Hod in Chesed – grace, the sense of our smallness, in compassion.
When we see ourselves as small, we connect sympathetically with every one, even every thing. Sympathy can be a source for compassion, and can be essential for kindness in a helpful way.
When we offer help, we often want to contribute in our own way. Assistance may often be most effective when we allow the person we hope to assist to design the manner in which we help.
As a parent might often say to a child, “I need you to help me in the way that I need help, not in the way that you think you need to help.”
Assistance requires listening – compassion requires sympathy.
