LEV399 Concerning the giving of advice, we have been taught in Toras Kohanim (Kedoshim 2:14): "'Do not place an obstacle before a blind man' [this verse] [and this refers] to one who is blind in this matter.… When a person is approached for advice, whether regarding something that he takes a personal interest in or something that does not relate to him at all, he is obligated to adhere to pristine truth [and to present it] with clarity. The Torah knows very well how swindlers operate, and we are not dealing with fools whose harmful advice is well-known and obvious, but with clever people who are wicked, who give advice that appears to be truly beneficial but in actuality is not in the other party's interest to his detriment – and for the benefit of the one who is giving the advice. Because [of this concern] they said: "Although you might say,' I am giving him good advice,' this is something that is known only to you.…" How many times do people fail in these transgressions daily as their lust for profit lures them onward? In Scripture the severity of their punishment has already been spelled out (Devarim 27:18): "Cursed is he who misleads an undiscerning person." By contrast, the responsibility of an honest person is such that when someone comes to him for advice he must give him the same advice that he would himself follow, having no other end in mind, immediate or distant, than the benefit of the one who has come for the advice. And if it should happen that he sees himself as standing to lose by such advice, he should reveal this to the other party if he is able to, and if he cannot, he should excuse himself and not give any advice. Either way he should not offer advice whose end result will not be beneficial for the one who is seeking advice, unless that person is ill-meaning in his intent. In that case it is certainly a mitzvah to deceive him, and it has already been stated (Tehillim 18:27): "And with the crooked be cunning," and [the episode of] Chushai Ha'arki demonstrates this (see Shmuel II 17:5-14).

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LEV562 See [[LEV700]] Leviticus 19:18 love BLOCH 6

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LEV604 Private reproof of a peer and social protest are complex and even potentially dangerous--although valuable--types of speech. The Talmud takes the Torah's command to "Reprove your kinsman" [this verse] as the source for the notion that one must reprove a peer who is observed doing something unseemly (B. Arakhin 16b). Maimonides interprets this precept to mean that one who sees his peers sinning, or following "a path that is not good," must bring him back to the good and inform him that he is sinning (M.T. Laws of Ethics 6:7). [This verse] closes with the admonition "but incur no guilt because of him," which the Talmud interprets to mean that one must not reprove a person in a manner that causes "his face to change," that is, humiliate him, as evidenced through his changed facial complexion (B. Arakhin 16b). Maimonides takes this command a step further in ibid. 6:8, where he rules that it is forbidden to "humiliate a [fellow] Jew, and all the more so in public." Such humiliation is a "great sin" although it cannot be punished by a human court. A person must reprove another in private with gentle words, letting him know that the reproof is only for his own good (ibid. 6:7). (By Alyssa M. Gray, "Jewish Ethics of Speech")

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LEV602 [Verbal abuse is objectionable] even when it relates to a mitzvah, for Scripture states [this verse]: "Continually reprove your fellowman" – and our Sages of blessed memory commented (Arachin 16b): "Even if his face changes color? Therefore it states [this verse]: 'but do not bring a sin upon yourself [when reproving] him.'" From all of the above you can see how far–reaching this prohibition is and how harsh is its punishment.

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LEV722 See [[LEV554]] Leviticus 19:17 hate PATH 72

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LEV808 [The Sages] also said (Bava Metzia 49a): "And an accurate liquid-measure' [והין צדק] means that your no [לאו] should be accurate and your yes [הן] should be accurate.'

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LEV963 See [[EXOD463]] Exodus 20:13 steal PATH 57-8

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LEV981 Verbal abuse in general means [that it is forbidden] to speak in the presence of another in a manner that will embarrass him. [This prohibition] applies with even greater force if you say something directly to embarrass him or act in a manner that will cause him embarrassment.… They [our Sages] have already stated (Bava Metzia 58b): "Verbal abuse is worse than [even] monetary abuse [deceit], for regarding the former it states (Vayikra 25:17): 'And you shall be afraid of your God,' whereas regarding the latter [this verse] it does not say 'And you shall be afraid of your God.'" And of course this [sin] is compounded when it is done publicly, for we have explicitly been taught (Pirkei Avos 3:11): "He who publicly embarrasses another has no share in the world-to-come."

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LEV988 Take a look at the matter of fraud and observe how easy it is for a person to be enticed and to succumb to it. For while it may appear worthwhile to a person to make his goods appear more attractive to people, and to profit by the labor of his own hands, [and] to be persuasive when speaking to the buyer, and [to justify] these practices by saying: "A vigorous person profits" (Pesachim 50b), "And the hand of the diligent prospers" (Mishlei 10:4), [He would be wise] to assess his conduct carefully and frequently, for otherwise, "In the place of wheat will grow brier" (Iyov 31:40). He will violate and succumb to the transgression of fraud that the Torah has forbidden us [this verse]: "And no man may abuse his fellowman." (Continued at. [[DEUT468]] Deuteronomy 25:16 fraudulently PATH 61)

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LEV1010 See [[LEV981]] Leviticus 25:14 wrong PATH 69

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