"For Instruction shall come forth from Zion, The word of the L-rd from Jerusalem." -- Isaiah 2:3

Jerusalem

Torah Verses

Excerpt Sources

Complete List of Source Books

Navigate the Excerpts Browser

Before accessing the excerpts, please review a word about copyright.

Are you more of an "I'll dive right in and figure it out" person, or a "Show Me How This Thing Works" person?  If the former, go right ahead and try the excerpts browers on the right side of this page and/or scroll through the excerpts that start below the following information -- although we still suggest reading the information first.  If you are the latter, click here for a video demonstrating the Excerpts Browser. Either way (or both), enjoy! 

This page is recommended for searches limited to specific Torah books, weekly portions (parshiot), chapters, verses, and/or sources (authors). For keyword and/or for exact phrase (including verse and source) searches of the entire excerpts database, we recommend using the Search Engine page.  For broadest results, use both pages and alternative search strategies. 

This page displays the full text of all or "sorted" (filtered) excerpts in the database.  Use the "Torah Verses" and/or "Excerpt Sources" browsers at the right to locate the excerpts associated with your desired Torah book, portion, chapter. verse, or author.  Or, simply scroll through the excerpts, using the "boxes" at the bottom of any page displaying excerpts to "jump" ahead or back. 

Also note that immediately below the chapter, verse, and keyword of each excerpt is a highlighted line comprised of multiple links.  Clicking on any of the links will limit (filter) the excerpts display to the selected category.  

Transcription of excerpts is incomplete.  For current status, please see "Transcribed Sources" on the Search Engine page.  To assist with completion, please see "Contributors" page. 

LEVITICUS — 19:14 stumbling

LEV401 A salesperson is not expected to be objective and impartial, and the customer knows that the product description, even if accurate, will also be one-sided. But a sales person who says something like "I advise you to take out this plan" or "This plan really suits your needs" is putting on the hat of the expert adviser; such advice need to be completely objective. We learn this from the verse, "Do not put a stumbling block before the blind." Rashi explains that this refers to someone who is "blind" to the bias of the advisor: "Do not advise someone to sell his field and buy a donkey if your true intention is to acquire the field for yourself." In general, sales people need to avoid giving advice. Aside from the fact that it is almost impossible to maintain the proper objectivity, sales people are not always experts on the merchandise they sell, and often they are not really qualified to provide advice.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

LEVITICUS — 19:14 stumbling

LEV403 Q: My publication has a major advertiser who buy space every week. For the coming week, he provided copy that reads like an objective public interest article and asked me to type-set like a regular article. Is this ethical? A: The intense competition in the communications media is leading to the creation of innovative new media categories like infotainment and edutainment. One of the most popular categories, and also one of the most ethically problematic, is the so-called advertorial. An advertorial is an advertisement carefully written and type-set to have the look and feel of news or of an editorial opinion piece. The ethical problem here is that the reader believes he is getting information or advice which is unbiased, while the true motive for presenting the content he sees is commercial. According to Jewish law, this practice runs afoul of the strict prohibition against concealing a conflict of interest when giving advice. The Torah tells us [this verse]. According to Jewish tradition, this refers to anything that would incline a person to blindly act against his or her own best interest.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

LEVITICUS — 19:14 stumbling

LEV404 Q: Some businesses in my area are run on a "Cash-only" basis. Can I patronize these businesses, or is this encouraging tax evasion? A: There are three possible answers to your question: 1) It's fine; paying taxes is the proprietor's responsibility, not yours. 2) It's all right to patronize these businesses but demand a receipt so that you are not encouraging deceit. 3) You should boycott dishonest businesses. Which answer is correct? All three. It depends on the exact situation. Jewish law distinguishes three levels of cooperation with wrongdoing and prohibits anything that would abet wrongdoing. The three levels, in decreasing order of gravity, are: 1) Enabling a transgression. If the transgression could not take place without your participation, you are enabling the wrongdoing to take place. This is categorically forbidden by the biblical injunction, "Do not place a stumbling block before the blind." (this verse). Our tradition explains that this refers primarily to a spiritual stumbling block, which causes someone to transgress. 2) Abetting a transgression. This means that you take an active role in the unethical activity, but if you didn't do it, someone else would. 3) Condoning a transgression. Normally, we are obligated to protest wrongdoing. Whenever we remain silent and even benefit from it, we may seem to be condoning it. The ethical status of condoning depends on the degree of identification we show with our participation as well as our ability to make an effective protest; these factors vary according to the situation. In short, Jewish tradition urges us to exercise moral leadership and take responsibility for the moral progress of the world. This means that we cannot shirk responsibility when our actions encourage wrongdoing. But we should not jump to the conclusion that we should immediately boycott or even turn in the suspected tax evader. An equally important principle of Jewish tradition is that we should give others the benefit of the doubt, as the very next verse tells us, "Judge your neighbor favorably." (Leviticus 19:15) And certainly it is not a mitzvah to be a busybody. Therefore, Jewish law states that even if someone may seem to be involved in wrongdoing, we do not have to scrutinize his or her activities if a favorable interpretation is reasonable, even if it is less than probable. ... Thus, if the cash basis of the business has a reasonable explanation besides tax evasion, we do not need to scrutinize the proprietor's motivations.… However, if a permissible explanation is quite improbable, or if the seller admits right out that he is trying to evade taxes, then we must avoid helping. In this case, explain that you will be able to patronize the business only if you can obtain a proper receipt. In some cases it would be necessary to avoid the business altogether. This is because of an additional problem called marit ayin, or giving the appearance of wrongdoing. If the business in question is well known as one that evades taxes and others can easily see that you are patronizing the business but do not know that you are demanding a receipt, then you could be giving the impression of abetting the seller's subterfuge. In this case it would be proper to find a way to publicize your insistence on a receipt, or to avoid the place of business altogether.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

LEVITICUS — 19:14 stumbling block

LEV414 It is a negative commandment not to cause one's fellow-man to stumble over anything as Scripture says, nor shall you put a stumbling-block before the blind [this verse] -- which means that if the other person is blind about something and he comes to ask advice, we are not to give him counsel that is not right. This includes everything, whether in worldly matters or in matters of Torah. It is forbidden, too, to bring someone, or to help him or cause him to come, into the power of sin. It is even forbidden to bring a heathen to transgress the laws of the Torah which he is enjoined to observe (any of the seven commandments for all descendants of Noah).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

RSS
First300301302303304305306307308310312313314315316317318319Last
Back To Top