EXOD226 It is particularly when one is in need, when one's well-being is threatened, that the expressions of love on the part of a neighbor count for most. The ethics of love demand that care be taken of the defenseless and the weak. We receive constant reminders to care for the widow and the fatherless, especially when our fortunes go well with us, for then we are most likely to forget the needs of those less fortunate. The burden of their loss must be made to weigh easier for them to shoulder. As for the poor in general, not only are they to be supported but they should not be made to feel the stigma of charity. [cf. Ps. xli. 2. See Yer. Shek. v.4; Lev. R. xxxv]. The stranger, too, must be made to feel that he has full share of our consideration: "And a stranger shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." [Exodus xxiii.9]. In thirty-six places does the Torah urge consideration for the stranger. Hence says a Rabbi: "to divert the right of a stranger is to divert the right of God". [B. Metz 59b]. Another teacher considers the crime of robbing a stranger to be worse than that of robbing a Jew. [B. Kama 113a] Kiddush Ha'shem, like Imitatio Dei, is only observed when one displays kindness to all. Of Rabbi Johanan b. Zakkai it is told that he would be the first to greet a non-Jew. Other rabbis are also described as the possessors of similar courtesy. It was a saying of the Rabbis [Gittin 59b] that since the paths of the Torah lead to peace, we should do acts of grace even unto those not of our faith in order to establish peace and goodwill among all men. God says: "Both the Gentiles and the Israelites are My handiwork. How can I, then, let the former perish on account of the latter?" [Sanhed 39b; Meg. 10b]. For this reason did He stop the Song of the Sea with the protest: "My handiwork is drowning in the sea--and you dare to sing a song?" [e.g., this verse].