LEV394 Some people may (wrongly) feel that they can feel better about themselves by putting other people down. While this may temporarily make a person feel better, at the end of the day, every person knows his or her true value and worth. Just as you were created in the image of God with some Godliness inside of you, so too is every other person (Genesis 5:1). Based on this verse, the Midrash says that even if you feel that others have put you down and therefore you feel you have the right to also put others down, you may not do so (Midrash, Beraishit Rabbah 24:7). Since everyone has some Godliness inside, not only is this not the correct manner in which to behave, but by doing so, you are also putting down God Himself in the process. Logically, a person may reason that by hurting the other person, his or her own self-worth will be enhanced. But that is not how it works in Jewish law and in life. Thus, it is forbidden to curse oneself (since each person is a being with Godliness inside), and a Jew may not curse others if he or she feels they have been wronged (Mishna Shavuot 4:13). Even if the person being cursed will not find out about it, it is still forbidden to do so (see the chapter, "Putting Others Down" for deeper analysis of this idea). That is why the Torah forbids you to curse a deaf person, even though the deaf person will never hear those terrible words [this verse]. First, each person knows what he or she has done, and the verse ends with the phrase, "You shall fear God, I am God" to demonstrate that God also knows. In addition, the person who curses has diminished God, once again, by cursing one of His creations. In summary then, one is not only forbidden to put others down, but it will never enhance that person's self-esteem in the long run.