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labellezadelatora · 4 years

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DEVARIM

bs'd Shalom. La idea de esta semana de mi libro ‘Healing Anger’ es: "Los padres que hacen que sus hijos les teman en exceso pueden llevarlos a rebelarse completamente, Di-s no lo quiera, cuando son mayores". El link para comprar mi libro es http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html Si quieres comprarlo en Israel contactame. Mi revisión semanal llega a más de 5.000 personas en Inglés y Español en todo el mundo. Les ofrezco a todos la oportunidad de compartir la mitzvá de honrar a un ser querido, patrocinando mi Divre Tora, para shelema refua (curación), o shiduj, Atzlaja. Siéntete libre de reenviar este Divre Tora a otros correligionarios. Tengan un Shabat Shalom con mucha salud. DEVARIM- ¿Solo un Favor Pequeño? En esta parashá, Moshe Rabenu advirtió a los jueces recién nombrados que no mostraran ningún favoritismo que pudiera corromper los resultados de un caso sobre el cual están presidiendo, [1] "Instruí a sus jueces en ese momento, diciendo:"Escuchen a sus hermanos y juzguen con rectitud entre un hombre y su projimo o su litigante. No mostrarán favoritismo en el juicio, tanto pequeños como grandes oirán ... " Un tema recurrente en la Torá es que las consideraciones personales, en especial los sobornos, harán que un juez vea a una de las partes más favorablemente que a la otra. Los sobornos no necesariamente tienen que venir en forma de dinero [2]. Incluso los intercambios aparentemente menores pueden afectar la forma en que una persona ve las cosas. Incluso decir cosas buenas a un juez puede ser una forma de soborno que nublará su juicio. La Gemara enumera a varios Amoraim que se descalificaron de un caso después de aceptar favores que difícilmente consideraríamos sobornos. El Amora Shmuel fue ayudado por alguien a cruzar un puente. El Sabio le preguntó a este hombre qué lo había llevado al puente y él respondió que tenía un caso en el Bet Din de Shmuel. Shmuel se descalificó a sí mismo para juzgar el caso por preocupación de que el favor que había recibido de este hombre le haría querer verlo ganar el caso y manipular inconscientemente el procedimiento para que eso sucediera. Ameimar estaba sentado en el bet din y una pluma cayó sobre su cabeza. Un persona se acercó y le quitó la pluma. Cuando le dijo a Ameimar que estaba allí para un juicio, Ameimar se recusó de escuchar el caso. Mar Ukva tuvo una instancia en la que alguien escupió frente a él y otra persona vino y cubrió la saliva. La segunda persona tenía un caso programado en el que Mar Ukva sería el juez y este se descalificó a sí mismo de juzgarlo. El último caso en la Gemara es sobre un campesino que normalmente entregaba la porción del producto de Rav Shmuel bar Yose todos los viernes. Una semana, el campesino tenia que estar en la ciudad el jueves por un caso monetario y decidió entregar el producto un día antes. Rav Shmuel bar Yose se recusó de juzgar el caso del campesino para no verse afectado por el favor de tener su producto un día antes. Rav Pam se pregunta: ¿Eran estos Amoraim tan volubles que el más mínimo favor podría nublar su juicio? ¿Podemos imaginarnos el uzgar mal un caso porque alguien lo ayudó a cruzar la calle o le limpió el sombrero? ¿No debería un Amora ser más honesto que asumir que sería parcial por razones tan triviales? Esta Gemara no se trata tanto de la integridad judicial o de la naturaleza negativa de los sobornos, sino del alcance del hakarat hatov (gratitud) que deberíamos tener por quienes nos favorecen. Estos Amoraim no eran volubles; ellos tomaban los favores de las personas más en serio que nosotros. Para nosotros, tales favores pueden ser tan insignificantes que ni siquiera se registran en nuestro cerebro. Pero las personas que han trabajado para apreciar lo que otros hacen por ellos consideran estas bondades "menores" dignas de tanta gratitud que podrían opacar su juicio. Rav Pam continúa mostrando cuántos de los problemas en la sociedad actual se deben a la falta de gratitud. Los esposos dan por sentado los favores "pequeños" diarios que las esposas hacen por ellos y las esposas dan por sentado los favores de sus esposos. Todos esperan que la otra parte haga las tareas que suelen hacer porque "es su trabajo". Si cada cónyuge tomara favores tan en serio como lo hicieron estos Amoraim, tendríamos muchos más matrimonios felices y estables, en los que todos sentirían que son apreciados por todo lo que hacen. Lo mismo es válido para las relaciones de trabajo y prácticamente para todas las demás relaciones humanas. El enemigo de la gratitud es el habituarse. La forma en que funciona el cerebro humano es que nos acostumbramos rápidamente incluso a los regalos más espectaculares. Si la gente mirara lo que la otra parte