DEUT823 … it is morally obligatory upon a person in some contexts to place the interest of his own family or of any group with which he is associated over the interests of others (See N. Samuelson in Sh'ma 7/125). This is so because morality, which deals with the appropriate behavior between persons, must not only take into consideration the essential value of the individual, but must also determine the particular relationship that exists between the individuals involved. And human relationships are varied and complex. There are parents and children, debtors and creditors, subjects and sovereign, brothers and sisters, neighbors, professional associates, countrymen, etc., and all sorts of combinations and permutations thereof. But each relationship sets up special expectations and imposes special moral obligations upon those who stand in that relationship. Thus the Mishnah rules that in a choice of benefiting father or teacher, teacher comes first, because he has done more for you (your father has given you existence in this world, but your teacher, who teaches you the Torah, brings you into the world-to-come, the world of eternal spirit. Of course, if your father has also taught you Torah, then he has priority.) Or consider the behavior expected of the owner of a Hebrew slave. On the basis of the passage, "… Because it shall be good for him with thee ...," the Talmud rules that if the owner has only one pillow, he must give it to the slave. Clearly, it is the nature of the particular relationship, master to slave, with the subservient condition of the slave (rather than the general principle of man's obligation to man), that creates a moral obligation for the owner to sacrifice his own comfort for the sake of the slave [this verse, Bava Metzia 62a; see the comments of Maharam Schiff]. Similarly, the loyalty one owes to members of one's group, be it family, neighborhood, or country, is based on a tacit "social contract" that converts all such close social groupings into mutual-aid societies of a sort.

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DEUT824 See [[DEUT780]] Deuteronomy 15:10 bless SPERO 25-6

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DEUT825 See [[DEUT1335]] Deuteronomy 24:5 joy SACKS 312-3

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DEUT826 See [[DEUT808]] Deuteronomy 15:11 open COHON 220-1

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DEUT827jj By helping the needy we merit that our needs are taken care of. Rashi cites the Sifre which points out that in this verse we have a list of four members of a person's household: a son, daughter, servant, and maid. We also have four that are needy: the Levite, convert, orphan, and widow. The Almighty says, "If you take care of My four, I will take care of your four."

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DEUT828 The question is raised whether there is greater virtue in one who enjoys the activity which the commandment imposes than in one who fulfills the commandment even though he does not get any pleasure in the doing of it. Some commandments cannot possibly be performed with joy, such as the burial of the dead. There are other commandments whose very essence is that they be performed with joy, such as the celebration of the festivals and observance of the Sabbath (this verse, Deuteronomy 16:14; Isa. 58:13). The rabbinic consensus is that the "commandments were not given us for our enjoyment" (Eruvin 31a). Hence, whether one derives pleasure from the activity prescribed by the commandment is a secondary consequence. This maxim of the Rabbis has legal implications which do not concern us here. The injunction to "serve God with joy" (Ps. 100:2) and the rabbinic concept of Simha shel mitzvah, the joy that should accompany the performance of the mitzvah, should be associated primarily with the joy that derives from the consciousness that one is serving God, and only secondarily from the joy which may inhere in the act itself. Hence, the performance of a mitzvah merely because one enjoys doing it, should not be classified as a religiously motivated act.

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DEUT829 Though Judaism makes the idea of a Holy God the mainspring of noble conduct, it has avoided the pitfalls of the ancient systems. For it has not made life austere and joyless, begrudging man of life and laughter. The Shechinah only dwells in the spirit that knoweth the joy of successful achievement; and it is only gladness that brings man nearer to God. "And thou shall rejoice before the Lord thy God " [this verse] and again: "And thou shalt rejoice in thy festival ..." (Deuteronomy 16:14). Rabbi Berokha, who prided himself on his austerity, was told by Elijah that, of the crowds he beheld in the marketplace one day, those destined for eternal life in the World to Come would be two jesters. Why? Because they employed every means to cheer the depressed and to increase the world's tale of joy. (Taanit 22a). By this joyous discipline, Judaism sought to impress upon man that his body should become a ready servant of his will, performing with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a mechanism, it is capable of doing. ... (Continued at [[LEV648]] Leviticus xix. 18 love LEHRMAN 28-29).

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DEUT830 See [[LEV1093]] Leviticus 25:45 property OXFORD 47

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DEUT831jj See [[DEUT808]] Deuteronomy 15:11 open COHON 220-1

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DEUT836 See [[LEV933]] Leviticus 23:40 rejoice AMEMEI 87

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