Crohn’s Disease & Empathy

In his Bar Mitzvah speech, one young man wrote about a mitzvah project that he organized to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of American. Crohn’s and Colitis are chronic digestive diseases that cause pain and suffering for tens of thousands of Americans. Currently there is no cure for either.

As the Bar Mitzvah boy explained, he has a friend with Crohn’s, so he organized a Bowl-A-Thon and solicited donations from local merchants, family and friends. When the Bar Mitzvah boy went to one store, the saleswoman said that according to company policy, they could not make a donation. However, she offered to purchase a $250 item with her own money and donate it. The Bar Mitzvah boy was taken aback, and smiled. The saleswoman said: “I have Crohn’s too.” All in all, this young man raised close to $3000 for the foundation, and his parents and his rabbi were very proud of him.

What struck me about this story was the power of empathy. When the Bar Mitzvah boy saw how the disease affected his friend, Crohn’s was no longer an abstract problem for someone else to deal with; now it was personal. When his empathy moved him to go to the store, the young man had an amazing encounter with a sales clerk who also had Crohn’s. Together, their empathy and understanding inspired them to give of themselves.

Empathy is hard to come by in our world. Most of the time, we seek to distance ourselves from other people, rather than putting ourselves in their shoes. We may ignore a homeless person asking for change on the street, because to look at them might force us to acknowledge their humanity. We also act without empathy when we snap at a hard-working waiter who did not bring us our food quickly enough or give grief to yard-workers or bus boys for no good reason.

Empathy is about seeing the humanity in other people. It is about realizing that we are all created betzelem elohim, in the image of God, and that the divine spark dwells in everyone. The Bible teaches that empathy is a fundamentally important trait for everyone. In the book of Exodus, God tells the Israelites to care for the orphan, the widow and the stranger, because “you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” These three categories of people were the most vulnerable in society. However, the reason for assisting the widow and orphan was not only their economic status. Due to the experience of slavery, the Israelites understood the plight of the disenfranchised. Today, we also must take up the Biblical mandate, search for those in need, put ourselves in their shoes, and find ways to help.

As I thought about the experience of the Bar Mitzvah boy and the saleswoman, I asked myself: Was it an accident that she and young man met? How did it happen that he was seeking donations to fight Chron’s and happened to solicit a saleswoman who has the disease? Perhaps this was a small miracle, a moment of Divine intervention in our world, bringing this two people together, one who is sick, and the other who is searching for a cure. Maybe this experience will inspire the young man to work hard as an adult and make a real difference fighting disease or improving the world in some way. Surely, the moment of connection, empathy and compassion that occurred when a salesclerk spent her own money to help a Bar Mitzvah boy fight a difficult disease, this experience will make a difference in both of their lives.

To join the search for a cure, visit the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation website: http://www.ccfa.org/