Reply To: A chesed resolution

Yes, Eclipse, I can.

If something becomes easier for the people involved as a group, then it’s a chesed. For example, if you have no way to get a package to Baltimore other than UPS same-day express, which would cost $200, and you have a friend who is going to Baltimore but would have to go 20 minutes out of his way, asking your friend is a good idea. You’ve gone from having to spend $200 to being able to take care of it in a 20 minute trip.

But if something becomes harder, except that you are having your friend do it instead of you, then you should not ask and he should not do it. For example, if your neighbor says he’s going to the grocery with his toddler and would be happy to pick something up for you and save you the ten minute drive, and you say, well, I really need something from the hardware store next to the grocery, and now he will have to bring his kid into another store and wait on another line, you didn’t *save* anything, you simply made it someone else’s problem instead of yours.