Commentary for Berakhot 12:25
ר' אמי ור' אסי דאמרי תרוייהו כאילו נדון בשני דינים אש ומים שנאמר (תהלים סו, יב) הרכבת אנוש לראשנו באנו באש ובמים:
R. Ammi and R. Assi both say : [The man who needs help from his fellow-creatures] is as though he were sentenced to two penalties, viz., fire and water; as it is said, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads, we went through fire and water" (ibid. lxvi. 12).
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
The Grace after meals includes the petition, "We beseech Thee, O Lord our God, let us not be in need either of the gifts of flesh and blood or of their loans, but only of Thy helping hand, ...so that we may not be ashamed nor confounded for ever and ever" (Singer, p. 281). Cf. "Make thy Sabbath [table] like that of a week-day, but be not dependent upon others" (Shab. 118a); and "Flay a carcase in the street and earn a living, and say not, I am a great man and the work is beneath my dignity" (Pesah. 113 a).
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