Kindness and Compassion 61
Realizing how many people were depending on him for a livelihood,
Feuerstein made the decision to pay the company’s 2,400 employees
their salaries for 90 days and their health care insurance for 180 days.
This was an expense of over $10 million when it was unclear whether
the factory could regain its production capacity and market position.
Feuerstein’s actions were fueled by a strong spiritual belief. In ex-
plaining them, he quoted Rabbi Hillel: ‘‘Not all who increase their
wealth are wise.’’ He also found that when you treated people with
compassion, the results were truly miraculous: ‘‘Our people became
very creative. They were willing to work twenty-five hours a day.’’
Not only was the factory rebuilt and back to nearly full capacity in
ninety days, productivity shot up and ‘‘off quality’’ products were re-
duced from 7 percent before the fire to 2 percent after it.^14
Most of us are familiar with the biblical story of the ‘‘good Samari-
tan,’’ who stopped to help a man who had been beaten and robbed by
thieves. The Samaritan took pity on the victim: ‘‘He... bandaged his
wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own
donkey, took him to the inn and took care of him. The next day, he
took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after
him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra
expense you may have.’ ’’ (Luke 10:34–35)
Aaron Feuerstein also looked after the ‘‘strangers’’ in his care. He
risked all he had that he might be able to provide his predominantly
immigrant workers with a purpose and a livelihood at a time when they
did not know where to turn.
Many times, Jesus raised children and adults from the dead, not out
of the need to impress, but out of compassion. In a modern business
parallel, Merck spent over $3 million to build the Children’s Inn on
the campus of the National Institute of Health. These children were
undergoing experimental treatment for rare diseases. Merck hoped to
raise them from their sickbeds and rescue them from death. Certainly
they gained some ‘‘political capital’’ from this largesse, but the prime
motivation was helping the children. Roy Vagelos, former CEO of
Merck, has stated, ‘‘Medicine is for the patients. It is not for the profits.
The profits follow, and if we remembered that, they have never failed
to appear.’’^15