4 thoughts on “Chevruta discussions – Generosity”
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Providing an inclusive community that supports connection to Jewish life, both cultural and spiritual, on the coast from Pacifica to Pescadero.
2 1/2 years ago, my wife Noreen wrote a 2000-word sermon on “The Science of Generosity:” (link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K1WIkdaPuofz4smasbxkx_PyQ6Ng20g4MmwlzNdvzAc/edit#bookmark=id.ufltjwurz257)
with factoids: the generous live longer, lower blood pressure. Giving is socially bonding. Among the Vanatu, wealth is measured by what is given away. Generosity induces oxytocin, the puppy-petting and love hormone.
This I once used to ask for contributions:
“It is only goodness which gives extras.” —Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Naval Treaty,” voiced by Sherlock Holmes.
That statement by Holmes brings us gently to the practice of generosity. People sometimes ask why we persist, why we keep going. And the answer is — for the joy of it, of course. And once that has been said, people not only recognize the truth of it, but they realize that they knew it as true all along.
Joy is contagious, in a social sort of way, which really just means that we enjoy being around joyful people. Which is why you are all here. When you contribute to , it helps to spread joy.
This is a different pitch asking for contributions:
Today, in the spirit of Purim, I ask you to join me in a mitzvah, a good and symbolically beautiful deed. A mitzvah our poet Rabbi Sharon says is, “to increase the peace, love, and friendship in the world, obviously.”
Here is the Purim poem “Mishloach Manot” by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, which encapculates the middah of generosity:
https://jwa.org/blog/mishloach-manot