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Compassion in the Real World and the Virtual World - Parashat Mishpatim 5778, February 9, 2018

This week’s parasha, Parashat Mishpatim, contains many, many mitzvot – 53, according to the count of the Sefer HaChinuch. The topics covered by these mitzvot include the proper treatment of slaves, the judicial system, the holidays and the prohibition on idolatry.

One mitzvah taught in the parasha is the commandment to help unload an animal of burden. The Torah writes, “If you see the donkey of someone you hate crouching under its burden, would you refrain from helping him? – you will help repeatedly with him.” Although the message of the verse is clear – that you are obligated to help unload the burden of an animal – the Torah includes a seemingly extraneous fact — the donkey is owned by someone who you hate.

Our sages discuss (Masechet Pesachim 113b) how the Torah can endorse the hatred of one Jew to another. In fact, the Torah explicitly forbids such hatred when it writes, “Do not hate your brother in your heart”. How can these two verses by reconciled? Our Sages explain that such hatred of one Jew to another is only permitted in a case where one Jew saw another Jew committing a sin of licentiousness in private, warned him to desist and the Jew continued in his sinful behavior. Thus, hatred of one Jew for another is almost universally proscribed. Only in this one situation does the Torah authorize an individual Jew to hate his fellow. Even when the Torah allows one Jew to hate his fellow, this hatred only extends to the one Jew’s feeling of connection to the other Jew. This hatred does not extend to denying the hated Jew assistance when he is unloading his animal of burden.

The Sefer HaChinuch explains that this mitzvah – to help unload the burden of a fellow Jew’s animal – trains us to adopt the most praiseworthy trait of all – compassion. Because one of the aims of the mitzvah is to help inculcate compassion, the obligation extends to helping a fellow Jew who is experiencing physical pain and even to helping a fellow Jew who is experiencing the psychological and financial pain of losing an object. In all of these situations, we are commanded to treat our fellow Jew compassionately.

On Sunday evening, February 25th at 7 pm, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South will host noted expert, Dr. Eli Shapiro, to deliver a presentation entitled, “Teaching Kids to Navigate Social Media in a Healthy, Respectful and Positive Way”. In this lecture and discussion, Dr. Shapiro will share the research and best practices that he and his team have developed through their network, The Digital Citizenship Project and through their work with Jewish Day Schools across North America.

The Torah presents the obligation to show compassion for one’s fellow Jew through the example of unloading his animal of burden. For our students and children, this example may seem foreign. In our generation, a much more common opportunity to show compassion to our fellow man is to be a positive presence on social media. Like the Torah’s example of helping to unload a beast of burden, being a good citizen on social media is an opportunity that is easy to neglect – especially for our children. As teachers and parents, it is incumbent upon us to not only show a good example to our children but to learn how to teach our children to be an excellent Digital Citizen. I hope that you will join us for Dr. Shapiro’s presentation on Sunday, February 25th at 7 pm in the MHA Gymnasium.

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