{"id":29650,"date":"2012-11-01T23:26:25","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T23:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=29650"},"modified":"2012-11-01T23:26:25","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T23:26:25","slug":"but-is-it-really-chesed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/","title":{"rendered":"But Is It Really Chesed<\/em>?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine this scene:<\/p>\n

A gentleman, along in years, sits on the porch of his house on a warm, summer\u2019s day.\u00a0 The sun is high in the sky.\u00a0 Perhaps the man, drowsy with the afternoon heat, begins to close his eyes for a brief nap.\u00a0 But a noise startles him.\u00a0 He looks up.\u00a0 A car coming down the road stops and three men climb out, clearly lost and in need of direction.\u00a0 They look around before seeing the man on the porch\u2026.<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/p>\n

In our \u201cdon\u2019t talk to strangers\u201d society, it is possible to imagine the older man already reaching for his cell phone, ready to dial 9-1-1.\u00a0\u00a0 Popular culture has cued us to suspect that these men clearly pose an imminent danger to the man.\u00a0 At the very least, he should retreat into his house.\u00a0 And lock the door!<\/p>\n

But what does he do?\u00a0 He runs from his porch to the street and he greets them warmly.\u00a0 Not only that, he invites them into his house <\/em>and has his wife provide food for them!<\/p>\n

While jarring in a modern setting, this is exactly what Avraham Avinu did in welcoming the three strangers into his tent.\u00a0 Despite recovering from his brit\u00a0<\/em>(circumcision), he did not sit passively while the men approached.\u00a0 He ran to <\/em>them, as if anxious to demonstrate his hospitality toward them.<\/p>\n

Likewise, in interceding with G-d for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah, Avraham Avinu insinuated himself in the midst of unsavory people, in a dangerous, unstable situation.\u00a0 And to what purpose?\u00a0 To try and find a peaceful and righteous solution, to save a community to which he did not belong!<\/p>\n

To help.<\/p>\n

To perform chesed<\/em>, acts of loving-kindness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In performing these acts of chesed<\/em>, Avraham Avinu demonstrated by example <\/em>how we are to behave in the world, how loving-kindness is to imbue our actions and behavior each day of our lives.\u00a0 Rav Moseh of Kobrin, zt’l <\/em>is quoted on the website, Shapell\u2019s Darche Noam<\/em>, \u201cA day that a Jew does not do a kindness is not considered a day in his life\u201d (Nesivos Shalom, vol. 1, p. 99).<\/p>\n

Such a sentiment suggests that, like Avraham Avinu, it is not enough to passively not do the wrong thing, rather, it is necessary to proactively seek out opportunities to do the right thing.\u00a0 That is, we are not to sit before our tents until strangers come to us but we are to run from before our tents to find ways to demonstrate our loving-kindness.\u00a0\u00a0 It is, after all, as essential to a Jewish life as eating and praying.<\/p>\n

We are to emulate Avraham Avinu.<\/p>\n

G-d was well aware of the degree of chesed <\/em>obtained by Avraham.\u00a0 He was cognizant of Avraham\u2019s constant desire to reach out and aid others.<\/p>\n

But on the day that he extended such generous hospitality to the three strangers, Avraham had earned a rest.<\/p>\n

Our tradition teaches that, on the third day after Avraham\u2019s brit <\/em>at the age of 99, G-d turned the weather unnaturally warm, in order to make it impossible for Avraham to tend to the needs of others.\u00a0 Having fulfilled the mitzvah\u00a0<\/em>(commandment), the heat caused him to him feel ill and weak.\u00a0 He was unable to do anything other than sit before his tent and heal.<\/p>\n

Mind you, there were countless reasons to excuse Avraham from extending himself to others; after all, he was recuperating from performing his own brit<\/em>.\u00a0 At 99!<\/p>\n

Who would not have \u201cforgiven\u201d him had he chosen to take some \u201ctime off\u201d from performing acts of chesed<\/em>?\u00a0 No one.\u00a0 Except, perhaps, Avraham himself.\u00a0 For Avraham, there was no excuse not to do for others. \u00a0Avraham could simply not accept a reality \u00a0where there were no guests to tend to, no passers-by to feed, no one to welcome and assist.<\/p>\n

It was torment for Avraham to sit before his tent.\u00a0\u00a0 Not due to the brit <\/em>but due to his inability to do what came naturally to him, to perform acts of loving-kindness, to engage in chesed<\/em> .\u00a0 G-d saw his torment and, taking pity on Avraham, G-d sent the three angels, in the form of men, for Avraham to welcome and assist.<\/p>\n

But why couldn\u2019t Avraham simply relax?\u00a0 Why couldn\u2019t he simply relinquish doing loving deeds for even a short while?<\/p>\n

Rav Michel Birnbaum offers an explanation is his Sichos Mussar<\/em>: \u201cOur notion of chesed<\/em>, loving-kindness, is to respond and give when there is a need; give to the poor, tend to the sick, counsel the troubled, comfort the mourner, feed the hungry.\u00a0 In other words, to be responsive to the troubled human condition when called upon, when the need is there staring at us. \u00a0When we behave in this way, we consider ourselves ba\u2019alei chesed<\/em>, kind, considerate, giving.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the needs of others do not \u201center our consciousness\u201d; if they do not announce themselves; if we are so deeply entrenched in our own concerns, then certainly we are exempt from being ba\u2019alei chesed<\/em>, are we not?<\/p>\n

Would we not be justified in doing nothing under those conditions?\u00a0 Could we not truthfully say, \u201cBut I did not know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps.<\/p>\n

But if we did, we would not be following Avraham Avinu\u2019s model.\u00a0 In Avraham\u2019s life, chesed <\/em>was not incidental.\u00a0 It was not performed when the need \u201crevealed itself.\u201d\u00a0 Rather, Avraham\u2019s actions teach us that a true ba\u2019al chesed <\/em>actively seeks out for the opportunity to perform acts of loving-kindness.<\/p>\n

Failing to do so leaves him tormented and troubled.<\/p>\n

Micah proclaims, \u201cWhat does Hashem require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It is what we are called to do in our lives.\u00a0 If there is no one in need within our field of vision, we are called upon to widen our field of vision.\u00a0 Like Avraham, we must run to <\/em>those in need, seeking out the opportunity to perform chesed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If I sit before my tent and gaze out at the world and see no chesed <\/em>that needs to be done, it is not because all is right with the world, but because there is something lacking in me.<\/p>\n

In honor of our children Zahava and Seth Farbman whose\u00a0chesed\u00a0emulates\u00a0Avraham Avinu.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran<\/strong> serves as OU Kosher\u2019s vice president of communications and marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there is no one in need within our field of vision, we are called upon to widen our field of vision. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":29656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel"],"yoast_head":"\nBut Is It Really Chesed? - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"But Is It Really Chesed? - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If there is no one in need within our field of vision, we are called upon to widen our field of vision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-01T23:26:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000001559675XSmall.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"429\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Eliyahu Safran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Eliyahu Safran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/\",\"name\":\"But Is It Really Chesed? - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000001559675XSmall.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-01T23:26:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/acbbaebb03ce2ffa212da7d2138e1b5d\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/but-is-it-really-chesed\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000001559675XSmall.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000001559675XSmall.jpg\",\"width\":\"429\",\"height\":\"280\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/acbbaebb03ce2ffa212da7d2138e1b5d\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Eliyahu Safran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Eliyahu-Safran_avatar_1398790441-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Eliyahu-Safran_avatar_1398790441-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Eliyahu Safran\"},\"description\":\"Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran is an educator, author and lecturer. 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