- By Rabbi C. Edelstein, Rosh Yeshiva Outdoors
There are more commandments-mitzvot giving this week, including the shmita year of rest for the land, yovel (50th year when land is returned to its proper inheritors, and slaves are freed) and the mitzvot prohibiting wrongdoing in business. The command "not to wrongdo/extort/oppress” is repeated twice; once in Leviticus 25:14:
וְכִֽי־תִמְכְּר֤וּ מִמְכָּר֙ לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ א֥וֹ קָנֹ֖ה מִיַּ֣ד עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ אַל־תּוֹנ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־אָחִֽיו׃
When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
Next in Leviticus 25:17:
וְלֹ֤א תוֹנוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עֲמִית֔וֹ וְיָרֵ֖אתָ מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
Do not wrong one another, but fear your G-d; for I the LORD am your G-d.
This repetition has caused many minds to wonder about the reason for these words to appear twice and what the ending “I the LORD am your G-d” means. The Talmudic sages explain in Bava Metzia 58b:
When it says in a previous verse: “And if you sell to your colleague an item that is sold, or acquire from your colleague’s hand, you shall not exploit [tonu] his brother” (Leviticus 25:14), monetary exploitation is explicitly stated. How then do I realize the meaning of the verse: “And you shall not mistreat one man his colleague”? It is with regard to verbal mistreatment.
Here, the second occurrence of the prohibition is taken to mean verbal mistreatment, such as giving bad advice so that you can gain from their misfortune.
Rashi explains the reason for the prohibition of verbal mistreatment to be followed by “you will fear G-d”:
Here Scripture warns against vexing by words (wounding a person’s feelings) — that one should not annoy his fellow-man, nor give him an advice which is unfitted for him, but is in accordance with the plan and the advantage of the adviser. But lest you should say, “Who knows whether I had any intention to do him evil?” Scripture therefore states: “but thou shalt fear thy God”! — He Who knows men’s thoughts, He knows it! In all cases where it is a matter of conscience (more lit., a matter handed over to the heart), when no one knows the truth except the one who has the thought in his heart, Scripture always states: “but be afraid of thy God”!
The nature of this commandant is that it can never truly be proven whether or not it has been followed or broken. It is a matter of conscientious and internal drive. Rashi warns us that the reminder to fear G-d means that G-d will know the real intentions of the person's heart, so we must act accordingly.
Many religious traditions utilize mountains as a symbol for spiritual self-perfection. Judaism is no exception and I think the mountain is an appropriate location for this commandment of internal honesty to be given.
If you want to climb the mountain to spiritual elevations heretofore unknown, it begins with integrity and mindfulness of words: being sure to avoid verbal mistreatment of others.