(26) See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: (27) blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you this day; (28) and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced.
And this is a major principle, and it is a pillar of the Torah and the Mitzvah, as it says, See, I have set before you this day life and god, and death and evil (Deuteronomy 30:15), and it is written, Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse (Deuteronomy 11:26), which is to say that you have free will, and whatever a person wants to do, of all the deeds of humanity, he can do, whether good or bad. And based on this concept it say, Oh that they had such a heart as this [always, to revere Me, and keep all My commandments] (Deuteronomy 5:26), which is to say that the Creator neither forces humans nor decrees for them to do Good or Evil; everything is turned over to them. (Mishneh Torah, Repentance 5:3)
Mosses insists on three things. First we are free. The choice is ours. Blessing or curse? Good or evil? Faithfulness or faithlessness? You decide, says Moses. Never has freedom been so starkly defined, not just for an individual but for a nation as a whole. We do not find it hard to understand that as individuals we are confronted by moral choices. Adam and Eve were. So was Cain. Choice is written into the human condition. (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Politics of Freedom)
Throughout history, Jews have had the power to choose. But the power to choose doesn't mean that every choice is equally wise, equally sacred or equally conducive to the transmission of Torah and Judaism. We can choose to let the elderly homeless remain on the streets. We have that power. One can choose to elevate our eating to an act of holiness and solidarity with Jews through time. We have that power too. In ritual, as in ethics, we can choose. And we can choose wrongly. And God has given us the choice. "See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the Commandments of the Lord your God... and curse, if you do not." Choose wisely. (Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson)
(30) beware of being lured into their ways after they have been wiped out before you! Do not inquire about their gods, saying, “How did those nations worship their gods? I too will follow those practices.” (31) You shall not act thus toward the LORD your God, for they perform for their gods every abhorrent act that the LORD detests; they even offer up their sons and daughters in fire to their gods.
(7) If your brother, your own mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your closest friend entices you in secret, saying, “Come let us worship other gods”—whom neither you nor your fathers have experienced— (8) from among the gods of the peoples around you, either near to you or distant, anywhere from one end of the earth to the other: (9) do not assent or give heed to him. Show him no pity or compassion, and do not shield him; (10) but take his life. Let your hand be the first against him to put him to death, and the hand of the rest of the people thereafter. (11) Stone him to death, for he sought to make you stray from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
In a discussion of the laws of kilavim, a prohibition against wearing clothing made of a blend of wool and linen, the Talmud asks: What if, by mistake, one purchases a garment in which these fabrics are interwoven and discovers it only while wearing it in the middle of the street? The obvious answer would seem to be, Go home and change! It is not difficult to imagine the Talmudic debate. Must on return home immediately or is there some latitude? Does it depend on how far away from home one is? This type of discussion would assume and affirm the importance of kilavim as a mitzvah, while also placing it in the proper perspective in relation to a larger sphere of concerns with respect to human well-being.
But these rabbis choose a different tack. "Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: 'If one finds kilayim in one's [or according to some manuscripts, "another's"] garment, one is to strip it off in the street." (BT Berakhot 19b). Walk naked in the street, these rabbis command, rather than walk for one moment with kilayim, for to ignore God's commandment is to desecrate God's name and avoiding such desecration takes precedence over any consideration of human dignity. (Rabbi Donniel Hartman: Putting God Second - God Intoxication and God Manipulation)
Muhammad Nazami Nassar, one of the co-founders of Hamas' notorious military wing and was directly responsible for kidnapping and murdering Israeli soldiers, posted on Facebook on 8/17/16:
"I ask God to forgive me for this [deception] from the Devil [i.e. Hamas], that this hatred would bring me to the highest height of Paradise. O God, O God I have been deprived of the blessing of diversity... My homeland has been destroyed because I couldn't comprehend the acceptance of others. And what is worse, I though I was working with religion."
Hillel the Elder states: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary; go and learn it." (BT Shabbat 31a)
(7) If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. (8) Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs. (9) Beware lest you harbor the base thought, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is approaching,” so that you are mean to your needy kinsman and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will incur guilt. (10) Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return the LORD your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. (11) For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land.
Hear the words of the Lord, you chieftains of Sodom. Give ear to your gods' instructions, you folk of Gomorrah. What need have I of all your sacrifices? I am sated with burnt offerings of rams and suet of fatling and blood of bulls. I have no delight in lambs and he-goats. That you come to appear before me, who asked this of you? Trample my courts no more. Bringing oblations is futile. Incense is offensive to me. New moon and Sabbath, proclaiming of solemnities, assemblies with inequity, I cannot abide. Your new moons and fixed seasons fill me with loathing. They have become a burden to me. I cannot endure them. And when you lift up your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you. Though you pray at length, I will not listen. Why? Because your hands are stained with crime. Wash yourselves clean. Put your evildoings away from my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice. Aid the wrong. Uphold the rights of the orphan. Defend the cause of the widow. (As translated by Rabbi Donniel Hartman, Isaiah I:10-17)
GRANDPA VANDERHOF. Kind of an expensive hobby, isn't it Mr. Kirby - raising orchids?
KIRBY. Yes, it is, but I feel that if a hobby gives one sufficient pleasure, it's never expensive.
GRANDPA. That's very true.
KIRBY. You see, I need something to relieve the daily nerve strain. After a week in Wall Street I'd go crazy if I didn't have something like that. Lot of men I know have yachts - just for that very reason.
GRANDPA. Why don't they give up Wall Street?
KIRBY. How's that?
...
GRANDPA (to Kirby). Mixed up and unhappy, the way you are.
KIRBY (outraged). I beg your pardon, Mr. Vanderhof. I am a very happy man.
GRANDPA. Are you?
KIRBY. Certainly I am
GRANDPA. I don't think so. What do you think you get your indigestion from? Happiness? No sir. You get it because most of your time is spent in doing things you don't want to do.
KIRBY. I don't do anything I don't want to do.
GRANDPA. Yes you do. You said last night that at the end of a week in Wall Street you're pretty near crazy. Why do you keep on doing it?
KIRBY. Why do I keep on - why, that's my business. A man can't give up his business.
GRANDPA. Why not? You've got all the money you need. You can't take it with you.
KIRBY. That's a very easy thing to say, Mr. Vanderhof. But I have spent my entire life building up my business.
GRANDPA. And what's it got you? Same kind of mail every morning, same kind of deals, same kind of meetings, same dinners at night, same indigestion. Where does the fun come in? Don't you think there ought to be more, Mr. Kirby? You must have wanted more than that when you started out. We haven't got too much time, you know - any of us.
...
GRANDPA (to Kirby). I think you're missing something.
KIRBY. I am not aware of missing anything.
GRANDPA. I wasn't either, till I quit. I used to get down to that office nine o'clock sharp no matter how I felt. Lay awake nights for fear I wouldn't get that contract. Used to worry about the world, too. Got all worked up about whether Cleveland or Blaine was going to be elected President - seemed awful important at the time, but who cares now?
(You Can't Take It With You: A Comedy in Three Acts by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman)