(יד) לֹא־תְקַלֵּ֣ל חֵרֵ֔שׁ וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃
(14) You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
Robert Alter:
There is both a common denominator and a logical discrepancy between these two prohibitions." One the one hand, both the deaf person and the blind person suffer from a disability that prevents them from "perceiving that someone is exploiting [their] weakness in a nasty way." Yet on the other hand, "abusing or verbally insulting a deaf [person] gratuitously humiliates him in a fashion that he himself, unhearing, may never become aware of, whereas placing a stumbling block before a blind person causes him hurt of which he will immediately become aware."
There is both a common denominator and a logical discrepancy between these two prohibitions." One the one hand, both the deaf person and the blind person suffer from a disability that prevents them from "perceiving that someone is exploiting [their] weakness in a nasty way." Yet on the other hand, "abusing or verbally insulting a deaf [person] gratuitously humiliates him in a fashion that he himself, unhearing, may never become aware of, whereas placing a stumbling block before a blind person causes him hurt of which he will immediately become aware."
Universalizing Our Verse: The Metaphorical Read
ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול. לִפְנֵי הַסּוּמָא בְדָבָר לֹא תִתֵּן עֵצָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ הוֹגֶנֶת לוֹ, אַל תֹּאמַר מְכֹר שָׂדְךָ וְקַח לְךָ חֲמוֹר, וְאַתָּה עוֹקֵף עָלָיו וְנוֹטְלָהּ הֵימֶנּוּ (שם):
ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל THOU SHALT NOT PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK BEFORE THE BLIND — This implies: "Give not a person who is "blind" in a matter an advice which is improper for him. Do not say to him: "Sell your field and buy from the proceeds of the sale an ass", the fact being that you are endeavouring to circumvent him and to take it (the field) from him (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2 14).
ויראת מאלהיך. לְפִי שֶׁהַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֵינוֹ מָסוּר לַבְּרִיּוֹת לֵידַע אִם דַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁל זֶה לְטוֹבָה אוֹ לְרָעָה, וְיָכוֹל לְהִשָּׁמֵט וְלוֹמַר לְטוֹבָה נִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי, לְפִיכָךְ נֶאֱמַר בּוֹ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ הַמַּכִּיר מַחְשְׁבוֹתֶיךָ; וְכֵן כָּל דָּבָר הַמָּסוּר לְלִבּוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָעוֹשֵׂהוּ וְאֵין שְׁאָר הַבְּרִיּוֹת מַכִּירוֹת בּוֹ, נֶאֱמַר בּוֹ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ:
ויראת מאלהיך BUT THOU SHALT BE AFRAID OF THY GOD — Because in this case it is not given to human beings to know whether the intention of this man (the offender) was for the advantage or the disadvantage of the person whom he advised, and he thus might be able to evade the responsibility by saying: "I meant it for the best", Scripture therefore states with reference to him: "But thou shall be afraid of thy God" Who is cognizant of thy secret thoughts. Similarly in all actions where it is given only to the heart of him who does it to know the motive that prompts him and where other people have no insight into it, Scripture states, "But be afraid of thy God!" (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2 14; Bava Metzia 58b).
לא תקלל חרש. אֵין לִי אֶלָּא חֵרֵשׁ, מִנַּיִן לְרַבּוֹת כָּל אָדָם? תַּ"ל בְּעַמְּךָ לֹא תָאֹר (שמות כ"ב), אִם כֵּן לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר חֵרֵשׁ? מַה חֵרֵשׁ מְיֻחָד שֶׁהוּא בַחַיִּים, אַף כָּל שֶׁהוּא בַחַיִּים, יָצָא הַמֵּת שֶׁאֵינוֹ בַחַיִּים (ספרא):
לא תקלל חרש THOU SHALT NOT CURSE THE DEAF — I have here only the law that one must not curse the deaf: whence do I know that any person is included in this prohibition and that the meaning is, Thou shalt not curse even the deaf? Because Scripture states (Exodus 22:27) "Thou shalt not curse בעמך, anyone among thy people". But if this be so why does Scripture say חרש and does not use some more general expression? It does so in order to offer an analogy: What is the case with the חרש? He is one who cannot hear your curse and therefore cannot feel aggrieved, but he has the characteristic of being a living person! The same applies to all living, thus excluding a dead person, who though he cannot hear and feel aggrieved, is not living (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2 13; cf. also Sanhedrin 66a).
