Wartime Finance: Acts of kindness are the antidote to the savagery of the enemy
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on October 27, 2023.
“It’s also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I’ve been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That’s why we’re here, after all, to help others.” -Carol Burnett
In this week’s Torah portion, we start reading the story of Abraham. Interestingly, as opposed to most of the other significant personalities in the Torah, we don’t follow him from birth but rather jump into his life when he is already 75 years old. We have virtually no background with regards to his spiritual journey, or philosophical approach to life. In the next few weeks, we will read about his journey with a focus on his most special of character traits; Chessed or kindness. In fact, the trait of Chessed is ascribed to Abraham.
In an article on Aish.com that deals with the question of why the focus is solely on Abraham’s acts of kindness and not on his spiritual journey for the first 75 years of his life, it’s written, “It is far more than just being considerate to look out for the needs of others. Kindness is the understanding that I am not in the center, that I must look outside of myself, outside of my personal interests. This is why Abraham’s revolution was not just one of kindness but an ideological revolution as well. Not only did he try to understand how the world functions and operates, but he was the first to ask who created it and for what purpose. The way in which Abraham viewed the world around him, and eventually came to recognize God as the Creator of the Universe was precisely because he embodied the attribute of kindness.”
Over the last nearly 3 weeks, we have seen an unprecedented amount of kindness all over Israel. It’s like a tidal wave that can’t be stopped. WhatsApp groups are inundated with requests for help and before you can make a call and try and help, someone beats you to the punch.
I have a friend who a week ago was looking out his kitchen window into his garden and saw a couple of bikes that hadn’t been used in years. He thought maybe he could collect used bikes and give them to displaced kids from the south who have lost everything and used bicycles as a way to get around. He then contacted a local bike shop, and the owner loved the idea and said that he would do a tune-up for each bike for a very minimal amount of money. In a week he has collected and given away nearly 75 bicycles.
Just think about all the people involved in an act of kindness from this one small idea. It’s mind-boggling. I’m not even talking about the basics like cooking meals, donating toys and clothes, babysitting, etc. for the evacuees. I have heard from a few people that they have “found their calling’ and want to continue to be involved in helping people as a major part of their life. My true hope is that we don’t lose the “kindness” momentum and that it’s here for good. I once had a conversation with the owner of a fruit store. It was before Rosh Hashana and the holiday season, and someone had given money to me to distribute to those lacking food. I asked him to put together a few orders for people that he knew were lacking food. As he was filling a bag with apples he quipped, “Everyone gives charity at this time of the year. Don’t forget about the other 50 weeks!”
Rabbi Yaacov Haber writes, “We don’t realize how powerful kindness is. An act of chessed can change the world! There are times when G-d judges us with the attribute of justice. He scrutinizes us and puts our people under the microscope. The Talmud teaches us that when there is war, sickness, poverty, and unrest in the world, “know that we are being judged with midas HaDin(justice).” How can we change the mode of judgment? How can we get G-d to judge us with chesed? There is only one answer – by doing chesed. G-d takes His cues from us.”
May all the incredible kindness taking place help us have a true salvation, a military victory, and be successful in eradicating the forces of evil that have besieged us.
May all the families of the fallen be comforted. May the hostages be released. May the injured have a speedy recovery. May our dear soldiers be safe and protected.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, SIFMA, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.aaronkatsman.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
