Responsibilities of Citizenship

Hi,

"One who dwells in a land for thirty days is compelled to give tzedakah to the kupah with the citizenry. One who dwells there for three months is compelled to give to the tamchui. One who dwells there for six months is compelled to give clothing for the local needy. One who dwells there for nine months is compelled to give tzedakah for burial."

(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Needy 9:12)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Causing others to stumble

Hi,

"Rabbi Natan said: How do we know that one may not extend a cup of wine to a nazir, or flesh taken from a live animal to a non-Jew [as these people are forbidden from eating such items]? 'Do not put a stumbling block before the blind.'"

אמר רבי נתן: מנין שלא יושיט אדם כוס של יין לנזיר, ואבר מן החי לבני נח? ת"ל: ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול 

(Talmud, Avodah Zarah 6b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Do not stand by

Hi,

"How do we know that one who sees another drowning in a river or being dragged by a beast or being beset by bandits must act to save him? The Torah says: 'You shall not stand by the blood of your peer.'"

מניין לרואה את חבירו שהוא טובע בנהר או חיה גוררתו או לסטין באין עליו שהוא חייב להצילו תלמוד לומר לא תעמד על דם רעך 

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 73a)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Obligations of a city's residents

Hi,

"A city's residents compel each other (even the minority compelling the majority) to build a wall, doors and a bolt for the city, and to build a synagogue, and to acquire a Torah, Prophets and Writings for anyone who wishes to read them, from communal funds."

כופין בני העיר זה את זה, (אפילו מעוט כופין את המרובים) (רבינו ירוחם נל"א ח"ו), לעשות חומה, דלתים ובריח לעיר; ולבנות להם בית הכנסת; ולקנות ספר תורה נביאים וכתובים, כדי שיקרא בהם כל מי שירצה, מן הצבור 

(Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 163:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Community validates Minhag and Torah

Hi,

"How do we know that we are obligated to blow shofar on this day [Rosh haShanah]?

"And regarding the essential text of the Torah, how do we know that this is the Torah of Moshe, written from Gd's word?

"It is from the mouth of the Jewish nation. Their mouths testify to it, and they also testify that our deeds fulfill our ritual obligations, and that this has been transmitted by tradition from the prophets, the law of Moshe at Sinai. The words of the masses testify to every mishnah and gemara, and beyond any proof is the [Talmudic] principle, 'Go see what the nation says.' This [national practice] is the essence and basis, and after that we look at the declarations of the mishnah and gemara in such matters, and whatever emerges from them and we resolve is good. Anything that does not match that which is in our hearts and which cannot be proved does not uproot the essence."

מנין אנו יודעים כי יש עלינו מצוה לתקוע ביום זה? ועקר התורה הכתובה מנין אנו יודעים כי היא תורת משה שכתבה מפי הגבורה, אלא מפי עם ישראל, הנה אלו המעידים עליה גם הם מעידים כי במעשה יצאנו ידי חובותינו וכי כן העתיקו בקבלה מפי הנביאים הלכה למשה מסיני. ודברי הרבים הוא המוכיח על כל משנה ועל כל גמרא, ויותר מכל ראיה מזה פוק חזי מה עמא דבר, זה העיקר והסמך ואחר כך אנו מביטים בכל הדברים שנאמרו במשנה או בגמרא בענין הזה, ומה שיעלה מהם ויתרץ כאשר את נפשותינו מוטב, ואם יש בה כלום שלא יתכוין כאשר בלבבינו ולא יתברר בראיה אינו עוקר את העיקר.

(Rav Hai Gaon, cited in Tmim Deim of Raavad 119)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Personal responsibility

Hi,


"If one says they should not bury him from his assets, we do not listen; he cannot enrich his children and make the community responsible."

(Talmud, Ketuvot 68a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #17 - Minimizing social interaction

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The seventeenth of the 48 is miut derech eretz, reducing one's social interaction.

As with our sixteenth "way", this causes us some some difficulty. We are instructed to build up society, to be part of a community, to help others, and so on. The Jew is required to look after the needs of others, and to consider the impact upon society whenever he acts. Further, one grows, as a peson, from his involvement with society.

Nonetheless, there is a downside to community involvement; the more one emphasizes involvement with others, the less energy one devotes to study. Pirkei Avot would not advise us to contradict the expectations of halachah, but one who would succeed in scholarship should place limits upon his other endeavors.

 Have a great day,
Mordechai

Classic

Hi,

"You shall neither take revenge nor bear a grudge against a person of your nation; you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Gd."

(Leviticus 19:18)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Sharing in the suffering of others

Hi,

"Rav Yehudah said, citing Rav: One who goes hungry [even if he has food to eat] during years of famine thereby saves himself from an unnatural death."

(Talmud, Taanit 11a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

We need each other's ideas

Hi,

"To our sorrow, reality exceeds our intellect and schisms have multiplied beyond the eye's ken, and so each of us should rejoice in his friend's ideas and counsel."

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, "Shalom b'Shem")

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Collective Punishment

Hi,

"The Torah says, 'That which is hidden is for HaShem our Gd; that which is revealed is for us and our descendants forever [עד עולם].' Why does the Torah include dots on 'for us and our descendants' and on the ע in עד?

"It teaches that Gd did not punish [communally] for hidden sin until the Jews crossed the Jordan, per R' Yehudah.

