not understand, or relate to, the many mitzvot and lessons of social interaction offered in Torah. Along the same lines, perhaps one needs to love generosity in order to succeed in Torah, because without this appreciation for generosity one cannot develop comprehension of the lessons of Divine generosity in the Torah.

Alternatively, one might suggest a simpler read: That a Jew must refine his spiritual personality, including his generosity, in order to become a better student of Torah.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #23 - A Good Heart

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-third of the 48 is lev tov, a good heart.

Elsewhere, such as early in Pirkei Avot, lev tov is understood to refer to an instinctive, inherent generosity. This is important in one's studies because its opposite, selfishness, leads a person to close his mind to trading ideas and perspectives with others. Generosity opens a person to share his learning with others, and through that sharing one's knowledge and wisdom grows.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Torah study and good deeds

Hi,

[The following lesson takes note of the way the biblical Joseph involved himself in helping others, and the way that the tribe of Yissachar is credited with Torah study.]

"One who involves himself in both Torah study and good deeds will merit the portion of two tribes...he will merit to have his enemies fall before him, as Joseph merited, and he will merit to achieve understanding, as Yissachar did."

(Talmud, Bava Kama 17a)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

In memory of a beloved friend

In memory of a beloved friend, Jay Scherline, who passed away yesterday:

"When your brother becomes needy, and sells his estate, then his redeemer who is close to him shall come and redeem what his brother has sold."

(Vayikra 25:25)

If there has ever been a man who lived by this verse, it was Jay. Whether with sweat, money, or a listening ear, a smile and a joke, Jay lived to redeem those who were needy in any way, quite often anonymously. He would cut off his right arm to help you, and he would beg you to take his left as well. The world will never know what it has lost.

יהי זכרו ברוך.

Mordechai

Four worthy endeavors

Hi,

"There are four endeavors which bring a person fruit in this world, while the essential reward is held over for the next world. Three are:
Honoring one's parents,
Performing acts of kindness,
Bringing peace between people.
Studying Torah is parallel to all of these."

(Avot deRabbi Natan 40:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Share!

Hi,

"Gd, to Whom you owe everything you possess, imposes upon you the duty not to consider it as given to you alone, but also to allow your brother who is poorer than you to make use of it, and to lend him money to enable him to rise out of his distress, to earn a livelihood and gain his independence at your side."

(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb paragraph 565)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Imitating Gd

Hi,

"Mitzvah #8 [in the Torah] is to make ourselves appear like Gd, as it is written, 'And you shall walk in His ways.' This is repeated in the Torah, in the verse 'to walk in His ways.'

"This is explained (in Sotah 14), 'Just as Gd is called 'Giving', so you should be giving. Just as Gd is called 'Merciful', so you should be merciful...'

"It is also repeated in the Torah with different language, 'You shall walk after Gd.' This is explained as trying to say that one should imitate the good deeds and honored traits that are ascribed to Gd - as if description of Gd were possible, for Gd is far above anything else."

(Maimonides, The Book of Mitzvot, Aseh #8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Justice, Generosity, Mercy

Hi,

"So declares Gd: Judge truth, and perform generosity and mercy with each other. Do not cheat the widow, stranger and orphan, and do not plot evil against your brother in your hearts.

"But they refused to listen, and they turned a rebellious shoulder, and they deafened their ears from hearing. They made their hearts impenetrable, so as not to hear Torah and the messages sent by Gd via the early prophets, and great anger came from Gd."

(Zecharyah 7:9-12)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Be generous with people who are in your debt

Hi,

"If you take your friend's (night-time) garment as collateral, return it to him by sunset. This is his only clothing, this is the garment for his skin; in what will he sleep? When he calls out to me, I will listen, for I am giving."

(Exodus 22:25-26)

Have a great day,
Mordechai