רַבֵּנוּ הַזָּקֵן פִּרֵשׁ מַאֲמָר כָּל הַמְקַיֵּם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל כְּאִלּוּ קִיֵּם עוֹלָם מָלֵא, אוֹיף אַ אִידעֶן דאַרף מעֶן קוּקעֶן וִוי עֶר שְׁטֵייט אִין מַחֲשָׁבָה הַקְּדוּמָה דְּאָדָם קַדְמוֹן, אוּן דאָרטעֶן שְׁטֵייט יעֶדעֶר נְשָׁמָה מִיט אַלעֶ דּוֹרוֹת וואָס קוּמעֶן אַרוֹיס פוּן אִיהר בִּיז בִּיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ גּוֹאֵל צֶדֶק, אוּן אַז מעֶן טוּט אַ אִידעֶן אַ טוֹבָה, טוּט מעֶן אַ טוֹבָה, אָט דִי אַלעֶ נְשָׁמוֹת עַד סוֹף כָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת.

The Sages teach:1 “Whoever sustains one Jewish soul is considered as if he had sustained an entire world.” On this teaching, the Alter Rebbe offered the following interpretation:

When we see a fellow Jew, we should behold him in the [pristine spiritual] state in which he is conceived in the Primeval Thought of Adam Kadmon.2 On that level, the soul exists together with all the generations that will emerge from it until the coming of Mashiach, our righteous redeemer. Thus, when we do a Jew a favor, we do a favor for all those souls until the end of all the generations.3

Probing Beneath the Surface

We are often told to look at “the big picture”; that is, not to focus on the immediate situation, but on all the possible ramifications as well. Certainly, this concept holds true in our relationships with other people. Here, the Alter Rebbe is broadening our perspective by allowing us to see how truly big the picture is. The favor we do not only lightens the burden of one fellow Jew: its ripples touch generation after generation.4