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Why does the Talmud (תלמוד) prove Jewish kindness from Avrohom's teaching of charity rather than kindness itself? The shiur explores how 'gomel chesed (חסד)' means weaning ourselves from self-interest when helping others. True chesed requires doing for others even when we gain nothing—or even suffer—as illustrated by contrasting Hagar with the Shunammite woman.
This shiur analyzes the concept of 'gomel chesed (חסד)' (performing kindness) through the lens of two biblical narratives and a challenging question from the Marsha on a Talmudic teaching. The Talmud (תלמוד) derives that Jews are 'gomlei chasadim' (performers of kindness) from God's statement about Avrohom: that he will command his children to do 'tzedakah umishpat' (charity and justice). The Marsha asks why the Talmud proves kindness from charity, when the Talmud itself teaches that kindness is superior to charity in three ways: it can be done for rich and poor, with one's person not just money, and for the living and dead. Rabbi Zweig resolves this by examining the root meaning of 'gomel,' which appears in the Torah (תורה) as 'weaning' (when Isaac was weaned). He argues that 'gomel chesed' means to 'wean chesed'—to wean oneself away from personal benefit when performing kindness. This interpretation is supported by analyzing the Hebrew word 'azov,' which means both 'to abandon' and 'to help.' True help enables independence, requiring eventual abandonment of dependency.
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