Love a Mensch Week is celebrated between February 7 and 14 each year. People who can be trusted to act with honor and integrity are known as a mensch. However, the Yiddish phrase also implies someone considerate and kind. It is one of the highest compliments that can be given but a mensch is usually too modest to be complimented. Restrained and humble, a mensch is always aware of the sentiments and thoughts of other people. Today is a great day to appreciate and love mensches who take the time to act in kindness to all people.
History of Love a Mensch Week
Although it sounds like a term for men, a mensch is more of a way of living than a macho term.
‘Mensch,’ derived from the Old High German word ‘mennisco’ (which is related to the Old English words ‘human being’ and ‘man’), denotes ‘a person of integrity and honor.’
According to Leo Rosten, a mensch is someone kind and considerate, “Somebody to admire and emulate, someone with a high moral character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsibility, and decorum, are all essential characteristics of a real mensch, and nothing less.” The term is used as a high compliment, suggesting the rarity and significance of the attributes possessed by that particular individual.
A “better human person” was defined as having “compassion” in its philosophical sense during Germany’s Age of Enlightenment, and the term Humanität was used to convey this in Humanism to describe what it means to be a “better human being” during the Age of Enlightenment. Historically, the concept can be traced back to Cicero’s Humanitas, which was translated as Menschlichkeit in German, and is derived from where the Yiddish word mensch comes from.
To be a Mensch in German means to be a regular person rather than an outstanding one but to be mensch, in the Yiddish culture, however, is inextricably linked to being a good person in every way. The concept of ‘Mensch’ and the word ‘Mensch’ have had a considerable impact on contemporary popular culture.
Love a Mensch Week timeline
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, is born in India.
Mother Teresa, a person who embodies being mensch, is born.
It is this year that former South African President Nelson Mandela is born.
Author Robin Gorman Newman publishes a book as a guide to marrying a mensch.
Love a Mensch Week FAQs
What is the female equivalent of a mensch?
There is no female name for being mensch, it is a gender-neutral term for a good person.
What is the opposite of mensch?
An unmensch is the antonym and it means a cruel person.
Why is Love a Mensch Week celebrated?
It is celebrated to appreciate and love people who make kindness an everyday quality.
Love a Mensch Week Activities
Emulate a mensch
Celebrate by emulating a mensch today. Although being a mensch should be an everyday thing, you can start by emulating someone around you who is a mensch that should encourage you on your journey.
Appreciate a mensch
Know someone with mensch qualities? Today is a great day to appreciate them and thank them for their acts of kindness. However, if you want to thank them is up to you but remember that people like them make the world a better place.
Spread the behavior
Being a mensch is not about being wealthy or successful but it’s about embodying qualities that make the world a better place. It involves doing right to and by people, even if they are not related to you, and acting with integrity, respect, and honesty to society regardless of anything.
5 Ways To Be Mensch
Help others
Help others without an expectation of being helped in return.
Do the right thing
Like a mensch, you should do the right thing to everybody in the right way, and not cut corners.
Society
Paying back to society is a mensch way so even if you are blessed with material things and success, you should play your part in giving back to society.
Act with integrity
Make honesty and integrity a part of you and show it every day to achieve mensch status.
Help many people
Help as many people as possible.
Why We Love Love a Mensch Week
It’s about integrity
One of the things about a mensch is they have solid integrity. Integrity is a foundation of good character and that is a great characteristic for everyone to have, which being a mensch promotes.
It’s about respect for others
Being a mensch also involves respecting others. While respect may seem like a simple concept, not a lot of people are respectful to other people, which being mensch emphasizes.
It’s about looking inward
Mensch does not measure outward appearance or material things, but rather what is inside a person. It is the characteristic of the person that matters the most.
Love a Mensch Week dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | February 7 | Friday |
| 2026 | February 7 | Saturday |
| 2027 | February 7 | Sunday |
| 2028 | February 7 | Monday |
| 2029 | February 7 | Wednesday |
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