Two consecutive Mitzvos governing our interpersonal relationships with wicked Jews appear in yesterday’s parsha.
כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹיִבְךָ, אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ--תֹּעֶה: הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ, לוֹ=If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
כִּי-תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ, רֹבֵץ תַּחַת מַשָּׂאוֹ, וְחָדַלְתָּ, מֵעֲזֹב לוֹ--עָזֹב תַּעֲזֹב, עִמּוֹ. =If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.
Khazal explain that the Sonei is one whom you, as a single witness, observed committing a sin/sexual indiscretion. The Targum Yonoson describes the Oyev the same way.
Questions:
1. What is the Lashon Qodesh difference between a Sonei and a Oyev ?
2. Are these mitzvahs designed to leave the relationship unchanged? i.e. Do we say that these people were confirmed transgressors before I interacted withthem. Now, although I did them a good turn by returning their lost animals or unloading their collapsing animal I’ve no evidence that they’ve repented of their sins and so, they are still enemies/ haters…or do I say that the goal of the mitzvah is to reduce/eliminate the hatred and enmity?
Qedusha-Havdala…Have you had YOURS today??? Hmm???
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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7 comments:
המדריבנו על במות אויבינו וירם קרננו על כל שונאינו. ההבדל בין אויב לשונ/יכ׳ האויב
הוא הדורש רעה בלט. והשונא הוא רק שמח לאידו ומיונו ומואס בו, ולז״א המדריכנו
על במות אויבינו אשר נבנה מחרבותיהם תחת אשר הרשו עלינו בלבם רעה, ושונאינו אשר שמחו בהשפלת:
כבודנו הנהירים קמנו עליהם למדוה עיניהם והס יראו וינושו
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21127&st=&pgnum=218
From the Gaon's Siddur
Midwest
shkoyakh. Can this be applied to a jewsih oyev and soney? Why would one be the paradigm for hashovas aveida while the other is the paradigm for preeka?
I'm not a linguist, so I'll skirt round number 1.
With regard to number 2, jf I'm not mistaken, the ikar of the pasuk isn't telling you to help people or return items, but rather that given a choice between helping someone you like or someone you have negative feelings for, you should help the one you hate, as it involves a greater personal struggle to overcome your Yetzer Hara to watch this person suffer.
I'm sure I read this somewhere, but I could just be blowing hot air. That rhymes, so it must be true! But which part..?
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=40080&st=&pgnum=207
A different approach to the difference between the 2 words and an explanation of the Psukim. This is the Ntziv. I don't have my hands on a Malbim at the moment but you might want to look there as well. He has a whole sefer on synonyms
Midwest
Midwest-
Thank you for your returning and for your ever-erudite input and mareh meqomos.
I shall bl"n check out the wordsmith meforshim and report my findings as they become available.
Tha Malbim is very interesting in that he understands the nuance of difference between the words very similarly to the siddur HaGr"a and goes do far as to say that one is NOT required to help an oyev with preeka u'te'eenah for fear that the Oyev, whose hatred is open and manifest, might physically harm you if you try to help him. I'm not quite sure why the same might not hold true for hashovas aveida? My boikh sevora? Maybe since he has to come to you to retrieve his lost item/animal he will have time to calm himself down before approaching you and TEMPORARILY suppress his hatred. By preeka he's probably already in a foul mood and it won't take much to enrage him so that he might physically attack you.
What is really strange about the Malbim is that he seems to stray from what the Khazal say in several gemoras and in the Targum Yonoson and learn that the oyev and sonei hate you over some petty personal squabble and not over you having caught him in the act of an aveira/erva...
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=40080&st=&pgnum=207
The Ha'amek dovor learns that the oyev is one who verbally abuses you (a tzorer is one who becomes physically violent/abusive) while a sonei keeps his hatred in his heart.
RSRH (Levy translation) also hews to the siddur HaGr"a distinction but the nekuda per Hirsch is that the Torah wouldn't demand the lower form of khesed (p'reeka) towards an Oyev. It is only when the Oyev is about to sustain a concrete loss that the Torah demands that you act.
Without explicating it reads as though he too, like the malbim, learn these categories refer to personal squabbles and not to someone you caught doing an aveira
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