Concerning your question about the word "mensch", I can best explain it through example.
The family I used to live next door to before I moved into my apartment used to help my family without expecting anything in return. In fact, the family was a real help from the time my family moved to Milwaukee through my mother's funeral and beyond. In fact, when we were trying to move into the old house, they invited us into their home while we waited for a locksmith to replace the old locks (the locks were so old that the key was actually a skeleton key, and the key broke in the lock and half fell between the house and the steps leading up to it.) They never saw us before, but they invited everybody, including our calico cat and our goldfish, into their house.
I just thought of another example that you are more familiar with than me: the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan in the parable was a "mensch"