Hi,
"When Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair came to Rebbe's home, he sought to enter through a passage where [he found that] a white mule stood. He exclaimed, 'The angel of death [for white mules were particularly vicious] is in this house; how could I eat with him?'
"Rebbe heard this and exited to greet him. He said, 'Should I sell it?!' To which Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair replied, 'You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind!'
"He said, 'I will abandon it!' To which Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair replied, 'You will increase the harm! '
"He said, 'I will remove its hooves!' To which Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair replied, 'This will pain a living creature!'
" He said, 'I will kill it!' To which Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair replied, 'That would violate the prohibition against waste!'
(Talmud, Chullin 7b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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I don't understand Rashbi. He didn't agree that the Jews benefited from the Roman building projects.Of course their reasons were not out of love for the Jews but for their own self interest, but so what? It raised the level of the public including the Jews
ReplyDeleteHi David,
ReplyDeleteI think you meant to post this on an earlier Torah Thought - but, in any case, Rashbi's point included that we do care about motivations, even where the results are good.