Welcome, again, to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. Glad you are with us. This week we read the section of the Torah Behar-Bechukotai. As always there are some amazing lessons here but let us focus on just one.
Our Duty to Others
In this portion of the Torah we read this: “If your brother becomes impoverished and his hand falters in your proximity, you shall grab hold of him…” (Lev. 25:35).
What it really means is that we must, we are commanded to, help. The sages of the Talmudic era discuss the concept of having the responsibility to help the needy among us and end the lesson by saying that if we neglect to fulfill our responsibility to help them we are actually robbing from the poor.
How do we rob from the poor? Think about it...this is perplexing. In what way is not giving charity equal to stealing from the poor? It seems very difficult to equate not giving charity to stealing; one is a sin of omission, while the other is a sin of commission.
Meanwhile we find a remarkable passage in the Talmud that discusses an admonition from the prophet Isiah, “What you have stolen from the poor is in your houses” (Isiah 3:14). The great medieval commentator known as Rashi explains that the Talmud is wondering why we are singling out stealing from the poor; after all, stealing from the rich is also a terrible sin!
It's Dignity
To explain what it means to steal from the poor the Talmud says, “This is referring to a situation where someone greets you and you purposefully ignore him.” Obviously, this is improper, perhaps even boorish, behavior, but why do the sages refer to this as stealing? What in fact did you actually take?
Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig writes, "You took his self-respect. By ignoring his friendly overture, you actually made a very clear statement about what you think of him – that he isn’t an entity worthy of a response. You denigrated his very existence. Obviously, this is very painful for anybody to experience, but it is particularly devastating to a poor person who already feels depressed about his situation and his stature. This is why the prophet singled out the needy in his admonition, because they are the most vulnerable to this type of discourtesy."
So, What Do We Do?
The antidote to this is in this week’s Torah reading, where we are explicitly instructed on how we should view a fellow Jew who has fallen on hard times – “If your brother becomes impoverished...”
In other words, we have to treat someone who needs our help as we would a blood brother. When a person helps his brother he does not consider it charity; a person ought to consider it a privilege to be able to help his family because he wants to see them succeed. Similarly, a child who receives help from his parents isn’t made to feel like a charity case. Quite the opposite, he feels love and support, and ultimately validation, from his parents.
When we ignore the needs of a poor person we are taking away his self-esteem and telling him that he isn’t worthy of our help. Destroying a person’s self-respect will predictably lead to dire consequences.
Giving Not Taking
Yet, there more to this mitzvah or commandment. We are told not to take interest on any loan. We read, "If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter… you shall strengthen him… Do not take from him interest and increase." (Lev. 25: 35-36)
There was a time when I was short $200 for the rent. It was due the next day and I had no one to turn to...other than my rabbi. I went into his study and explained my situation. He got up, opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope of cash and counted out $200. He looked up and said, "Will that be enough?" It was and I was embarrassed. I hung my head and told him how grateful I was. He said to me, "This is what we do for each other. There is no reason for you to be ashamed."
He never said anything about paying it back. But, I did. A week later I gave him $220. I figured that by paying a little more was the right thing to do. He slid the extra $20 back across the desk and said, "I can't take this as interest or as a gift but you will do a great mitzvah if you will take that twenty and give it to someone in need." It went directly into the pushka (Yiddish for "little box") it is where money designated for charity or Tzedakah goes.
The Lesson
We are commanded to help others and just as important we are commanded to respect others no matter their stature. We are responsible for each other and we should help, when we can, and do so with great joy. We should always cherish the mitzvah.
What can you do? In every Jewish home there is a mezuzah on a door-post. There are great books of learning, some Shabbat candlesticks. All of which are important but...is there a Pushka? A Pushka in the home or office elevates the room. Each day as you drop coins or bills into the Pushka you are starting a journey toward delivering a mitzvah. You can create your own Pushka (it can be as simple as a jar) or you can spend a little more and have something sitting out that can be a teaching tool for others. If you are interested, here is a link to an online seller of Jewish items.
Shabbat Shalom and thank you for reading.
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