EXOD373 See [[LEV1107]] Leviticus 26:3 If LEHRMAN 160

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD374 See [[EXOD126]] Exodus 10:1 hardened FOJE xvi-xviii

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD375 It is well known that the measure of God's beneficence exceeds the measure of His punishment. Punishments last to the third and fourth generation; while of beneficence it is written [this verse]: "And doing kindness to the thousandth generation" as Chazal has explained (Tosefta Sotah Chap. 4). How much greater, then, is the effect if, in a specific instance, one does his neighbor a favor and through it accrues benefit to the neighbor's household and to others as well. Whatever good results from his act will be added to his credit when he is to receive his reward. Once man reflects on this, he will strive to help his neighbor in every way possible.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD376 See [[EXOD296]] Exodus 18:20 way AHAVCH 26

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD377 The virtues of solitude and the ill effects of association with fools. When a person's soul longs for the company and comraderie of other people, he should reflect on the virtues of solitude and separation from others, and on the ill effects of associating with fools when this is not absolutely necessary. Among the ill effects of companionship with them is ... false and trivial oaths, of which the Creator has said: “God will not allow it to go unpunished” (Shemos 20:7). A pious man once said to his disciples, “The Torah has permitted us to swear truthfully in God's Name; but I advise you not to swear by His Name [at all], either truthfully or falsely. Just say, ‘It is so,’ or ‘It is not so.’” … Another “[consequence of their company] is the obligation to enjoin right conduct and warn against evil, as we were commanded by the Creator when He said: “You must reprove your fellow” (Vayikra 19:17). We are obligated to object to evil in three ways: (1) by striking it with the hand, as manifested in the incident of Zimri and Kazbi; (2) by objecting in words, as Moshe [our Master] did when he said to the wrongdoer, “Why are you striking your fellow?” (Shemos 2:13); and (3) by [objecting] in one's heart, as David, peace be upon him, said: “I hate a crowd of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked” (Tehillim 26:5). If one can intercede with force and does not do so, he is delinquent. If he cannot intercede with force, he should object verbally. And if he cannot object verbally, he should object in his heart. Thus we are bound to object to evildoers under all circumstances, as the uneducated inevitably fall short of filling their duty. When you are alone, however, you are undoubtedly excused from the duty to enjoin good and warn against evil, which is a duty difficult duty to fulfill and discharge, as our Sages, of beloved memory, said: “I doubt if there is anyone in this generation who can accept reproof ... I doubt if there is anyone in this generation who knows how to reprove.” (Arachin 16b).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD378 If a beis din requires one to take an oath, and that person knows that he has spoken falsely, he must not accept upon himself to take such an oath, declaring, "I will swear"--without any real intention to swear--[merely] in order to intimidate the defendant [i.e., it is forbidden for one to make the pretense of swearing merely to intimidate the defendant into capitulation], as the pasuk says [this verse], "You shall not bear," for this also implies that you must not be willing to accept upon yourself an oath that is in vain. So said our Sages, z"l, (Mechilta 20:7; [similarly,] the Targum of "Do not bear a false report" (Exodus 23:1) is, "Do not accept" [As we have seen in paragraph 42, this is a prohibition not to accept lashon hara from another. Rabbeinu Yonah is proving from the Targum that "to bear" means to accept.] It is[further] forbidden to swear in vain, although he may be swearing truthfully, as the pasuk says [Ibid. 20:7), "You shall not bear the Name of Hashem, your God, in vain"; the Targum of ["in vain"] is "for no reason." Similarly, one who causes another person to swear in vain has committed a grave sin.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD380 See [[EXOD372]] Exodus 20:5 zealous GATES 221

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD379 In most translations of the Bible, this verse (which begins, "Lo tissa …") is rendered as "you shall not take God's Name in vain," and people often are taught that this commitment means that it is blasphemous to utter God's name in a curse, or that they must write God as God. But the Hebrew word tissa means "carry," and what the verse seems to forbid is using (i.e., carrying) "God's Name" to justify selfish and/or evil behavior. For example, during the 19th-century, it was common for American Southerners to justify their practice of slavery as something approved of by the Bible and by God. But even though the Torah permitted slavery, it hedged it with many restrictions that were ignored and violated in the South, restrictions that made biblical slavery very different from that practiced in 19th-century America. ... Therefore, when Southern clergy tried to justify their practice of slavery with a claim that the Hebrew Bible (what Christians refer to as the Old Testament) and God would have approved of their behavior, they "carried" God's Name in vain, and associated God with heinous acts. From Judaism's perspective, it is a Chillul Hashem [profanation of God's Name-AJL] to associate God with evil; that may well be why God announces that He cannot forgive those who violate the Third Commandment ("the Lord will not clear one who carries His Name in vain"; this verse] The reason would seem to be obvious: when we commit evil acts such as murdering or stealing, we discredit ourselves, but when we do evil in God's Name, we discredit God and alienate people who might otherwise have become drawn to God and religion.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD384 It is a negative commandment not to swear in vain as Scripture says, You shall not take the name of Hashem your God in vain [this verse]. A vain oath is divided into four categories: (1) If one swears to a change in something known; for example, if he swears about a man that he is a woman, or about a stone that it is gold. (2) If he swears to no purpose; for example, he takes an oath about a stone that it is a stone. (3) If he takes an oath to fail to observe a mitzvah. (4) If he swears to do something which is impossible to fulfill; for example, that he will not sleep for three days in a row, or that he will taste no food for seven days in a row. Over every one of these oaths, if he swore it willfully, he should receive whiplashes; and if it was unwitting, he is free of penalty. If someone says a benediction in vain [needlessly] or he utters the name of Heaven [God] to no purpose, he violates the injunction, You shall not take the name, etc.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD382 Do not swear needless oaths. There are four types of such oaths. 1) One denies a self-evident fact (e.g. he swears that a rock is a bird). 2) One attests to a self-evident fact (e. g. swears that a rock is a rock). 3) One swears that he will not perform a mitzvah. 4) One swears to do the impossible (e.g. he will not sleep for three days). We must know and impress upon our awareness that whenever we utter the great and holy Name of Hashem, we must do so with fear, awe and trepidation, for we are saying the Name of the Unique and Almighty God. Hashem forbids needless mention of His Name. Fulfilling this command (i.e., Refraining from needless oaths) will help us better appreciate the significance of uttering His Name, so that fear and awe of Him will be in our hearts and on our faces.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT