A recent story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press caught my eye for the way it represents the doing of good deeds without expectation of reward.
It is more than understandable to want to be thanked for the good deeds we do, even if is not our primary motivation for doing them. Yet, Judaism has a category of acts for which we simply cannot be thanked, known as Chesed Shel Emet, that is “Acts of True Kindness. But not hearing the words “thank you” does not mean we are unaware of the positive impact our act has.
The origin of the idea is biblical. Rabbi Milton Steinberg notes in the book Only Human: “On his deathbed, Jacob asks his son Joseph for assurances that he will not be buried in Egypt. Jacob uses the term hesed v’Emet, which can be translated as a “true act of kindness.” (Gen. 47:29)
Rabbinic midrash asks why we need to specify that this kindness is “true” / emet? Are not all acts of kindness / hesed equally valuable? This verse leads to the creation of a category of Jewish behavior called Chesed Shel Emet. These are acts of kindness (like attending to the dead) for which the recipient cannot say ‘thank you’ in which our ego plays little or no part.”
The acknowledgment for these acts, which are based on love and are beyond ego, may come in ways that are similarly beyond words. The Pioneer Press story describes the act of a dog owner who took his elderly and suffering pet, Schoep, into Lake Superior for swims to ease his pain. The body language and serenity of Schoep is the clearest and most inspiring expression of gratitude for an act of Chesed Shel Emet that I have seen.