hace por ellos en lugar de considerarlo un derecho otorgado por Di-s, se llevarían mucho mejor. Quizás el ejemplo más convincente que ofrece Rav Pam es la actitud que las personas muestran hacia Yeshivot, Beit Yaakov y las escuelas. Si los padres y los estudiantes tuvieran la gratitud adecuada para las instituciones que los educaron a ellos o a sus hijos, darían obsequios generosos y continuos a esas escuelas y nuestros mosdot no estaría en el lamentable estado de colapso financiero en el que se encuentran. Con demasiada frecuencia, la actitud es: “Pagué mi matrícula. Hice mi trabajo y tu hiciste el tuyo. ¡No me molestes más!" Las personas que realmente son makir tov no aprecian solo las cosas buenas que otros hacen por ellos, incluso sienten una deuda de gratitud con quienes los lastimaron de una manera que finalmente terminó ayudándolos. Rav Kuk pasaba sus veranos en la costa del mar Báltico en Letonia, junto con otros rabanim europeos. Una tarde, Rav Reuven Zelig Bengis tenia un yortzait, pero solo había nueve personas en la sinagoga improvisada. Una persona salió a buscar a un décimo hombre y encontró uno rapidamente. Pero no se dio cuenta de que otro hombre que tenía otro yortzait había reunido exactamente a diez personas justo afuera de su habitación y que el hombre a quien convocó en el minyan de Rav Bengis era necesario para el otro minyan. La persona que organizó el minyan afuera comenzó a gritar e insultar a Rav Bengis. Rav Kuk quien era conocido por su gran amor por cada judío, vio esta acción totalmente inaceptable. Se acercó a la persona que estaba reprendiendo a Rav Bengis y lo abofeteó por insultar a un talmid jajam. Este hombre decidió demandar a Rav Kuk en una corte secular por asalto. Varias personas pidieron a Rav Kuk que se disculpara para que el asunto no fuera más allá, pero Rav Kuk se negó. "Si fuera por mi propio honor, me disculparía", explicó. “Pero Rav Bengis fue avergonzado. No me arrepiento de haber abofeteado a una persona para defender el honor de un talmid jajam. ¡Que me lleve a la corte! Pocos días después, el hombre se disculpó con Rav Kuk y le dijo que no lo llevaría a los tribunales. Durante muchos años ese parecia el final de la historia. Años más tarde, Rav Kuk visitó los Estados Unidos y fue abordado por la misma persona a la que abofeteó años antes en el resort. "Le debo al Rav una gran deuda de gratitud", dijo el hombre, sacando un reloj de oro de su bolsillo y presentándolo como regalo a Rav Kuk. Explicó que su vida en Europa se volvió insoportable. Se hizo famoso por ser el que le gritó a Rav Bengis y fue abofeteado por Rav Kook. Ya no podía soportar la vergüenza y decidió abandonar Europa e ir a América donde nadie lo conocía. Finalmente se convirtió en millonario en Estados Unidos. Sintió que su buena fortuna era el resultado de la bofetada de Rav Kuk y quería darle un regalo al Rav para mostrar su gratitud. Es muy difícil sentir gratitud por una bofetada. Pero lo menos que podemos hacer es aprender a ser tan agradecidos como los Amoraim fueron con aquellos que nos hacen favores. Ese nivel de hakarat hatov no se limitó a la generación del Talmud. El Jafetz Jaim, que vivió hace menos de un siglo, era un Kohen y no podía asistir a funerales. Pero cuando una mujer que había donado una ventana estándar a su yeshiva falleció, siguió el ataúd desde la distancia hasta el cementerio en agradecimiento por su donación. Ser judío se trata de sentir apreciación; ¿De dónde viene el nombre judío 'Yehudi'? ¿Por qué no se nos llama hebreos o israelitas, como nos llamaban en los primeros tiempos? La razón, según nuestros maestros, es porque la raíz del nombre Yehuda es agradecer, expresar gratitud. Un judío se mide por su sentido de gratitud. Si apreciamos los favores que otros nos hacen, por pequeños que sean, ¡el mundo sera un lugar mucho mejor! _________________________________ [1] Devarim 1:16-17 [2] Ketubot 105b Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simja, Mordejai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simja, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Javah, Abraham Meir ben Lea,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Jaya bat Dovid. Refua Shelema de todos los enfermos del Coronavirus, Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simja, Menachem Jaim ben Malka, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Gila bat Tzipora, Tzipora bat Gila, Dvir ben Leah,Hadasa bat Sara, Elimelej Dovid ben Jaya Baila, Eliezer Jaim ben Jaya Batya, Noa bat Batsheva Devora,Shlomo Yoel ben Jaya Leah y Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba Malka. Besorot Tovot para Shmuel Dovid Ben Raizel. Atzlacha para Daniel ben Mazal Tov, Debora Leah Bat Henshe Rachel, Shmuel ben Mazal tov and Zivug agun a Gila bat Mazal Tov, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Elisheva bat Malka.

