This parsha is filled with instructions on how to live fairly with other human beings. Some of these laws are archaic and specific to those times, but many are useful for our times. One that stands out Exodus 23:5 is that if your enemy’s donkey collapses from too much weight, it is your responsibility to help. Help your enemy? The Midrash even speaks of helping him pile up his animal as well if you see they are having difficulties. What is this about? It is about being human and recognizing we share life and problems and if we help where we can, maybe the enemy may become a friend, as goes a story of when this was done, the enemy was surprised and grateful, and then asked his opponent to join him for a shared drink. It is also about caring for other sentient beings like the struggling animal. We live in a time where almost 50% of the living species are threatened to extinction. We are responsible for caring for them too.