Abstract
In order to appreciate the meaning of gemilat chesed (acts of kindness) through the framework of Westerbork and, in particular, their application through the delivery of nursing care, it is essential that the concepts and principles, as well as the sources of such acts, are clarified. The principles and concepts supporting gemilat chesed are central to Jewish life and have been long established within the religion as well as the culture.
These are the precepts that have no prescribed measure, the corner of a field (which must be left for the poor) the first fruit offering, the pilgrimage, acts of kindness and Torah study
(Mishnah peak, 1:1).
These are the p recepts whose fruits a person enjoys in This World but whose principal remains intact for him in the World to Come. They are: the honour due to father an mother, acts of kindness, early attendance at the house of study morning and evening, hospitality to guests, visiting the sick, providing for a bride, escorting the dead, absorption in prayer, bringing peace between man and his fellow — and the study of Torah is equivalent to them all
(Talmud, Shabbos, 127a).
Notation to text: though one is rewarded for these mitzvot in This World, his reward in the World to Come is not diminished.
(The Art Scroll, Siddur, 16)
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Ben-Sefer, E. (2001). Gemilat Chesed and Moral Behaviour at Westerbork. In: Roth, J.K., Maxwell, E., Levy, M., Whitworth, W. (eds) Remembering for the Future. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-66019-3_64
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