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thebeautyoftorah · 4 years

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DEVARIM

bs'd

Shalom. The thought from my book 'Healing Anger' is: "Parents who cause their children to fear them excessively can lead their children to completely rebel, Heaven forbid, when they are older." Buy my book at http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html If you want to buy it from me in Israel let me know. To join the over 4,000 recipients in English and Spanish and receive these insights free on a weekly email, feedback, comments, which has been all around the world, or if you know any other Jew who is interested in receiving these insights weekly, contact me.You have the opportunity to share in the mitzvah to honor a loved one by sponsoring my weekly review, or refua shelema (healing), shiduch, Hatzlacha. Have a healthy Shabbat Shalom. DEVARIM-Just a Small Favor? In this parsha Moshe Rabenu warned the then-newly appointed judges not to show any favoritism that might corrupt the results of a case over which they are presiding, [1] "And I instructed your judges at that time, saying, “Hear among your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother or his litigant. You shall not show favoritism in judgment, small and great alike shall you hear…”

A recurring theme in the Torah is that personal considerations, especially in the form of bribes, will cause a judge to view one party more favorably than the other.

Bribes don’t necessarily have to come in the form of money[2]. Even seemingly minor exchanges can affect the way a person sees things. Even saying nice things to a judge may be a form of bribery that will cloud his judgment. The Gemara enumerates several Amoraim who disqualified themselves from a case after accepting favors that we would hardly consider bribery.

The Amora Shmuel was helped by someone to cross a bridge. The Sage asked this man what had brought him to the bridge and he answered that he had a case in Shmuel’s beit din. Shmuel disqualified himself from judging the case out of concern that the favor he had received from this man would cause him to want to see this man win the case and subconsciously skew the proceedings to make that happen.

Ameimar was sitting in beit din and a feather fell on his head. A fellow came over and removed the feather. When he told Ameimar that he was there to have his case heard, Ameimar recused himself from hearing the case.

