NUM130 See [[GEN1081]] Genesis 20:7 intercede TOLVOL1 165

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NUM139 See [[NUM112]] Numbers 12:3 humble TOLVOL1 243

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NUM201 Because this commandment reminds us to practice all the others, the Talmud thought that "the observance of this mitzvah (tzitzit) is equivalent to the observance of all the commandments combined" (Menachot 43b). However, we should note that the Rabbis mandated the observance of tzitzit as required only for Jewish men; it seems odd, therefore, that the commandment that "is equivalent to the observance of all the commandments combined" applies to only half of the Jewish people.

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NUM213 The belief that anger is always illegitimate continues to be embraced by many religious people … there are times when anger is an appropriate response to others' cruel or otherwise wrongful behavior, and any lesser response is wrong. Among the instances of morally appropriate anger expressed by God and human beings in the Bible are the following: ● Against those who misuse their talents for evil: God is outraged at the prophet Balaam for taking money from the king of Moab to curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:22). Balaam was a man of immense spiritual and intellectual capabilities. The fact that he used these gifts in this way infuriated God. ● Against those who are ungrateful. Laban prospered from Jacob's twenty-year stewardship over his flocks, yet never thanked him. Instead he tried to lower Jacob's wages. In response, "Jacob became incensed and took up his grievance with Laban." (see Genesis 31:36 – 42). ● Against those who commit slander. Moses was outraged by the rebels Korach, Datan, and Abiram, and their false claim that he used his position to aggrandize himself [this verse]. ● Against those who mistreat the poor: the prophet Isaiah, speaking in God's Name, denounced those who oppressed society's most vulnerable members: "That which was robbed from the poor is in your houses. How dare you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?" says the Lord, God of Hosts" (Isaiah 3:14–15; see also Amos 5:21–22).● Against those who worship false gods: God is furious at King Solomon, who, in his later years, built idolatrous shrines in Israel. "The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice"(I Kings 11:9).● Against those who make false, and cruel, claims in God's Name: God is angry with Job's friends for telling him that his sufferings were sent by God (Job 42:7). That God, and people such as Jacob, Moses, and Isaiah on the express anger indicates that this emotion, when expressed properly and justly, is a moral one.

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NUM254 Excessive anger has a harmful effect not only on others, but also on ourselves. The Talmud teaches, "When a person becomes enraged, [even] if he is wise, his wisdom deserts him" (Pesachim 66b). According to the Torah, even Moses acted foolishly when angry. In the Book of Numbers, Moses becomes enraged at the Israelites with their constant whining about water. When God tells him to speak to a large rock, from which God will send water to satisfy the people's thirst, Moses disobeys God's command, and strikes it with a rod, saying, "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" [this verse] Although Moses surely did not intend it, the "we" implied that it was he and his brother Aaron (who was standing beside him), and not God, who were responsible for the miracle of the water that gushed fourth. His was a dangerous comment, and could have led the Israelites to believe that Moses himself was a god. He paid dearly for his loss of self-control, when God denied him entry into land of Israel (Numbers 20:12). Like Moses, many of us hit objects when we are angry. And, like Moses, many of us also pay dearly for the stupid things we say and do. For example, we may walk out of a relationship that should have been preserved, or refuse to reconcile with someone with whom we have had a falling out. If our wisdom deserts us when we are enraged, we must learn to hold our tongues, particularly when we are the most angry.

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NUM260 It would appear, based on several incidents described in the Bible, that it is permitted to discuss well-known cases of wrongful behavior in order to educate people not to do such things. Thus the Bible reveals negative behavior by some of its leading characters; its probable motive for doing so was to warn readers against such behavior... The Bible details for us Moses' occasional bad temper, and how it caused him to be denied entry to the land of Israel (Numbers 20:1–13). Telling us about this in the Torah can perhaps likewise be designated as a kind of "lashon hara for a purpose." ... The Talmud rules that if a matter has become known to many people, it is no longer regarded as lashon hara (Arachin 16a). [Even in such cases, we must be careful to say only what we know to be true; exaggeration still puts us in violation of the prohibition against slander (see chapter 43)]. Nonetheless, common sense suggests that when such incidents are mentioned to influence people to act more righteously, it might be best to use age-old incidents from the Bible and Talmud, rather than to cite current or recent incidents that will cause shame to the person who sinned, and to the person's family.

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NUM261 See [[NUM254]] Numbers 20:10 we TELVOL1 253

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NUM270 In addition to being the right thing to do, gratitude is also a prerequisite for happiness [I am grateful to Dennis Prager for this insight.] Consider the mindset of a grateful person: "Look what Sam did for me; he really likes me. Look how Susan helped me; she really cares about me." At the very moment that we cultivate the feeling of gratitude, we also cultivate a feeling of being loved. Conversely, what is the mindset of an ungrateful person? "The only reason Sam helped me is to make sure I'll reciprocate when he needs me. Susan spoke to so-and-so on my behalf so that she can ask me to do something for her." An ungrateful person reveals not only a suspicious and mean-spirited disposition, but how profoundly unloved she feels. Ungrateful people cannot imagine that others care enough about them to be generous with no thought of quid pro quo. Think of people you regard as ungrateful. You will quickly realize that not one of them is a happy person. How could they be, living in a world which they see as loveless and friendless? Then think of those people you know who express gratitude even for small favors. Aren't the people who come to mind among the happier people you know? The emotions most often expressed by the Israelites in the desert were annoyance and ingratitude. Thus, although God supplies them daily with food, the Israelites, angered by their diet's monotony, complain, "We have come to loathe this miserable food" [this verse]. When the demagogue Korach tries to stir up rebellion against Moses, most of the people refused to take sides between Moses--who has devoted his life to helping them--and his rival. The Talmud (Avoda Zara 5a) depicts Moses as calling the Israelites "ungrateful ones, children of ungrateful ones." As is the fate of ingrates--the Israelites--despite having witnessed more of God's glory and miracles than any nation before or since (the revelation at Sinai, the crossing of the Red Sea, the daily provision of manna)--seem, throughout their sojourn in the desert, to be petulant, untrusting, and unhappy.

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NUM282 See [[NUM213]] Numbers 16:15 aggrieved TELVOL1 259

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NUM420 From Judaism's perspective, no one can forgive a crime committed against another. Only the victim of the crime can grant forgiveness. Since he or she is no longer able to do so, that means that murder is, by definition, an unforgivable act (see pages 184–185). Judaism's perspective on not forgiving murderers has long distinguished it from many of the societies among whom the Jews have lived. In the ancient world, for example, it was common for a murderer to pay a ransom to the victim's family, in return for which the family granted absolution. In repudiating this practice, the Torah ruled, "You may not except ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of a capital crime; he must be put to death" [this verse]. As Maimonides explains, "The soul of the victim is not the property [of his family members] but the property of God" ("Laws of Murder and Preservation of Life" 1:4). Thus, from Judaism's perspective, parents who forgive their child's murderer are behaving as if the child were their property. Just as they have the right to forgive a thief for stealing their television, so too, they imply, they have the right to forgive another for stealing their child's life; according to the Torah and Jewish law, however, they do not. ... The Jewish view can be summed up as follows: forgiveness is almost always a virtue, but the taking of an innocent life is an unforgivable offense.

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