The three sefirot of chesed, gevurah, and tiferet are the primary sefirot of action, and as such have their own dynamic of interaction. To express some of this dynamic, each has another name that defines their relationship among themselves. chesed, "kindness" remains "kindness"; gevurah, "strength" is also called din, "judgment"; and tiferet, "beauty" is called rachamim "mercy."
The following verse to illustrate the relationship of these different modes. In a section dealing with God sitting and judging the nation of Israel, a prophetic vision describes the scene as follows:
I saw God sitting on His throne and all the heavenly hosts are standing at His right and at His left. (1 Kings 22:19)
What does "right" and "left" mean? The answer is, those who defend the accused are said to stand "at the right," while those who are persecuting the accused are said to stand the left." (Tanchuma Mishpatim 15)
Right and left refer to opposing perspectives in dealing with the case at hand. Kindness, the defender, sits on the right, and judgment, the persecutor on the left and the judge sits in the middle.
THE ARRANGEMENT
These three elements are seen in the "arrangement" of the sefirot as well,
- a "right" side of benevolence,
- a "left" side of judgment
- and a "middle" element.
We even use these points of reference colloquially. When a person is excessively carping or critical, we say he "woke up on his left side this morning." A positive approach is "getting off on the right foot." While a midpoint bespeaks of fairness and neutrality.
To understand how this applies to the sefirot, let us first explain the extremes and then we will explain the middle.
Kindness is giving. It is a trait that expresses a need or desire of the giver. A person comes home one morning and feels that his life is narrow and self-centered. He wishes to be kind to people and sets up a foundation to promote some cause or to help some people. He has as yet to meet anyone destitute. Thus the act of chesed is an act whose dynamics lie in the giver's domain.
The dynamics of judgment lie solely in the recipient.
The dynamics of judgment, on the other hand, lie solely in the recipient. A man has plowed a field for someone else and the fruit of his labor is inherent in the grain that has grown. When he picks up his salary, he is basically recouping his own labor. The "giver" is merely confirming the truth of the laborer's efforts. Thus a person "standing on his own" with no need for recourse from an "other" is the paradigm of judgment.
Mercy is different than both the above traits. Mercy is a feeling of pity that someone in need has evoked in me. If I never meet someone cold, hungry, or lonely then I can never be said to have mercy on someone. Thus, the recipient causes the mercy, but the gift given is all the donor's.
THE ROLE OF THE JUDGE
If we are to go back to the metaphor of the courtroom, we could explain this dynamic as follows. The judge is not there primarily for deciding if the prosecution is factually correct. Rather in a heavenly court all of the facts are known. Rather, the prosecutor presents the picture of the evil act that has been done, the defense presents the qualities of the person, and it is up to the judge to weigh the deed vis-`a-vis the merits of the person and decide how to sentence accordingly.
We find this distinction between kindness and mercy in a number of non-Kabbalistic sources as well. Thus, the Targum, which is an Aramaic translation of Hebrew, will use the word chesed derogatorily (see Rashi Vayikra 20,17 and Mishlei 25,10). The word rachamim in Aramaic translation, on the other hand, means love and friendship. For kindness is demeaning by its very nature, for a person that lives only by the dint of someone else's support is not a whole person.
Mercy, on the other hand, is sparked by my evoking a feeling of warmth and kindness in another. It is a human-to-human emotion and it is the same quality as friendship. Another point about mercy is made in this Talmudic injunction that states:
"One is not permitted to have mercy on a person who has no sense." [This means that a person whose foolishness has got him into trouble should feel the folly of his actions.]
This is a statement that only applies to mercy and not kindness. What this statement teaches is that the goal of mercy is to help a person. But if that person has no sense, then he will take any favor for granted, and not learn his lesson. The only way for a fool to learn his lesson is to suffer the consequence of his actions.
The goal of kindness is the expression of goodness and greatness.
The same cannot be said of kindness, however, for the goal of kindness as such is not the assistance of the other person as much as the expression of my goodness and greatness. It still is not advisable to shower the fool with largesse of any kind, but it is not an inherent contradiction of kindness.
Mercy, in line with its position as being in between kindness and judgment, is likened to a loan while kindness is likened to a grant. A loan has the element of kindness in it, for it is unearned. But in the end, a loan is meant to be consistent with judgment as well, for the money will have been returned.
(10) Mama Fortuna, September 20, 2012 10:52 PM
Thank you for the spiritual Kabbalah class
I have been following along, diligently absorbing the information because I felt something was missing in the occult interpretations of Kabbalah. This course is very helpful in understanding the underlying concepts. Thanks for this lesson, and all the previous lessons. I do realize it takes time and effort to organize a course and present it in a way that we may understand with a little effort and focus.
(9) chiedu, May 12, 2011 2:20 PM
Kindness is likened to a Grant while Mercy like a Loan..
