LEV469 See [[LEV301]] Leviticus 19:3 "I" ISSACS 7-8

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LEV473 [Continued from [[LEV720]] Leviticus 19:18 vengeance AHAVCH 27-8.] If the person who asks for a loan is liable to be in danger if his request is refused, if he needs the money to prevent robbers attacking him, then whoever refuses to help in such a case would violate the additional prohibition of [this verse]: "Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor." Here we have been warned against remaining indifferent to our friend when his life is in danger and we have the means to save him in one way or another. Furthermore according to the Mechilta (cited by the Rambam in his Sefer Hamitzvoth No. 297), this prohibition also applies to the case where one is aware of something which might cause loss to his neighbor and he is able to help prevent it. If he fails to help, he commits the transgression. This applies in our case too. If one knows that his friend, rich or poor, is liable to incur a substantial loss (as happens nowadays when a loan falls due, as is well known), and by a loan given now he can save his friend, then if he fails to help he violates this prohibition.

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LEV472 … how great is the reward granted by God, may He be blessed, to one who does visit the poor, sick man, who does advise him how to act, and who encourages him not to abandon hope. For see, Chazal have described the greatness of the reward just for visiting--it is even greater for one who also, in the same act, fulfills the mitzvah of tzedakah and of saving a life, and who also reassures and encourages the patient with his conversation. He will be blessed in many important respects by Hashem, may He be blessed, as has Chazal made clear (Bava Bathra 10a): "Whoever reassures the poor will receive eleven blessings." Indeed in many communities the practice has now been adopted of forming a Bikkur Cholim Society for the purpose of caring for these unfortunate souls when they are ill, to see that they receive proper medical attention, proper food and all other necessities. How commendable would it be were this the universal practice, especially since human life is often involved! Whoever shuts his eyes against this duty transgresses [this verse]: "Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor." Happy is the man who sets his mind and heart on the sufferings of these crushed people. Of him, it is said (Psalm 41:2): "Happy is he that considers the poor; Hashem will deliver him in the day of evil." The poor mentioned here are the sick, as I have explained. And the reference is even more appropriate to the sick who are poor, and therefore doubly crushed.

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LEV470 … each and every person created has the same infinite value, just as each and every person is unique. Thus, each developmentally disabled person indeed has infinite value in Judaism and has the same value as any other person. The obligation to violate the Shabbat and save a life applies equally to developmentally disabled people as well as to anyone else (Biur Halachah on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 329:4). Similarly, the obligation to save the life of someone in danger [this verse] applies equally to developmentally disabled people as to any other person, as the Talmud makes no distinctions (Sanhedrin 73a). This is why developmentally disabled males over the age of bar mitzvah are counted for a minyan. Similarly, the Shulchan Aruch rules (Ramah on Shulchan Aruch, Even Ha'ezer 1:6) that parents of a shoteh have fulfilled their obligation for procreation like any other parents.

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LEV474 [Many] sources point to the legitimacy of self-defense in Jewish thought and affirm the general concept of "if someone comes to slay you, you should slay him first" (Sanhedrin 72a). The concept of self-defense is extended even further in Judaism. Not only is a threatened person permitted to "take the law into his own hands" and kill the intruder or person threatening his life, but onlookers are also given permission to do the same, especially when the threatened person is unable to do it himself. Jewish law not only allows an onlooker to kill the attacker but commands the onlooker to take action (Sanhedrin 73a), based on [this] verse that a person may not stand by while his brother's blood is being spilled. Therefore, it is clear that the person whose life is threatened with attack must be protected, either by the person himself or by anyone who is in a position to prevent the loss of life.

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LEV479 If a senile parent, living in his or her own home or in a child's home, tends to wander outside in the streets alone and get lost easily, what is a child to do? Similarly, if the senile individual begins to light or cause fires in the kitchen, how should a child or other relative react? The answer is found in another important concept in Judaism, the concept of relating to danger. It is a biblical mitzvah (Deuteronomy 4:9 and 4:15) to protect oneself from any possible danger. Therefore, a person is not permitted to risk his or her life or the life of anyone else with a likely or even a potential fire in the house. Similarly, one is not permitted by standing by and doing nothing to allow someone else to risk his or her life by wandering the neighborhood or lighting fires, especially someone who has no understanding [this verse]. Therefore, it is clear that when there is potential danger to the household, any responsible person cannot permit the situation to continue. The senile person must be removed from the house and put in the place or situation where the risk of danger has been eliminated. When it comes to danger or even potential danger, Judaism is very strict, and, therefore, the Talmud says (Chullin 10a) that a situation of danger is more strict than Jewish law itself. Therefore, a Jew must be especially careful in removing or eliminating any possible dangerous situation.

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LEV486 The political systems in today's societies are most usually described in terms of the rights of every individual vis-à-vis the other individuals in the society, as well as the individual's rights vis-à-vis the government. Judaism, on the other hand, in addition to rights, also discusses the obligations of the individual to other individuals in this society and the obligations of the individual to the government. ... Regrettable as it might be, there is no law by which someone who stands by and does nothing can be prosecuted when he or she witnesses a crime or an injustice. But Jewish law and Judaism take an entirely different view. A Jew has legal responsibility to help someone in trouble, and it is a Torah violation if he or she stands by and does nothing. The Bible clearly states that one shall not stand idly while his brother's blood is being shed [this verse]. One may not allow a person to drown if one has the ability to save the person drowning. ... Even [a] non-swimming onlooker would be obligated to call someone to help. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 73a) discusses the entire issue, based on [this] Biblical verse, and concludes that it is an obligation to help someone in any kind of trouble, even to the point of preventing his death by killing the potential killer. Maimonides has codified this obligation (Hilchot Rotze'ach 1:15) ... According to the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 426:1), even a person who withholds information that could help someone else violates Jewish law. ... A person may not even pass by a lost object and refuse to pick it up. Judaism obligates the Jew to pick up the object and try to return it to its owner (see chapter "Returning Lost Objects") (Deuteronomy 22:1-3).

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LEV480 In survey after survey, individuals are asked if he or she is "a good person," and more than ninety-five percent of the respondents respond that they think of themselves as basically good. Even though they may regularly lie and not help others in need, they still believe they are good. How is that possible? This phenomenon occurs because most people tend to believe that as long as they do not do anything truly evil and do not commit a major crime, they are good. Does that concur with the Jewish definition of goodness? King David outlines the formula for Jewish goodness, saying that it is a two-step process. First a person has to reject and desist for doing all evil actions, but that is not enough. After rejecting evil, the person must actively do moral acts and help others. Only then is that individual considered to be a good person (Psalms 34:13,15). This is also reflected in the Mishna, which says that if the person does nothing to help or hurt others ("What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours"), at most he is considered a mediocre person, but certainly not a good person (Mishna Avot 5:10). Another opinion equates this person with the evil values of Sodom. Thus, doing no evil is certainly not enough to be considered good in Judaism. In actuality, doing nothing is more than just being "neutral" in Jewish thought. In the twentieth century, Edmund Burke stated that, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that a few good men do nothing." But long before Burke, the Torah and Jewish law considered it a sin to do nothing when anyone in need can be helped (this verse; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 426:1). In fact, Judaism is the only legal system in the world in which a person can be punished and it is considered a crime if he or she does nothing when in a situation to stop evil actions. Thus, from the Jewish perspective, not being a bad person does not render an individual a good human being.

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LEV481 In the United States, there are laws directing a person's reaction to the sexual abuse of a child. Every state has a law mandating "professionals"--including doctors, nurses, therapists, welfare personnel, and teachers--to report such abuse, but only in three states is failure to report considered a felony. In thirty-nine states, not reporting the sexual abuse of children is only a misdemeanor. Eighteen states have a law requiring non-professionals to report such an act, with no specification for those failing to report. In contradistinction, the attitude and ruling about this crime in Judaism is very definitive. Not acting and/or not reporting is a clear sin, and reporting the molestation of a child fulfills one of the 613 Commandments in the Torah, as Judaism forbids any person, not only professionals, from standing by and doing nothing [this verse]. Maimonides records this law with specific examples, including any sexual acts against a person's will (Maimonides, Hilchot Rotze'ach 1:15). In addition to reporting, a Jew's first obligation is to prevent an imminent act from occurring, or stopping an act that he or she witnesses. The Code of Jewish Law goes one step further and even requires a Jew to hire others to stop the act if the witness cannot do it by himself (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 426:1). This applies to any situation in which one person is harming another person, but certainly when the victim is a defenseless child.

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LEV482 It is a negative commandment not to refrain from rescuing one's fellow-man from danger for Scripture says, neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your brother [this verse]. For example, if someone sees another person drowning in the river, or in any other perils, he is duty-bound to save him in any way possible. Included in this is the duty to save one's fellow-man from a monetary loss: for example, if he knows that a heathen or a bandit wishes to attack his fellow, and it lies in his ability to pacify him [the outlaw], he has a duty to pacify him.

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