Our first practical spiri-preneur sub-course: chesed

Welcome back, freshly minted spiri-preneurs! Who’s ready to start getting out into the field?

Which field, you ask? For the next few weeks, we’re going to explore the field of chesed. Kindness. The nice and helpful things we do for others.

Jews are people of tremendous chesed. Outsiders who witness how the Jewish community takes care of its people uniformly exclaim in awe. And chesed runs so deep in Jewish DNA that even those distant from Torah can’t help jumping on chesed opportunities. (Which country always runs fastest to aid after disaster strikes in Haiti, Nepal, or Florida? Israel, of course.)

But, as we selflessly give and care and help, do we ever stop to think – why are we doing this? What’s our ultimate goal in doing chesed?

What do you mean? You’re thinking. We’re doing it because people are suffering, and Hashem told us that it’s our job to help ease that suffering.

Neighbor had a baby and needs help feeding her family? Start a meal train. Colleague lost his job? Help him find a new one. Two family members of yours fighting? Do your best to smooth things out. Friend lost a loved one? Be there for them physically and emotionally.

When someone is suffering, there’s a void – a need – and it’s our job to fill it.

Right?

Mostly right. Such intentions unquestionably deserve praise. But they’re a bit reactive. They’re missing that “creation” element.

How can we learn to “create” through chesed? Firstly, by looking to the greatest champion of chesed that ever lived – Avraham Avinu.

According to Chazal, Avraham Avinu lived by this principle: “Olam chesed yibaneh” – “Chesed builds a world.” Chesed doesn’t just fill a void. It doesn’t just restore equilibrium. It creates new life.

When someone is down, struggling, suffering, they’re not living – they’re surviving. They aren’t capable of operating on an optimum level. They’re missing out on certain aspects of life. Leaving their potential unfulfilled. They aren’t living life to its fullest.

What is chesed? Chesed is the process of infusing life into people. Of enabling them to live more fully, to get more out of life.

A great Rosh Yeshiva spent much of the end of his life in the hospital. Deeply sick and pain-riddled, he shocked his nurses by consistently greeting them – before they’d done him any service – with a smile and a respectful thank-you.

Why did he go to such superhuman efforts? Because he lived by this ideal: Just as Hashem is “mechayeh es kulam,” just as Hashem brings life to everyone, we Jews must emulate His ways. We too must become sources of life for others.

Avraham Avinu didn’t simply feed his hungry guests. He treated them to delicacies they hadn’t asked for or thought of. He wasn’t just reacting to their needs. He was proactively enhancing their lives, introducing them to pleasures and experiences they hadn’t yet encountered.

Spiri-prenuers don’t do reactive chesed. We don’t just help people maintain their status quo. We do proactive chesed. We bring life to others.

How? Follow us over the coming weeks to find out.