Description: Chapter 2 - 01
Ahavas Chesed
Chapter 2 – 01
In this chapter the Chafetz Chaim continues to explain why the middah of chessed is so integral, and why we are commanded to ‘love’ chessed. The pasuk describes the creation of man, ויברא אלוקים את האדם בצלמו – Hashem created man in His image. What does this mean? The meforshim say it means that Hashem imbued humans with characteristics which mirror Hashem’s middos. We have been given the potential to emulate Hashem and attain Hashem’s characteristics, which He demonstrates to us.
What are Hashem’s middos? They are entirely chessed, the whole world and all that is in it are to facilitate Hashem doing kindness with us. As it says in the pasuk, ‘Tov Hashem lakol,’ Hashem is kind to all, and it says, ‘nosain lechem lichol basar ki li’olam chasdo.’ Hashem feeds every living thing, because His kindness is eternal.
As we shall soon explain, the whole world depends on this characteristic being emulated.
Someone who chooses to emulate Hashem and acquire the trait of kindness, connects to Hashem, and brings the tzelem Elokim upon himself. Someone who thinks it pointless and unnecessary, is distancing himself from Hashem the furthest possible.
We see by Sodom, who so distanced themselves from chessed that they made it a part of their legislature to prevent the practice of chessed, they lost their potential to exist at all. They were wiped clean off the face of the earth, literally transformed back into tohu and vohu. The pasuk makes it clear that this was the reason for their destruction, as it says in Yechezkel:
הנה זה היה עון סדום אחותך גאון שבעת לחם ושלות השקט היה לה ולבנותיה ויד עני ואביון לא החזיקה
This was the sin of Sodom your sister city, who was satiated with bread and had peace and quiet, to it and its suburbs, but they didn’t assist the hands of the poor and destitute.
Sodom was wealthy and had all its needs, and didn’t need assistance from any foreign nation, and as a result they wanted to drive away all other people from coming and benefitting from their prosperity. This was the exact opposite of the point of creation, and they took it to a biblical level of un-chessed, so much so, that their existence became impossible.
Hashem created this world in a way that every single living person needs the help of another. Chesed is inevitable. We go through many stages and times in our lives, and at some we are forced to enlist other people to be successful. Most people require financial assistance at some point in their lives. Poor people need tzedakah, and rich people need a loan, or average people need a job. This is a mitzvah of chessed, there is tzedakah, and the mitzvah of lending money, the mitzvah of ‘vi’chai achichah imach,’ and the mitzvah of ‘vi’hechezaktah bo,’ which is the mitzvah of helping a person find a job.
This alone includes just about every single person in the world.
Ahavas Chesed
Chapter 2 – 01
In this chapter the Chafetz Chaim continues to explain why the middah of chessed is so integral, and why we are commanded to ‘love’ chessed. The pasuk describes the creation of man, ויברא אלוקים את האדם בצלמו – Hashem created man in His image. What does this mean? The meforshim say it means that Hashem imbued humans with characteristics which mirror Hashem’s middos. We have been given the potential to emulate Hashem and attain Hashem’s characteristics, which He demonstrates to us.
What are Hashem’s middos? They are entirely chessed, the whole world and all that is in it are to facilitate Hashem doing kindness with us. As it says in the pasuk, ‘Tov Hashem lakol,’ Hashem is kind to all, and it says, ‘nosain lechem lichol basar ki li’olam chasdo.’ Hashem feeds every living thing, because His kindness is eternal.
As we shall soon explain, the whole world depends on this characteristic being emulated.
Someone who chooses to emulate Hashem and acquire the trait of kindness, connects to Hashem, and brings the tzelem Elokim upon himself. Someone who thinks it pointless and unnecessary, is distancing himself from Hashem the furthest possible.
We see by Sodom, who so distanced themselves from chessed that they made it a part of their legislature to prevent the practice of chessed, they lost their potential to exist at all. They were wiped clean off the face of the earth, literally transformed back into tohu and vohu. The pasuk makes it clear that this was the reason for their destruction, as it says in Yechezkel:
הנה זה היה עון סדום אחותך גאון שבעת לחם ושלות השקט היה לה ולבנותיה ויד עני ואביון לא החזיקה
This was the sin of Sodom your sister city, who was satiated with bread and had peace and quiet, to it and its suburbs, but they didn’t assist the hands of the poor and destitute.
Sodom was wealthy and had all its needs, and didn’t need assistance from any foreign nation, and as a result they wanted to drive away all other people from coming and benefitting from their prosperity. This was the exact opposite of the point of creation, and they took it to a biblical level of un-chessed, so much so, that their existence became impossible.
Hashem created this world in a way that every single living person needs the help of another. Chesed is inevitable. We go through many stages and times in our lives, and at some we are forced to enlist other people to be successful. Most people require financial assistance at some point in their lives. Poor people need tzedakah, and rich people need a loan, or average people need a job. This is a mitzvah of chessed, there is tzedakah, and the mitzvah of lending money, the mitzvah of ‘vi’chai achichah imach,’ and the mitzvah of ‘vi’hechezaktah bo,’ which is the mitzvah of helping a person find a job.
This alone includes just about every single person in the world.