DEUTERONOMY | 8:11 forget — DEUT381 The rabbinic scheme of classification ide...
DEUT381 The rabbinic scheme of classification identifies a group of commandments called lav she'ein ba ma'aseh, negative prohibitions not involving action. Included in this category are commandments involving thoughts--remembering or forgetting, speech, hearing, sight, or simply acts of omission. These commandments are considered more stringent than those involving action (See Rabbi Jonah Gerondi, Sha'arei Teshuvah, p. 28). Some of them refer to basic attitudes affecting our relationship to God: "Guard yourself lest you forget ..." "Do not say in your heart..." "Do not fear them ..." (Deuteronomy 8:11, 9:4, 7:18, 20:1). In the moral sphere we have the following: "You shall surely give him, and let not your heart feel badly when you give it to him" (Deuteronomy 15:10). Even when the proper deed is being performed and you are making a contribution to the poor, do it with a cheerful mien and a generous spirit. This demonstrates the point made earlier that the personal attitudes of the agent are of moral significance. Consider also: "If there be among you a needy man… thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand …" "Thou shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people." (Deuteronomy 15:7, Leviticus 19:18). The rabbis interpreted this to mean that a person is in violation of this prohibition if, for example, he responds positively to a request for a loan but says, "I am lending you my snow shovel because I am not like you, who, if you recall, refused to lend me yours when I asked for it last winter" (Yoma 23a). What is immoral is not merely making the statement but carrying the grudge. (Continued at [[DEUT36]] Deuteronomy 23:10 anything SPERO 138).
Source Key | SPERO |
Verse | 8:11 |
Keyword(s) | forget |
Source Page(s) | 137-8 |