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman:
The logic of the metaphorical read... is that no decent person, upon seeing a blind person approaching would think to put a boulder in their path. Lifnei Iver, or before the blind, has henceforth become an expansive halakhic category, whose application is manifold. We aren't to mislead someone by giving poor advice, in business deals, etc., as to do so is to place a stumbling block in their path.
The logic of the metaphorical read... is that no decent person, upon seeing a blind person approaching would think to put a boulder in their path. Lifnei Iver, or before the blind, has henceforth become an expansive halakhic category, whose application is manifold. We aren't to mislead someone by giving poor advice, in business deals, etc., as to do so is to place a stumbling block in their path.
Protecting the Disadvantaged: A Middle Ground
Rabbi Shai Held:
One one level,... the expansive interpretation of the verse seems noble: After all no one should be subject to being cursed (or ridiculed). And yet this inclusive approach runs the risk of effacing the Torah's main concern, which is to protect the powerless and easily exploited...
Jacob Milgrom observes that this phrase ["but fear the lord your God"] appears only in verses dealing with "the exploitation of the helpless" the elderly... and indebted Israelites vulnerable to usury and enslavement....
The point... is that although the vulnerable are often politically impotent, they do have a protector: God. In our verse the Torah wishes to remind us that "although the deaf does not know he was insulted or the blind who hurt him, God does know and will punish accordingly."
This approach, too, understands the deaf and the blind as representative of a broader category - but the broader category is those who are potentially defenseless- not humanity (or the Jewish people) as a whole.
One one level,... the expansive interpretation of the verse seems noble: After all no one should be subject to being cursed (or ridiculed). And yet this inclusive approach runs the risk of effacing the Torah's main concern, which is to protect the powerless and easily exploited...
Jacob Milgrom observes that this phrase ["but fear the lord your God"] appears only in verses dealing with "the exploitation of the helpless" the elderly... and indebted Israelites vulnerable to usury and enslavement....
The point... is that although the vulnerable are often politically impotent, they do have a protector: God. In our verse the Torah wishes to remind us that "although the deaf does not know he was insulted or the blind who hurt him, God does know and will punish accordingly."
This approach, too, understands the deaf and the blind as representative of a broader category - but the broader category is those who are potentially defenseless- not humanity (or the Jewish people) as a whole.
The Case for a Literal Reading
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman:
The impulse to assume that the Torah's prohibitions here cannot be literal is a natural one - it is hard to fathom a scenario in which an individual would intentionally place a stumbling block before a blind person or curse a deaf person. Yet, as with so much in Torah, we are, I believe, being divinely encouraged to look within and take an accounting of our actions and working assumptions. When we are not in relationship with individuals about or to whom particular verses apply, it is easy to narrow their scope... When I get curious about the lived experiences of those I hold close and those who are not in my circle but are in my society, I am able to expand the palace of my own understanding and thereby to expand the palace of Torah in all of its fullness.
The impulse to assume that the Torah's prohibitions here cannot be literal is a natural one - it is hard to fathom a scenario in which an individual would intentionally place a stumbling block before a blind person or curse a deaf person. Yet, as with so much in Torah, we are, I believe, being divinely encouraged to look within and take an accounting of our actions and working assumptions. When we are not in relationship with individuals about or to whom particular verses apply, it is easy to narrow their scope... When I get curious about the lived experiences of those I hold close and those who are not in my circle but are in my society, I am able to expand the palace of my own understanding and thereby to expand the palace of Torah in all of its fullness.