There are times when the devil can tease us, and so it can be avoided

Our first instinct to help immediately those close to us can sometimes harm us, the devil can provoke but there is also a way to avoid it

There are times when the devil can tease us, and so it can be avoided

Eruvin Tractate Page 26 (Photography and Editing: Walla! NEWS)

What do you do when you see someone falling on the street, or a friend who is in a difficult financial situation?

Our first instinct is to rush to help him, to lift him from his condition but as with everything in life, here too judgment is often required.

Sometimes people come to help out of good intentions, but the way they give the help is only more harmful.

For example, a person who has fallen on the street may want to pick him up and take him to the hospital - but in some cases, that is exactly what should not be done.

A person injured in the spine, for example, should not be moved and shaken because it can cause irreversible damage.

Or for example a friend who is in financial distress.

Suppose we want to help him, and we will post fundraising ads for him.

But what's going on?

Now everyone knows that he has run out of assets, and as a result people are not willing to do business with him, the banks refuse to lend him money, and his financial situation deteriorates even further.

There was good intention here - but not enough thought.

In Tractate Eruvin, page 26, Rabbi Yochanan offers an idea: When a wise student is ill, it is advisable to seat a meeting of wise students near his house, so that their right will protect him.

But the Gemara rejects him and says that this is not a good idea, because Satan may provoke them.

Rashi, one of the great commentators, explains that when sages' students engage in Torah, they may begin to argue among themselves, and even get into quarrels and quarrels, and so instead of benefiting the patient - they will only cause harm.

The first instinct to help those who fell on the street.

Illustration (Photo: Reuters)

Press photographer falls during anti-government demonstration in Santiago, Chile (Photo: Reuters)

Rabbi Chaim David Kowalski, the presenter of the digital gemara, explained that these things illustrate how even an idea that sounds good, can cause harm if one does not think about its possible consequences.

Many people have had great ideas throughout history, which they thought would bring blessing to the world, but they did not take into account all sorts of considerations, which in the end led to the idea harming more than benefiting. 

To this end Gd has given us the Torah, which guides us on what is the best and right way to go;

And to that end we learn from the sages of the Gemara how to discuss and clarify each subject thoroughly - to think about all its aspects, the sides here and there, to ask and complicate, and only then to reach a practical decision.

When we see a person in distress, our heart immediately calls us to help him, to save him.

And that's very good.

But it is important to control the mind over the heart.

Not to act without thought, but first to think - and then to act.

Only in this way will we make sure that not only the intention will be good, but also the results.

The Digital Gemara Project.

(Photo: ShutterStock)

Book of Gemara (Photo: ShutterStock)

Want to learn more topics according to the Gemara?

This is your chance to join the digital gemara venture.

This is a project in which you will watch a daily video clip based on the daily page presented by Rabbi Kowalski, founder and head of the Daf Yomi daily organization.

As part of this, each person can be part of hundreds of thousands in Israel and around the world who make sure to regularly study one page of Gemara a day, by watching a short daily video clip.

The section on discretion before assisting a person or a move we make is based on the daily page in Tractate Eruvin, page 26, and is also published in full on the Digital Gemara website.

In the section, you will meet daily at significant and fascinating points related to daily life, based on the daily study of the Gemara.

The project is free of charge for its participants.

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