EXOD487 Envy is a branch of anger, and no one escapes it. For we all see all men being pulled one after the other. When one man sees his neighbor acquiring one of the worldly acquisitions, whether it be a type of food or clothing, or building a house, or accumulating money, he exerts himself to do likewise, thinking: My friend has this; I will have it, too. This was intimated by King Shelomo (Koheles 4:4): "And I saw that all labor and all excellent workmanship was one man's envy of another." One who is overpowered by this trait is extremely despicable. For envy brings one to lust, for when a man does not take to heart what others have, he does not lust; but when his heart is drawn on and he envies what others have, he covets and desires, and the Torah has said [this verse]: "Do not covet your neighbor's wife... and all that belongs to your neighbor." And when he covets, he steals, as it is written (Michah 2:2): "And they coveted fields and they stole them." And one in whom lust mounts is close to transgressing the Ten Commandments. By way of illustration: there was once a man who had a wicked neighbor whose property was separated from his own by a wall. This wicked man lusted after his neighbor's wife and some of his possessions. One Friday, he heard his neighbor telling his wife: "I want to go away for the day on business," and he did so. What did this wicked man do? On Sabbath eve, he went and broke down the wall between them, thus transgressing "Remember and observe" [the Shabbos]. He then forced the woman whom he lusted to possess, transgressing "Do not covet," and lay with her, transgressing "Do not commit adultery." Afterwards, when he began to steal the money, the woman cried out and he rose up against her and killed her, thus transgressing "Do not kill," and when he robbed and stole what he lusted after, he transgressed "Do not steal" and "Do not covet." The next day his father and mother rose up and reproved him, and he rose up against them and struck them, thus transgressing "Honor your father and your mother." Afterwards he was brought before the court and testified falsely with his friends that these things that he took were pledges which had been given him by his neighbor and which he had, in turn, entrusted to him and had not been able to reclaim until now that the robbers had broken the wall and killed his wife, hearing of which, he, too, had gone in and taken his pledge--thus transgressing "Do not testify falsely." And wherever he came he swore that he had committed no offense, thus transgressing "Do not swear falsely." In the end, his evil was revealed and his offense publicized. His shame was so great that he gave himself up to corruption and denied the Living God, thus transgressing "I am Hashem your God." Finally, he became addicted to idol worship and bowed down to and served idols, thus transgressing "Do not have any other gods besides me" and "Do not bow down to them and do not serve them." And all this was caused by lust. We see, then, that he who is lustful is close to transgressing the entire Torah.

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EXOD488 Rabbi Joshua said: An evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred of people remove a man from the world. Pirkei Avot, Perek II, mishnah 16. Note that Rabbi Joshua uses the singular, "an evil eye." To view things with one eye only is already evil. We must remember to look with both eyes, to get a balanced view. In the Tenth Commandment we are told not to covet a neighbor's house, wife, servants, ox… "and everything that belongs to him." (this verse and Deuteronomy 5:18). Does this sweeping "everything" come to add? It means to tell us that whenever you are stricken with envy or jealousy, look with both eyes and see "everything." Get the full picture. See the other side of the coin, the reality behind the surface. Do you envy your neighbor his wonderful house? You would like to own one just like it? But do you know how much his upkeep costs him? Do you know that if a pipe burst in the middle of the night and he cannot get a plumber, he is in deep trouble! It may cost him many days and many dollars before everything is repaired. Look with both eyes. Perhaps you yearn for his sleek, handsome limousine. You would not be so envious if you knew how much gasoline it consumes and what a headache it can cause in a congested, traffic-jammed city. Again, pangs of jealousy may assail you when you find that he is married to a most beautiful woman. But perhaps, if you knew her, you would realize how vain and empty-headed she is, and how irritating and difficult to live with. Would you then still envy your neighbor? Look with both eyes. Look at "everything that belongs to him," the liabilities as well as the assets. If you look with only one eye, you develop the "evil eye" of irrational, unwarranted envy.

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EXOD492 What are the signs of love of God to be found in one who loves [Him]? ... A further [sign] is that traces of his fear of God and profound dread of Him are apparent on his facial expression, as it is written: “So that His fear be on your faces, and you not sin” (Shemos 20:17). Fear [of God] is of two kinds. One of these is fear of His punishments and trials. One fears God, in this case, because He can cause him pain and suffering. If, however, he were immune to suffering, he would not fear God. Of such individuals our Masters, of blessed memory, said: “We should be wary, lest we come to observe [the commandments] out of fear” (Megillah 25b). Such an individual falls short of the degree attained by the [truly] God- fearing and is the embodiment of what our Masters, of blessed memory, warned against: “Be not like servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward” (Avos 1:3). One of the pious said, “I would be ashamed before God to serve Him because of reward and punishment. I would then be like a bad servant who, if he fears punishment or expects reward, will perform, but who otherwise will not perform. I will, rather, serve Him because He is worthy of this.” The second [kind of fear of God] is awe, inspired by His magnitude, exaltedness, and awesome power. [This awe] never leaves a person or parts from him all the days of his life. This is the highest of the degrees of the God-fearing to whom the Scriptures attribute yirah (awe). It is the gateway to pure love and intense yearning. One who reaches this degree of fear of God will not fear or be afraid of anything but the Creator, as one of the pious told of a God-fearing man whom he found asleep in a desert. He asked the man, “Are you not afraid of lions? How can you sleep in such a place!” The man replied, “I would be ashamed before God if He were to see that I was afraid of anything besides Him.”

