Page 74 - Love in the Torah

72 L LOVE IN THE TORAH

fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from

the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction
from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things. (Job,
31:16-23)

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times
of trouble. (Psalm, 41:1)

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wan-
derer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to
turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break
forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your right-
eousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
(Isaiah, 58:7-8)

... And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs
of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night

will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will sat-
isfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You
will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
(Isaiah, 58:10-11)

Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of
the widow as a pledge... When you are harvesting in your field and you
overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless
and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work
of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over
the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the father-
less and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not

go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and
the widow. (Deuteronomy, 24:17-21)