And then
we become aware of the more subtle nuances of this gift. It would
have been sufficient for the world to exist in a state of black
and white, but the Creator chose to give us endless pleasure in
the beauty of colors and textures. Likewise, He could have given
us a palatable but quite neutral tasting food that would keep
us alive. Instead, he showered us with a vast array of foods from
sour to sweet, juicy and dry, from soft to crisp, warm and cold,
with pleasing aromas and textures that engage our senses. To mention
just one, when the summer months come around, we are again surprised
by the appearance of grapes that seem so perfectly designed to
cool our thirst and satisfy our desire for sweetness.
When we
think how the Creator cares about us so much that he made grapes
so delicious, it makes us realize that we are beloved. In the
same way, when a person receives kindness from another, he feels
beloved. His soul is not alone among all the souls.
When a
person in need receives the gift of food, clothing, or a service,
he also receives the knowledge that someone cares for him, that
he is connected to the community, and that he is considered an
important member. To save one person is to save a world. Sometimes
the kindness was just enough to get the person back on his feet
psychologically, knowing that he was not alone in his pain or
his need.
A person
who has no money feels “impoverished” because he experiences a
feeling of hopelessness when he sits back and regards his situation.
In his moment of despair, a gift of money or a free interest loan,
however small, has more value than the money itself. It is a gesture
of encouragement and a step in the direction of a positive attitude.
That positive attitude can also very likely lead a person to take
measures that can lift him out of his poverty and set him on the
road to financial independence. In light of the ensuing events,
the small kindness that was rendered becomes the turning point
and the catalyst to set a person back on his feet.
In the
world of kindness, there are families whose penchant for doing
such acts is passed on from one generation to the next. Even the
small chin these families are busy duplicating what they’ve seen
their parents doing. You can spot them in the park when you find
them showing an even younger sister or brother how to throw a
ball, or helping someone up the slide, or wiping the sand off
another child’s face and giving them a drink. They have already
learned to master their own need systems, and they seem to be
the happiest children.
We once
spoke with someone whose sons are all involved in serving the
community and helping people in prisons and other institutions.
We asked him to explain how his children came to be so compassionate
and caring. The man gave a simple explanation: “I don’t know.
It might be from their mother. Right now as we speak, she is helping
someone make a bar mitzvah, and that is how she spends her time
day in and day out - helping people.”
This woman
has the clarity to understand that “the real world” is to be found
where our main thought is to make life better for others. Although
only those people in her family and immediate surroundings, neighbors
and friends, even know her name and the nature of her activities,
she has achieved a genuine greatness, more real than many of the
famous names in history.
Some people
would have you believe that living in “the real world” is only
achieved by having a certain familiarity with current events and
popular culture from the newspaper, television, and movies, by
knowing about the political and economic trends, or possessing
a degree in higher education which would certify that one is cognizant
of all these important subjects. Some people would have you believe
that holding a position in a business or school or working in
a profession is tantamount to dwelling in “the real world.”
However,
we would direct your attention to this unknown woman who holds
no official positions or diplomas, rarely reads a newspaper, and
doesn’t own a television. She has the most direct grasp on “the
real world” because she devotes her time to the most real,
in the sense of enduring and vital, of all human occupations -
acts of kindness.
The path to the world
of kindness begins with even the smallest interest in giving of
one’s self, one’s efforts or material possessions. When one
woman in Jerusalem found out that several families in her neighborhood
were going hungry, she decided to make some food for them in her
own kitchen. She enlisted the aid of some of her neighbors, who
gathered together canned foods for these families. From there,
her charity grew.
Today
it is officially named Yad Eliezer, and it is responsible for
supplying 850 families with a monthly basket of basic food supplies.
170 families receive weekly deliveries of cooked Shabbos food,
prepared by volunteers in their own kitchens. Sometimes this is
the only food a family will be eating on Shabbos. 700 families
are given chickens, with each family receiving from five to ten
chickens a month. 500 infants are fed through Yad Eliezer. Each
baby receives six large cans of formula monthly. Weddings are
arranged for poor brides at cost, which comes to only a few dollars
per guest for a full wedding meal.
Yad
Eliezer has assembled an army of volunteer workers. 600 women
collect money for chickens and food supplies each month. 130 depots
are responsible for the collection of uncooked foods. 90 volunteer
drivers distribute food baskets to needy families, the ill, and
women after childbirth. 800 girls collect food staples each month
by going door-to-door in their neighborhoods. 1000 women bake
a cake for a needy family each month. All this grew out of one
woman’s initial act of kindness on behalf of her neighbors.
The Almighty
endows each person with unique abilities, and every person can
use these abilities to make his or her own unique contribution
to the Hidden World.
A certain
lady does one of the most difficult projects one could undertake.
Visiting patients in hospitals for the terminally ill, she massages
the patients’ feet, and soothes and encourages their spirits.
For many of them, it is the last act of kindness they receive
in this world.
On
Fridays, and sometimes during their lunch breaks during the week,
a group of boys from the Aish HaTorah Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Jewish
Quarter gather together and make their way to a nearby hospital
for the terminally ill. It is a Christian hospital, and the Jewish
patients spend their last days under the crosses that abound in
every room and corridor. The yeshiva boys wheel those patients
who are able to make the trip through the winding, cobbled pathways,
the considerable distance to the Western Wall to join the throngs
of worshippers. These young men give up their only free morning
in order to bring some hope to the hearts of these patients, and
the feeling that they have not been completely abandoned.
They
help many to put on tefillin (phylacteries) in the hospital, and
buy radios for the patients’ enjoyment. On Chanukah they light
candles for them, and on Friday nights and the Holidays, they
go and sing traditional Shabbos songs for them.
A Torah
scholar who is also an expert in making fine furniture employs
six men in a unique creative venture. Using workshop space that
was donated, they study Torah under his guidance at the beginning
of the day, and then he teaches them how to build custom-made
furniture. When the furniture is sold, the profits are put aside
and used to build furniture that is then given away to needy families.
It would
take a very large book to detail all the kindness activities
happening in Jerusalem. Our main goal here is to focus on the
particular area of free loans - gemachim. We have often crossed
over into the general world of kindness, in the spirit that anyone
who is giving over to another is lending himself out, making of
himself a “free loan.” But our main emphasis is on those individuals
and institutions who operate free loans to benefit others in every
imaginable way.
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