The limits of good intentions

Hi,

"Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz (Sichot Mussar 5732 #2) observes that the Talmud (Bava Batra 16a) is offering no mitigation of Peninah's guilt. Rather, it is expressing that when dealing with the genuine pain of other individuals, good intentions are no defense; the end result is just as anguishing. As he puts it, if one places a person's arm in an oven, even if one means well, it is no less burnt."

(Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, The Right and the Good, pg. xxi)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of social halachah

Hi,

"The day-to-day interactions between people, the treatment of one another in mundane conversation, in walking in the street, in traveling on a bus, or waiting in line to be served in a store, are no less the home of halakhah than are the activities of the synagogue or the kitchen, the study hall or the hospital bed."

(Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, The Right and the Good, pg. xii)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Torah Thought - 1/9

Hi,

"Integrity of speech, action, and attitude stands at the forefront on the list of attributes of the committed citizen and certainly the devoted Jew. While the challenges to honesty come in multiple forms, the call to resist these challenges is constant and emblematic of the halakhic ideal. It behooves every Jew to spare no effort in ensuring that all his words and deeds are stamped 'with the seal of Gd.'"

(R' Daniel Z. Feldman, The Right and the Good, pg. 74)

Have a great day,
Mordechai