Loving Kindness within Compassion reminds us that our acts of kindness should be done from love, not pity. We must take care not to be patronizing.
In MY FINE FELLOW, an alternate history My Fair Lady retelling involving culinary school by Jennieke COhen, all characters have to come to an examination of their true motivations for helping others and move beyond condescension and into true compassion.
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Strength within compassion means having some discipline and recognizing you need to set limits to ensure you don’t burn yourself out or overextend. It also means addressing someone’s actual specific needs rather than what you think they need.
In WHY WE FLY by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal both main characters learn something about advocacy – one needs to learn to also advocate for herself while the other realizes to ask the subject of her compassion what their true need is.
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Compassion within compassion is true empathy,and the ability to walk in another persons shoes. Looking for those we don’t typically feel compassion for and figuring out why that is so we can move beyond those limitations.
As a person of Ashkenaz descent, reading THE FLYING CAMEL edited by Loolwa Khazzoom allowed me to experience very different cultural backgrounds from my own. It was immersive in the best possible way.
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Eternity within Compassion means our empathy and compassion are not flimsy or transient. Even when we are busy we find the time for compassion.
In Jessica Lepe’s FLIRTY LITTLE SECRET there are about a million reasons why these two teachers shouldn’t explore their office romance. Yet their relationship survives anxiety, mistaken identities, family drama and more because they have the ability to walk in each others shoes and show compassion even during those moments.
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Humility within Compassion involves internalizing that your ability to help or perform a service does not make you inherently better than anyone else, especially the recipient of your kindness. Anonymous kindness is a good way to practice this sefirah.
SHE’S A MENTSCH by Anne Dublin features ten amazing Jewish women, several of whom are famous for social justice work.
Foundation within Compassion reminds us that true compassion flows through a bond. Ideally our compassionate interactions produce a lasting connections rather than just a one off kind act.
In WOVEN ROOTS by Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel we see how shared healing traditions and use of medicinal plants bonded very disparate communities in times when such inter-community connection and understanding was extremely challenging.
Royalty within Compassion means recognizes everyone’s individual dignity. Don’t just be charitable, find ways to help people and communities provide and advocate for themselves in dignified fashions.
In DONA GRACIA SAVED WORLDS by Bonni Goldberg and illustrated by Alida Massari we read about one of the most majestic Jews – Dona Gracia Nasi – who recognized that each life deserved not only saving but also a place to live and practice ones religion with dignity.
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