Whether or not you have personally experienced any of the above circumstances, they nevertheless feature a common dilemma that confronts many of us on a daily basis: How to appropriately engage in acts of chesed, with the proper mindset.

Lot’s behavior in this week’s Parsha offers an interesting perspective regarding this issue. Residing in the sinful and immoral city of Sedom, he risks his life by inviting guests into his home, demonstrating kindness he clearly learned from “Uncle Avraham.” However, when pressured and threatened by a mob of townspeople to hand his guests over, he insists on offering his daughters instead, stating, “Do to them as you please but to these men do nothing inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” (19-8) How can individual risk his life engaging in kindness, yet at the same time can be so unkind to his own daughters in order to continue that kindness?

True, individuals are often mistakenly selective regarding perfection of their character traits, allowing one to be sympathetic and compassionate on the one hand, as well as lewd and promiscuous on the other! However, Lot seems to be inconsistent within the attribute of chesed itself!

We can resolve this dilemma by examining the appropriate attitude required for performing genuine chesed. Chesed is NOT a mere performance executed so as to discharge an obligation, nor is it a mechanical, robotic exercise for which reward is guaranteed. Chesed requires wisdom and reasoning, understanding the plight of the individual and ignoring your own needs. as well as implementing the mission appropriately with the objective of satisfying the recipient’s needs. Lot’s Hachnasas Orchim, though it was impressive, was a mechanical, demonstration of behavior he had inherited, rather than a manifestation of genuine kindness fueled by compassion and concern for others. It was an end in and of itself, to the degree that his obsession allowed him to mercilessly offer his own daughters to a raging mob, failing to realize his insensitivity and brutality.

The aforementioned fictional scenarios might be irritating to an individual who feels that their kind gesture was unfulfilled and therefore without purpose, only due to their misguided impression of the nature of chesed. If one is able to focus on the true value and objective of their actions, they will recognize that recognition and accolades are not a component of Chesed. This realization may thereby prevent unwarranted grief and disappointment, and in addition, will serve to prevent inconsistent behavioral traits such as those exhibited by Lot, enhancing our ability to genuinely practice gemilus chasadim, as well as emulating the ways of Hashem, the paragon of Chesed.

Rabbi Avrum Haar

I am really excited for the robotics club. It is going to be great! Building mechanical warriors and sending them to battle must be pretty awesome. A lot of people probably think the robotics club is for super serious people, but in reality it has to be pretty cool building your very own servant and having it serve you at will. Think about the kids who will thank us in the future.

Shai Yastrab

When most people hear the word argument, they think of anger, frustration, and unmoving opinion. However, this is only the modern veil that disguises the true beauty of it. A better definition would go as such: A discussion involving differing points of view (courtesy of Dictionary.com). This would truly be the essence of argumentation, as it is properly called. We do it every day, sometimes without realizing it. However, this isn’t something to look down upon, but to encourage and praise.

Argumentation has been around since there was language and two people to exchange ideas. It has been used by the greatest philosophers in the classical world. Aristotle’s fame was due to his methods on argumentation. These weren’t petty arguments over political views and whatnot, but constructive arguments on subjects ranging from philosophy and metaphysics to the very fabric of reality. They were composed of sharing of views, bringing claims and counterclaims, evidence, and more views brought and expressed. It is little wonder that Greece was a breeding ground of great minds. Abraham Lincoln also took part in debating, most notably the Lincoln- Douglas Debate. Argumentation is also very personal to Jews: the Talmud is arguably (no pun intended) one of the greatest works of documented argumentation. Rabbis of several generations discussed ideas, brought claims for different Halachos, brought evidence from Mishna and Torah, and tried to ascertain proper laws for our religion. In the modern day, however, it is clear that this is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of argumentation. So what went wrong?

The modern view of argumentation is a litmus test for our society. News, shows, even books are no longer things of truth and intellectual growth, but sound-bites and often unsupported opinion. In effect, the decline of intellectual discourse is a result of the decline in intellectual studies. However, there is grandeur in this art of argumentation. It is proof that man truly has a distinction between animals: that they can exchange views, convince others, and make serious changes in our perspectives. We do not merely have the traditional fight-or-flight instinct, but also that third option of talk. In a sense, when we have intellectual arguments, we are truly defining what makes us the Human Race.

Avi Gross