I would like to share an interesting concept of Ahavat Yisrael. It doesn’t only mean loving people that you know, as we said when we began this series. You don’t even have to know the person; you have to love any Jewish person, and express your love for them- it’s a positive command. One of the greatest things people can do for someone else is called a Hessed Shel Emet/ a true kindness . Rashi says this is a kindness that you do for the dead, because you aren’t anticipating any reward from that person. The first example of this is when Yaakov asks Yosef to bury him. In Israel, the burial societies are called GaHSha , an acronym for Gemilut Hasadim Shel Emet. The burial society does this kindness without the expectation that that person will bury them someday, unlike other kindnesses- If you go to someone’s wedding, they ’ll come to yours, if you go to their Bar mitzvah they’ll come to yours . But when you bury someone, they cannot bury you. That’s why a kindness that is done for the deceased is called Hessed shel Emet. The Pele Yoetz says that the main kibud av v’em/ honoring parents that a person does is after the parent passes away. Those are his words. In this world, they could survive without the cup of coffee you bring them, and if you give to them, chances are they’ll give you back one day. But when you say a Kaddish , or give Sedaka in their name, nothing is coming back, and that’s where they really need you. That’s Hessed Shel Emet . It’s an interesting concept- the Hessed we do with Metim/the deceased is the Hessed shel Emet. How do we do Hessed with metim ? One way is what the Zohar says, by going to cemeteries.. But many d ifferent things that we do are considered a kindness to the deceased. This week I went to a shiva home, for a young mother of eight children, Mrs Gitty (Wohl) Goldberg a’h. She was 36 years old and was diagnosed with a disease this past January. She had a baby this past Succot, and she struggled with a terminal illness for less than a year before passing away this past week. At the home, they told different stories about this great lady, her tremendous bitachon, and her acts of kindness and purity… a book could be written about her. One thing I heard really hit me. In the times of World War II , R av Aharon Kotler was in America , but many of his old students, from his Yeshiva in Kletsk, were in Siberia. There was no official postal service or UPS, but they found ways to send packages on the black market. T hroughout the war years, Rav Kolter w ould send packages to his students in Siberia. But he had no communication and he never know if the packages got there. However, just in case, he kept on sending the packages. After the war, many of his students that did survive came to him and told him that they had survived on his packages. Before Gitty passed away, she told her family th at story and she told them, “ You see from th is story that you can send people packages , and keep sending them packages , even though you never get a return card or thank you note. Please keep sending me packages.“ That is a powerful line, from a lady who was clear, knew she was dying and knew what is important in the world. She told her family, “ I am not scared of dying, I just feel bad that I’m leaving behind so many sad people.” This is not meant to be a eulogy on this young lady, but to stress this concept, which I heard from Rav Wolbe. A rabbi once came to Rav Wolbe, who had started the Arachim movement. He was a Baal Teshuva and very disturbed. He didn’t know what to do for his parents. Rav Wolbe told him, “ Were you ever in camp ; did your parents ever send you care packages?” The rabbi answered that they had always sent boxes of candy or licorice. So Rav Wolbe explained that it was now his chance to send his parents care packages. “ Every time you do something good for them, you are sending them a care package.” I felt personally connected to this young lady, Gitty . Her sister is married to my brother’s son. And within a few minutes of Gitty’s passing, her sister, my niece, went into labor and a baby girl was born. She named the baby after her sister. One soul left and one soul came in. This had a certain meaning in my family, and I felt wanted to do something for this young lady. When she was sick, we gave out about 1,000 USBs on Bet HaLevi and Bitachon. So I felt it befitting to give out some USBs on Ahavat Yisrael, and in this way, we can do a Hessed shel Emet. Many of the lessons included come from the venue where these lessons you have been receiving were given. If anyone is interested, send a QuickPay to rabbisutton@gmail.com or mail a check to 1059 East 10 th Street Brooklyn NY 11230 I would like to raise a few thousand dollars, so 50 donations of $100 would be great. This is a chance for everyone to do a Hessed shel Emet for someone you never knew, and send a care package to a beautiful soul. We should only hear good things. Have a wonderful day.