Mar Ukva had an instance in which someone spat in front of him and another person came and covered up the saliva. The second person had a case scheduled in which Mar Ukva was to be the judge and Mar Ukva disqualified himself.

The last case in the Gemara is about a sharecropper who would normally deliver Rav Shmuel bar Yose’s share of the produce every Friday. One week, the sharecropper had to be in town on Thursday for a monetary case and decided to deliver the produce a day early. Rav Shmuel bar Yose recused himself from judging the case of the sharecropper lest he be affected by the favor of having his produce a day early.

Rav Pam wonders: Were these Amoraim so fickle that the slightest favor could cloud their judgment? Can we imagine a dayan misjudging a case because someone helped him across the street or cleaned his hat? Shouldn’t an Amora give himself more credit than to assume that he would be biased for such trivial reasons?

This Gemara is not so much about judicial integrity or the negative nature of bribes as it is about the extent of hakarat hatov (gratitude) we should have for those who do us favors.

These Amoraim weren’t fickle; they took people’s favors more seriously than we do. To us, such favors might be so insignificant that they don’t even register on our radar screens. But people who have worked on appreciating what others do for them consider these “minor” kindnesses worthy of so much gratitude that it might skew their judgment.

Rav Pam goes on to show how many of the problems in society today stem from a lack of gratitude. Husbands take the daily “small” favors that wives do for them for granted and wives take their husband’s favors for granted. Everyone expects the other party to do the chores they usually do because “it’s his or her job”. If each spouse would take favors as seriously as these Amoraim did, we would have many more happy and stable marriages, in which everyone would feel that they are appreciated for all they do.

The same holds true for employer-employee relationships and virtually all other relationships as well. The enemy of gratitude is habituation. The way the human brain works is that we quickly become accustomed to even the most spectacular gifts. If people would look at what the other party does for them instead of considering it a God-given right, they would get along much better.

Perhaps the most compelling example Rav Pam offers is the attitude people display toward Yeshivot, Beit Yaakov and day schools. If parents and students would have the proper hakarat hatov toward the institutions that educated them or their children, they would give generous, ongoing gifts to those schools, and our mosdot wouldn’t be in the sorry state of financial collapse they are in. But all too often, the attitude is, “I paid my tuition. I did my job. You did yours. Don’t bother me anymore!”

And people who are truly makir tov don’t appreciate only the good things that others do for them; they even feel a debt of gratitude to those who hurt them in a way that ultimately ended up helping them.

Rav Kook would spend his summers on the Baltic seacoast in Latvia, along with other European rabbanim. One evening, Rav Reuven Zelig Bengis had yahrtzeit, but there were only nine people in the improvised shul. One person went outside to look for a tenth man and found one nearby. Little did he realize that another man who had yahrtzeit had gathered exactly ten people just outside their room and that the man whom he summoned into Rav Bengis’s minyan was needed for the other minyan.

The person who organized the minyan outside started yelling and insulting Rav Bengis. Rav Kook was well known for his big love for every Jew, but this action was beyond the pale. He walked over to the person who was berating Rav Bengis and slapped him across his face for insulting a talmid chacham.

This man decided to sue Rav Kook in a secular court for assault. Several people asked Rav Kook to apologize so the matter would not go any further, but Rav Kook refused. “If it was for my own honor, I would apologize,” he explained. “But Rav Bengis was shamed. I am not sorry that I slapped a person in order to defend the honor of a talmid chacham. Let him take me to court!”

A few days later the fellow came into Rav Kook, apologized and told him he was not going to take him to court.

For many years, it seemed that that was the end of the story. Years later Rav Kook visited the United States and was approached by the very person whom he slapped years earlier at the resort. “I owe the Rav a great debt of gratitude,” the man said, removing a gold watch from his pocket and presenting it to Rav Kook. He explained that his life in Europe became unbearable. He became infamous for being the one who yelled at Rav Bengis and got slapped by Rav Kook. He could no longer bear the shame and decided to leave Europe and go to America where no one knew him. He eventually became a millionaire in America. He felt his good fortune was all the result of the slap from Rav Kook and he wanted to give the Rav a gift to show his gratitude.

