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וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו וירא וירץ לקראתם מפתח האהל וישתחו ארצה  
He lifted his eyes and he saw and behold three men were standing upon him and he saw and he ran towards them from the opening of the tent and he bowed toward the ground.

What makes a person a Baal chessed, a man of kindness? Most of us would answer that a baal chessed is one who is always ready to do a favor for another person. However, while it is an admirable trait, it seems that a baal chessed is a cut above the rest.

This weeks Parsha, Vayeira, opens up with Avraham sitting outside his tent, after his brit milah, disappointed that he could not host any guests. Hashem finally takes mercy on him and “He (Avraham) lifted his eyes and he saw and behold three men were standing upon him and he saw and he ran towards them from the opening of the tent and he bowed toward the ground”. In this verse there is a repetition of the word וירא , and he saw, which appears twice. What does the second appearance of this word add? 

Rav Meir Bergman, in his book, Sha’arei Orah, explains that a kind and open heart does not make a baal chessed, but rather it is focusing on perceiving people’s needs as well. There are many times when we would be  willing to do a favor for someone but the opportunity unfortunately passes because we did not notice that they need our help. The Torah teaches us that the first step towards being a baal chessed, in Avraham Avinu’s image, is וירא , we have to have our eyes open and be aware.  The flipside can also be seen. When the Gemara wants to describe a person who is the opposite of a baal chessed, it states “עוצם עיניו , one who shuts his eyes from charity

We learn from this that true Chesed does not begin with one’s wallet but with one’s eyes. The following story illustrates this point perfectly: a Jew once came to the Beit HaLevi before Pesach and asked whether milk had the status of חמר מדינה , a beverage commonly used in that country, which would qualify as a substitute for the four glasses of wine needed at the Seder. The Beit HaLevi answered that it did qualify. However, immediately after the man left, the Beit HaLevi sent the man money, not only for the wine but for meat and chicken as well because he deduced that a Jew would not ask whether he could drink milk at his Seder if he had meat or chicken on his menu. 

From this story we see the importance of the lesson that chessed begins with the eyes. Just like Avraham Avinu saw and ran towards the three men so too, I bless each and every one of us to be not only kind and open hearted but to follow in Avraham's footsteps, and focus on the needs of others. 
Shabbat shalom