DEUT636 See [[DEUT634]] Deuteronomy 13:11 stone SPERO 233-4

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DEUT706 See [[EXOD549]] Exodus 21:14 neighbor SPERO 126-30

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DEUT729 See [[760]] Deuteronomy 15:9 base SPERO 139

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DEUT730 See [[DEUT381]] Deuteronomy 8:11 forget SPERO 137-8

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DEUT760 Some of the Torah's severest condemnations were reserved for acts of omission--for that insidious moral paralysis which seems to infect people and stops them from stretching forth a helping hand or seeing a kind word or picking up the lost object. "Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart" [this verse]. "Do not shut thy hand" [Deuteronomy 15:7]. "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox driven away and hide thyself from them. … Thou mayest not hide thyself" [Deuteronomy 22:1-3]. Thus the individual who refuses a loan to a needy person is guilty of violating two commandments: (1) the transgression of omission, of not lending, and (2) the transgression of hardening one's heart.

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DEUT778 See [[DEUT210]] Deuteronomy 6:5 love SPERO 96

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DEUT780 The Torah Was Aware Of Morality As Such. Another indication that the Pentateuch was aware of the special nature of a certain class of moral rules is to be found in the fact that a promise of blessing is held out for the observance of some of these commandments. For example, in connection with lending money without interest, we find the promise, "that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that Thou puttest thy hand into." In "sending forth the dam," "… that it may be well with thee and thou mayest prolong thy days." In restoring a poor man's pledge, "… and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God." In setting free the Hebrew slave with gifts, "… and the Lord thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest." In lending money to the poor prior to the Sabbatical year, "… thou shalt surely give him and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him, because for this the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works." (Deuteronomy 23:21, 22:7, 24:13, 15:18, this verse). It has been noted by Nachmanides that the promise of God's blessing after individual laws is to be found only in connection with those commandments that reflect "love and righteousness (chesed u'tzedakah) but not for observing commandments such as "Thou shall not steal" or "Thou shall not deceive," which are required by the attribute of justice (See his commentary on Deuteronomy 23:20. ... he also interprets the talmudic passage in Chullin 110b ... as reflecting this principle. Since these commandments for which reward is promised involve moral concerns beyond legal rights, human courts are not to enforce them through compulsory means). The Pentateuch's usage, which consistently restricts such a locution to commandments reflecting a positive love for one's neighbor, would appear to constitute evidence of an awareness of their special character.

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DEUT784 See [[DEUT381]] Deuteronomy 8:11 forget SPERO 138

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DEUT823 … it is morally obligatory upon a person in some contexts to place the interest of his own family or of any group with which he is associated over the interests of others (See N. Samuelson in Sh'ma 7/125). This is so because morality, which deals with the appropriate behavior between persons, must not only take into consideration the essential value of the individual, but must also determine the particular relationship that exists between the individuals involved. And human relationships are varied and complex. There are parents and children, debtors and creditors, subjects and sovereign, brothers and sisters, neighbors, professional associates, countrymen, etc., and all sorts of combinations and permutations thereof. But each relationship sets up special expectations and imposes special moral obligations upon those who stand in that relationship. Thus the Mishnah rules that in a choice of benefiting father or teacher, teacher comes first, because he has done more for you (your father has given you existence in this world, but your teacher, who teaches you the Torah, brings you into the world-to-come, the world of eternal spirit. Of course, if your father has also taught you Torah, then he has priority.) Or consider the behavior expected of the owner of a Hebrew slave. On the basis of the passage, "… Because it shall be good for him with thee ...," the Talmud rules that if the owner has only one pillow, he must give it to the slave. Clearly, it is the nature of the particular relationship, master to slave, with the subservient condition of the slave (rather than the general principle of man's obligation to man), that creates a moral obligation for the owner to sacrifice his own comfort for the sake of the slave [this verse, Bava Metzia 62a; see the comments of Maharam Schiff]. Similarly, the loyalty one owes to members of one's group, be it family, neighborhood, or country, is based on a tacit "social contract" that converts all such close social groupings into mutual-aid societies of a sort.

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DEUT824 See [[DEUT780]] Deuteronomy 15:10 bless SPERO 25-6

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