DEUT486 Thus, in order to purify one's thought in the domain of corporal actions, one must continually scrutinize the base nature of the [physical] world and its pleasures, as I have written. But to purify one's thought in the type of deeds devoted to the service of the Eternal, one must expand his awareness of the delusory nature of honor and the deceptions that are connected with it, and he must train himself to flee from honor. Consequently, when he is occupied with serving the Eternal, he will be cleansed of the influence that comes from the admiration and praise of his fellows, and his thought will be directed solely to our Master, Whom we extol and Who is [the source of] all our goodness and perfection -- there is none other. Similarly, it states [this verse]: "He is your praise and He is your God."

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DEUT651 And it states (Shabbos 151b): "'That he may grant you mercy and be merciful to you' [this verse] means that Heaven is merciful to all who have mercy on their fellow creatures." This is self-evident, for the Holy One blessed be He operates with the principle of "measure for measure," and one who is merciful and benevolent toward his fellow creatures will, when he is judged, be judged with mercy, and all of his sins will be benevolently forgiven. This exoneration shows an exact justice since "measure for measure" has determined it. This is what our Sages of blessed memory have said (Rosh Hashanah 17a): "Whose transgression does He [the Eternal] pardon? That of the one who overlooks [the] sin [that another client has committed against him]." If one is unwilling to make concessions in his own demands or is unwilling to act with kindness, reason dictates that he too should be treated with [the same] measure of exactitude. But can you imagine that there is a person [ alive] who would be able to withstand being judged by the Holy One blessed be He according to the measure of exactitude?! David HaMelech prayed when he said (Tehillim 143:2): "And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no living being can find justification before You." Simultaneously, he who engages in chesed will receive chesed [in return], and the more he engages in it the more he will receive. David was able to exult in the possession of this excellent virtue – he would even try to be benevolent toward those who hated him. This is what he referred to when he said (ibid. 35:13): "And I, when they were ill, closed myself in sackcloth, I afflicted my soul with fasting.…" And he said (ibid.7:5): "If I have repaid with evil those who were at peace with me.…" The virtue of piety also requires that one should not cause any creature to suffer, even animals, and show mercy and compassion toward them. Similarly, it says (Mishlei 12:10): "The righteous man knows the soul of his beast." And there are those who are of the opinion that "causing an animal to suffer as a prohibition of the Torah (Shabbos 128b)." And at the very least it is a Rabbinic enactment. In summary: Compassion and benevolence must be permanently ingrained in the heart of the pious, and one's objective should always be to please his fellow creatures and not to cause them any suffering, etc.

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DEUT694 (Continued from [[GEN429]] Genesis 3:19 sweat PATH 151). Consequently, they said (Midrash Shocher Tov 136:25): "[Is it correct to suppose that one's provisions would be given to him] even if he sits idly? Therefore it states [this verse]: 'In all your actions that you do.'" But this does not imply that one's efforts leads to results. Rather, the effort is a prerequisite. Once one makes the effort his obligation is fulfilled and it becomes possible for the Heavenly blessings to rest upon him. He has no need to spend his days in diligence and effort, as David HaMelech, may peace be upon him, said (Tehillim 75:7-8): "For neither from the east nor from the west, nor from the wilderness comes the uplifting. For the Lord is the Judge - He will lower this one and He will elevate the other." And Shlomo HaMelech, may peace be upon him, said (Mishlei 23:4): "Do not toil for wealth and refrain from your [own] understanding." Rather, the correct way is the one of HaChasidim HaRishonim [those who practiced piety in the earlier generations], for the Torah was of primary importance and their livelihood was subordinate to it, and as a result, they were able to [successfully] pursue both. For once a person has worked a bit, from then onward he has only to place his trust in his Master and he need not worry about anything that is of a worldly nature. His mind will then remain free and his heart will be ready for the true piety and the pure Divine service.

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DEUT906 ... the Holy One blessed be He has commanded the king "It shall be with him and he shall study it all the days of his life, so that he learns to fear the Eternal his God" [this verse]. From here you are taught that learning [how to] fear [sin] can only be accomplished through uninterrupted study. Examine the way the verse is worded – "so that he learns to fear" – rather than "so that he fears." This is so, because fear of this kind is not something that is naturally grasped. On the contrary, it is far removed from one ['s grasp], due to the physical nature of the senses, and it can only be acquired through learning. And, "learning to fear" can only be achieved through intense, uninterrupted devotion to [the study of] the Torah and its ways. This means that one should reflect upon and delve into this matter all the time – when at home, went on the road, when lying down, and when arising - until the truthfulness of this matter is established in his mind, namely, the truth that the Divine Presence is everywhere and that we are actually standing before Him every moment and every hour. Then one will truly fear Him. This is what David HaMelech prayed for when he said (Tehillim 86:11): "Teach me, O Eternal, Your way, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name."

