February -- Chesed / Loving Kindness

When we return our torah to the ark, we often sing the following words, “Al sh’losha d’varim, ha-olam omed: al ha-Torah, v’al ha-Avodah, v’al gimilut chasadim” (poetically translated as, “The world is sustained by three things: Torah study, service to God, and acts of chesed.) We often translate chesed as “loving kindness,” but this only gets us half way there. Certainly chesed means to reach out to others, but it goes much further.  Chesed requires that we extend ourselves even when we might not want to do so. An act of chesed is one in which we give of ourselves without an expectation of anything in return – even an expression of acknowledgement or thanks.

Caring for the sick is considered an act of chesed. Visiting the bereaved is an act of chesed. Protecting our environment can even be considered an act of chesed.

Alan Morinis tells the following story:

“I once heard Rabbi Abraham Yachnes clarify the extent of the stretch that is necessary to have an action qualify as chesed. He said that if you are walking down the street and someone is walking beside you carrying a large box, and you offer to help the person carry the box, that’s not chesed. You’d simply be a terrible person not to help someone in that situation. What counts as chesed is when you are walking the opposite way from someone carrying a burden and you turn around to help carry that load in the direction he or she is going. That’s chesed.”

At TAE, the month of February is dedicated to “loving kindness” / “chesed”.  May we all commit ourselves to acts of chesed – of sustaining one another with our love and kindness.

Kindness, (Chesed in Hebrew)                                      

Our goal is to be a kind caring community where everyone —the children, parents, teachers, administration—treats everyone else with kindness.  What does that look like to us and to our children?

We help people in need… We are sensitive to people's feelings…. We are never mean or hurtful…. We care about how our actions will affect others.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a kind world? A place where everyone is good to each other and there is no bullying. Children who learn to use words and acts of kindness can have a huge impact and make their home and schools better places. It’s not difficult to teach your children to be kind and that kindness has value. When you do something for others, it makes you feel good. Those great feelings can snowball into your children wanting to do more kind things.Bring more kindness into your family by modeling it for your children.  If you run a kind household, children learn what it feels like to be treated kindly. When children have done kind things let them know how proud you are of their actions.  If you catch your child in an act of kindness, give them a star on the fridge, and have those build towards a special reward.

Read and read again books encouraging kindness to your children. *The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.*The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning.*Koi and the Kola Nuts: A Tale from Liberia by Verna Aardema

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."-Emma Goldman

Contributed by Michelle Princenthal