Tisha B'av, the day Jews collectively mourn many major tragedies that befell our people, is marked tomorrow and Sunday. There is a famous Talmudic reflection about this day: "Why was the Holy Temple destroyed (which set into motion a 2000-year exile)?! Because we were guilty of harboring baseless hatred towards each other!"
Basic logic of cause and effect would dictate, that if we want to undo the damage, we would need to remove the cause of 'baseless hate'. Better yet, replace the destructive behavior with the opposite - 'baseless' or unprovoked love for each other.
What does 'unprovoked love' look like?!
Chaim Vishetsky, born and raised in Czernowitz, Ukraine, would relate how his good friend Yossel taught him the true definition of an 'unprovoked kindness' attitude.
Yossel was a simple, decent and hard-working man. One day, as the evening service concluded in Synagogue, Yossel approached his good friend Chaim for a simple favor: "I just happened to run out of my pocket change. Do you have a few dollars I can borrow? I will repay you tomorrow."
Chaim apologized and said he had no money on him either, as he had no plans on shopping at that late hour.
But Yossel seemed quite disappointed at Chaim's approach. In a respectful and loving way, he demanded more from his dear friend: "How does a G-d fearing Jew, who makes a decent living, allow himself to walk around without any change in his pocket?! What if you were to bump into someone who needed a financial support?!"
Chaim concluded: knowing Yossel, he most likely spent his last coins sharing it with someone in need and was looking to replenish his charitable pocket, just in case he encountered another person in need...
Our world desperately needs 'unprovoked' love and kindness. This Tisha B'av let's hope for a better future by introducing one small act of unprovoked kindness.