You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

nor his servant, his maidservant, his ox, his ass,

nor whatever he possesses.

(Shemot 20:14)

 

You Shall Not Covet. It is common knowledge that desire depends upon the heart, and the essence of the commandment is that man must relinquish all thought of possessing that which his friend possesses - property and movables - and turn his heart away from this thought, so that he not think of them and not desire them, because this desire may eventually lead to murder, for so we read about Achan (Yehoshua 7:21) "I saw among the spoil a fine Shinar mantle... and I coveted and took them" and this desire led to his stoning. And similarly we see in the case of Ahab whose coveting of Naboth's vineyard led to death. And the Midrash (Sotah 9b) relates that whoever desires that which is not proper for him, will not receive that which he desires and will lose that which he possesses, for thus we find that the primeval serpent set his sights upon Eve and desired her and she was not appropriate for him, so what he desired he did not receive and he lost that which he had, for he was cursed with "On your belly shall you go."

(Rabeinu Bahaye, ibid.)

 

You Shall Not Covet. Consider it absolutely unobtainable, because that which is unobtainable will naturally not be desired. As with, "No man shall covet your land", because desire leads to theft, as with Achan, "I coveted them and took them."

(Seforno, ibid.)

 

"Or borne reproach for his neighbor"

Yael Levin

Psalm 24 of Tehillim raises the question "Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord and who will rise on His holy place?", and answers "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not taken a false oath by My life or sworn deceitfully." The first item mentioned relates to purity of the act, the second relates to purity of thought; the remainder of the passage relates to speech which subdivides into two branches. The phrasing of the first "Who has not taken a false oath by My life" resembles - both in form and in content - the second commandment: "You shall not bear the name of the lord you God in vain" (Shemot 20:7). The continuation of the passage "Or sworn deceitfully" is thematically identical. The sum total is that man should not swear falsely in the name of the Lord.

Psalm 15 provides a clear parallel to Psalm 24. This psalm opens with the question "A psalm of David: Lord, who may sojourn in Your tent; who may dwell on Your holy mountain?" The following four passages of the psalm list means by which man can come close to the Almighty:

He who lives without blame, who does what is right, and his heart    acknowledges   the truth; whose tongue is not given to evil, who has never done harm to his fellow, or borne reproach for [his acts toward] his neighbor; for whom a contemptible man is abhorrent, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who stands by his oath even to his hurt; who has never lent money at interest, or accepted a bribe against the innocent. The man who acts thus shall never be shaken.

These passages, too, may be subdivided into matters relating to thought - such as "and his heart acknowledges the truth"; matters in the category of speech - such as the prohibition on tale bearing as expressed in "whose tongue is not given to evil"; and finally, matters of action, which are expressed - among a number of ways - by "and does what is right."

The messages of these two psalms find parallel in the Book of Isaiah (33:14-15). Here the question is phrased "Who of us can dwell with the devouring fire; who of us can dwell with the never-dying blaze?" The answer given is:

He who walks in righteousness speaks uprightly, spurns profit from fraudulent dealings, waves away a bribe instead of grasping it, stops his ears against listening to infamy, shuts his eyes against looking at evil - such a one shall dwell in lofty security, with inaccessible cliffs for his stronghold, with his food supplied and his drink assured.

A shorter parallel may be found in Micah:

He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you:      Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

Those subjects mentioned in Psalm 15, in Isaiah and Micah, served as a basis for Rabbi Simlai's famous exposition in the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Makkot, 23b-24a):

Rabbi Simlai taught exegetically: Six hundren and thirteen commandments were related to Moses... [King] David came and established eleven [ethical requirements], as it is written: A Psalm by David; Lord, who may sojourn in Your tent... shall not falter forever (Psalms 15)... Came Isaiah and established them upon six [ethical requirements], as it is written: "One who walks with righteousness and speaks with fairness... and shuts his eyes from seeing evil (33:15)... Micah came and established them upon three, as it is written: "He has told you, O man... and to walk modestly with your God" (6:8)... Came Habakkuk and established them upon one, as it is written, "But the righteous man is rewarded with life for his faith" (2:4)

First it should be noted that although this derasha makes use of Psalm 15 there is no reference to Psalm 24.

