TDL 1 - Love Your Fellow Jew as You Love Yourself part 1
The Sages considered the mitzvah of loving one's fellow Jew as one loves himself as the most important commandment in the entire Torah.
This series delves deeper into each Ahavas Yisrael topic (from Series 1) and devotes three weeks per topic.
The Sages considered the mitzvah of loving one's fellow Jew as one loves himself as the most important commandment in the entire Torah.
While everyone is obligated to treat others as we would like to be treated, the Torah provides us with certain guidelines and rules of precedence to use when two different acts of kindness conflict with each other.
The unconditional love involved in the mitzva of loving your fellow Jew as yourself.
We are not allowed to harbor hatred in our hearts. In addition to the issur of lo sisna, feeling hatred in one's heart for a Jew.
While we may not hate someone who rubs us the wrong way, we do not have an obligation to be his best friend.
The Gemara discusses the mitzvos of helping one person who is having trouble loading packages onto his donkey and another who is struggling with unloading his donkey's burden.
The month of Elul brings a feeling of teshuva and the urge to start again.
The Gemara discusses the mitzvos of helping one person who is having trouble loading packages onto his donkey and another who is struggling with unloading his donkey's burden.
You have pointed out someone's mistake once...twice...three times and yet the person continues to transgress.
In both mitzvos between man and his fellow man and those between man and HaShem the mitzva of tochacha applies.
The requirement to give the benefit of the doubt is not a blanket statement, applicable equally for all people and in all situations.
The obligation to judge favorably is incumbent on every Jew, man or woman, at all times, and in respect to every Jew.
Up to this point, we have clarified the obligations of the person who observes the wrongdoing
The prohibition of lo sachmod consists of two parts, and according to many authorities, two distinct mitzvos.
According to the Minchas Chinuch, the prohibition of lo sachmod applies even to an item that is worth less than a peruta, a coin of low monetary value which might not count toward other prohibitions.
We are required to train our children in the mitzvos of lo sachmod and lo sis'a'veh from their youth.
We should show honor and respect to every person we meet. All people are created in the image of the Almighty; when someone honors people, he is ultimately honoring the Creator.
Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, a disciple of Rav Yisrael Salanter and the founder of the Yeshiva of Kelm, taught about the need to respect others.
Given the increased prevalence of parental defiance, we should be on the alert for every opportunity to demonstrate to our children that we are obedient to authority even when it goes against our will.
From the pasuk, "lo sonu-do not aggrieve one another, and you shall fear HaShem", Chazal learn that it is forbidden to hurt people with words. This is the issur of ona'as d'varim.
The main obligation of the prohibition of ona'as d'varim is to refrain from intentionally saying or doing things that will shame or cause pain to another Jew.
Although we have to be careful not to hurt any Jew, there are certain categories of people who are especially sensitive, and toward them the torah applies an additional prohibition of ona"a.
One of Bnai Yisrael's outstanding qualities is byshanus, and the Torah is very meticulous about protecting a Jew from shame.
Publicly shaming another Jew is tantamount to shedding blood, since when one is embarrassed, the blood literally drains from the victim's face.
In certain cases, the bais din used to impose fines on people who shamed another Jew by calling him an openly degrading name, such as mamzer, rasha, or passul.
If we see a Jew drowning, or being attacked by armed robbers or a wild animal, we may not run away; we are obligated to rescue him if we can.
Any time we are able to save a person from monetary loss and do not do so, it would be a violation of this mitzva.
Self-survival is one of the strongest instincts, surpassed only by the parental love for a child. It is, therefore, most surprising that people often neglect themselves and their children whom they dearly love.
Lashon hara includes any statement that would bring disgrace to the subject, such as speaking about the reprehensible conduct of his family or ancestors, his own past misdeeds, or sins he has committed.
The Torah prohibition of Deragatory speech and gossiping applies not only to speaking but also to listening to what someone else is saying, and believing it to be true.
The underlying factor in gossiping is the lowly, corrupt nature that characterizes the person who chooses to find fault with others and degrades the person in the eyes of his peers.
The word machlokes has acquired multiple meanings in Jewish speech and literature, including disagreement, dissension, dispute, argument, divisiveness and rebellion.
