Saturday, September 22, 2012

Relationship of Give & Take: 1

A poor person can approach someone and request a donation and the donor can give it with impatience and get rid of him as quickly as possible. Alternatively, he might give him the donation in a way that the poor person won't see him and won't be embarrassed. The flaw in these approaches is that no relationship has been developed between the donor and the recipient. The donor got his Mitzvah, the poor person got his cash and the each go on their own way with no connection between them.

There is another possibility. The donor can greet the poor person with "I am so happy that you came," treat him in an honorable manner and invite him in. Even before listening to the poor person's tale of woe and suffering and his list of needs he can smile at him and let him know that his arrival is welcomed. "Your cause is very important to me. I have money set aside to help out people in your situation, and I appreciate your approaching me." This bright attitude raises the spirits of the poor person and helps him increase his self image as we have discussed earlier.

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