Elohai Netzor & Lashon Hara

Rabbi Eliezer said, "Other people’s dignity should be as precious to you as your own." [AJWS translation]

Thus, if a man is righteous and does what is just and right: If he has not eaten on the mountains or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; if he has not defiled another man's wife or approached a menstruous woman; if he has not wronged anyone; if he has returned the debtor's pledge to him and has taken nothing by robbery; if he has given bread to the hungry and clothed the naked; if he has not lent at advance interest or exacted accrued interest; if he has abstained from wrongdoing and executed true justice between man and man; if he has followed My laws and kept My rules and acted honestly -- he is righteous. Such a man shall live -- declares Adonai. Suppose, now, that he has begotten a son who is a ruffian, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things, whereas he himself did none of these things. That is, the son has eaten on the mountains, has defiled another man's wife, has wronged the poor and the needy, has taken by robbery, has not returned a pledge, has raised his eyes to the fetishes, has committed abomination, has lent at advance interest, or exacted accrued interest -- shall he live? He shall not live! If he has committed any of these abominations, he shall die; he has forfeited his life. Now suppose that he, in turn, has begotten a son who has seen all the sins that his father committed, but has taken heed and has not imitated them: He has not eaten on the mountains or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; he has not defiled another man's wife; he has not wronged anyone; he has not seized a pledge or taken anything by robbery; he has given his bread to the hungry and clothed the naked; he has refrained from oppressing the poor; he has not exacted advance or accrued interest; he has obeyed My rules and followed My laws -- he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall live. To be sure, his father, because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and acted wickedly among his kin, did die for his iniquity; and now you ask, "Why has not the son shared the burden of his father's guilt?" But the son has done what is right and just, and has carefully kept all My laws: he shall live! The person who sins, he alone shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent's guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child's guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to him alone. Moreover, if the wicked one repents of all the sins that he committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, he shall live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions he committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness he has practiced, he shall live. Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die? -- says Adonai, God. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live. So, too, if a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very abominations that the wicked person practiced, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he did shall be remembered; because of the treachery he has practiced and the sins he has committed -- because of these, he shall die. [JPS translation]

In every generation, one is obligated to see oneself as if they left Egypt, as it is said (Exodus 13), “And you will tell your child on that day, saying, ‘Because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt.’” Therefore we are obliged to thank, praise, glorify, extol, exalt, beatify, bless, etc., etc. to the One who did all these miracles for our ancestors and for us: Who brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to festivity, from darkness to great light, from servitude to redemption. And we say before God, Hallelujah. [Soncino translation. Edited for gender neutrality]

Rabbi Akiva says: the death sentence can only be determined (by a court of) twenty-three. A tribe, a false prophet and the High Priest can only be judged by a court of seventy-one. A permitted/optional war can only be waged under the authority of a court of seventy-one.

Ben ‘Azzai said: “'This is the book of the descendants of Adam' is a great principle of the Torah.” R. Akiva said: "'Love your neighbor as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18) is a great principle, so that you must not say, "Since I have been put to shame, let my neighbor be put to shame, since I have been cursed, let my neighbor be cursed." R. Tanhuma said: "If you do so, know whom you put to shame, for 'In the image of God did God make him'" (Genesis 5:1). [AJWS translation]

MISHNAH – captives should not be redeemed for more than their value, to prevent abuses. Captives should not be helped to escape, to prevent abuses. Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel says [that the reason is] to prevent the ill-treatment of fellow captives. GEMARA. The question was raised: Does this prevention of abuses relate to the burden which may be imposed on the community or to the possibility that the activities [of the bandits] may be stimulated? — Come and hear: Levi b. Darga ransomed his daughter for thirteen thousand denarii of gold. Said Abaye: But are you sure that he acted with the consent of the Sages? Perhaps he acted against the will of the Sages.

Two people were traveling, and [only] one of them had a canteen of water.[There was only enough water so that] if both of them drank they would both die, but if one of them drank [only] that person would make it back to an inhabited area [and live].Ben Petura publicly taught:'Better both should drink and die than that one see their friend's death,' until Rabbi Akiva came and taught: 'Your fellow should live with you' (Leviticus 25:36) - your life takes precedence over the life of your friend's. [Translation Rav Eliezer Kwass. Edited for gender neutrality]

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a shofar, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that acted justly and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me judgments of justice; they desire that God should be near. Why have we fasted, say they, and you see not? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you pursue your business, and exact all your payments. Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness; you shall not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to God? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? to loose the chains of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring the poor, who are cast out, to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then shall you call, and the Lord shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking iniquity; And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in darkness, and your gloom be as the noon day; And the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And those who shall be of you shall rebuild the old ruins; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If you restrain your foot because of the Sabbath, from pursuing your business on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor pursuing your own business, nor speaking of vain matters; Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. [JPS translation]

A story is told of Binyamin HaTzaddik, who was the supervisor of his community’s Tzedakah fund. Once, when there was a shortage of food, a woman came to him and said, “Rabbi, feed me!” He replied, “I swear that there is no more money left in the Tzedakah fund.” She said, “If you do not feed me, a woman and her seven children will die.” So he fed her from his own money. [Translation by Danny Siegel]

Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow. [JPS translation]

At a time when the community is suffering, no one should say, “I will go home, eat, drink, and be at peace with myself.” [AJWS Translation]

God formed one human from the dust of the earth. God blew into the human’s nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being. [JPS translation]