העמק דבר, דברים טו:ז
והנה השכל מבין שיש ליתן, אבל לבבו חושב מחשבות און ומצטער, כי קשה עליו וכו'. ועל זה בא הפסוק לא תאמץ את לבבך, אלא תאמץ את שכלך.
The person’s intellect tells them to give, but their heart feels distress in giving to the poor. Therefore, the verse tells us, “do not harden your heart,” only your intellect. [Hartman translation. Edited for gender neutrality]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Why do we feel distress in giving to the poor? Is this always true?
2. What does it mean to harden your intellect? How it help the poor for us to harden our intellects but not our hearts?
Time Period: Modern (Spinoza through post-WWII)