Vayikra Rabbah turns to Blessed Is the One Who Considers the Poor Says David.
Abba bar Yimeya, quoting Rabbi Meir, suggests it’s about “crowning the good inclination over the evil inclination.” In other words, choosing compassion over selfishness. Isi says it's as simple as giving a peruta, the smallest denomination of currency, to the poor. Rabbi Yoḥanan takes a different tack, saying it's about burying an unattended corpse – performing a final act of kindness for someone completely alone. These are all powerful acts of chesed (Lovingkindness), loving-kindness.
Then the Rabbis chime in, offering a politically charged interpretation: it's about extricating oneself from tyrants. According to some commentaries, this means refusing to participate in an oppressive regime, choosing integrity over power. (Etz Yosef). It's a reminder that helping others sometimes means standing up to injustice.
Rav Huna adds another dimension: visiting the sick. He even claims that each visit subtracts one-sixtieth of the sick person's illness! Now, some challenged this idea. Imagine sixty people visiting and magically curing someone instantly! Rav Huna clarifies that while a single visit might not cure everything, these visits still benefit the sick. They offer comfort, connection, and a reminder that they are not forgotten.
Each of these interpretations is then linked back to Psalm 41. If you crown the good inclination, “The Lord will protect him.” If you give a peruta, “And will sustain him.” If you bury the forgotten, “He will be made happy in the earth.” If you stand against tyrants, “You will not submit him to the will of his enemies.” And if you visit the sick, “The Lord will support him on a sickbed.” It's a beautiful chain of action and consequence, reminding us that our kindness ripples outward, affecting not only others but ourselves as well.
Rabbi Yona offers a particularly poignant example. He emphasizes that the verse doesn't say "happy is one who gives to the indigent," but rather "happy is one who attends to the indigent." It's not just about the act of giving, but about truly seeing the person in need. He describes how, when he encountered a once-wealthy individual who had fallen on hard times and was too ashamed to accept charity, he devised a clever plan. He would offer the person a loan, pretending to believe they had inherited money from overseas. When the person tried to repay the loan, Rabbi Yona would then reveal it was a gift. This is the kind of thoughtful, compassionate action that truly embodies "attending to the indigent."
Rabbi Levi, citing Rabbi Ḥama bar Rabbi Ḥanina, makes a powerful point: the word "Happy" (ashrei) appears twenty-two times in scripture, but only this instance – the one connected to helping the indigent – promises a reward: “The Lord will deliver him.”
What does this all mean for us today? It’s a reminder that helping others isn't just a nice thing to do; it’s an integral part of our own well-being. It's about choosing compassion, standing up for justice, and truly seeing the people around us. It’s about recognizing that when we lift others up, we also lift ourselves. As Moses cautions: "If your brother becomes poor…" it is an if that is also a when. How will we respond?
“If your brother will become poor, and his means fail in proximity to you; you shall support him, stranger or resident alien, and he shall live with you” (Leviticus 25:35). “If your brother will become poor” – that is what is written: “Happy is one who attends to the indigent; the Lord will deliver him on a day of evil” (Psalms 41:2).1The midrash is based on the conclusion of the verse: “He shall live with you.” The point being made is that the individual providing the assistance will himself benefit along with the individual he is helping. Abba bar Yimeya said in the name of Rabbi Meir: This is one who crowns the good inclination over the evil inclination. Isi said: This is one who gives a peruta to the poor. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This is one who buries an unattended corpse. The Rabbis say: This is one who extricates himself from the tyrants.2He refuses a position of authority in a tyrannical regime that would have caused him to persecute others. Some commentaries assert that the text should not include the word “himself,” in which case the meaning would be: one who assists another in escaping persecution from tyrants (Etz Yosef). Rav Huna said: This is one who visits the ill, as Rav Huna said: Anyone who visits the ill, they subtract one-sixtieth of his illness. They raised an objection to Rav Huna: ‘If so, let sixty enter and he will descend with them to the marketplace.’ He said to them: ‘Sixty [would relieve him of his illness], provided that they love him as themselves; but in any case, they benefit him.’ According to the opinion of Abba bar Yimeya, who said in the name of Rabbi Meir: This is one who crowns the good inclination over the evil inclination, [the proof is] as it is written: “The Lord will protect him” (Psalms 41:3) – from the evil inclination. According to the opinion of Isi, who said: This is one who gives a peruta to the poor, [the proof is] as it is written: “And will sustain him” (Psalms 41:3). According to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, who said: This is one who buries an unattended corpse, it is as it is written: “He will be made happy in the earth” (Psalms 41:3). According to the opinion of the Rabbis, who said: This is one who extricates himself from the tyrants, it is as it is written: “You will not submit him to the will of his enemies” (Psalms 41:3). According to the opinion of Rav Huna, who said: This is one who visits the ill, it is as it is written: “The Lord will support him on a sickbed” (Psalms 41:4). Rabbi Yona said: “Happy is one who gives to the indigent” is not written here, but rather, “happy is one who attends to the indigent” – look at him [in order to ascertain] how to benefit him. Rabbi Yona, when he would see a well-born individual who became impoverished, and was ashamed to take [charity], he would go to him and say to him: ‘Because I heard that an inheritance has come to you overseas, here is this object; when your financial situation eases, you will give it back to me.’ When he would come to give it back to him, he would say to him: ‘I gave it to you as a gift.’ Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Rabbi Ḥanina: Twenty-two times it is written: “Happy [ashrei].” And of them all, only this one receives a reward. What reward does he receive? “The Lord will deliver him” (Psalms 41:2). Therefore, Moses cautions them: “If your brother will become poor.”
