פריקה וטעינה ב

Maakeh and Shmirat HaNefesh – Halacha 2 | Likutay Halachos, Choshen Mishpat II

“When you see the donkey of one who hates you crouching beneath its burden, and you would hold back” etc. “you shall surely help with him.”

For it is found in the discourse “Vay’hi Mi'Kaitz — Ki M’Rachamam Y’nahagaim” etc. in Likutay Tinyana (LM II:7), that the essential rachamanus [compassion] is when one of Israel falls into sins, G–d forbid. For this is a heavy burden that it is impossible for a Jew to bear at all — such a heavy burden, etc. See there. And one must have compassion on Israel, to extract them from sins and to instill da’as in them, etc. For one must illuminate the da’as in children and students, etc. See there. And through the combined aspect of “child and student,” from there the parnasah [livelihood] is drawn, which the Malchus receives from the “sea of wisdom,” etc. See there all this well.

And this is hinted at in the mitzvah mentioned above. For sonay [enemy], our Sages of blessed memory explained, refers to one whom you saw transgress a sin. And this is the aspect of “crouching beneath its burden” — for the heaviness of the burden overpowers him, which is the burden of sin. And because of this he crouches beneath his burden, for it is impossible for him to bear at all such a burden, as mentioned above. And this is “When you see the donkey of one who hates you crouching,” etc. For the overpowering of sin is in the aspect of chomer [materiality] and the animal spirit. For when the burden of sin overpowers, G–d forbid, one is not called by the name adam [human], for the essential humanity is da’as. Rather, one is in the aspect of an animal in human form, as explained in the discourse mentioned above. See there. And the Torah warned each person who sees his fellow upon whom the burden of sin has overpowered, G–d forbid — for only this is truly called a masa [burden], as mentioned above — that it is forbidden to hide one’s eyes, but rather one is obligated to have compassion on one’s fellow and to help him, to fulfill “you shall surely help with him.” For it is incumbent upon each and every Jew to have compassion on one’s fellow with the true compassion, which is greater than every other kind of compassion — namely, to help him unload from upon himself the heavy burden of sin, which it is impossible for him to bear at all, such a heavy burden, as mentioned above. For every person is obligated to endeavor to look after his fellow, to speak with him about yiras shamayim [fear of Heaven], to extract him from the heavy burden of sins, which is heavier than all other burdens. For this is the essential compassion, as mentioned above. And this is “you shall surely help with him.” And also the mitzvah itself in its literal sense — namely, actual perikah u’te’inah, to help one’s fellow actually unload the burden from upon his donkey — is also in this very aspect. For the burden upon the animal, which is his money and livelihood, is drawn from the “sea of wisdom,” which comes through the combined aspect of “child and student” — namely through illuminating da’as in child and student, in proportion to how much one extracts them from the heavy burden of sin. This connection is well understood in the discourse mentioned above. See there. And therefore one who merits to emerge from the heavy burden of sins and merits da’as — which is the aspect of illuminating “child and student” — similarly, his livelihood comes to him easily. For from there is the essential source of livelihood, as mentioned above. And conversely, G–d forbid, one upon whom the burden of sin overpowers, G–d forbid, and who lacks da’as, G–d forbid — then his livelihood comes with great heaviness and immense weariness, in the aspect of “the people went about and gathered” (Numbers 11:8) — “in foolishness, they ground it in mills or crushed it in a mortar.” This is the aspect of the heaviness of livelihood for one who has not driven out the spirit of foolishness, as found in the holy Zohar, which hints at the heaviness of livelihood for one who lacks da’as, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of “A person’s sustenance is as difficult as the splitting of the Sea of Reeds” (Pesachim 118a). For the splitting of the Sea of Reeds alludes to the “sea of wisdom” mentioned above. For this is the essential aspect of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds: that the sea of wisdom was split open and revealed, as is brought. This is the aspect of the “sea of wisdom” mentioned above that is revealed in proportion to how much one merits to emerge from sins, as mentioned above. And from there livelihood is drawn, as mentioned above. And this is “sustenance is as difficult as the splitting of the Sea of Reeds” — for specifically from there is sustenance and livelihood drawn, from the aspect of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, from the aspect of the “sea of wisdom” mentioned above. For the essential difficulty of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds was because of sins, in the aspect of “these are idolaters and these are idolaters,” as our Sages of blessed memory said. And similarly, sustenance is difficult, for in proportion to how much one merits to emerge from sins, so one merits that the sea of wisdom is revealed — which is the aspect of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds — and so one merits sustenance and livelihood, for from there livelihood is drawn, as mentioned above. It emerges that the essential heaviness and yoke of livelihood is because of the heaviness of the burden of sins. And this is the aspect of “When you see the donkey of one who hates you crouching beneath its burden” — that the burden of his money and livelihood is heavy upon him, and he has suffering and great heaviness. And this derives only from the heavy burden of sins, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of “one who hates you” — for sonay [enemy] is none other than one who transgressed a sin, as our Sages of blessed memory explained. And the Torah warned not to hold back from helping him, but rather one must abandon from the heart what one holds against him and help him, as the Targum renders: “You shall abandon what is in your heart against him, and you shall unload with him.” And at first glance the matter is puzzling. For granted, if the meaning of sonay were the simple sense — that he hates him on his own account, because of a quarrel or dispute or the like — it would be fitting to say “you shall abandon,” etc., that one must forgive him. But since our Sages of blessed memory explained that the sonay stated in the Torah is because one saw him transgress a sin, how is it fitting to say “you shall abandon what is in your heart against him”? Yet in truth, based on what is explained in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, in many places — that one must judge every person favorably, and one must find merit even in a completely wicked person, for how is it possible that he has not done some small amount of good in his days? And through finding some good point in him, one genuinely brings him into the scale of merit, and it is possible to return him in teshuvah through this, as brought on the verse “Yet a little while and the wicked is no more” etc. See there (LM I:282). And this is the matter mentioned above: that even though he is son’acha — that you saw him transgress a sin — nevertheless, do not refrain from helping him. On the contrary: “you shall abandon what is in your heart against him,” for you must find merit in him and have compassion on him and forgive him. For through finding merit in him, one genuinely brings him into the scale of merit, and one returns him in teshuvah. It emerges that it is in the power of each Jew to forgive the sins of his fellow, for he can bring him into the scale of merit by finding some merit in him, as mentioned above. And therefore, when one sees that his fellow has suffering on the road, that his donkey crouches beneath its burden — and the heaviness of this burden is because of the heaviness of the burden of sin, as mentioned above — one is obligated to have compassion on him and forgive him, namely, to find merit in him and bring him into the scale of merit, as mentioned above, which is the essential compassion. And to help him unload the burden. And through abandoning the hatred and having compassion on him and instilling compassion within him, because one seeks and finds some merit in him — through this one genuinely brings him into the scale of merit and unloads from upon him the heavy burden of sins. And through this very act, one unloads from upon him the actual [physical] burden, for the essential heaviness of the burden is because of the burden of sin, as mentioned above. For in truth, the essential purpose of this mitzvah of perikah u’te’inah is for the sake of love and compassion, as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse “You have established equity” (Psalms 99:4): “Do you have an enemy who sees” etc. For the essential purpose of the mitzvah is to unload the burden of sin, and this is accomplished through love and compassion, as mentioned above. Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen. [The following halacha, Perikah u’Te’inah 3 (corresponding to Avaidah u’Metziah 3, §15), is a cross-reference and has been included above in the subdivision.]