Based on Ahavas Chesed vol. 2 chapter 23

Having addressed the obligation to lend, we now turn to how this mitzvah is performed. When lending to someone, one should act the same as he does when giving tzedakah, i.e., cheerfully. Avos d’Rabbi Nosson (13:4) teaches that we should always be pleasant in our interactions with others. If you give someone everything in the world, but you have a scowl on your face while doing so, it’s as if you have given him nothing. Similarly, when extending a loan, one must make sure to do so with a pleasant attitude.

Consider: If you were to ask a favor of a friend, wouldn’t you want your friend to grant it with a smile on his face? That’s the way we should act when granting favors to others. Exodus 22:24 says, “When you lend to My people, the needy among you….” Rashi explains that (a) we must remember that our brethren are God’s people and treat them accordingly and (b) we must envision ourselves as if we were the needy ones and proceed accordingly.

Even if we’re not in a position to lend the requested funds, we must still treat the one requesting them with good middos. For example, one may not yell at a panhandler for knocking on his door. Rather, one must speak to him softly and politely, explaining that, unfortunately, he’s not able to assist at the current time. Continuing the idea from Avos d’Rabbi Nosson cited above, even if he gives him nothing physical, by treating him properly it’s as if he gave him everything in the world!

Let us discuss the idea that loans must be extended for the sake of performing the mitzvah rather than for any ulterior motive. The gemara in several places (Pesachim 8a, et al.) teaches that if someone pledges money to tzedakah so that a sick person should recuperate in the merit of the mitzvah, or so that he should merit a place in the Next World, the donor is considered completely righteous. This is true in the case of any mitzvah for which the one performing desires some Divine reciprocity. This is because he fulfilled God’s will even though he would like something in return.

This is clearly the case with chesed as well. If one designates funds for chesed purposes or lends money with the intention that in the merit of the mitzvah a sick relative should recover, his business should be successful, or he should earn a share in the Next World, it is a complete, untarnished mitzvah. This is considered acting for the sake of the mitzvah even if he would like something in return. (Although it’s still even better if one’s entire intention is to fulfill God’s will.)

Let’s consider, however, the case of someone who can’t bring himself to act altruistically. Rather, he only gives tzedakah and performs acts of chesed in order to look like a big shot, or for some comparable reason. Nevertheless, this person should keep on giving tzedakah and doing chesed. The gemara in Pesachim teaches that we should always occupy ourselves with mitzvos even when performed for the wrong reasons, because doing them for the wrong reasons leads to ultimately for the right reasons.

Our acts of chesed cause Hashem to respond with chesed on the world. This is so even if the act has an ulterior motive; it’s simply a matter of degree. The gemara in Pesachim (50b) contrasts two verses – one which says that Hashem’s chesed extends to Heaven (Ps. 57:11) and another which says that His chesed extends beyond Heaven (Ps. 108:5). The gemara explains that the latter refers to a mitzvah performed for its own sake, while the former refers to a mitzvah performed for some ulterior reason. A mitzvah is still a mitzvah. If someone loses a coin and a needy person finds it – so the “donor” had no intention whatsoever – even that is credited as a mitzvah (Sifri, Ki Seitzei 283)!

There are three ways that people serve God: out of love, because they want something, and out of fear. While there’s obviously a hierarchy, all three groups are considered righteous. This applies to the different types of offerings that were brought in the Temple, and it applies to tzedakah and chesed as well. There may be a hierarchy of more and less preferred methodologies, but all of them are beloved to God. The only methodology that’s unacceptable is one who uses tzedakah and chesed for self-aggrandizement. That approach removes any trace of the mitzvah. (See Baba Basra 10b.)

Ultimately, we must always remember that everything we have comes from God, so it’s only right to give back from it. This is explicit in I Chronicles 29:14: “Because everything is from You, and from Your hand we give to You.”

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