The Rewards of Chesed in This World and the Next

Based on Ahavas Chesed vol. 2 chapter 4

Acts of chesed are one of the things for which we reap the “interest” in this world, while the “principal” is reserved for us in the next (Peah 1:1). The Yerushalmi on this mitzvah says that chesed advocates for a person forever, as per Psalms 103:17: “Hashem’s kindness is eternal for those who fear Him.” The reason it refers to “Hashem’s kindness” is because our acts of chesed arouse Divine chesed, as we have already discussed.

Chesed also advocates for a person when he’s in distress, as we see from the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 17b). There, we are told of Rabbi Elazar ben Parta and Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon, who were both arrested by the Romans. Rabbi Elazar opined that Rabbi Chanina was more fortunate, since Rabbi Chanina had been arrested on one charge, while Rabbi Elazar was arrested on five charges. Rabbi Chanina replied that Rabbi Elazar was more fortunate, because he (Rabbi Chanina) only occupied himself with Torah, while Rabbi Elazar combined Torah study with chesed, in merit of which he would be saved.

The Chofetz Chaim says that this passage from the Gemara explains a Midrash in Rus Rabbah (4:5), which tells us to observe the power of chesed. Those who perform acts of chesed, the Midrash tells us, are not subject to the authority of the dawn, nor of the earth, nor of the sun, nor of the various orders of angels. Rather, they are under the immediate aegis of God Himself, as per Psalms 36:8: “How precious is Your kindness, God; the children of man are sheltered under the shade of Your ‘wings.’” The intention of this, the Chofetz Chaim tells us, is that the Heavenly court has both prosecutors and defenders, representing the opposing goals of strict justice and mercy. But when Hashem judges a case “personally,” it is solely with mercy. And Hashem judges a case “personally” when the person being tried performs acts of chesed. If we do chesed, this arouses the trait of chesed in Hashem.

The concept can be seen in such verses as Tehillim 17:2: “Let my judgment come from before You; may Your eyes see rectitude.” In other words, may Hashem judge our deeds “personally” (i.e., without the Heavenly court chiming in) because of the chesed we have performed. We know that Hashem has both prosecutors and defenders standing by His metaphorical “throne” (I Kings 22:19), but we hope that He will judge our cases Himself, considering our merits and taking extenuating circumstances into account.

This isn’t only the case when being judged after 120 years; Hashem also considers our acts of chesed when we’re facing temporal troubles. As we saw above, in the story of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Chanina, a baal chesed is more likely to be saved from trouble than a person who has the merit of Torah alone – and the merit of Torah is no small thing! The gemara in Avodah Zara (17b) makes the enigmatic statement that one who has the merit of Torah but who doesn’t perform acts of chesed is like a person without a God. The meaning of this is that he throws away his chance to arouse that merciful aspect of Hashem that would come to his aid.

The gemara in Baba Kama (17a) likewise teaches the importance of Torah combined with chesed. Deuteronomy 33:17 tells us that the Tribe of Yisachar would defeat their enemies with metaphorical “ox horns.” What are these horns? One is the merit of Torah, as we see from I Chronicles 12:32 that Yisachar was a Tribe of scholars. The other is the merit of chesed, which they inherited from their ancestor Yoseif. We see that Yoseif was a baal chesed in that he sustained the Egyptians during the famine and buried his father, Yaakov.

All of this makes it clear that performing acts of chesed benefits not only the recipient, but also the one performing them, in this world and the next.

Get handy, colorful chesed "cheat sheets" in A Universe of Chesed!