Who Help Themselves
Aug 19th, 2010 | By admin | Category: 2007-8, Archivesby Rabbi Yisrael Rutman
The Lord helps those who help themselves. It’s an old truism, and the idea, if not the phrase, is found in the Torah.
In Exodus (23:5): If you see the donkey of him that hates you crouching under its burden, you may not allow yourself to leave it to him, but must surely come to his aid. The English translation seems like a fairly straightforward ethical teaching, that the obligation to help others is not limited to one’s circle of amity. Indeed, we wouldn’t really need a Divine injunction to tell us to be nice to our friends. That comes naturally. But being nice to those who hate us, that’s a different matter entirely.
But the original Hebrew is perplexing, for the word for help seems missing. Instead of ta’azor, which means help, it reads, ta’azov, which translates literally as you shall abandon. Onkelos, the traditional Aramaic translation, solves the problem by rendering it as you shall abandon what is in your heart against him.
The Talmud (Bava Kamma 32b) takes it further. The Sages point out that unloading an animal takes precedence over loading it up, because of the concern for tsaar baalei chaim, the suffering of animals. An animal collapsing under a heavy load needs attention before helping someone load up. However, the priorities are reversed in a situation where the animal of a friend needs unloading, and at the same time the animal of an enemy needs loading. The latter takes precedence, because the principle of self-improvement, of overcoming the hatred for another person, is deemed more important.
The wicked watches for the righteous, and seeks to kill him (Psalms 37:32). The wicked in this verse is our own evil inclination. If God would not help him, a person could not overcome it (Sukkah 52b). The Vilna Gaon said that God himself performs the mitzvah of azov ta’azov,” coming to our aid in times of distress, when our desires and weaknesses lead us astray.
There is, however, a qualification, which pertains both to the everyday law and the relationship between man and God. It is found in the last word in the verse, ito, with him. You shall surely help him, with him. That is, the owner of the stressed animal cannot sit back and expect you to do all the work. It’s his mitzvah, no less than yours, to relieve his animal’s burden, and it should be accomplished with him. (In the event he refuses to see it that way, though, you can charge him for your services.) The same is true of God’s help. It is promised only when the individual himself is doing his best, just that he cannot conquer his selfish desires alone. Then he merits Divine assistance.
Or, in other words, the Lord helps those who help themselves.
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