Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The 48 Ways to Acquire Torah: Bearing the Yoke with one's Colleague
11:11 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
The next of the 48 ways to acquire Torah is bearing the yoke with one's colleague. This means that when our friend suffers, we should suffer with him; ie share his suffering with him. We can do this by trying our best to help our friend through his difficult time.
Good friends are hard to come by. What makes someone a good friend is that they are there for you when things are good and especially when they are sad. Even if one is having difficulty, that friend can try and "pick you up" by a friendly word, gesture or even being silent, just listening.
This can also mean that if our friend is in trouble, even financially, we should try and help or get others to help as much as possible. Regardless of what the situation is, when we try and help our friend that is in trouble, we share the burden of what he is going through.
Even if we ourselves cannot help our friend in his present situation or get others to help, just telling your friend that you are here for them and you feel for their situation is a tremendous thing. When someone is going through a difficulty sometimes the best thing a person can do to aid them is to make them aware that you are there for them. This does help alleviate some of the stress as the person having the difficulty sees that they are not alone in what they are going through.
This is especially true when one goes to visit someone that is sitting shiva for a relative that has died. The person is going through a painful experience and part of the healing process is that others come to be with the mourner to give comfort. Giving comfort may mean just listening to the mourner speak about the deceased without saying anything at all.
There are many ways we can help others by bearing the yoke of what they are going through. Either through physical help, money or even just being there so your friend can have a shoulder to cry on. At the very least, whatever we are able to do does alleviate the pain and help our friend in distress.
Good friends are hard to come by. What makes someone a good friend is that they are there for you when things are good and especially when they are sad. Even if one is having difficulty, that friend can try and "pick you up" by a friendly word, gesture or even being silent, just listening.
This can also mean that if our friend is in trouble, even financially, we should try and help or get others to help as much as possible. Regardless of what the situation is, when we try and help our friend that is in trouble, we share the burden of what he is going through.
Even if we ourselves cannot help our friend in his present situation or get others to help, just telling your friend that you are here for them and you feel for their situation is a tremendous thing. When someone is going through a difficulty sometimes the best thing a person can do to aid them is to make them aware that you are there for them. This does help alleviate some of the stress as the person having the difficulty sees that they are not alone in what they are going through.
This is especially true when one goes to visit someone that is sitting shiva for a relative that has died. The person is going through a painful experience and part of the healing process is that others come to be with the mourner to give comfort. Giving comfort may mean just listening to the mourner speak about the deceased without saying anything at all.
There are many ways we can help others by bearing the yoke of what they are going through. Either through physical help, money or even just being there so your friend can have a shoulder to cry on. At the very least, whatever we are able to do does alleviate the pain and help our friend in distress.
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