"R' Nechemiah asked: Does Gd ever punish [communally] for hidden sin? It says, 'That which is hidden is for HaShem our Gd… forever!' Rather: Just as Gd did not punish for hidden sin, so He did not punish for public sin until the Jews crossed the Jordan."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 43b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Appropriate awe

Hi,

"Although we are taught not to be in awe of flesh and blood, we are warned to have awe of kings, the community and Torah scholars."

(Rabbeinu Bechayye, Kad haKemach, Yirah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Breakaway Minyanim

Hi,

"The community may decree that no minyan pray outside the shul, because of appearances – lest the nations think that they are many [Jewish denominations]. Also, because of the individuals themselves who do not pay the taxes and pray elsewhere."

(R' Avraham Gombiner, Magen Avraham 154:23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Responsibility toward the community

Hi,

In an address regarding our responsibility for our covenant with Gd, Moshe tells the Jews (Devarim 29:9), 'All of you are standing here, today.'

"This teaches that even though each individual is judged separately in terms of his personal level, still, each individual influences the judgment of the whole, whether for penalty or favor."

(Netziv, Haamek Davar, Devarim 29:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Personal Morality and Collective Morale

Hi,

On the issue of disobeying a military order as a matter of conscience, and the effect it may have on collective morale:

R’ Aharon Lichtenstein, 8/16/05 letter to R’ Avraham Shapira
With respect to values and principles that divide Israeli society, regarding which there is no consensus defining a particular initiative as patently illegal and immoral, selective refusal of orders is impossible. Refusal on the right invites refusal on the left, and vice versa. The result is a divided and disjointed army, part of which dissents and abstains from an initiative in one direction, and the other rejects initiatives in the opposite direction. The damage to the unity and cohesion of the army and to the readiness for mutual dedication and sacrifice is clear. And as a result, the IDF’s ability to carry out its missions and its power of deterrence
are eroded. One need not be a great general or statesman to understand the possible implications.

R’ Avraham Sylvetsky (grandson of Rav Shapira), 8/23/05 response to R’ Aharon Lichtenstein
Even if we disregard the underlying assumption upon which Kevod Torato’s question is grounded, surely in the case at hand the matter is even simpler. For Kevod Torato’s concern regarding an impairment of the strength of the IDF is shrouded in fog and not at all clear. Surely, Kevod Torato, shelita, would agree that it is almost an insult to the intelligence of the IDF soldiers that we should be concerned that they will draw an analogy from refusing orders on religious grounds to refusing orders in other contexts.
Moreover, irrespective of the religious aspect, is it not demeaning to our soldiers to assume that they are incapable of distinguishing between an order given during wartime as part of the defense efforts against the enemy and an order calling for an assault upon the property and lives of their Jewish brothers? Every soldier understands the difference between an order given in the context of the fulfillment of the role and mission of the Israeli army—defending the citizens of Israel against the enemy, regardless of the soldier’s personal political views—and an order that would not normally fall upon the IDF, and had never been included in the purpose for its establishment, and only because of technical difficulties was given over to the IDF, which is serving in this context as a manpower agency. It is exceedingly difficult for me to accept this diminution of the moral and intellectual level of our soldiers, as if they are incapable of making such simple and elementary distinctions.

(Tradition 40:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Join the crowd!

Hi,

"It is written (Ecclesiastes 1), 'The loss cannot be counted.'

"This refers to a situation in which one's peers all join to participate in a Mitzvah, and one does not join in with them."

(Talmud, Berachot 26a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Appreciating the value of community

Hi,

"As a person ascends in his spiritual development, he becomes more sensitive to the great value of the community. The community begins to live in his essence. In his heart, and in the depths of his desire, he feels the great needs of the community, the great value of the exciting life of being part of the community, and the entire community stands in his mind's eye as a single bloc. He fels the immanent existence of the community, and is filled with unlimited love and respect for it."

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Orot haKodesh 3:157)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Join in a community mitzvah

Hi,

"It is written (Ecclesiastes 1), 'The loss cannot be counted.' This refers to a situation in which one's peers all join to participate in a Mitzvah, and one does not join in with them."

(Talmud, Berachot 26a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

We pray as a community, and we leave as a community

Hi,

"The Sages enacted a special additional blessing (Magen Avot) to be recited at the end of the Friday night Maariv service...

"Why did they do this? Because many people come to pray, and there might be someone who arrived late and won't be done when everyone else finishes, and he might remain alone in the synagogue and be endangered [upon leaving by himself].

"Therefore the Chazan recites this additional blessing, in order that the entire congregation should remain until the late one finishes. They will then all exit together."

(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer 9:10-11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Our responsibility for each other

Hi,

"The Torah says, ‘That which is hidden is for HaShem, our Gd, and that which is revealed is for us and our descendants eternally.’ In this sentence, in a Torah scroll, why are there dots atop לנו ולבנינו and over the ע in עד?

"R’ Yehudah explained: To teach that HaShem did not punish for hidden sin until the Jews crossed the Yarden.

"R’ Nechemyah asked: Does Gd ever punish for that which is hidden?! The sentence says [that Gd does not punish for hidden sin] ‘eternally!’ Rather, just as Gd did not punish for hidden sin (until then), so Gd did not punish for open sin until the Jews crossed the Yarden River."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 43b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai