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LEVITICUS — 19:18 grudge

LEV625 [The] trait of cruelty in a man's soul incites him to take revenge on his enemies, as it is written (Mishlei 6:34): "And he will not be merciful in the day of revenge"--that is, where there is revenge, there is not mercy but cruelty, and the Torah has instructed [this verse]: "Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge." We have been exhorted not even to bear a grudge against our neighbor in our hearts, how much more so not to actively strike him. Even if he falls without our causing him to do so, we are forbidding to rejoice, as it is written (Mishlei 24:17): "When your foe falls, do not rejoice; and when he stumbles, let not your heart be glad." He who takes revenge and bears grudges does not overlook injury and does not forgive his friends who offend him, and this bears in its trail contention and hatred--and you already know how good and pleasant is the trait of peace.

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LEVITICUS — 19:18 love

LEV645 … one who sees his neighbor sinning secretly and reveals it to others, sins thereby. For it may be that the sinner has since repented of his evil way, and he should have revealed it only to a discrete sage, who would not shame him so that he might turn from his repentance. He should, however, keep himself from his company until he knows that he has repented of his evil way. And if the sinner is a Torah scholar and a God-fearing man, he should be considered to have repented of a certainty (Berachos 19a), and even though his evil inclination may have ensnared him once, he assuredly regretted it thereafter. The slanderer is punished for the injury and shame he caused his fellowman, and in addition, for having rejoiced in his neighbor's shame, for it is written [this verse]: "And you shall love your fellowman as yourself." Just as one is solicitous of his own honor, he should be solicitous of his fellowman's (see Avos 2:10). And it is written (Mishlei 17:5): "He who rejoices in calamity shall not go unpunished." And there is a respect in which the sin of one who slanders with the truth is greater than that of one who slanders falsely. For when one speaks the truth against someone, he is apt to be believed and the object of the slander may be demeaned in the eyes of men even after he has regretted his sin and repented of it and been forgiven. But false slander is sensed as such by most people, and they will not believe it. For the most part, however, offenses through falsity carry a greater penalty than offenses through truth.

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LEVITICUS — 19:18 love

LEV651 A man must take great care not to rejoice in something which is good for him but injurious to others. So that if one has much grain, he should not rejoice in dearness and famine, and not allow his good to bring him joy through the hardship of others. Nor should he rejoice in a man's death, though he stands to gain an inheritance or other benefits through it. In sum, one must not rejoice in any man's discomfiture for the sake of his pleasure. About this it is said [this verse]: "And you shall love your fellowman as yourself." And one should teach himself to be happy when good befalls others, especially when he sees them pursuing mitzvos to do the will of the Blessed Creator.

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LEVITICUS — 19:18 love

LEV699 The Torah states [this verse]: "And you shall love your fellowman as yourself." Anyone with the trait of cruelty is very far from this. People are ill-disposed to the cruel man and he does not find favor in the eyes of men. We have been exhorted not to manifest cruelty even in chastisement, as it is written (ibid.: 17): "You shall surely reprove your friend, but do not bear sin because of him." That is, do not rebuke him with vehemence and cruelty so as to shame him and sin thereby (Arachin 16b). (Continued at [[DEUT865]] Deuteronomy 17:5 stone TZADIK 157-61).

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LEVITICUS — 20:23 walk

LEV853 [Pride] is manifest in one's eyes as it is written (Tehillim 6:17): "Haughty eyes." It is manifest in one's ears by not paying heed to the words of the poor, unfortunate ones. It is manifest in one's nose if, when standing near the poor or upon entering their houses, they smell offensive to him. And it is even in his speech, when he speaks imprudently and with pride against the righteous. Pride can also be manifested in eating and drinking and in clothing oneself ostentatiously in gentile apparel. We have been exhorted against this in the Torah of Moshe, as it is written [this verse]: "And do not walk in the ways of the nations," and (ibid. 18:3): "Do not walk in their ways," and (Devarim 12:30): "Take heed lest you be ensnared after them." The point is the same in all of these instances: Israel is exhorted to stay separate from the nations and its apparel, its speech, and all of its customs, as it is written (Vayikra 20:26): "For I have set you apart from the peoples." The proud are despicable in the eyes of Hashem, as it is written (Mishlei 16:5): "The abomination of Hashem are all who are proud of heart." And the proud man is given into the hands of his evil inclination; he does not receive Divine assistance since he is the abomination of Hashem. And though he does not elevate himself above any man in speech or in deed, but only in his heart, he is still called in "abomination," as it is written: "The abomination of Hashem are all who are proud of heart"--though his pride exists in his heart alone, he is still called an "abomination."

