Gemilut Chassadim – Loving-Kindness

Gemilut Chassadim, the Performance of Loving-Kindness, is then a more comprehensive term than tzedakah. Its implications and effects are much more far-reaching than those of tzedakah. The duties of tzedakah relate specifically to the poor and express themselves in terms of monetary assistance only. Gemilut Chassadim, however, knows of no such limitations. The mitzvah of Gemilut Chassadim has for its object both the poor and the, rich, and has reference to the dead as well as to the living. Above all, its essential characteristic is not monetary but personal service1. It is the personal involvement, the personal attitude and effort, which qualifies for the term chessed2.

The legal duties of the monetary obligations of tzedakah are limited. The legal duties of the personal involvement of Gemilut Chassadim, however, are without restrictions3.

Gemilut Chassadim thus is a general and all-comprehensive concept for the whole realm of the Torah-directives relating to human concourse. All the mitzvot that refer to the relationships between humans are implied in the concept of Gemilut Chassadim4