Even a highly esteemed person should forgo his honor if this will help defuse a machlokes, as Moshe Rabbenu did...
The mitzva of lo sisgodedu, which literally means that we should not cut ourselves in grief, includes the issur of creating factions within a community, breaking it into separate groups.
These two mitzvos are joined together (Vayikra 19:18). It is prohibited for us to do someone a bad turn in return for what he did to us, or to bear a grudge in our heart against the other person.
If someone owes us money or compensation of any kind, we are not expected to forget their debt, but we should not harbor a grudge against them.
In a case where someone has offended us personally, by insulting or shaming us in public, or causing bodily harm, the issurim of nekima & netira do not apply.
Obligations of the Offender: Ideally, the offender should appease the victim and personally ask his forgiveness.
The Rambam writes that the victim should not be cruel and withhold his forgiveness - this is not the Jewish way.
There are three different levels of willingness to forgive others...
Chazal tell us that we should never even “open our mouths to the satanâ€
Although the wording of the pasuk that informs us of the basic prohibition to curse is: "Do not curse a deaf person," this does not mean to imply that it is prohibited to curse only those who are hearing impaired.
One obvious reason it is prohibited to curse is to prevent the ill will that would result if the person who was cursed would hear about it.
Anyone who sees another Jew violating an issur and flatters him, whether with words or some gesture that indicates his approval, has transgressed not only the mitzva of tochacha but also the prohibition of flattery.
A separate application of this halacha arises with a completely different scenario. Frequently when a person who is guilty of certain prohibitions committed in public comes to shul, they expect to be granted traditional shul honors.
There are times when flattery can be used for constructive purposes. In such cases, flattery is not only permissible bit is even considered a mitzva.
For the Torah's injunction not to speak sheker, falsehood, unique phrasing is used: “Mi'd’var sheker tirchak-Stay far away from falsehood†(Shemos 23:7).
Not only is speaking sheker prohibited, we are also not permitted to voluntarily and willingly lend an ear to words we know to be false, or even to a report whose truth is questionable.
Falsehood is prohibited when it is a cause of damage, immediate or delayed. Examples include denying a debt or that an item was entrusted to him, using deceit to keep a good thing from reaching someone else and possibly redirecting it to himself, and
One of the ways we emulate HaShem is by visiting the sick, as HaShem Himself visited Avraham Avinu.
When the choleh suffers from a contagious illness that poses a definite danger to visitors, only those who are absolutely needed at his side should visit him.
One of the main components of the mitzva of bikur cholim is tefilla, to daven to HaShem on behalf of the choleh. Whoever visits the sick and doesn't pray for HaShem to have mercy on the patient has not fulfilled the mitzva properly.
The literal meaning of “Lifnei Iver Lo Sitain Michshol†is, “Do not place a stumbling block before the blindâ€.Â
If a parent strikes an older, grown child, he violates the issur of lifnei iver, since the child may not be able resist the urge to defy the parent-or even to hit back or curse him-both of which are serious transgressions that would warrant a death p
Another aspect of the issur of lifnei iver is the prohibition to give someone bad advice.
The mitzva of hachnosas orchim, welcoming guests,is an application of the mitzvos of v'ahavta l'rayacha kamocha and v’halachta bid’rachav.
The host should do everything possible to make the guest feel comfortable. Following Avraham Avinu's lead, we should provide for the needs of our guests- food, drink, a place to wash, etc.-enthusiastically and quickly.
Included in the discussion of the mitzva of hachnosas orchim, it is important to note that the guest himself has a number of responsibilities in his relationship toward the host.
One of the three categories of people whom HaShem despises is the one who is echad bapeh ve'echad balev-someone who says things that he does not believe in his heart.
The issur of g'naivas da'as applies to monetary matters, such as deceiving someone in a business exchange by concealing a defect in the item being sold.
Hypocrisy is a despicable quality. Even outright resha'im fear and despise those who falsely present themselves as fine, religious, G-d-fearing people, whose “deeds as [evil] as the deed of Zimri, yet they expect reward like that of Pinchas.â€