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EXOD493 When a person's thoughts are never free of one of these seven points we have mentioned, he will be humble and lowly at all times, until humility becomes second nature to him and inseparable from him. While he adheres to humility, it keeps him far from all the pitfalls of arrogance, haughtiness, and pride, as we have noted previously, and he will be saved by it from sin and stumbling, as it says: “So that His fear be on your faces, and you not sin” (Shemos 20:17). Our Sages, of blessed memory, have said: “Reflect on three things, and you will not come to sin: Know from where you came, where you are going, and before whom you will give an accounting and a reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, maggots, and worms. Before whom will you give an accounting and a reckoning? Before the cap King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He” (Avos 3:1).

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EXOD490 Judah b. Tema … used to say: The brazen-faced is headed for Gehinnom (purgatory); and the shamefaced, for the Garden of Eden (Paradise). Pirkei Avot, Perek V, mishnah 23. Three sure signs, says the Talmud, distinguish authentic Jewry: its members are compassionate, bashful, and given to deeds of kindness. And Rava taught: Whoever has these three distinguishing marks--compassion, bashfulness, deeds of kindness--it is certain that he is a descendent of Abraham (T.B. Yebamoth 79a; Kallah Rabbathi ix (ed. Higger, 333). Judah b. Tema reinforces the point. There are times for bold incisive action; but your basic character traits should be Abraham the Patriarch's, primarily bashfulness, a shame-faced, shy desire to avoid the limelight. When they received the Torah at Sinai, the Israelites pleaded with Moses, "Do you speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to prove [elevate] you, and that His awe may be upon your countenance, that you may not sin." This last part, says the Talmud, simply means bashfulness, the quality of being shamed-faced [this and preceding verse. T.B. Nedarim 20a] Psychology recognizes the importance of shame in our growth. The human being enters life as an animal, imperiously demanding his wishes and ruthlessly moving to achieve them. Only the daunting realization of shame – a quality, as far as we know, absent in animals and thus unique to man--makes him learn to control and modify his passionate demands. And shame inherently involves the concept of the face: the child realizes that as he sees others with faces, so does he have a face which others see--and because he is seen, he can be subjected to shame. Hence at Sinai came the terrifying signs of the Deity making His presence known, that our people might forever after be aware of His presence, and thus be reluctant, ashamed to sin. How can you sin when the Owner and Master of all is watching you? The tractate Kallah Rabbathi (ii) has this very text of ours, that the shame-faced is destined for paradise; and in explanation, it adds another teaching: "Whoever is shame-faced will not soon sin…" For bashfulness is the touchstone of morality and religiosity. Beginning life as we do as amoral animals, it is well-impossible to remain perfectly sinless and blameless. We will err; we will slip. But at least the capacity to feel disgrace, shame, can ensure that we will not take to sin with open arms and make it the key to a career. It was taught in the name of Rav: "Whoever commits a transgression and is then ashamed of it, will be forgiven for all his sins." ( T.B. Berakoth 12b) Shame opens the door to t'shuvah, return in repentance. Through that door lies the way to Paradise.

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EXOD489 It was taught: "and so that His fear be upon your faces" -- this is shame";" that you not sin" - This teaches us that shame leads to fear of sin. Others say: If one is without shame, for a certainty his ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai (Nedarim 20a)

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EXOD491 There are three distinguishing features characterizing the Jewish people. They are merciful, shame-faced, and kind. "Shame-faced"- as it is written: "and so that His fear be upon your faces" (Yevamoth 79a)

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EXOD494 [This verse]. For the essence of [such] fear is that one should always be afraid, trembling constantly, to the point where this fear will never leave him. Then, in this manner, he will never commit a sin, and if he does it will be regarded as accidental.

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EXOD495 The wicked receive only suffering of vengeance. But suffering as a test is only brought upon the righteous -- for they accept them with love and further improve their deeds, and the suffering they experience is for their own good [when they pass the test, their prestige and honor increase (see this verse, Rashi)], for their benefit [because they further improve their deeds, as Rabbeinu Yonah just said], and for enhancing their reward, as the pasuk says (Tehillim 11:5), "Hashem tests the righteous." Our Sages, z"l, used the following analogy and said (Bereishis Rabbah 32:3), "When the owner of the flax knows that his flax is strong, he beats it fully to make it soft and good."

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EXOD496 Do not make an image of a human being. Do not create the form of any human being out of metal, stone, wood, clay or any other material, even for artistic or decorative purposes. [One is not forbidden to shape the forms of animals, unless one creates the form for the sake of idol worship, as explained in mitzvah 27]. Key concept: To distance us from idol worship.

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