DEUT1734 Fundamentally, the provision of welfare is seen in Judaism as an act of Imitatio Dei -- the imitation of God's ways-- and as such is the mark of the Jew, who is obligated to walk in God's paths. In a Talmudic discussion, a rabbi asked how one can compare oneself to God and be so presumptuous as to assume that one can walk in His footsteps. After all, He is eternal, He is all-consuming fire, He has neither shape nor form, etc. To this, the rejoinder was that just as God is all-merciful, so man should be merciful; just as God is kind and righteous, so man should be kind and righteous; just as God is careful to look after all the creatures in His world, so should man be. Rabbi Simlai taught, the Torah begins with an act of chesed (loving-kindness) and ends with an act of chesed. As it is written at the beginning of the Torah, “and the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them” [Genesis 3:21]; And at the conclusion of the Torah, “he [God] buried him [Moses] in the valley in the land of Moab” [Deuteronomy 34:6]. Talmud Bavli, Sotah 14a This view of acts of welfare as an imitation of God's greatness was extended to every aspect of the welfare spectrum, not just the giving of gifts to the poor. So we find Shimon Hatsadik writing in the 4th century B.C.E.: “There are three things on which the world stands: on the Torah, on Divine service, and on acts of lovingkindness [chesed].” Mishnah, Avot, chapter 1, mishnah 2. The three are equally important in Judaism and equally essential for the construction of a religious and Godly nation. Acts of chesed were, therefore, considered to be characteristic of the Jewish people, both as individuals and as a nation.