"Mishpatim — Part V — Compassion as the Heart of Justice"

5.2 — Helping the Enemy

How Torah law transforms hostility into responsibility and tikkun atzmi

Parshas Mishpatim introduces a law that seems almost paradoxical. The Torah commands a person to help even someone he dislikes. The obligation is not limited to friends, neighbors, or members of one’s social circle. It extends to the one defined as an enemy.

The Torah states:

שמות כ״ג:ד–ה
“כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹיִבְךָ אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ תֹּעֶה, הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ.
כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ רֹבֵץ תַּחַת מַשָּׂאוֹ… עָזֹב תַּעֲזֹב עִמּוֹ.”
“If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his wandering donkey, you shall surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden… you shall surely help him.”

The Torah does not deny the existence of conflict. It recognizes that people have enemies, rivals, and strained relationships. But instead of allowing hostility to harden into indifference, the Torah creates a legal obligation: you must help him anyway. The encounter with an enemy becomes an opportunity for moral repair.

Action before emotion

Modern thinking often assumes that compassion begins in the heart. First a person must feel sympathy; only then will he act kindly. The Torah reverses this order. It commands the action first, even when the emotion is absentbecause the Torah knows that actions educate the inner world.

In practical terms, the Torah places three responsibilities on the shoulders of a person who meets an enemy in need:

• Return what is lost, even when resentment would prefer to “let it go.”
• Relieve the burden, even when pride wants to keep distance.
• Refuse to walk away, even when the other person has earned your dislike.
• You stand beside the person you dislike and work together.

Through these actions, emotional distance begins to shrink. The enemy becomes a fellow human being struggling under a load. The Torah uses law as a tool of inner refinement.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: responsibility before reconciliation

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks taught that the Torah does not wait for perfect harmony before imposing moral responsibility. A society cannot function if obligation depends on affection. Law must operate even in the presence of disagreement.

The command to help the enemy creates a civic ethic. It declares that responsibility does not disappear when relationships become strained. Compassion is not reserved for those we like. It is a duty rooted in covenant.

Through such laws, the Torah introduces a radical idea: reconciliation does not begin with speeches or ideals. It begins with small, concrete acts of responsibility—lifting a burden, returning a lost object, standing beside another person in need. These actions create the possibility of healing.

Rav Avigdor Miller: tikkun atzmi before tikkun olam

Rav Avigdor Miller emphasized that the Torah’s purpose is not only to fix the world, but to fix the self. The mitzvah of helping an enemy is a clear example. On the surface, it appears to be an act of social kindness—helping another person in need. But the deeper purpose is personal refinement.

The Sages teach:

The Gemara teaches:

בבא מציעא ל״ב ב — “לִכְפוֹף אֶת יִצְרוֹ עָדִיף”
“It is preferable to subdue one’s inclination.”

Chazal explain that when a person has a choice that touches both assistance and inner struggle, the Torah sometimes directs him toward the path that breaks his resentment. Helping the enemy is not only about the animal and not only about the other person. It is about bending the will away from spite, and training the heart toward ישרות.

This is the Torah’s method of character development:

• The ego prefers to help friends and ignore enemies.
• The Torah commands the opposite when necessary.
• The action breaks the hold of resentment.

That is why this mitzvah is so powerful. It turns a chance encounter on the road into a בית מדרש of character. The body lifts, the hands help, the tongue restrains itself—and the self becomes a little less ruled by pride. In this way, the mitzvah becomes an exercise in tikkun atzmi—self-refinement—before it becomes an act of tikkun olam—repairing the world.

Rav Miller explains that the Torah does not rely on lofty ideals alone. It builds holiness through repeated practical actions. Each time a person helps someone he dislikes, he weakens the ego and strengthens his moral character.

The Torah’s method of healing conflict

The Torah does not attempt to eliminate conflict by force. It does not command people to feel affection for everyone at all times. Instead, it introduces structured encounters where responsibility overrides hostility.

In those moments:

• Pride is interrupted.
• Distance is reduced.
• Shared effort replaces silent resentment.

The physical act of helping becomes a bridge between enemies. It reminds both parties that beneath the conflict, they share a common humanity and a shared covenant.

This is the Torah’s quiet method of social repair. It does not rely on slogans or emotional appeals. It relies on disciplined, repeated acts of responsibility.

Application for Today — healing division through responsibility

Modern society is filled with division—political, social, religious, and personal. People often wait for reconciliation to begin with agreement or emotional change. The Torah proposes a different path. It begins with responsibility.

A practical translation of this mitzvah can include:

• Offering help to someone with whom we have tension, rather than avoiding them.
• Acting with fairness and decency even toward those we dislike.
• Refusing to let resentment justify neglect or indifference.
• Choose the path that subdues the yetzer hara, not the path that flatters it.

These actions may feel small, but they carry enormous moral weight. Each act interrupts hostility and replaces it with responsibility. The Torah’s claim is simple and radical: the first repair is internal. When a person practices tikkun atzmi, the possibility of tikkun olam opens. The road to a healthier society begins with the moment you lift the burden—together.

📖 Sources

• Full sources available on the Mitzvah Minute Parshas Mishpatim page under insights and commentaries.