Traditional Jewish teachings establishes kindness as a higher virtue than the giving of charity. Here's how that teaching is explained in the Babylonia Talmud, a text regarded as the 'soul' of Jewish theology:
Acts of kindness are greater than charity in three ways:
1. Charity is done with one's money, while kindness may be done with one's money or with one's person (Example: visiting a sick person)
2. Charity is given only to the poor, while kindness may be done for both the poor and the rich (Example: spending time and comforting a mourner or depressed person)
3. Charity is given only to the living, while kindness may be shown to both the living and the dead (Example: arranging the burial of a person who died indigent)
(cited in Rabbi Joseph Teluskin book A Book of Jewish Values)
Acts of kindness are greater than charity in three ways:
1. Charity is done with one's money, while kindness may be done with one's money or with one's person (Example: visiting a sick person)
2. Charity is given only to the poor, while kindness may be done for both the poor and the rich (Example: spending time and comforting a mourner or depressed person)
3. Charity is given only to the living, while kindness may be shown to both the living and the dead (Example: arranging the burial of a person who died indigent)
(cited in Rabbi Joseph Teluskin book A Book of Jewish Values)
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