It is very hard to feel gratitude for a slap in the face. But the least we can do is learn to be as appreciative as the Amoraim were toward those who do us favors.

That level of hakarat hatov wasn’t limited to the generation of the Talmud. The Chafetz Chaim, who lived less than a century ago, was a Kohen and could not attend funerals. But when a woman who had once donated a standard window to his yeshivah passed away, he followed the casket from a distance all the way to the cemetery in appreciation for her donation.

Being a Jew is all about appreciation; where does the name Jew, 'Yehudi', come from? Why are we not called Hebrew or Israelite, as we were classified in early times? The reason, according to our teachers, is because the root of the name Yehuda is to thank, to express gratitude. A jew is measured by his sense of gratitude. If we would appreciate the favors others do for us, however small they are, the world would be a far better place! _________________________________ [1] Devarim 1:16-17 [2] Ketubot 105b Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah, Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid. Refua Shelema to all the people sick with the Corona virus, Akiva Shushan Ben Natalie Penina, Mazal Tov bat Freja, Hadassa bat Sara, Elisheva bat Miriam, Chana bat Ester Beyla, Mattitiahu Yered ben Miriam, Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simcha, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Nechemia Efraim ben Beyla Mina, Dvir ben Leah, Sender ben Sara, Eliezer Chaim ben Chaya Batya, Shlomo Yoel ben Chaya Leah, Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba, Shmuel ben Mazal Tov, Yosef Yitzchak ben Bracha.

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israel-jewish-news · 7 years

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Mandelblit Whisked Away From Shul After Leftist Harassment

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/01/20/mandelblit-whisked-away-shul-leftist-harassment/

Mandelblit Whisked Away From Shul After Leftist Harassment

Friday, January 19, 2018 at 2:25 am | ג' שבט תשע"ח

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

Criticism poured in Motzoei Shabbos after leftist demonstrators surrounded State Attorney Avichai Mandelblit outside the Petach Tikvah shul he davens in as he was attempting to say Kaddish after Kiddush Levanah. The demonstrators yelled catcalls and curses at Mandelblit, demanding that he act to indict Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on corruption charges.

Mandelblit, surrounded by the crowd, was whisked away by fellow mispallelim. Police eventually arrived and broke up the crowd.

Criticism poured in from across the political spectrum. “This was an act that should be condemned by all,” said Justice Ministry spokesperson Moshe Cohen. “Absolutely shameful. These are radicals who spread lies and incitement, and have no borders. Red lines were crossed tonight.” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that “harassment of a state attorney, at his synagogue on Motzoei Shabbos, is nothing more than violent bullying and shameful behavior.”

Zionist Camp MK and opposition head condemned the demonstrators as well. “I am shocked at the hardness of heart of the demonstrators who tried to interfere with a man attempting to say Kaddish for his mother. This is an inhuman act. There are limits to the right to demonstrate even in a democracy like Israel,” said MK Yitzchak Herzog.

#Politics

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israel-jewish-news · 7 years

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Poll: 98 Percent of Young Israeli Parents Held Bris for Their Children

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2017/12/27/poll-98-young-israeli-parents-held-bris-children/

Poll: 98 Percent of Young Israeli Parents Held Bris for Their Children

Chief Rabbi David Lau at the bris milah of his grandson. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90, File)

Secular Israeli media – both Hebrew and English-language – have recently featured stories about the declining popularity of circumcision among Jews, but a poll presented Tuesday at a gathering of mohalim sponsored by the Chief Rabbinate showed just the opposite: 98 percent of Jewish Israelis who have given birth to a son in the last five years performed the mitzvah of bris milah, the vast majority with a licensed mohel conducting the ceremony. 86 percent of those polled in the representative sample of over 500 Israeli parents who have had children recently said that they had “no doubt” that they would circumcises their sons; among parents age 30 and under, that percentage was 96 percent.