The meaning of "or borne reproach for his neighbor" is not clear, and various suggestions of explication have been offered. In Makkot in the Babylonian Talmud, these words are assigned the meaning "This is one who draws his relatives near". Rashi, loc. sit., explains that the man did not suffer the disgrace of his relative" and in his commentary on Psalms he explains similarly that "if a relative transgresses a sin which involves punishment, he punished him justly and did not bear disgrace because of him, thereby denying the ill-wisher the possibility of maligning him by saying "your relative transgressed and you covered for him." In both these explanations by Rashi, the meaning is that the righteous man does not hide the sins of his close one

Rabbi David Kimhi (Radak), in his commentary on Psalms explains the phrase "has never done wrong to his fellow" in the wide sense of not violating negative precepts. The phrase "or borne reproach for his neighbor" is interpreted as never have shamed or reviled a person, even though said person reviled or hurt him." And the Radak said that  'borne' (nasa) by refraining from speech, as in "You shall not bear the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Shemot 20:7), "You shall not carry false rumors" (23:10). And he said that "his close one" is not exclusively a relative" but the Torah spoke in terms of the present. In the Sefer HaShorashim (Book of Roots), letter Nun, item  'naso', the Radak explains the words "or borne reproach for his neighbor" as "He did not cast disgrace upon him". Thus, in his commentary to Psalms, Radak connects "or borne reproach for his neighbor" to the second commandment. He explains the words of Psalm 15 in the sense that a man does not revile another with words, and the term "close one" refers to all men.

There is an alternate explanation to our passage, one which is connected to Radak's but seems closer to the plain meaning (pshat) of the text.. The beginning of the passage "Whose tongue is not given to evil" is a general reference to refraining from tale-bearing. The second clause associatively relates to the consequence - to the harm one brings upon his fellow through tale-bearing, for the raison d'etre of the totality of prohibitions against defamation is the damage caused to the subject of the defamation. The third clause in the passage - "or borne reproach for his neighbor" - will also be understood within the context of watching one's tongue, and its meaning is that a person did not disparage a member of his family. In this context, it should be noted that the words "to his close relative" sometimes appears in Scripture in the sense of "a blood relative". This phrase first appears in the parasha which enumerates those persons over which the high priest may defile himself; "...except for his own flesh that is close to him, for his mother and for his father and for his son and for his daughter and for his brother, and for his virgin sister..." (Vayikra 21:2) . This mode of expression appears also in the parasha about the daughters of Tselaphehad and their demand to inherit their father's estate. When a person dies leaving no sons, his estate is transferred to his daugters, and if he has no daughter, it is given to his brother. Lacking brothers, the uncle of the deceased inherits, "And if his father had no brothers, you shall give the estate to the closest relative in his family." (Bemidbar 27:8-11)

Regarding our explanation which applies the  'bearing of reproach' to one's blood relatives, it is essential to return and emphasize that the words "Does not bear" appear in Psalm 24 as a reflection of the Second Commandment. This parallelism leads one to think that the phrase "and does not bear reproach on his close one" is indeed a parallel to this commandment.

One may argue that from a thematic point of view, the stringency of bearing reproach on a relative is the equivalent of bearing the name of the Lord in vain. Both involve disrespect for the object, for the Lord and for the relative. The Second Commandment decrees - both in the Yitro version and in the VaEthanan version - that the Lord will not acquit whosoever bears his name in vain. Although on the face of it, one may conclude that there is no atonement for transgression of this sin, from a discussion of this question in the Talmud Bavli (Tractate Shevuoth 21a) we learn that "the Heavenly court will not acquit him, but the human court flogs him... it is God who does not acquit, but the earthly court flogs him and absolves him" Similarly, Talmud Yerushalmi (Tractate Bava Kama, Chap.8, halacha 6) quotes Rabbi Yosa to the effect that whoever libels his fellow "will never be forgiven". This point is also made in literature of Rishonim and Aharonim, although some claim that it is a quality of humility to forgive even such (See Magen Avraham on Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 706:1) Libeling is "a twisted thing that cannot be made straight" (Kohellet 1:15), because its potential for destruction is so great; it damages man's very existence so much that it is enumerated among those things which are irreparable, and the hurt party has the right to refuse to forgive.

This being the case, a separate statement is devoted to the prohibition against scorning and disgracing relatives, because tale-bearing and slander of close family is something which we tend to belittle and often practice, and they carry the potential for disastrous results.

The Bible and Rabbinic literature contain examples of the phenomenon that ruptures the fabric of relationships between brothers and relatives. Joseph brought ill report of his brothers to his father. The etymologic explanation accompanying the name Joseph is "The Lord has taken away my shame." (Bereshit 30:23),and the rabbis describe the shame and the embarrassment of barrenness suffered by Rachel at the hands of those around her, and also that of our father Jacob (Midrash Hagadol, Bereshit 23:1, p.369). So with regard to Hannah. Rabbinic sources expand the tendency already evident in Scripture, and paint in unflattering hues Penina's provocative attitude towards her sister.

