What does it mean to truly be a kind person? Is it enough to be kind to the people we like?
In this week's parsha, the Torah lists the birds that are not kosher, including the chassidah, the stork. The Gemara explains that it is called chassidah because it acts with chessed, sharing food with other storks. But if it is so generous, why isn't it kosher?
The Ramban explains that the non-kosher birds are characterized by cruel behavior. So why exclude the chassidah?
One answer is that the chassidah only shows kindness toward its own kind. It helps those who are similar to it, but not others. The Torah teaches us that true chessed means looking beyond our own circle.
It's easy to help someone who dresses like us, thinks like us, or belongs to our community. But genuine kindness means caring about people even when they are different from us.
Being kind only to our own kind is not kosher.