The distinction you gave here between Kindness and Mercy is the first for me and it is quite profound. Thank you.
(8) Michael, January 11, 2006 12:00 AM
Mary missed point
Mary,
The point is this: Kindness comes from the person giving the kindness. Mercy is caused by the person who needs assistance. There is a difference. I choose to show kindness to the people around me, when I see a person in need it evokes the feeling of Mercy.
Simple to understand to me...
Shalom,
Michael U
(7) Joy Cantrell, November 5, 2004 12:00 AM
Kabbala
I cannot begin to tell you how much your teachings mean to me and how the lessons I have learned have impacted me and how I chose to live my life. If you could please send me more Kabbala teachings I would appreciate it. I now carry bottles of water and packages of bread or matzo for the beggars that approach my car at every stop light. I find that I feel better as a person.
(6) Mary, November 2, 2004 12:00 AM
You Make Kindness Sound Selfish
"The goal of kindness is not the assistance of the other person . . . as much as the expression of my goodness and greatness."
I have never thought of kindness as a means of showing off my "goodness and greatness" to the world. I was taught that kindness is a means of showing my respect for the personhood of a human being. Kindness is not indulgence. It is unkind to give charity to someone who doesn't need it. It is unkind to indulge a child's every whim under the mistaken assumption that if I don't indulge him I will undermine his self-esteem. Kindness is the grease that eases the friction of human interaction and helps those who need it. A man, at a gas station, once asked me to fill his van's tank with gas. I had earlier given the man a brief glance. When he spoke to me I had to look at him directly and saw that the sleeves of his t-shirt were empty. I wondered why I hadn't noticed before that he had no arms. "No problem," I said. "I'll fill your tank for you." He then told me that he had been armless since birth and did everything with his feet including driving his van. For that reason he wore no shoes, even in coldest winter. The only thing he couldn't do was fill his tank with gas. I filled the van's tank with $16.00 worth of regular and took the $20.00 he gave me inside to pay the cashier. When I returned with the change, he told me to keep it, and I refused. "I don't take tips," I told him. Did I insult him by not taking the $4.00? I certainly didn't mean to insult him, nor did I mean to show myself as being an unusually good person. The fact is that I didn't need the money. If I needed it I would have taken it. All I did was help someone who asked for my help. It would have been extremely rude of me to have refused. It also would have been extremely hypocritical because I never hesitate to ask for help if I need it.
Kindness is necessary to human civilization. No one should think of himself as a great guy for giving it, and no one should feel demeaned for asking for it.
(5) jacky, August 29, 2002 12:00 AM
beauty is pure, luminous and therefore useful
and so are your explanations!
thank you very much indeed, because simplicity requires so much work.
(4) Anonymous, March 18, 2002 12:00 AM
This is awesome! Thank you.
I am a University student, and I am writing a term-paper on Cyberpunk anime. Cyber punk being a genre of Sci-Fi, and anime being a class of animation. I am comparing the 10 sefirot of the tree of GOD to the characters of an anime titled "Neon Genesis Evangelion." The anime uses loose Kabbalistic and Christian idealogies and symbols, in a story about the end of a cycle. It's a really good anime. Your website has been very useful in helping me to learn exactly what it is I'm going to be writing about. I wanted to say Thank You ^_^.
Ryan
(3) Anonymous, August 20, 2000 12:00 AM
Chesed the Most Beautiful Hebrew Word
It is no accident tha I picked the name hesed for my email. I believe it is the greatest word in the Hebrew language. And if there is anything said about my life, I hope it is chesed, he tried to live it.
(2) Anonymous, August 13, 2000 12:00 AM
AUTHOR RESPONDS
Your question is a very good one. Here are a few of the answers that one gets from the commentaries on that verse:
I. The classic commentaries – Ibn Ezra and Radak – interpret the word “satan” to mean not the angel, but rather the “obstructionist,” alluding to the king Sanbalet, who would not let them rebuild the Temple. Thus Yehoshua’s “right hand” is a metaphor for his attempt to build the Temple, while Sanbalet, the “obstructionist,” is blocking his efforts.
II. The Zohar – while not asking this question outright – discusses this verse and implies that if a person does bad enough sins, then even the advocate turns against him.
III. The Malbim – a 19th century commentary – alludes to this point, and explains that the Satan is standing on God’s left and facing Yehoshua’s right. This means that he is attaching the “good” deeds of Yehoshua.
IV. There is a beautiful Chassidic point that usually the Satan entices a person outright to do bad things. But sometimes if the person is a righteous person (such as Joshua) he dresses up as a purveyor of a so-called “good” deed; which is good only at surface level.
Hope this helps,
Sincerely
Rabbi Shimon Lieberman
(1) Yvonne Gordon, August 7, 2000 12:00 AM
In Zechariah 3
Joshua is standing before the angel of the LORD and SATAN standing on is "RIGHT" hand to resist him. What does this mean?