Imagine a world where everyone is taking care of each other and finding ways to deliver joy. Picture a situation where instead of worrying about what the next person would do to you or take from you, you could be confident that they are looking out for you.
Klal Yisrael used to have a taste of that every three years on Erev Pesach. That was the April 15th of Jewish life, when we all had to make sure that we had “paid our taxes” by separating and delivering all our accumulated tithes from the previous three years (Devarim 26:12-15). Unlike April 15th, however, this was a very happy time because instead of the taxes being sent electronically or by mail to disappear into the government treasury, we were running around sharing substantial gifts with real people: Kohanim, Levi’im and the needy. It was a time of generosity and of gratitude, and it transformed our world into a very positive place.
That positivity affected everything, so much so that when we made our declaration, the viduy ma’aser, affirming that we had paid out those gifts, we invited God to look with His most critical eye at us and nevertheless bless us, “Hashkifa mi’me-on kodsh’cha min hashamayim u’vareich et amcha et Yisrael.” (Devarim 26:15). As Rashi (Bereishis 18:16) notes in the name of the Midrash, the impact of the positive atmosphere created by those gifts was enough to transform what could have been a harsh and critical judgment into generous compassion.
That is the wonderful cycle of kindness. Our goodness to each other creates mutual goodwill leading us to wish only the best for each other and to ask Hashem to shower the other with blessing. “V’shachav b’salmato u’veracheka ul’cha tih’yeh tzedakah lifnei Hashem Elokecha” (Devarim 24:13).
While we are unable to properly offer all the tithes and do not recite the formal declaration of viduy ma’aser (Shaarei Tzedek 11:23, Derech Emunah 11:27), we nevertheless have witnessed—especially over the past year—a tidal wave of kindness being generated by very special people, Avraham Avinu’s children. Just as Avraham sat by the door of his tent scanning the horizon for the next opportunity to bring warmth to a stranger, his children do the same, filling our communities and the world with creative and sensitive efforts to make a difference to those experiencing difficulty.
With all the tensions that have riven our people, we should not lose sight of the overwhelming amount of care and kindness that continues to be shared across oceans and communal lines. The appreciative expression, “mi k’amcha Yisrael,” marveling at our people’s overwhelming generosity of treasure and spirit, is constantly repeated in appreciation of this exhibition of incomparable kindness. One day soon it will be this wave that will prevail, engulfing the world in loving kindness such that we will not have to imagine a world where everyone is taking care of each other and finding ways to deliver joy—because we will be living it. And in that world, all of us will wish only the best for each other and ask Hashem to shower others with blessing. “Hashkifa mi’me-on kodsh’cha min hashamayim u’vareich et amcha et Yisrael.”
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
