LEV706 Whatever you wish others to do for you (whether helping you with what you need in your affairs, or lightening the burden of your cares when you are distressed) you should do for your neighbor. Therefore one must act accordingly whenever there are mourners, may God protect us. (Yet, because of our many sins, many treat this mitzvah lightly. Especially when poor people are in mourning, no one opens their door. But the contrary is true. The grief and loss of the poor are all the harder to bear, since these unfortunates derive pleasure from nothing else except their children. This line of reasoning appears in the Gemara (see Moed Katan 24b, in respect to the eulogy). I have noticed that this neglect is the result of the poor person having no friends and acquaintances in this world. Scripture has remarked (Proverbs 19:4): "Wealth added many friends; but as for the poor, his friend separates himself from him." Indeed his friend may be separated from him, but he is all the nearer to God. So Scripture has stated (Proverbs 34:19): "God is near to them that are of a broken heart." How great is the recompense of those who comfort and speak encouragingly to them). The basic intent of Nichum Avelim is to give comfort to the mourners. One may fulfill his obligation by merely reciting: "May the Allpresent comfort you…" Nevertheless it is more desirable to speak comfortingly to them and to assuage their grief by some well-chosen remark, for this is the essence of nichum, comfort. See what we have written, further on, in chapter 7, on a similar subject.