EXOD634 Do not allow a sorceress to live. Sorcery (witchcraft) is a known evil that leads to many types of pitfalls and social ills. Accordingly, Hashem commands us to rid the world of all practitioners of sorcery. In His eyes, sorcery is an unwanted element in the world, for He wants the world to function according to the natural order that He instituted at the time of Creation. Those who practice sorcery seek to change the natural order.

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EXOD636 See [[EXOD896]] Exodus 23:19 cook CHINUCH 60

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EXOD638 Do not verbally abuse a convert. Do not harm a convert with your words. We are forbidden to insult or offend any Jew, but regarding converts the Torah adds a special prohibition and even repeats it. It does so because converts are more likely to suffer from verbal abuse--because while other Jews have relatives who will defend them, converts have no one. In addition, if a convert is abused verbally there is a chance that he will return to his former way of life. One must subdue his evil nature and not persecute those who cannot defend themselves and have no one to turn to for help. To this end, each of us must behave towards converts just as we behave towards any Jew. One is forbidden to verbally abuse them, to poke fun at them or insult them. We must crown ourselves with refined character traits. Behaving with warmth towards converts promotes this effort.

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EXOD670 Do not maltreat widows or orphans by means of your actions or your words. Your manner with them must be warm and pleasant at all times. In all of your dealings with them you must feel mercy towards them and treat them with kindness and pity. Widows and orphans are worn of their strength, for they have no one who will stand up for them and defend their rights as vigorously as would a husband or father. Therefore, the Torah commands us to stir up kindness and mercy in our hearts and behave towards them in a protective, upright manner, as if others are trying to harm us or make claims against us. We are obligated to have pity on them. We must argue on their behalf and search for merits for them more earnestly than we would have done had the husband or father been alive.

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EXOD688 If a poor man borrows money from you and when the time for repayment comes you know that he is unable to repay, for he is destitute, refrain from claiming your money. Fulfillment of the mitzvah and implants in our hearts kindness and mercy. Having developed these traits we become worthy of Heaven's blessings. Hashem's desire to bestow good upon us in this world and in the next will be fulfilled.

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EXOD709 Lend money to the poor according to their needs, in order to assist them and ease their suffering. This is a greater mitzvah then giving tzedakah, for someone who has not yet received tzedakah is more embarrassed to accept it than someone who has accepted it in the past. Quite possibly, a small monetary loan will help the poor person to avoid having to accept tzedakah. Hashem wants us, His creations, to become accustomed to behaving with mercy and kindness towards one another. If we cultivate these traits we become worthy of His blessings and His ever-present desire to bestow good upon us will be fulfilled. Hashem certainly possesses ample wherewithal to supply all the world's poor with their every need, but out of His great kindness He allows us His creatures, to act as His messengers and thereby merit His abundant blessings. Another reason for the mitzvah is as follows: Hashem wants the poor person to receive his livelihood from other human beings so that he suffers embarrassment, which atones for his sins--as does his having to suffice with a meager livelihood. Our Sages give us many warnings regarding this mitzvah. They say that if someone has money and refrains from lending it to the needy, he is disdained by Heaven. Hashem pushes him away, for He regards him as an abomination, and the revulsion that he causes is akin to that caused by idle worship. On the other hand, he who grabs hold of this mitzvah is beloved and pleasing to Hashem, so He shows mercy towards him and showers him with many blessings.

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EXOD732 Do not curse a nasi. It is impossible for people to live together unless they accept that one individual be their leader and everyone heeds what he says. After all, people differ greatly in their ideas and rarely see things the same way. Without a leader, a group seldom agrees on any one opinion or course of action. Such lack of harmony prevents accomplishing goals for the common good. Therefore, people must accept upon themselves that one leader will make the decisions and everyone will cooperate with what he says and do what needs to be done according to his way of thinking. The head of the Great Sanhedrin is acknowledged as the nation's guide regarding the laws and ways of the Torah. The king is the acknowledged authority on civil order. Because the leaders serve society in such beneficial ways, we cannot dispute their decisions, so we are forbidden to curse them even in private when no one hears. It is the way of the world that once someone allows himself to curse others privately, he eventually will speak out against them openly and disruptive disputes will break out.

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EXOD733 Do not curse God. Hashem separated man from the animals by bestowing upon him the power of speech. He gave man this power as a gift, for man’s good, to lift mankind above the animals. However, if a person curses Hashem he uses this gift for evil and thereby falls lower than the most disgusting vermin. His act is totally mindless. Therefore, the Torah warns us about the matter, for Hashem wants to send us only good, and any manner of speech that prevents Him from sending good to us is against His Will.

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EXOD737 You shall not curse a judge. This commandment removes from a judge any fear that those who come before him in court may curse him if he rules against them. Not preoccupied by such anxieties, judges can concentrate on understanding the facts of each case clearly and thus arrive at correct rulings. Since there are crude people who are led by their foolishness to hate judges who rule against them, this commandment serves another benefit. If the Torah did not forbid us to curse judges, people of poor character might utter such curses and having done so, they might be stirred to harm the judge in additional ways. The commandment is worded, “You shall not curse Elohim.” Although the references is to judges, included in this command is the Torah prohibition on cursing Hashem, God forbid. The Torah writes explicitly (Vayikra 24:16) that he who curses Hashem shall die. One should not ask, “Since the Torah spells out punishments for various acts, is it not superfluous for the Torah to state that those acts are forbidden?” The answer is: Were the Torah to state only the punishments, people might think that anyone willing to suffer the Torah’s punishments is free to commit the acts and he will not have violated Hashem’s will. In truth, however, the intent here is to prevent such acts from being committed. Therefore, the Torah must write explicitly that the acts are forbidden.

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EXOD744 Do not be a party to any loan that involves the charging of interest. We are forbidden to play any role in such a loan. Thus, if interest is involved, we cannot serve as guarantors or witnesses or write the legal document (the I.O.U.) that proves the loan’s existence. Having chosen Israel as His people, Hashem desires our survival and well-being. Therefore, He removes from us a stumbling block and commands that no Jew may devour his fellow Jew’s money or property little by little in a way that the borrower does not feel it until it is too late, which is the way of interest charges on loans.

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