Giving Brings Life: How Kindness Heals the Body and Soul

Acts of kindness don’t just uplift others, they bring healing and blessing to the one who gives. Modern science is confirming what the Torah has taught for generations: giving strengthens the body, soothes the soul, and connects us more deeply to Hashem.

Numerous studies have shown that not only does receiving emotional support benefit our health, but giving support to others through volunteering, helping friends, or simply being there for someone can actually lengthen life, even for those who are seriously ill or facing difficult diagnoses.

People who give live longer and they also live happier. Today, scientists have even begun to understand how the brain responds to kindness. When we make someone else smile or feel cared for, something in us lights up. Chemicals in the brain shift. Goodness spreads not just around us, but within us.

The Healing Power of Giving

One key chemical released when we do something kind is oxytocin often called the “bonding hormone.” It brings on feelings of trust, connection, and closeness. Oxytocin is also what a mother produces when she nurses her baby, a hormone of deep warmth and love.

Our brains also release endorphins, often called “nature’s painkillers.” These make us feel good and also reduce physical pain.

And there’s more. When we feel our lives have meaning like when we give, help, or uplift others our brains release serotonin and dopamine, both associated with happiness and well-being. These powerful chemicals help balance out cortisol, the hormone that rises when we’re stressed. Too much cortisol weakens the immune system, but giving helps bring it down. In other words, kindness helps protect us from illness.

When we’re focused on others, we also think less about our own pain or challenges. Giving naturally shifts our attention in a healthy direction. Instead of being trapped in worry or discomfort, our minds become more open, more joyful, and more connected to something bigger than ourselves.

Kindness in the Torah: A Source of Blessing

The Torah teaches us again and again about the power of giving. It’s not just a nice thing to do, it’s a holy act that brings blessing.

As it says in Mishlei (Proverbs) 22:9:

"A person with a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor."

The Maharal of Prague, a great Torah sage, explains this verse beautifully. He says the generous person deserves blessing because he gives not reluctantly, but with an open heart and with a “good eye.” True giving, he teaches, comes from inner abundance and brings Hashem’s blessing in return.

The Talmud teaches that acts of kindness can even serve as atonement, just like the offerings once brought in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple in Jerusalem).

The story is told in Masechet Avot d’Rabbi Natan:

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking with his student Rabbi Yehoshua after the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Yehoshua looked at the ruins and cried, saying, “Woe to us! The place where the sins of the Jewish people were atoned for is gone.”

But Rabbi Yochanan comforted him: “My son, do not grieve. We have something else that brings atonement, acts of kindness. As it is written: ‘For I desire kindness, not sacrifice’ (Hoshea 6:6).”

Hashem, our Father in Heaven, treasures our kindness even more than offerings. Every act of giving connects us to that truth.

So the next time you offer someone a listening ear, a warm meal, or even a kind word, remember: it’s not just helping them. It’s healing you too. And it’s bringing more light and blessing into the world.