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EXODUS — 20:12 honor

EXOD425 Many of the sources, particularly the medieval mystical sources, expand on a statement in the Talmud that finds one more individual to whom the obligation to honor parents directly extends, i.e., God. For the mystics, the essence of the person is the soul, though the person is a composite of body and soul. The human parents create the body of the child while God creates the essence, the soul of the child. Therefore, God is the primary parent, the essential parent, the ultimate parent, the parent of all parents. In this view, discussed in …Nahmanides' Commentary to the Torah [on this verse], honoring the parent is considered a commandment applicable primarily to God, and only by extension to the human parent. See Niddah 31a; Zohar 1:49, 3:219b--Raya Mehemma on Leviticus 19:3.

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EXODUS — 20:13 steal

EXOD466 Integrity means doing what one says, being what one speaks. It means being true to others, but also to oneself. Self-deception is a common human inclination; integrity is it antidote. … self-deception is a major roadblock in the creation of one's life as a work of art. Just as one is proscribed from deceiving others in word or deed, one is enjoined not to deceive one's own self. In this regard the Hasidic master, Bunam of Przysucha, was asked: Who is a hasid, who is pious? He answered: One who goes above the requirements of the law. The questioner asked: What is the law? The rabbi replied: It is forbidden to deceive one's neighbor. And what is going above the letter of the law? Not deceiving one's own self. Rabbi Bunam's disciple, Mendel of Kotsk, interpreted the commandment "You shall not steal" (this verse) as including a prohibition against stealing from one's own self. See Heshel, A Passion for Truth (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973). According to Isaac Aboab, the admonition against lying extends to self-deception. He wrote, "There are other matters that fall under the heading of falsehood; for example, when a person praises himself for having virtues he does not possess." Aboab, Isaac, Menorat Ma'or. (Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1961). sec. 2, p. 103.

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EXODUS — 21:15 strikes

EXOD558 The underlying principle here is that a child is obliged to take pains not to distress a parent either physically or emotionally. Rather a child is obliged to try to provide his or her parents with happiness and with joy (Proverbs 15:20): "A wise son makes his father happy; A fool of a man humiliates his mother." According to one commentator, a reason one should not injure one's parents is because, in doing so, one injures oneself. Since one's parents are one's own "flesh and blood," since one's soul is "bound up" with that of one's parents, to cause injury to them is to cause injury to oneself. In this view, harming one's parents is a form of masochism. Moses Hafetz, Malekhet Mahshevet to Leviticus 20:9. A similar motif is also expressed by Abravanel. He wrote, "The benefit [of honoring parents] extends to the child who honors them. As he honors his parent so will he be honored in turn by his own children, for as one treats others so will he be treated by others." Abravanel on Deuteronomy 5:16.

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EXODUS — 22:24 interest

EXOD694 Commenting on this law, Rashi notes that the Hebrew word for interest (neshekh) is related to the word for bite (neshikhah). In Rashi's words: "Neshekh" means interest since it is like the bite (neshikhah) of a snake, which bites making a small wound on one foot which he does not feel, but certainly it blows up as far as his head. So with interest--one does not feel it and it is not at first noticeable until the interest increases and causes one to lose much money. Rashi to Exodus 22:24.

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EXODUS — 22:26 cries

EXOD726 He who gives alms to a poor man with a hostile countenance and with his face averted to the ground, loses his merit and forfeits it, even if he gave us as much as a thousand gold coins. He should rather give with a friendly countenance and joyfully. He should commiserate with the recipient and his distress, as it is said, "If I have not wept for him that was in trouble, and if my soul grieved not for the needy?" (Job 30:25). You should also speak to him in prayerful and comforting words, as it is said, "And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy" (Job 29:13). If a poor man asks you for alms and you have nothing to give him, comfort him with words.

