Complete Or Partial Chessed

As many of my readers and friends know I no longer am zocheh [or zoicheh, depending on how frum you are:)] to live in מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה - the Holy City of Yerushalayim. I now live in Givat Zeev which you can find if you google "nowhere land".

Sometimes I have to go to Yerushalayim to take care of various things. I prefer to stay home because if I'm on the road, I am not in the Beis Hamedrash. It was King David who asked that he sit in the House of Hashem all of his life and there is no greater House of Hashem in our times than a Beis Medrash.

To get to Yerushalayim I have two options. I can take public transportation but that takes a long time [sometimes close to an hour although the express bus which is infrequent take only about a half an hour] or I can hitch ["tremp" in the vernacular] a ride by standing next to the mikva [which is at the edge of town soon before people go on to the main road leading to Yerushalayim] and sticking out my finger.

I don't have the option of driving my own car because I don't have one. There are two very good reasons for this. One - I can't afford a car. Two  - I can't drive:). The reason I can't afford a car probably has something to do with the fact that I decided about 20 years ago that I want to focus on learning and not earning. Baruch Hashem, I have fantastically successful at the latter and am still working on being a success at the former. I don't regret my decision. מרבה נכסים מרבה דאגה say our Sages in the Ethics of our Fathers. The more money and possessions a person has the more worries he has. I don't lose sleep at night because I am worried about my stock portfolio or the real estate I bought [unfortunately I lose sleep over other things:)]. More importantly, I get to spend all day every day drinking the refreshing water of Torah. מעין עולם הבא. I envy nobody other than myself. When a boy tells me that he is debating between going into avodas hakodesh or a secular pursuit, if he is cut out for kodesh I advise him to go for the kodesh. I don't know about עולם הבא [Hashem will decide if he made the right choice] but as far as עולם הזה goes it's the BEST! The reason I can't drive is not for now...

Since tremping is so much quicker [and less nauseating] than the bus I often take that option. People are very nice and often stop. Something interesting that I noticed. Some of my benefactors smoke and often will light up in the car [making it MORE nauseating than the bus]. Let me make myself  clear: The car is their personal property and they have the right to do whatever they want [assuming smoking is מותר which it isn't...:)]. However, it has not yet happened that they asked me if I it bothers me. What I often wonder is "What are they thinking?" Are they thinking "It's my car and I don't have to ask his permission." If that's what they are thinking they are right. They really don't have to ask. But is it a COMPLETE chesed to give someone a ride and make him suffer and inhale carcinogens? Or, does it not even occur to them that the smoke may bother the passenger? If that is the case, then it is ALSO not a complete chesed to be insensitive to the recipient of the chesed.

My message is - Try not only to do chesed but try to do chesed with SHLEIMUS, COMPLETE CHESED. Every chesed has different levels and one should strive to reach the zenith.

I have a lot more to say about the topic but I am presently consumed by the din of taaroves miyut chametz bi-rov matza and need to return. I will let my wise readers come to their own conclusions....