How To Be Charitable To Your Neighbor
“Being a charitable person is easy. Be charitable.”
Yesterday, on October 2nd at sundown, began the celebration of Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and one of pillars of Islam. Today at sundown is the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. To mark Hajj, Muslims gather in one location. Since the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 69 A.D., Jews were dispersed all over the world. They now congregate in synagogues close to home. Regardless of where we live, we all have neighbors who look and dress differently, have different beliefs, and pray in different places of worship. Nevertheless, we are all human beings; most of us have similar desires, inspirations, and want to have peace in our lives.
In the Torah in Leviticus, there is a whole chapter (19) that describes how to behave with others.
“You shall not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him” (Leviticus 19:13).
Jesus admonished us,
“The second is this “Love your neighbor as yourself”. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31).
And he was also quoted as saying,
“But to you who is listening, I say love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28).
This writing is not the bible lesson, but rather my thoughts before I spend tomorrow in the synagogue praying and asking for forgiveness for my actions, deeds, and even desires which are known and not known to me, and which are not always charitable to others.
The Webster dictionary defines charitable as “kind and generous in giving money or other help to those in need; or for charity; kind and forgiving in judging others, lenient.”
During the Yom Kippur holiday, in the prayers, we ask for God’s forgiveness but before we can do that, we have to ask for forgiveness from others. And before that, we have to forgive ourselves.
In the remarkable book “Nonviolent Communication”, Marshall Rosenberg writes about how to satisfy other people’s needs as well as our own. This is the basis of any communication and conflict resolution. According to the book, we are often not kind, forgiving, lenient, judgmental, or not charitable to others or to ourselves. One of the reasons, in my view for this, is that people are afraid, and use uncharitable behavior as a defense mechanism.
Whatever the reasons are, I want to use this opportunity to ask for your forgiveness, and to forgive you as well (just in case). Yom Kippur is the best opportunity to clean up the left overs from the previous year and to start the new year 5775 with new energy, and to be charitable.
P.S.
Of course, being charitable also means to give money and offer help to those in need. Walking through any big city, we encounter people who look different from us, disheveled, perhaps on drugs, or who choose alternative ways of living. Regardless of their choices, we still can choose to be charitable. After all, they are our neighbors. Enjoy the images.
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