It is also important - relative to our discussion above - to note that as much as the sources tend to focus upon the severity of the commandment to honor father and mother, we should not refrain from mentioning that a person's parents are obligated not to express words of tale-baring or denigration of their children.

According to our approach, the prohibition against tale bearing against family relations parallels the second commandment. In this context it should be noted that from the awareness of the special importance of Psalm 15, thematic parallels have been drawn in different places between it and the Ten Commandments. And so, in the framework of Kaballah appearing in the New Zohar (VaYetzheh 27b-c) there appear two opinions regards the quote "has borne no disgrace upon his close one". Rabbi Yehudah opines that these words refer to "one who publically desecrates the Sabbath. Rabbi Yosi maintains that they parallel "You shall not steal." Rabbi Yosef Moskatu (Modena, Italy, 1535-1590), draws a different parallel between Psalm 15 and the Commandments. In his point of view, the statement "Whose tongue is not given to evil" parallels "You shall not answer"; "Has never done harm to his fellow" parallels "You shall not steal"; "or borne reproach for his neighbor" parallels "You shall not commit adultery". "We have covered speech and action against his fellow's person, property and honor (Nefutzot Yehuda, Sermon11). Yet another parallel is to be found in the composition "MiTsur Devash " (Honey from a Stone), by Rabbi Shimon Torpeshtin, a 20^th century head of the rabbinic court of Stanislav. In his perception, "Or borne reproach for his neighbor" parallels the fifth commandment, that of honoring father and mother. This view is based upon the derasha in the Babylonian Talmud "this refers to one who brings his relatives closer", "for father and mother are closest to a person" (Ibid. p.3, the page of "Perfection".)

It is essential at all times to bear in mind that libeling any and all persons - especially members of family - is improper. At the root of the laws of tale bearing and libel lies the recognition that every man is created equal in the image of God, and one's reputation is not for others to damage or destroy. One who spreads gossip about another often does so from a position of imagined superiority, desiring to place the object of his attitude in a lower class. The severity of slander is evidenced by many statements in Rabbinic literature. Among such statements is that which is brought in the Tanhuma (Metsora, 2) rating lashon hara as being more severe than murder, incest, and idolatry. Therefore occupation with purity of speech in general, and with the passage "nor borne reproach for [his acts toward] his neighbor" in particular, are engagement in tikkun olam - repairing the world - and this involvement has the power to increase the image of God in our world.

Dr. Yael Levin is, among other things, editor of "Sim Shalom" prayers for world peace, an anthology from "Likuttei Tefillot" (A Collection of Prayers", published by Koren, Yerushalayim.

 

Other Gods

Included in today's immense avoda zara (false worship) throughout the world a powerful entity,: the focusing of all thought and activity upon acquisition of money and business success, which are for them the great gods upon whom we depend, and upon belief in them they are supported, and through the sanctification of their name they deny the God above.

(Nehama Leibowitz: Studies in the Book of Shemot, quoting the Ba'al Ha'akeida, P. 234)

 

The names change, but the multiplicity remains. Culture and civilization, nation and country, nationality and race, belief and science, economy and class - here you see a shortened list, and incomplete Pantheon of modern man. Who can deny the existence of these gods?

No idol worshipper has ever bowed down to his idol with greater sacrifice, greater faith, than modern man the aforementioned gods... and therefore, until this very day, in the heart of man rages a war between worship of the One and worship of the many, and the outcome of this war is not certain.

(From "Franz Rosenzweig: Jehuda Halevy. Anmerkungen", translated and quoted by Prof. Nehama Leibowitz, z"l)

 

Midrashei Tsafon - From the Pen of Ronen Ahituv

And Moses Drew Near the Thick Cloud Where God Was.

Was it to the cloud that Moshe drew near? It was Mt. Sinai that he ascended! Why was Sinai compared to a thick cloud? Just as a thick cloud can be discerned by man from afar, but when man approaches the cloud, he cannot see, so the Shekina - when Moshe stood from afar, he saw. As is written "From afar was God seen to me (Jeremiah 31:2)

                                                 

 

If you wish to subscribe to the email English editions of Shabbat Shalom, to print copies of it for distribution in your synagogue, to inquire regarding the dedication of an edition in someone's honor or memory, to find out how to make tax-exempt donations, or to suggest additional helpful ideas, please call +972-52-3920206 or at ozshalom@netvision.net.il

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $700
• English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.

 

About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts that have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

4,500 copies of a 4-page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il.

Shabbat Shalom is available on our website: www.netivot-shalom.org.il