LEV662 In how many ways should a person hold himself to an accounting before God? I say that there are a multitude of ways in which to make such an accounting. Of these, I will point out thirty. They can clarify to a person what he owes God, if he will bring them to mind and undertake to reflect on them and remember them always. Contemplating the responsibilities and benefits of friendship and community. … 22. One should make an accounting with himself of his involvement with other people in what pertains to the general welfare—e.g., plowing and reaping, buying and selling, and other ways in which people are mutually helpful in creating a healthy society--[and consider] that he should desire for them what he would desire for himself in these matters, loathe for them [to suffer] what he would loathe for himself, empathize with them, and do all that he can do to shield them from what might harm them, as it is written: “Love your neighbor like yourself” (Vayikra 19:18). An analogy to this is the following. Think of a group of people who set out for a distant land on a difficult road. They will have to camp at many stations [along the way], and they have with them many beasts loaded with heavy burdens. The people are few in number; and each has in his charge many beasts which he must load and unload frequently. If they help each other in the loading and unloading, and the desire of each of them is to further their welfare and ease the burden of all of them, and they share equally in rendering help and assistance, then they will be in excellent shape. But if they are divisive and do not cooperate, and each one tries to further his own selfish interests, most of them will grow weary [and falter]. For this reason, my brother, the world becomes wearisome to its inhabitants, and their toil and trouble are increased--because everyone concerns himself only with his own lot and [seeks] more than his allotted portion. And because they demand of the world more than is their due and seek in it what is not theirs, the world denies them their due and does not provide them with their share. As a result, they are not satisfied with the world, and there is not one among them who does not complain and whine about it. Because they seek luxuries, the world denies them basic necessities, and grants these only after much trouble and exertion. If they would be content with what suffices for their basic needs, if they would all strive for the common good and share the same conditions, they would overcome [all obstacles] in this world and attain even more than they desire. Yet, not only do they not help each other in their worldly interests but they hinder one another. Each one obstructs his friend and cripples his effort, so that not one of them attains what he seeks or fulfills his desire. Therefore, my brother, you should endeavor to acquire faithful colleagues and true friends who will help you in your religious and secular pursuits, as you are wholehearted and true toward them. They should be as dear to you as your own soul, when you find among them those who are worthy of this sentiment. Do not, however, confide your secrets to anyone but the choicest of your choice friends, as Ben Sira said: “Many will wish you well, but confide your secret to only one in a thousand.” (Ben Sira 6:6), and as the Wise One said: “Oil and incense gladden the heart, so confiding in one's friend for earnest counsel” (Mishlei 27:9).
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