Saturday 13 April 2013

Mussar: Insult No One

From Derech Emet:

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Mishnah, tractate Avot, chapter 4, paragraph 3:

[Ben Azai taught:]
Do not insult any man and do not dismiss anything, for there is no man who does not have
his day and there is nothing that does not have its place.

The Tiferet Yisrael commentary on this Mishnah explains:

Do not insult any man: even a fool, a simple man and
someone mindless, and even if he is a wicked man who is sentenced to death.

Have mercy on their ruined state and do not insult them,
because you are offending their Creator [G_d].

Even if you do not know why they exist, God understands
His ways, as it is written in Mishlei [the Biblical Book of Proverbs], chapter 16, verse 4:
G_D HAS MADE EVERYTHING FOR ITS PURPOSE,
EVEN THE WICKED FOR THE DAY OF TROUBLE.

MICROBIOGRAPHY: The Tiferet Yisrael commentary on
the Mishnah was written by Rabbi Yisrael Lifschitz,
who was born in yearý 1782 CE, and died in year 1860 CE.
He served as Rabbi first in Dessau and then in Danzig.

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Best Regards,
RRW

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