LEV391 [Continued from [[DEUT182]] Deut. v. 18 covet LERHMAN 316-17] The many laws (especially in Leviticus xix) "not to hate our brother in our heart"; "not to curse the deaf"; "not to place stumbling-blocks before the blind"; not to take a mean advantage of the ignorance of another, end with the stern reminder "I am the Lord thy God". The deaf and the blind may be unaware of our malicious intention, but He who knows all, will in due course exact severe punishment for such double-dealing. A medieval teacher summed up this stress on sincerity of intention and action succinctly when he explained the verse: "And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Exodus iii. 2). The two Hebrew words for "in a flame of fire" are Belabbat aish, implying that God wishes us to perform all our duties as His witnesses sincerely and eagerly, with a heart (lev) aflame for righteousness. To illustrate this thought, take the conspicuous part allotted to charitable acts. It has been explained that the reason why the middle one of the three Matzot at the Seder table is broken in two (Yahatz), is to indicate that our aim as Jews should be to halve another's sorrows by practical sympathy and by sharing with him the blessings that a good fortune has brought our way.