Sharing the burden

(1) O you who dwell in the shelter of the Most Highand abide in the protection of Shaddai— (2) I say of the LORD, my refuge and stronghold,my God in whom I trust, (3) that He will save you from the fowler’s trap,from the destructive plague. (4) He will cover you with His pinions;you will find refuge under His wings;His fidelity is an encircling shield. (5) You need not fear the terror by night,or the arrow that flies by day, (6) the plague that stalks in the darkness,or the scourge that ravages at noon. (7) A thousand may fall at your left side,ten thousand at your right,but it shall not reach you. (8) You will see it with your eyes,you will witness the punishment of the wicked. (9) Because you took the LORD—my refuge,the Most High—as your haven, (10) no harm will befall you,no disease touch your tent. (11) For He will order His angelsto guard you wherever you go. (12) They will carry you in their handslest you hurt your foot on a stone. (13) You will tread on cubs and vipers;you will trample lions and asps. (14) “Because he is devoted to Me I will deliver him;I will keep him safe, for he knows My name. (15) When he calls on Me, I will answer him;I will be with him in distress;I will rescue him and make him honored; (16) I will let him live to a ripe old age,and show him My salvation.”

(6) Greater is learning Torah than the priesthood and than royalty, for royalty is acquired by thirty stages, and the priesthood by twenty-four, but the Torah by forty-eight things. By study, Attentive listening, Proper speech, By an understanding heart, By an intelligent heart, By awe, By fear, By humility, By joy, By attending to the sages, By critical give and take with friends, By fine argumentation with disciples, By clear thinking, By study of Scripture, By study of mishnah, By a minimum of sleep, By a minimum of chatter, By a minimum of pleasure, By a minimum of frivolity, By a minimum of preoccupation with worldly matters, By long-suffering, By generosity, By faith in the sages, By acceptance of suffering. [Learning of Torah is also acquired by one] Who recognizes his place, Who rejoices in his portion, Who makes a fence about his words, Who takes no credit for himself, Who is loved, Who loves God, Who loves [his fellow] creatures, Who loves righteous ways, Who loves reproof, Who loves uprightness, Who keeps himself far from honors, Who does not let his heart become swelled on account of his learning, Who does not delight in giving legal decisions, Who shares in the bearing of a burden with his colleague, Who judges with the scales weighted in his favor, Who leads him on to truth, Who leads him on to peace, Who composes himself at his study, Who asks and answers, Who listens [to others], and [himself] adds [to his knowledge], Who learns in order to teach, Who learns in order to practice, Who makes his teacher wiser, Who is exact in what he has learned, And who says a thing in the name of him who said it. Thus you have learned: everyone who says a thing in the name of him who said it, brings deliverance into the world, as it is said: “And Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name” (Esther 2:22).

(4) CHESED - KINDLINESS: The second subdivision of the first division, namely, piety in deed between man and his fellow, its matter is great beneficence, namely, that one always does good to others and never harms them. This applies to the body, possessions, and spirit of one's fellow.

(5) Body: that one strives to help all men however he can, and lighten the burden that is upon them. As we learned: "bearing the yoke with one's fellow" (Avot 6:6). If his fellow is about to be struck by some bodily harm and he can prevent it or remove it, he should exert himself to do so.