QUESTION
How can we be happy when we pass by a person with a physical disability? Aren’t we hurting that person when he sees us, that we’re able to function in a way that he cannot?
ANSWER
And the answer is this. There are two parts to this subject. One part is sympathy; yes. This week I saw two things. I saw first a man without one arm. And I said, “Baruch Hashem, I have two arms.” I started shaking my arms like this. You have to appreciate two arms. “Baruch Hashem, I have two arms.” One sleeve of this man was empty. It was sent min haShamayim to make me aware that I have two arms. Don’t forget about it! All your life you forget about that great gift; you have two arms!
Then also this week I saw another thing. A man was in a wheelchair; he had only one foot. “Ooh,” I said, “Two feet, what a blessing it is! You can hop, skip and jump. Two feet! What a chessed it is!”
And we have to utilize that. We must utilize that and learn how to thank Hashem: “Thank You for what You did to me that I’m not sitting in a wheelchair!” You must think that. That’s why He sent it. It was a vision granted for the purpose of making you more aware of how fortunate you are and how much you owe to Hashem.
At the same time, you have to have sympathy. Yes. You have to have sympathy too. It’s not a contradiction at all. The happier you are, the more sympathy you have for him. “Look how happy I am, and he doesn’t have it. Ah, it is a pity on him.” Have sympathy.
What will you do with the sympathy? I can’t tell you right now — there may be various ways — but at least you can say, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he looks like a decent man, maybe he’s a shomer mitzvos even. Let’s hope that You’ll comfort him and make him happy despite his disability.”
So have sympathy, but the sympathy should not rob you of utilizing the opportunity of learning how to thank Hashem and always, always remember to be grateful to Hashem that you have two hands and two feet. May 13, 1999
