LEV1044 … prevention is better than cure. Specifically, it is better to come to a person's aid when his or her problems are just beginning rather than after he or she becomes destitute. “If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority, you shall uphold him” (Leviticus 25:35). Do not allow him to fall into utter poverty. The injunction may be explained by analogy with a load on a donkey: as long as he is standing up, one may grab him [to keep him from falling] and keep him standing upright. Once he has fallen, however, five men cannot make him stand up again (Sifra, Leviticus, on Leviticus 25:35 [ed. Weiss, p. 109b]).