Picking Up Muktzeh for Safety
Question
The shul I attend has some members who are not fully observant who drive there. One of them is an elderly gentleman who walks with a cane. This past Shabbos, he dropped some of his change on the floor (which is muktzeh). He was determined to retrieve it all himself. But I thought it would be a hazard for him to bend down and pick it all up, and I did it for him. Did I do the right thing? No one else seemed to notice.
Answers
Whilst I truly understand why you acted as you did it would have been better if you had not had picked up the loose change. If there was a non-Jew present (perhaps an aide for someone elderly) you could have let them know that the change needs to be picked up. If it looked to you as if he might overbalance you should have suggested that he leave the change where it is and you will pick it up for him after Shabbos.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team