DEUT1253 Each Jewish fighter must carry a small shovel. Key concept: See [[DEUT1249]] Deuteronomy 23:13 latrine CHINUCH 362-3

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DEUT1254 Judaism has never run from the possibility of war in spite of a keen awareness of the horror of the death and destruction that come with it. Those things that are worth living for are also worth dying for. And there will always be someone who will want to deprive you of what you cherish: wife, family, freedom, home. But there is a morality of war, a right and a wrong way among the particular alternatives forced upon you. The Torah does teach: "And your camps shall be holy" [this verse], and the Jewish State has developed a concept of tohar ha-neshek -- "the purity of arms" -- an ongoing exploration of the application of the moral principles of Judaism to the horrifying but real circumstances of war and terrorism in Israel today.

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DEUT1255 Rabbah b. Bar Chanah said in the name of R. Yochanan: It is permitted to meditate in the words of Torah everywhere except in the bathhouse and the privy, it being written: "And let your camp be holy" (Shabbath 150a)

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DEUT1256 Exile comes upon the world on account of idolatrous worship, incest and adultery, bloodshed, and [the failure to observe] the sabbatical year of the soil. Pirkei Avot, Perek V, mishnah 10-11. Why is Scripture so vehement about this [second] category of sin (incest and adultery)? Said R. Ishmael b. R. Yose: "As long as the people Israel are unbridled, wanton in immorality, the sh'chinah (Divine Presence) withdraws … for it is stated: let Him not see among you anything indecent, and turn away from you" [this verse].

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DEUT1258 See [[DEUT1250]] Deuteronomy 23:14 excrement GATES 217-9

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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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DEUT1259 This teaches us that illicit relations cause the Shechinah to depart (Sifrei)

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DEUT1260 See [[DEUT542]] Deuteronomy 11:22 keep LEHRMAN 27 and [[EXOD158]] Exodus 12:23 home LEHRMAN 27-8

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DEUT1261 Do not extradite slaves who flee to the Holy Land. Hashem desires to stress the unique nature of the Holy Land. Therefore, a slave who flees there from outside of the Holy Land earns his freedom and cannot be returned to his master against his will. By highlighting the dearness of the Holy Land, the mitzvah inspires Jews who are there to serve Hashem with added devotion.

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DEUT1262 See [[LEV1093]] Leviticus 25:45 property OXFORD 47

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