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LEVITICUS — 19:14 stumbling block

LEV424 The Jewish tradition demands quite a lot of someone who has harmed another person by requiring the wrongdoer to complete the process of return (teshuvah) described in Jewish sources. That process includes acknowledgment of one's wrongdoing, remorse expressed in words to the harmed party, compensation to the victim to the extent that that is possible, and, ultimately, better behavior when the same kind of situation arises again. In some ways, this is even harder than serving time in prison, for some convicts never acknowledge that they have done anything wrong, let alone try to make amends to the person they have hurt. Once a person has completed the process of teshuvah, however, [Mishnah, Bava Metzia 4:10 [58b] demands that people in society not even mentioned the person’s former troubles with the law, for that would be to engage in oppressive speech. Why? Because one would label the person by his or her former offense, undermine and distrust the process of return, and deny the person the possibility of writing his or her former wrong and taking on a new, better identity--writing a new personal script, as it were. This Mishnah thus starkly contrast with the practice in many American states, where former convicts have to list their convictions on any job application, are ineligible to apply for any government job, and, in a few states, lose the right to vote. As we saw earlier with regard to negative but true speech, however, there is an exception to this rule. If the person applies for a job that entailed the dealing with situations similar to the one in which he or she committed the offense and this would tempt him or her to do the same thing again, people who know of the person's past may describe the offense, and potential employers may refuse to take the chance of exposing the person to the same temptations again. In fact, such people have a duty to take these steps to protect other people and even the applicant, for the Rabbis interpret “do not place a stumbling block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14) to include not only those who are physically blind but those who are morally blind as well. (B. Pesachim 22b; B. Mo’ed Katan 17a; B. Bava Metzia 75b). So, for example, people may tell potential employers at a school, camp, or youth group that they should not hire a given person because he or she has abused children in the past.

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LEVITICUS — 19:16 idly-by

LEV490 “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:16). “Our Rabbis taught: how do we know that one who sees that someone [literally, “his friend,” haveiro] is drowning in the river or that a wild animal is dragging him or that highway robbers are attacking him is obliged to save him? Because the Torah says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.”—But is it derived from that verse? Is it not rather derived from “And you shall restore him to himself” Deuteronomy 22:2)?--From that verse I might think that it is only a personal obligation, but that he is not bound to take the trouble of hiring men [if he himself cannot save the victim]; therefore, the verse [Leviticus 19:16] teaches that he must [also spend his money to hire others, if necessary].-- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 73a. Furthermore, the duty to strive to heal takes precedence over all but three of the other commandments: “With regard to all transgressions in the Torah except for idolatry, sexual licentiousness, and murder, if enemies say to a person, “Transgress and then you will not be killed,” the person must transgress and not be killed. What is the reason? “And you shall live by them [My commandments]” (Leviticus 18:16) [implies] that he should not die by them [Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 74a).

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LEVITICUS — 19:16 talebearer

LEV519 In the Middle Ages, when the mail system expanded, Rabbenu Gershon (c. 960-1028, Germany) issued a decree prohibiting mail carriers and others from reading other people's mail lest they learn trade secrets or spread gossip, thus violating the prohibition of talebearing (this verse). According to the decree, violators would be subject to excommunication, even if they did not publicize the improperly read letter. He thus recognized privacy as an important value in its own right, apart from its importance in protecting people from harm. (Finkelstein (1924), 31, 171 ff. 18, 189. Encyclopedia Talmudit 7:153, nn. 877-904 at Herem d'Rabbenu Gershom (Hebrew), cites Ashkenazic and Sephardic codes and responsa that adapted and extended Rabenu Gershom's mail decree.

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LEVITICUS — 19:16 talebearer