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EXODUS — 23:1 false

EXOD748 Gossips maybe divided into six categories. The first is he who speaks evil of people and says, "This did they do," when in fact they did not do so, and at times he will slander and honorable an innocent person--in which case he is both a liar and a gossip. And we have been warned by the Torah not to accept gossip because it may be false, as it is said, "You shall not utter a false report" (this verse). And one who speaks gossip, will also be quick to accept gossip. And you should know that if one who hears gossip endorses what he has heard, then he is just as guilty as the gossiper. For all who hear that he agreed, will say, "Since he endorses it, it must be true." And even if he does not agree, but simply listens intently to the words, and appears to believe them, in the presence of people, he causes others to believe them too, and thus he helps the gossiper. For if he were to scold the gossiper, then he might restrain him from telling more, but since he pays attention and shows that he is interested, he causes him to speak even more gossip. And, behold, we have been warned by the verse, "You shall not utter a false report" that we should not believe a gossip story in our hearts, for this would leave a strong imprint in our thoughts that the words are true and cause us to despise the object of the gossip. (Sefer Orhot Zaddikim--The Ways of the Righteous). [Continued at [[LEV1004]] Leviticus 25:17 wrong HTBAJ 206].

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LEVITICUS — 19:3 revere

LEV307 For the mystics, the essence of the person is the soul, though the person is a composite of body and soul.  The human parents create the body of the child, while God creates the essence, the soul of the child.  Therefore, God is the primary parent, the essential parent, the ultimate, parent, the parent of all parents.  In this view, honoring the parent is considered a commandment applicable primarily to God, and only by extension to the human parent.  Niddah 31a; Zohar 1:49, 3:219b. See also Nahmanides on Exodus 20:12.  For this reason, when there is a conflict between obeying one’s human parent and obeying God’s commandments, one is obliged to observe the divine commandment and to ignore the commandment of the human parent.  Sifra on Leviticus 19:3 HTBAJ 166

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LEVITICUS — 19:16 talebearer

LEV532 The demand to protect confidential matters applies not only to public authorities like judges but to private individuals as well. The Torah prohibits spreading not only falsehoods about other people (sheker, "lying") [this verse] but also true facts about someone else that they have no need to know--in other words, rekhilut (gossip) [Leviticus 19:16]. The Talmud takes this further, insisting that even if there is no harm intended or anticipated, a person may not reveal a private conversation to an outside party, unless the original speaker gives explicit permission to do so. B. Yoma 4b. This rule restricts the information shared even with a spouse. Indeed, in marriage one may and should keep some of one's own thoughts or actions to oneself, for despite the physical and emotional intimacy of the relationship, married people continue to need and deserve a degree of privacy. People clearly have the duty to inform their spouses about anything that will have an impact on their lives in the present or future, but when there are no such practical implications, spouses should not be told or reminded of past actions or of present or past thoughts that will only upset them. For that matter, as a general rule, spouses have no obligation to tell each other everything they have done or thought and, conversely, they do have the right to be downright uninterested in some aspects of the other's life. Some things, even in marriage, may and should remain private with the individual.

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LEVITICUS — 19:17 hate

LEV566 The harm caused by rechilus [(In Hebrew, רכילות, i.e., gossipmongering. For lack of a better word, we have translated רוכל as gossipmongering. A רוכל is one who spreads information that causes ill will and hatred (See Chafetz Chaim, Hilchos Rechilus 1:2-3)] cannot be calculated – it is inestimable – for it increases hatred within the world and causes people to violate what is written in the Torah [this verse], "You must not hate your brother in your heart." The world subsists on peace, and because of hatred the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve [into nothingness][Tehillim 75:4; See also Avos 1:18], as we have already prefaced] (See paragraph 39). Often the gossipmonger places a sword in his fellowman's hand to kill another, as the pesukim state (Yechezkel 22:9), "Gossipmongering men were among you, to shed blood," and (Yirmeyahu 6:28), "They are all the greatest of rebels, gossipmongers; [like weapons of] brass and iron, they all destroy." Our sages (Yerushalmi Pe'ah 1:1) called rechilus "three-tongue," [This is what it was called in Eretz Yisrael (Arachin 15b)], since it kills three people: the speaker, the one who accepts it, and the one spoken about, as you know from the episode of Do'eg, who was cast out as a result of [speaking] it (He lost his share in the World to Come) (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:2; Tehillim 52:7); the Kohanim [of Nov] were killed; and Shaul was punished for accepting it (He died in battle (I Shmuel 31:6; see Shemiras Halashon, Sha'ar Hazechirah 4).)

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