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LEVITICUS — 19:14 I

LEV390 … the Sifra (88d) has this comment on [this verse]: Lest you plead: "I meant well, giving him only friendly advice", the divine warning is that since you advance your motives as a defence, God knows what is in your hearts. This is the reason why the phrase "I am the Lord your God" acts as a refrain almost to every command in this chapter of Holiness.

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LEVITICUS — 19:14 I

LEV391 [Continued from [[DEUT182]] Deut. v. 18 covet LERHMAN 316-17] The many laws (especially in Leviticus xix) "not to hate our brother in our heart"; "not to curse the deaf"; "not to place stumbling-blocks before the blind"; not to take a mean advantage of the ignorance of another, end with the stern reminder "I am the Lord thy God". The deaf and the blind may be unaware of our malicious intention, but He who knows all, will in due course exact severe punishment for such double-dealing. A medieval teacher summed up this stress on sincerity of intention and action succinctly when he explained the verse: "And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Exodus iii. 2). The two Hebrew words for "in a flame of fire" are Belabbat aish, implying that God wishes us to perform all our duties as His witnesses sincerely and eagerly, with a heart (lev) aflame for righteousness. To illustrate this thought, take the conspicuous part allotted to charitable acts. It has been explained that the reason why the middle one of the three Matzot at the Seder table is broken in two (Yahatz), is to indicate that our aim as Jews should be to halve another's sorrows by practical sympathy and by sharing with him the blessings that a good fortune has brought our way.

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LEVITICUS — 19:14 insult

LEV395 The midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 24:7) says that each time you embarrass another human being you also diminish God Himself, the creator of that human being, who is created in God's image (Gen. 1:27). … the first commandment in [this verse] is "You shall not curse a deaf person." Here, it is difficult to understand what kind of harm can come to a deaf person who is cursed since he or she will not hear, and no one will know or get hurt by this curse. But if the reason is viewed in the context of the midrash referred to earlier, it can be perfectly understood. While the deaf person is not being harmed through the curse, the creator of that deaf person, God, is certainly diminished through the curse. By the same reasoning, Jewish law states that a person may not curse himself or herself (Mishnah, Shevuot 4:13). On the surface one may question why this should be prohibited. It is easily understandable that one may not make others feel bad, but why are you not allowed to harm yourself? Since you, too, are a creation of God, He is still diminished if you curse yourself. Even if you do not personally mind, God, your Creator, minds. For the same reason, a person may not cause harm to his or her body (Maimonides, Hilchot Rotze'ach 1:4). It really belongs to God, not to the person, and even if the person does not mind, God does mind. This reasoning, that embarrassing or hurting an individual is prohibited because it also hurts God as Creator, in no way minimizes the other reason for this prohibition--that it also causes pain to the other person.

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LEVITICUS — 19:14 insult

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.

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LEVITICUS — 19:14 Lord

LEV398 The Rabbis then ask an important question: in commanding us to love our neighbor, why must we be reminded that God is Adonai, our Lord? Four verses earlier, that command not to curse the death or put a stumbling block before the blind ends with the clause, “and you shall fear your God” (Leviticus 19:14). On that verse and several others, the Rabbis maintain that even though it is often difficult for other human beings to discern a person's real motive in doing something, God and infallibly discerns our motives, and so for all commandments involving something that is in our hearts (masur la’lev) God will unfailingly know our intentions and judges accordingly. (Sifra, Kedoshim 3:14 (on Leviticus 19:14). Based on those rabbinic comments, Rashi (1035-1104, France) undoubtedly the most famous medieval commentator on the Torah, summarizes this tenet thus: “Because a person cannot know whether he intends to do a good thing or a bad one [in giving advice to someone who iss blind about such matters], and he can pretend [to other human beings] that he intended to do a good thing, therefore the Torah says, “and you shall fear your God,” who knows your thoughts. Similarly, with regard to all other matters that are in the doer’s heart, and others cannot know [the person's intentions], the Torah says, “and you shall fear your God” (Rashi on Leviticus 19:14).

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