פרשת משפטים תשט"ו - "כי תפגע שור אויבך..."

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.

עזב תעזב עמו — The root עזב has here the meaning of “helping”. It has a similar meaning in, (Deuteronomy 32:36) “assisted and helped (עזוב)”. Similar also is, (Nehemiah 3:8) “ויעזבו Jerusalem up to the wall” — i. e. they filled it up with earth in order to help and to support the strength of the wall. A similar use of כי is, (Deuteronomy 7:17, 18) כי תאמר בלבבך רביס הגוים האלה וגו׳ which means “Canst thou possibly (כי) speak thus? לא תירא מהם, Do not be afraid of them and speak thus”. Our Rabbis expounded it in a Halachic sense as follows: … כי תראה וחדלת “If thou seest etc. …וחדלת” — there are occasions when you may forbear and there are occasions when you must help. How so? If it is an old man who sees the ass in this condition and it is not compatible with his dignity to intervene, then וחדלת “thou mayest forbear” holds good; or if the animal belongs to a heathen and its burden to an Israelite then, also, וחדלת may be applied (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 23:5:3).

עזב תעזב עמו — The root עזב has here the meaning of “helping”. It has a similar meaning in, (Deuteronomy 32:36) “assisted and helped (עזוב)”. Similar also is, (Nehemiah 3:8) “ויעזבו Jerusalem up to the wall” — i. e. they filled it up with earth in order to help and to support the strength of the wall. A similar use of כי is, (Deuteronomy 7:17, 18) כי תאמר בלבבך רביס הגוים האלה וגו׳ which means “Canst thou possibly (כי) speak thus? לא תירא מהם, Do not be afraid of them and speak thus”. Our Rabbis expounded it in a Halachic sense as follows: … כי תראה וחדלת “If thou seest etc. …וחדלת” — there are occasions when you may forbear and there are occasions when you must help. How so? If it is an old man who sees the ass in this condition and it is not compatible with his dignity to intervene, then וחדלת “thou mayest forbear” holds good; or if the animal belongs to a heathen and its burden to an Israelite then, also, וחדלת may be applied (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 23:5:3).

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.

Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

עזב תעזב עמו — The root עזב has here the meaning of “helping”. It has a similar meaning in, (Deuteronomy 32:36) “assisted and helped (עזוב)”. Similar also is, (Nehemiah 3:8) “ויעזבו Jerusalem up to the wall” — i. e. they filled it up with earth in order to help and to support the strength of the wall. A similar use of כי is, (Deuteronomy 7:17, 18) כי תאמר בלבבך רביס הגוים האלה וגו׳ which means “Canst thou possibly (כי) speak thus? לא תירא מהם, Do not be afraid of them and speak thus”. Our Rabbis expounded it in a Halachic sense as follows: … כי תראה וחדלת “If thou seest etc. …וחדלת” — there are occasions when you may forbear and there are occasions when you must help. How so? If it is an old man who sees the ass in this condition and it is not compatible with his dignity to intervene, then וחדלת “thou mayest forbear” holds good; or if the animal belongs to a heathen and its burden to an Israelite then, also, וחדלת may be applied (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 23:5:3).