https://pixabay.com/photos/farmer-load-rural-agricultural-4373374/
Translated by Rabbi Émile Ackermann
To read this post in English, click here
As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “It is not fair to ask of others what one is not prepared to do oneself.”
A unique mitzvah in our Torah portion clearly reflects this value:
לא תראה את חמור אחיך או שורו נפלים בדרך, והתעלמת מהם – הקם תקים עמו
If you see your companion’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must lift it up together. (Devarim 22:4)
This commandment, coupled with a parallel commandment earlier in the Torah to help a companion’s animal “lying down under its burden” ( Exodus 23:5 ), forms the concept of פריקה וטעינה, helping in loading and unloading a beast of burden.
It is important to note that this commandment is implicitly addressed to two people – the one observing the fallen animal and the animal’s owner. As the Mishnah ( Bava Metziah 32a ) points out, the animal’s owner has no opportunity to stand aside from this rescue operation and shamelessly assume that the obligation to help his animal rests exclusively on the passerby. Rather, the last word of the verse – “together” – creates an ideal dynamic of raising what has fallen – carried out by the person affected with outside help.
While one view of the Talmud holds that this concept forms the basis of the prohibition of cruelty to animals, later commentators extend its implications to other forms of assistance.
Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, in 19th century Lithuania, wrote that in societies that transport goods on carts rather than on the backs of animals, פריקה וטעינה includes the case where a cart gets stuck in the mud, loses a wheel, or breaks an axle. Even in this case, a passerby is required to stop and help:
וכן אם נשבר אופן מהעגלה או היד שהאופן מתגלגל בו, מחויב לסייע ( ערוך השולחן חו) “מ רעב:ח )
…(the passer-by) is required to help and repair as far as possible, and (after the repair) to escort the wagon a little and make sure that it moves well…
th Another amazing application is presented by Rav Yechezkel MiKuzmir, a student of the Chozeh of Lublin in the early 19th century and grandfather of the first Modzhitzer Rebbe. He wrote that the mitzvah of helping one’s neighbor includes all areas in which he needs help, including singing (!):
גם כשמנגן אדם צריכים לעזור לו…שבעת שחבירו נחלש וחבירו מסייעו ומנגן מקיים בזה מצות פריקה הניגון וע “י ” ” (נחמד מזהב פרשת תצא)
…When a person sings, he must be helped…both when his voice weakens and a friend joins (in the singing) to help him…and when he sometimes forgets a tune and his friend remembers it, all who can sing must be aware of this mitzvah.
We are reminded – or rather commanded – to be aware of where others need our help and to always think about how best to use our skills and knowledge to help others. This is the essence of leadership and it takes courage. It is the right thing to do.
On a recent visit to Montreal’s Jewish community, Columbia professor and activist Shai Davidai shared a profound thought about leadership while addressing a group of federal government politicians. He highlighted the difference between a politician and a leader. “You’re a politician,” he said, “when you run for office. Once you’re elected, you’re supposed to become a leader.” The crisis, he noted, is that too many people remain politicians for their entire careers, constantly campaigning for the next election, acting—or not acting—to appease their base. They are often afraid to address the obvious problems in society, to ease the burden on those who need it most, if doing so will alienate votes and lose popularity.
A leader—and a good citizen—notices when an individual or community is carrying too much of a burden or has fallen and needs help to get back up. It is true that people in need cannot rely exclusively on outside support, but neither should they be expected to stand up on their own.
(Postscript:
Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote is from her column “My Life” of June 15, 1946. Remarkably, the context is that of the opening of the borders to Jewish refugees:
I see Mr. LaGuardia urging us to relax our immigration laws and to accept some displaced persons from Europe. If Palestine is not prepared to accept even 100,000 Jews, I think we should take the lead in opening our borders to this particular group of people who have suffered more than any other. But there are many others who, despite all efforts to return them to their homelands, will have to go to other nations. Here again, I think we have a duty to step up and do our part. It is not fair to ask of others what we are not prepared to do ourselves.)
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