Today is the 36th day of the Omer.
Chesed she-b’yesod: Lovingkindness at the root.
Rabbi Samlai taught: With regard to the Torah, its beginning is an act of kindness and its end is an act of kindness. Its beginning is an act of kindness, as it is written: “And the Eternal God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). And its end is an act of kindness, as it is written: “And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab” (Deuteronomy 34:6).
— Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 14a
While certainly there are other teachings about the “heart” of Torah, I have long loved this teaching, the notion that Torah begins and ends with chesed, with lovingkindness. It is a reminder to me that, even when the text is difficult, even when its demands seem challenging or outdated, there is a foundation of lovingkindness. Lovingkindness, then, is at the root not only of Torah, but of the Divine relationship with the world and with humanity.
My teacher, Rabbi Shai Held, writes:
R. Simlai offers an interpretive lens, a way of understanding what lies at the heart of Torah—a God who cares deeply about human beings and acts with love and kindness towards them. But the Sages are not content to describe God as compassionate and generous; they characterize God in this way not only so that God may be worshiped but also, critically, so that God may be emulated.
The text does not simply state that God is compassionate or kind, the text shows us the ways in which God is grounded in—and acts with— lovingkindess. And in showing us God’s kindness, we are to be inspired towards our own.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer