The Mitzvah of Sharing a Fellow Jew's Burden

Helping to shoulder another person's burden

In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), it is stated that the Torah is acquired via forty-eight methods, one of which is: "Bearing the burden together with one's fellow-man." One of the commentators on the Talmud (the Tiferet Yisrael) notes that this can be accomplished in various ways:

"Whether through physical effort, monetary expense, or sharing in his emotional pain over what happened to him. And if someone is lacking in knowledge regarding either material or spiritual matters, do not hesitate to go to the trouble of giving him good advice and teaching him for his benefit in this world and the World to Come."

Helping someone to bear his burden means doing what is necessary to help him in his hour of need. It might involve spending money or it could be literally assisting him with a heavy package. It also means helping him to get through a tough time emotionally, giving him support and listening to him and expressing sympathy when he expresses his pain.

There is perhaps no greater hardship, no heavier burden than going through a crisis without a spiritual anchor. If we see a Jew struggling to cope with adversity and lacking the Torah knowledge to interpret it in spiritual terms, we should certainly come to his aid and offer him not just practical advice but also the spiritual advice and encouragement that will give him the strength and sense of purpose he needs to keep going.

One People in times of trouble

The Talmud states: "When the community is in trouble, no one should say, 'I will go home and eat and drink without a care in the world' ... Rather, everyone should share in the community's distress" (Taanit 11a). No one should be disconnected from the general situation of the Jewish People or permit themselves luxuries while others are suffering.

During the battle against Amalek, Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) didn't sit on a comfortable cushion but rather on a stone, because "Israel was in distress, so I too will be with them in their distress" (Rashi's commentary on Shemot 17:12). 

The Talmud adds that the reward for sharing in the community's distress is that the person will also participate in their salvation: "Anyone who shares in the community's distress will merit seeing the community's consolation." 

The mitzvah in practice

In his book, Wisdom and Ethics, the Alter of Kelm (Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv) explains that someone who wants to fulfill this mitzvah should imagine that he, too, is experiencing the other person's distress.

The Torah tells us that we can learn this from Moshe, who left Pharaoh's palace where he was raised to go and see the suffering of the Jewish People: "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren, and looked on their burdens..."

On this verse, Rashi explains that Moshe "set his eyes and heart to feel their distress," and the Alter of Kelm adds that Moshe "imagined that this was happening to him," writing:

"Moshe used the power of imagination, until he felt their pain as if he himself was in that pain, and consequently bore the burden with them. 'His eyes' means the contemplation of the intellect; 'his heart' means to take it to heart, that his heart should feel their pain as if he himself was in that pain..."

When a person in pain feels that others are with them in their distress and feel their sorrow, it eases their burden, which is why this mitzvah is called "bearing another's burden" -- because it really causes a part of the burden to be taken from the sufferer and placed on the person who has resolved to be of assistance, thereby bringing relief.