Bava Kamma 93A

״הנה אנכי שלח מלאך לפניך, לשמרך בדרך״.

“Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way” (Exodus 23:20), indicating that an angel was sent in place of God to guard the Jewish people.

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי, מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי: בתר מרי ניכסי ⁠– ציבי משך? אמר ליה, דכתיב: ״וגם ללוט ההלך את אברם היה צאן ובקר ואהלים״.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived by which people say: Drag wood after a property owner. In other words, help out a wealthy man even in a small way, as this may lead to your benefiting from him. Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents” (Genesis 13:5).

אמר רב חנן: המוסר דין על חבירו ⁠– הוא נענש תחילה. שנאמר: ״ותאמר שרי אל אברם: חמסי עליך״, וכתיב: ״ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה״. והני מילי דאית ליה דינא בארעא.

§ In connection with the incident of Abraham and Abimelech mentioned in the Mishnah, the Talmud quotes a related statement. R' Ḥanan says: One who passes the judgment of another to Heaven is punished first, as it is stated: “And Sarai said to Abram: My wrong be upon you, I gave my handmaid into your bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: YHWH judge between me and you” (Genesis 16:5). Sarai stated that God should judge Abram for his actions. And it is written: “And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” (Genesis 23:2), as Sarah died first. The Talmud comments: And this matter applies only in a situation where he has someone to do judgment for him on earth and has no need to appeal to the heavenly court.

אמר רבי יצחק: אוי לו לצועק יותר מן הנצעק. תניא נמי הכי: אחד הצועק ואחד הנצעק במשמע, אלא שממהרין לצועק יותר מן הנצעק.

Concerning this, R' Yitzḥak says: Woe to he who cries out to Heaven more than the one about whom he is crying out. The Talmud comments: This concept is also taught in a baraita: Both the one who cries out and the one about whom he is crying out are included in the verse discussing the cries of an orphan who is mistreated: “If you afflict them, for if they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry. My anger should wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword” (Exodus 22:22–23). But they are quicker to punish the one who cries out than the one about whom he is crying out, as in the incident with Sarai.