The Blessings of Non-Jews Parshat Eikev

Another thing, "God, your God, guards for you." (Deut. 7:2) What does it mean, "guards"? Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: Everything that Israel consumes in this world is due to the power of the blessings that Billam the Wicked One blessed them. But, the blessings of our ancestors they are guarded until the future to come, as it says, "God, your God, guards for you..."

Another thing, Rabbi Chelbo said: This is similar to a story of an orphan that grows up in the house of a land lord. The orphan's food, drink, and clothing were all from the landlord. The landlord even taught the child a trade. This orphan was of the opinion that all they ate, drank, and their clothing were all due to their reward. The landlord said to the child: Your life!! All that you eat and the clothing you wear, it is all due to the barrels of water you fill for me, and due to the tree you cut down for me, but your merit bound up and waiting for you. So it is that everything Israel eats in this world is due to the hardships that befall them, but their reward is bundled and waiting for the future to come.

You will be blessed by all of the nations... the verse starts with the letter Bet and ends with the letter Kaf, this is to say that the above is through the merit of Torah in which their are 22 letters.

Our rabbis taught: We provide for the gentiles' poor with Israel's poor, we visit gentiles' sick with Israel's sick, and we bury the gentiles' dead with Israel's dead, due to the ways of peace.

Rashi explains: "Not in Jewish graves, rather, deal with their corpses if you find them amongst Israel's dead." It seems that Rashi is saying that you must deal with their dead specifically if you are dealing with Jewish corpses, so as not to cause hatred as a result of dealing with these [Jewish dead] and not these [non Jewish dead]. This implies that if you find a non-Jewish corpse alone, no [do not bury it]...

From here you can learn that it is forbidden to provide medical treatment to an idolater, even for a wage. If you are afraid of them or you are concerned due to hatred, you may treat them for a wage, but not for free. You are commanded to treat a non-Jew who accepts the 7 Noachide laws of basic morality for free.

And even for non-Jews – our sages commanded us to visit the sick and to bury their dead with the dead of the Jews and to give sustenance to their needy among the needy of the Jews – because of promoting peaceful ways. Behold there is the verse - "Hashem is good with all and he is merciful upon all of his works" (Tehilim / Psalms 145, 9) and it is said "And its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace." (Mishle – Proverbs 3, 17)

Abaye said to Rav Yosef: because of the ways of peace? Surely it's a Torah command?! He replied to him, it is a Torah command and it is the ways of peace. But the whole Torah is for the ways of peace?! As it says: "Her [The Torah's] ways are ways of peace and all her paths are peaceful".

[Rashi's interpretation above] is not clear. 'With the Jewish dead' means just as [not, along with.] So too with supporting non-Jewish poor just as you support Jewish poor, and so too all of them. This is explicit in the Yerushalmi here in which it states: "...support the poor of the non-Jews and the poor of the Jews, visit the sick of the non-Jews and the sick of the Jews, bury the dead of the non-Jews and the dead of the Jews, comfort the mourners of the non-Jews and the mourners of the Jews...because of the ways of peace." Furthermore, in the Tosefta it doesn't mention Jews at all! It simply states "eulogise the dead of the non-Jews, and comfort mourners of the non-Jews because of the ways of peace.