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LEVITICUS — 20:25 revolting

LEV856 The trait of zeal is an ornament to all the other traits and it perfects them. And now you should remember those things which men commonly tend to be lax about. If you must see something in a book, be zealous to bring the book and also to search for what you need. And be zealous to go and ask someone who knows the subject. If a poor man comes to your house to ask for bread, do not say, "I cannot go to bring bread," but go with zeal to bring it. If you need to wash your hands, but you have only little or unfit water, or if the vessel is not entirely ritually suitable -- being split, for example -- and you are very hungry, do not let your hunger cause you to demean the washing rite, but be zealous to get water and a utensil fit for washing. And one must be especially zealous not to delay evacuation, both defecation and urination, even one moment, so as not to transgress [this verse]: "Do not make yourselves revolting" (Makkos 16b). Moreover, one who delays evacuation brings sore illnesses upon himself. And one must be watchful and zealous to keep himself clean, both his clothing and his body. He must wash the anal opening after defecation, for it is impossible to cleanse oneself properly without water. It also requires zeal for one who attend to his needs at night by his bed to arise and wash his hands and go to a clean place to recite the Asher Yatzar benediction. If he wishes to drink water, he must arise and wash his hands, go to a clean place and wash and make the preliminary and concluding blessings over water. If he is in bed and hears the sound of thunder or sees lightning, he must get up, wash his hands, and make the blessing. He also requires zeal to rise early from his bed, shake slumber from his lids, and learn Torah. And he needs zeal to break away from his defective thoughts, such as thoughts of envy and hatred and lewd thoughts. All of these require unusually great zeal for the bending of all of one's thoughts to the Blessed Creator's will. ... In sum, one must seek out any transgression to which he is habituated and hastily make fences around it to take care and keep himself from it. He must likewise seek out any mitzvah in which he is lax, first understanding what caused this laxness. For example, the idle man must understand at the outset that idleness comes from idle activities and that one who obituates himself to idle activities neglects Torah, prayer, and all good. He must therefore be zealous to remove himself from men who are given to idle talk and not associate with them. This will be the cure for his illness. He must do likewise with respect to all defective traits. He must first locate the defective foundation and destroy it, and remove from his eyes the darkness that obscure the light of his soul. And removal from all of this requires zeal, for if he will be slothful in rooting out defective traits, they will become branches in his heart, so that he will no longer be able to cut them out. (Continued at [[DEUT863]] Deuteronomy 16:20 righteousness TZADIK 291).

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LEVITICUS — 23:30 nefesh

LEV929 Animals, too, possess nefesh and ruach, for lust and anger are found in them as they are in men, but a human being possesses a neshamah in addition, which speaks and which distinguishes between truth and falsity. When the body dies, the nefesh of lust and the nefesh of ruach die, and there remains the form of the wise supernal neshamah which does not die with the death of the body. And (Koheleth 12:7): "And the ruach will return to God, Who gave it," refers to the ruach of wisdom. When a man sins, the neshamah of his nefesh and that of his ruach die, as it is written (Yechezkel 18:4): "The sinning nefesh will die," and Moshe our teacher, may peace be upon him, the man of God, said [this verse]: "And I will cause that nefesh to be excised from the midst of its people, and (Ibid 7:20): And that nefesh will be cut off from its people," indicating that that which dies is called nefesh. After the death of the wicked man, the wise neshama is hurled as from a sling for having hearkened to ruach and nefesh. But the neshama of the righteous man, in whom the wise supernal neshama predominated over ruach and nefesh, is bound up in the bond of life under the Throne of Glory. The fool, who hearkened to ruach and nefesh -- his neshama is cut off; and the wise man, who hearkened to the supernal neshamah inspired in him from the Throne of Glory -- his neshamah merits the abundance of the secreted good.

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