10 Feb PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING MISHPATIM – IF AND WHEN

We are obligated
to feel as if there
is no obligation at
all.

One of the many laws in Mishpatim

is the mitzvah to provide interest-
free loans to those in need, im kessef

talveh es ami (Shemos 22:24).
At first glance, this may not seem
like a command, as the Hebrew word
“im” usually means “if,” implying
something optional (“if you lend
money to My people”). However,
Rashi comments that, in this verse,
“im” means “when,” establishing
providing financial assistance as a
formal obligation (“when you lend
money to My people”).
The question is glaring: Why did the
Torah introduce this mitzvah with a
word that usually connotes something
voluntary, if in reality the intention
was to describe something required?

The Maharal (in Gur Aryeh) offers
a beautiful explanation. While it is
true that helping others is an official
Torah commandment, one should
not perform this mitzvah with such
a mindset. Unlike shaking a lulav or
blowing the shofar which one does for
no other reason than “Hashem said
so,” charity and acts of kindness must
be done out of a sense of compassion.
They should not feel like technical
responsibilities that one needs to
“check-off,” to just fulfill the mitzvah.
Chessed should seem “optional” in
the sense that we are choosing to do
it out of the goodness of our hearts.
When we feel the pain of a brother
or sister, we should not need to be
commanded or compelled to provide
aid; we should naturally feel the desire
to help out.
By introducing the mitzvah with the
word im, the Torah teaches us how to
become more sensitive. Even when

fulfilling a duty,
do not experience
it as a duty. Try to
empathize so deeply
with the struggles of
others that providing
assistance becomes
the obvious choice.
Of course, we may
not begin with this
level of generosity.
Fortunately, the
act of giving itself was designed to
shape our inner world. “Acharei
hape’ulos nimshachim ha’levavos”
– our actions influence our feelings
(Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 16). For
this reason, it is preferable to give one
dollar to a thousand people rather
than a thousand dollars to one person
(Rambam, Avos 3:15). From a purely
interpersonal perspective, this seems
counterintuitive. But with an eye
toward character development, only

repeated acts of giving can slowly
carve compassion into the personality.
Perhaps, at the beginning, our acts of
kindness will be a “when,” something
driven by the pressure of religious
obligation. The goal, however, is that
over time our generosity will become
an “if,” inspired by our own internal
barometer of compassion. In essence,
the true obligation of chessed is only
fulfilled when one feels as if there is
no obligation at all!