The poll also showed that a full 99 percent of those whose sons were circumcised used a mohel licensed by the Chief Rabbinate, with 30 percent of those using a mohel who was also a recognized physician. In addition, the vast majority of parents were satisfied with the results of the procedure; 86 percent said they would use the same mohel again in the event they had another boy, while the rest said they would prefer to try someone else. 48 percent of respondents said they got the name of the mohel they used from family members, while 45 percent said they were given the name by friends. Many of the respondents who termed themselves non-religious said they found their mohel via a web search.

Many mohalim also conduct followup visits or phone calls to ensure that their “patients” are in good health. 58 percent of respondents said that the mohel had contacted them after the procedure, with both a phone call and a personal visit, while 19 percent only called. 17 percent of parents said they did not experience any follow-up.

Rabbi Moshe Dagan, Director-General of the Chief Rabbinate, said in a statement that “it is clear that the public is aware of the high quality of work done by the Rabbinate, and the high level of awareness of health and hygiene among mohalim. We will continue to supervise the avodas kodesh done by mohalim and give them all the tools necessary to succeed in their holy work.”

#Bris

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thebeautyoftorah · 7 years

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VAETCHANAN

bs’d

Shalom, I hope you are well. In order to continue writing my Divre Torah for the rest of the summer l'm asking for donations, so you have the opportunity to share in the mitzvah to honor a loved one by sponsoring my weekly parsha review, refua shelema (healing), shiduch, Atzlacha (success), etc. My weekly review goes out to over 5000 people in English and Spanish around the world. Contact me for more details. Feel free to forward these words of Torah - based on the teachings of R’ Yonatan Gefen- to any other fellow Jew. Enjoy it and Shabbat Shalom. VAETCHANAN – TWO TABLETS This week's Parsha contains a repetition of the Ten Commandments. Some of them are worded somewhat differently than those in parashat Yitro. The Mabit (R' Moshe ben Joseph di Trani 1505-1585) makes a remarkable observation about the two luchot-tablets- on which the Commandments were inscribed. Our Sages explain that the two luchot were focusing on different areas: The first luach consisted of Mitzvot that relate to the realm of ben adam leMakom (between man and G-d), such as belief in G-d, and honoring one's parents. The second luach consisted of Mitvot that relate to ben adam lechavero (between man and his fellow), such as the prohibitions not to kill and not commit adultery. The Mabit points out that there were far more words on the first luach than on the second.[1] Accordingly, there was much less space to fit all the words on the first luach than on the second. Therefore, it must be that the words in the first luach were written far smaller than those in the second. This was done deliberately by HaShem so that the side that discussed the ben adam lechavero would be more noticeable than the side that focused on ben adam leMakom. The Mabit continues that this is because the yetser hara is strongest in the area of ben adam lechavero. HaShem wanted people to focus more on the Mitzvot that relate to our fellow jews because extra effort is required to overcome the yetser hara in this area.[2] It would seem that a Gemara in Bava Batra provides evidence supporting the Mabit’s argument.[3] The Gemara discusses various sins in which people stumble. It tells us that a minority of people stumble in arayot (forbidden relationships), a majority stumble in gezel[4], and everyone stumbles in avak lashon hara.[5]Forbidden relationships generally fall in the area of bein adam leMakom[6], whereas stealing and lashon hara both clearly fall within the realm of ben adam lechavero. Thus, the Gemara is telling us that people are more prone to sin in certain Mitzvot regarding to ben adam lechavero. The following story also supports this point: Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l was asked to rule on the kashrut of an animal to ascertain whether it was taref. He ruled that it was indeed taref, causing the butcher involved a significant loss. The butcher accepted the ruling with equanimity. A few months later, the same butcher was involved in a monetary dispute with someone else, over a far smaller amount of money. Rav Chaim ruled against him. On this occasion, however, the butcher was furious and insulted Rav Chaim for his ruling. Rav Simcha Zelig Reiger, zt”l, asked Rav Chaim why the butcher was calm when he lost a far larger amount of money and so angry about the smaller sum. Rav Chaim explained that on this occasion, he ‘lost’ to someone else – it was the fact that another person ‘beat’ him that angered him so much. The question remains, what is the reason (or reasons) as to why people are more prone to stumbling in ben adam lechavero.[7] It is possible to suggest the following: The Vilna Gaon zt”l writes that every Mitzva stems from a particular good character trait (midda), and every avera stems from a bad trait.[8] Nonetheless, it seems that it is possible for a person to have certain bad middot and yet observe many Mitzvot. For example, a person who has a tendency to lose his temper, will not necessarily be hindered by this bad trait, in his observance of Shabbat, kashrut, and many other Mitzvot in the realm of ben adam LeMakom. However, he will be tremendously hindered in the area of ben adam lechavero. Every time he raises his voice in an inappropriate fashion, he will very likely transgress the prohibition of onaa devarim(hurtful words) and if he shouts at someone in front of others, he will transgress the extremely serious sin of embarrassing someone in public. Similarly, a person who has an ayin ra (he focuses on the bad in people), will still be able to put on Tefillim and learn Torah, however, he will very likely stumble in lashon hara and judging others favorably. There are obviously certain middot, which also make it very difficult to observe Mitzvot in ben adam Makom, such as laziness. However, it is important to note, that such traits will also greatly harm one’s observance of ben adam lechavero related Mitzvot. For example, a lazy person will not be willing to help his spouse in the work that needs to be done at home, causing problems in the relationship. Even the trait of taava (lust) can be the cause of great failings in ben adam lechavero. For example, a person who is overly attached to food will very likely react in an inappropriate fashion to his/her spouse if they serve food that he does not appreciate, again resulting in a transgression of onaat devarim. The obvious lesson to derive from the Mabit is that extra effort is required in ben adam lechavero.[9] Moreover, based on the explanation that the root cause of the failing in this area is bad middot, it is essential to work on traits such as anger, jealousy, and ayin ra. Indeed, the Maharsha points out that when the Gemara said that everyone stumbles in avak lashon hara, it was only referring to people who do not make an effort to improve in this area.[10] However, one who makes an effort to control his anger and guard his speech by learning the laws relating to it, will improve his traits and is not destined to speak avak lashon hara or hurt others with his anger. This surely applies to all the Mitzvot ben adam lechavero; if one makes a strong and consistent effort to improve, then he will overcome the yetser hara’s attempts to make his stumble. _________________________________