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DEUT951 See [[EXOD463]] Exodus 20:13 steal PATH 57-8

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DEUT1238 Concerning thought, our Sages have already said in the beginning of our baraisa (Avodah Zarah 20b): "'You shall be careful of all evil things' [this verse], which means that a person should not think [lewd] thoughts by day which will [then] lead to his becoming impure at night." (Yoma 29a): "Thoughts of sinning are worse than the [actual] sin." This is stated explicitly (Mishlei 15:26): "Evil thoughts are the abomination of the Eternal."

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DEUT1239 Regarding sight, they of blessed memory have said (Berachos 61a): "'[From] hand to hand, the evil will not be cleansed' (Mishlei 11:21) means that anyone who counts out coins from his hand to hers in order to gaze upon her will not be cleansed from the judgment of Gehinom." And they also said (Shabbos 64a): "Why did the Israelites of that generation require atonement? Because they feasted their eyes on promiscuity." "Rav Sheshes said: Why does Scripture enumerate the jewelry that is [worn] externally together with the jewelry that is [worn] under [one's clothing]? It wants to teach us that anyone who gazes at [even] the small finger of a woman is regarded as having gazed at her impurity (Berachos 24a). And they also said (Avodah Zarah 20a): "You shall be careful of all evil things' [this verse] means that one should not gaze at a beautiful woman even if she is unmarried [nor] at a married woman even if she is ugly."

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DEUT1257 Concerning the adultery of the mouth and the ear – which means to speak obscenities or to listen to them – they "squawked like cranes" and said (Yerushalmi Terumos 1:6): "'And let [the Eternal] not see any sort of nakedness [ערות דבר] among you' [this verse] is referring to the 'nakedness' of speech, [ערות דבור] i.e., obscenities in speech." And they said (Shabbos 33a): "Because of the sin of uttering obscenities tragedies occur in the youth of the enemies of Israel [a euphemism for Israel itself] die," and (ibid.), "Whoever uses filthy language is given the depths of Gehinom," and (ibid.), "Everyone knows why a bride stands under the marriage canopy, but anyone who pollutes his mouth in speaking of this will find that even a decree of seventy good years is converted into [a decree of misfortune." And they have said (Chagigah 5b): "Even a frivolous conversation between husband and wife is reviewed at the moment of his judgment." With reference to this evil type of listening, they added (Shabbos 33a): "This includes even the one who [just] hears it and is silent, as it says (Mishlei 22:14), 'He who has incurred the Eternal's wrath shall fall therein.'" So you see that all the senses must be cleansed from promiscuity and whatever relates to it.

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DEUT1467 With regard to [weights and] measures … they are explicitly referred to [this verse]: "For anyone who does these things [false weights and measurements - AJL] , it is an abomination [before] the Eternal, your God"; and the Sages of blessed memory have said (Bava Basra 88b): "The punishment for [false - AJL] measurements is [even] more severe than the punishment for promiscuity.… "And they have said (ibid. 88a): "A wholesaler cleans his scales every thirty days." Why is this so? So that the scales do not lose their accuracy through inattention – and [in doing so] he avoids punishment.

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DEUT1468 (Continued from [[LEV988]] Leviticus 25:17 abuse PATH 60-1). Our Sages of blessed memory have said (Chullin 94a) that it is prohibited to deceive even a non-Jew, and it has already been stated explicitly in Scripture (Tzefanyah 3:13): "The remnant of Israel should do no iniquity, nor speak falsely, nor should there be found in their mouths a deceiving tongue." And they also said "One must not beautify old utensils to make them appear new" (Bava Metzia 60a-b), [and:] "One may not mix grain [from one field] with grain [from another field] even if all of it is fresh… [One may not mix fresh grain with older grain] even if its value [the fresh grain] is a dinar for every se'ah and even though it [the older grain] is a greater value [being valued] at a dinar and a tarsis, nevertheless one may not mix them and sell them [even] at [the lower price of] a dinar for every se'ah" (based on the Tosefta Bava Metzia 3:15). "For all who do these things… all who act fraudulently" [this verse] "are designated by five descriptions: iniquitous, hated, abominable, excommunicated, despicable (Sifrei Ki-Setze 165).

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