LEV533 The Hebrew word for gossip comes from the root rokhel, which means a peddler. Gossips spread news about people, just as peddlers hock their wares. Even though gossip, by definition, consists of truths about other people--or, at least, with the speaker thinks is true-- and even though the speaker tells of matters that do not in and of themselves degrade the person being described, nevertheless the Torah forbids spreading gossip: “Do not spread tales (lo talekh rakhil) among your people” (Leviticus 19:16). Unfortunately, the Torah is not clear about what it is prohibiting. What, then, is gossip, and how does it differ from ordinary conversations in which friends sometimes describe what other people are doing? The Mishnah identifies at least one aspect of gossip that is interdicted, and it quotes a verse from the Torah and another from the Book of Proverbs that uses the same Hebrew phrase (holekh rakhil) to make its point: “How do we know that when one of the judges leaves the court, he may not say [to the litigant who lost the case], “I voted to acquit you, but my fellow judges made you liable. What could I do, given that my colleagues outnumbered me?” On such speech the Torah says, “Do not spread tales among your people,” and the Bible says, “One who spreads tales reveals secrets [but a trustworthy soul keeps a confidence]” (Proverbs 11:13). -- Mishnah, Sanhedrin 3:7. Maimonides expands on this example when he offers a more general definition of gossip and describes its consequences: “One who spreads rumors about someone else violates the negative commandment, “Do not spread tales among your people” (Leviticus 19:16). And even though we do not whip a person who violates this negative commandment [despite the fact that flogging is the usual punishment for violating a negative commandment], nevertheless it is a great sin and causes the killing of many souls of Israel. Therefore, this part of the verse is juxtaposed to the next part, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your brother.” Go and learn from what happened to Do’eg the Adumean [whose disclosure of information to Saul led to the killing of eight-five innocent men and their wives and children: 1 Samuel 22, 23]. What is a talebearer? It is someone who claims things and goes from one person to another, saying: “This is what so-and-so said,” and “This is what I heard about so-and-so.” Even if it is true, such speech destroys the world. -- Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Law of Ethics (De’ot) 7:1-2. ... The lesson, then, is that one must beware what hearers will make of information about another person, even when it is true and even when the speaker intends no ill. This is especially true when in the company of people one does not know well, where the less said about other people, the better. The more one knows the listener, the more one can share about family and friends, and so normal conversation with such people is fine. Frictions often exist, though, even among family and friends, and so even in that context one must tailor one’s remarks to the listener in order to avoid bad consequences for the person described.

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LEVITICUS — 19:17 reprove

LEV603 All Jews are responsible for each other (Babylonian Talmud, Shavu’ot 39a). Hillel says: “Do not separate yourself from the community” (Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 2:4). The thick sense of community that is articulated in these sources, where every Jew is responsible for one another and may not separate himself or herself from the community, where one is to see one's fellow Jew as a member of one's extended family, has many implications. As the last chapter indicates, it is this strong communal sense that is one of the rationales for providing for the Jewish poor. It is also a key element in the Talmud’s requirement to establish schools to educate everyone's children. “Rabbi Judah said in the name of Rav: “Rabbi Joshua ben Gamla should be remembered for good, for had it not been for him the Torah would have been forgotten in Israel. For at first, the boy who had a father was taught Torah by him, while the boy who had no father did not learn. Later, they appointed teachers of boys in Jerusalem, and the boys who had fathers were brought by them [to the teachers] and were taught; those who had no fathers were still not brought. Then they ordered that teachers should be appointed in every district, and they brought to them lads of the age of sixteen or seventeen. And when the teacher was cross with any of the lads, the lad would kick at him and run away. So then Rabbi Joshua ben Gamla ordered that teachers should be appointed in every district and in every city and that the boys should be sent to them at the age of six or seven years” (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 21a ). As discussed in chapter 2, this thick sense of community is also the basis for making each of us responsible for rebuking others when they have done something wrong, thus doing one's part to ensure that the community is a just one. “Do not hate your brother in your heart. Reprove your kinsman so that you do not bear a sin with regard to him (Leviticus 19:17). “Whoever is able to protest against the wrongdoings of his family and fails to do so is punished for the family's wrongdoings. Whoever is able to protest against the wrongdoings of his fellow citizens and does not do so is punished for the wrongdoings of the people of his city. Whoever is able to protest against the wrongdoings of the world and does not do so is punished for the wrongdoings of the world (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 54b).

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LEVITICUS — 19:17 reprove

LEV613 The respect demanded by the Jewish tradition for each and every human being does not mean that we must accept everything that anyone does. After all, the Torah is filled with laws that categorize certain forms of human behavior as prohibited and others as required, and if Jews fail to abide by those laws, the Torah demands, “Reprove your kinsman and no guilt because of him” (Leviticus 19:17). But that reproof must be given in private so as not to disgrace the person in public, and it must be done constructively and with respect for the ultimate human dignity inherent in each of us. The Torah applies this even to someone who is to be flogged for violating a negative commandment: “He may be given forty lashes, but not more, lest being flogged further, to excess, your brother be degraded before your eyes” (Deuteronomy 25:3). Certainly, then, in everyday speech we must respect the dignity of each person by avoiding defamatory speech, even if the negative information is true, and all the more if it is false. When, though, may one say something negative about someone else? Indeed, when should one do so? One may share negative information with someone else--and one should do so--when the hearer will be making practical decisions based on that information. If, for example, A has asked you to write a letter of recommendation for him or her to be sent to B, a potential employer, you have a duty to be honest about A’s qualifications for the job as you see them. … (Continued at [[DEUT623]] Deuteronomy 13:7 entices DORFFWITO 84-5)

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