[1] In the version of the Ten Commandments in Va’eschanan, there are 162 words in the first luach and 27 in the second.

[2] Mabit, Bet Elokim, Shaar Yesodot, Ch.12.

[3] Bava Batra, 165a.

[4] See Rashbam, Bava Batra, 165a., who explains what kind of stealing this refers to.

[5] Literally translated as the ‘dust of lashon hara’. It is a more subtle type of negative speech.

[6] With the exception of having relations with a married woman, which obviously involves a failing in ben adam lechavero.

[7] This explanation is a possible approach. Any other explanation is greatly welcome.

[8] Even Shelema, Ch.1.

[9] Of course, this is not to say that one should not put great effort into improving his performance in ben adam LeMakom. It is also, important to note that many people might feel more of an inclination to focus on bein adam lechaveiro, and neglect their responsibilities in ben adam leMakom.

[10] See Shemirat Halashon, Ch.15.

Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid.

Refua Shelema of Yaacov ben Miriam, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Gila bat Tzipora, Tzipora bat Gila, Dvir ben Leah, Elimelech Dovid ben Chaya Baila, Noa bat Batsheva Devorah and Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba Malka. Atzlacha to Shmuel ben Mazal tov and Zivug agun to Marielle Gabriela bat Gila, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Yehudit bat Malka, Elisheva bat Malka.

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