לֹא־תִרְאֶה אֶת־חֲמוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ נֹפְלִים בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ מֵהֶם הָקֵם תָּקִים עִמּוֹ׃
If you see your fellow’s ass or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must help him raise it.
The Torah tells us that if we see our fellow’s ass or ox fallen on the road, we are obligated to help him raise it and we are forbidden to ignore the situation. The verse assumes it is the beast of burden that has fallen down, and that certainly is its literal meaning.
But Rebbe Elimelekh of Lizhensk, one of the great Hasidic masters, suggests a more expansive reading. He reminds us that there is a very similar verse in Ex. 23:5:
When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.
He then combines the two verses to make a creative interpretation:
If you see your fellow’s ass or ox (Deut. 22:4) lying under its burden (Ex. 23:5) etc. - that a person that busies themselves with the issues and businesses of this world, behold, the world is like a burden for them, and they crouch under its burden, and the text says “you must not ignore”: this is a warning for the tzaddik (righteous person or Hasidic leader) to pray for that person. And this is easy to understand.
Rebbe Elimelekh teaches us that we have to care about the animal’s owner just as much as we care about the fallen animal. Why did the animal fall under its burden? Maybe its owner was too stressed out to load it properly. Why was the owner so stressed out? Whatever the reason, we have to care about his struggles and help him with whatever his problem may be.
The “burden” in Ex. 23:5 can be understood as the burden that weighs down the animal owner’s life. Just as we have to help our brother or enemy raise his animal, we must at least try to unburden his life. In so doing, we might just turn our enemy into a friend.
Rebbe Elimelekh says that what he’s written “is easy to understand.” I agree that it should be easy to understand, but a lot of people these days do not. We are all so busy with our devices and our scrolling that it can be difficult to notice other people in need. We are so polarized politically and filled with hatred that we don’t have the ability to help an enemy.
A simple act of kindness can change the world.
Question for thought:
You see a man on the side of the road with his car. The hood is up and the car is clearly not functioning. Do you have an obligation to pull over and help him? Why or why not?
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