(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי? וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי?
וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתַי?
(14) He [Rabbi Hillel] used to say: If I am not for me, who will be for me?
And when I am for myself alone, what am I?
And if not now, then when?
״אִם כֶּסֶף תַּלְוֶה אֶת עַמִּי אֶת הֶעָנִי עִמָּךְ...״ (שמות כב, כד)
עַמִּי קוֹדֵם, עָנִי וְעָשִׁיר - עָנִי קוֹדֵם,
עֲנִיֶּיךָ וְעֲנִיֵי עִירְךָ - עֲנִיֶּיךָ קוֹדְמִין,
עֲנִיֵּי עִירְךָ וְעֲנִיֵי עִיר אַחֶרֶת - עֲנִיֵּי עִירְךָ קוֹדְמִין.
"If you lend my people money, even the poor with you..." (Exodus 22:24)
My people and strangers - my people have precedence,
a poor person and a rich one - the poor have precedence.
Your poor and the poor of your city - your poor have precedence,
the poor of your city and the poor of another city - the poor of your city have precedence.
Rabbi Israel Salanter (1809-1883), father of the Musar movement.
Once, Rabbi Salanter visited a new matzah bakery in order to check its work practices and level of kashrut. He reviewed all the manufacturing procedures extensively and observed the intense labor and toil of the employees. At the end of Rabbi Salanter’s visit, the bakery owner proudly asked him, “What does the rabbi say?” He answered, “The Gentiles accuse us, G-d forbid, of using the blood of Christian children in matzah. While this is not the case, from what I have seen here, there is indeed a violation of the prohibition on blood in food. The blood of the workers is mixed with the matzah! I will not certify this bakery as kosher.”
In another case, Rabbi Salanter was asked what demands particular attention when baking matzah. He answered: “One must be scrupulous not to yell at the woman kneading the dough.”
When attending large dinners, Rabbi Salanter also hurried to finish eating quickly in consideration of the waiters and other workers, who had to wait until the end of the meal to go home. “Justice, justice you shall pursue in order that you may live in and inherit the land.”
(ח) כִּ֤י תִבְנֶה֙ בַּ֣יִת חָדָ֔שׁ וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מַעֲקֶ֖ה לְגַגֶּ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תָשִׂ֤ים דָּמִים֙ בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־יִפֹּ֥ל הַנֹּפֵ֖ל מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ (ס)