About Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz served as Director of Programs for NCSY before becoming Associate Director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue Services. Rabbi Abramowitz holds degrees in Jewish studies, communications and Higher Education Administration. Among his accomplishments, he authored NCSY's Torah on One Foot series of educational pamphlets and created negiah.org, the first abstinence web site for Jewish teens. Rabbi Abramowitz is the author of The Shnayim Mikra Companion on Torah, The Nach Yomi Companion volumes 1 and 2 on the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and The Tzniyus Book.
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz served as Director of Programs for NCSY before becoming Associate Director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue Services. Rabbi Abramowitz holds degrees in Jewish studies, communications and Higher Education Administration. Among his accomplishments, he authored NCSY's Torah on One Foot series of educational pamphlets and created negiah.org, the first abstinence web site for Jewish teens. Rabbi Abramowitz is the author of The Shnayim Mikra Companion on Torah, The Nach Yomi Companion volumes 1 and 2 on the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and The Tzniyus Book.
Recent Posts
- 28. Stand Up Straight!: The prohibition against worshipping idols in same the ways we serve God
- 27. One Idol, Due Thursday: The prohibition against making idols
- 26. Not Before and Not After: The prohibition against believing in other “gods”
- 25. Who Knows One? I Know One!: The obligation to know that there’s a God
- 24. Stay Put!: The prohibition against traveling outside the prescribed boundary on Shabbos
- 23. The Straw That Broke The Donkey’s Neck: The obligation to sever an unredeemed donkey’s neck
- 22. That’s Different: The obligation to redeem the firstborn donkey
- 21. My Four Sons: The obligation to relate the Exodus from Egypt on Passover night
- 20. A Blindfold, Maybe?: The prohibition against seeing chometz in one’s domain on Passover
- 19. Back to Pesach: The prohibition against eating chometz on Passover
- 18. With a “Moo Moo” Here and a “Moo Moo” There: The obligation to sanctify firstborn animals
- 17. You Have a Good Reason, But Still…: The prohibition against an uncircumcised male…
- 16. Snap!: The prohibition against breaking a bone of the Passover sacrifice
- 15. No Doggie Bags: The prohibition against removing the korban Pesach from its designated group
- 14. Membership Has Its Privileges: The prohibition against feeding a resident alien the Pesach
- 13. Wagging Their Tails Behind Them: The prohibition against feeding an apostate the korban Pesach
- 12. I Told You Before, Ah, You Can’t Eat That: The prohibition against eating any chometz at all..
- 11. Hide and Go Seek: The prohibition against finding chometz in one’s possession over Passover
- 10. Dig In!: The obligation to eat matzah on the first night of Passover
- 9. A Clean Sweep: The obligation to remove all chometz before Pesach
- 8. No Leftovers Allowed: The prohibition against leaving over meat from the Passover sacrifice
- 7. Boom! Roasted: The prohibition against eating the Passover sacrifice partially roasted or cooked
- 6. The Earl of Sandwich: The obligation to eat the Passover sacrifice
- 5. Carry this for me, Fluffy: The obligation to slaughter the Passover sacrifice in its proper time
- 4. “New moon, you saw me standing alone…”: The obligation for courts to calculate the months
- 3. Filet Mignon: The prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve
- 2. Mazel Tov!:The obligation to circumcise a Jewish male
- 1. B’Sha’ah Tovah: The obligation for a man to have children with his wife
- The Ramban’s Emendations to the Taryag Mitzvos - pt. II
- The Ramban’s Emendations to the Taryag Mitzvos - pt. I
- 613. Write This Down: The obligation to write a Torah scroll
- 612. Hakheil BaSeder: The obligation to assemble the nation on the Succos after Shemittah
- 611. Simply Divine: The obligation to emulate God
- 610. Dead to Me: The prohibition against spending second tithe money on anything other than food
- 609. This One, Too: The prohibition against eating second tithe while ritually impure
- 608. Easily Inferred: The prohibition against a mourner eating second tithe
- 607. Confess!: The obligation to recite the confession of tithes
- 606. Arameans: The obligation to read the passage of the first fruits
- 605. Forget-Me-Nots: The prohibition against forgetting Amalek’s attack
- 604. Jihad?: The obligation to eradicate Amalek
- 603. Zachor: The obligation to remember what Amalek did
- 602. Possession is Also a Crime: The prohibition against keeping short-changing weights and measures
- 601. No Mercy!: The prohibition against taking pity on a pursuer
- 600. Run, Joey, Run: The obligation to save someone from a pursuer
- 599. It’s Gotta Be the Shoe: The obligation to perform chalitzah
- 598. Yibum, Yibum: The obligation to perform levirate marriage
- 597. Previous Engagement: The prohibition against a widow remarrying before severing the tie…
- 596. Zip It!: The prohibition against muzzling a working animal
- 595. Well, 39, Really…: The prohibition against exceeding the prescribed number of lashes
- 594. Whip It Good: The obligation for the courts to lash violators
- 593. Just Drop It: The prohibition against retrieving the forgotten sheaves
- 592. Fuggedaboutit!: The obligation to leave forgotten sheaves for the poor
- 591. Like a Handlebar-Mustached Villain: The prohibition against demanding collateral from a widow
- 590. Double Down: The prohibition against perverting the justice due converts and orphans
- 589. Inadmissable: The prohibition against the relatives of litigants testifying
- 588. Payday: The obligation to pay wages when due
- 587. Fork It Over: The obligation to return collateral when it’s needed
- 586. Lock Box: The prohibition against holding on to collateral that’s needed
- 585. Repo Men: The prohibition against a creditor taking collateral by force
- 584. Don’t Pick at It!: The prohibition against a metzora removing the signs of his tzaraas
- 583. Kitchen Aid: The prohibition against demanding food-preparing utensils as collateral
- 582. Shana Rishona: The obligation for a groom to rejoice with his bride for one year
- 581. National Service: The prohibition against conscripting a newlywed
- 580. Swingers: The prohibition against remarrying an ex-wife who married someone else in the interim
- 579. You Get Her a Get: The obligation to divorce with a document
- 578. Sickle Time: The prohibition against eating when one should be working
- 577. To Go–Not!: The prohibition against a worker picking to take home
- 576. Spread the Wealth Around: The obligation to allow hired hands to eat
- 575. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The obligation to fulfill what was commits to do
- 574. Procrastinator: The prohibition against delaying fulfilling a vow
- 573. Verrrry Interesting… To obligation to conduct loans with non-Jews using interest
- 572. You’ve Captured My Interest: The prohibition against borrowing with interest
- 571. Offensive: The prohibition against offering animals bought with a prostitute’s wages…
- 570. Premarital: The prohibition against having sex outside of marriage
- 569. Simon Legree: The prohibition against wronging the fugitive slave
- 568. Underground Railroad: The prohibition against returning a runaway slave to his master abroad
- 567. Calling a Spade a Spade: The obligation to keep a digging tool among the weapons
- 566. Latrine Duty: The obligation for an army camp to have latrines
- 565. Step Off: The prohibition against ritually impure people ascending the Temple Mount
- 564. Let Bygones Be Bygones: The prohibition against excluding Egyptians after two generations
- 563. Sibling Rivalry: The prohibition against excluding Edomites after two generations
- 562. Not Only That…: The prohibition against offering peace to Ammon and Moab
- 561. Brotherly Hate: The prohibition against Ammon and Moab marrying in
- 560. Misunderstood: The prohibition against a mamzer entering the marriage pool
- 559. Unix Incompatible: The prohibition against a eunuch entering the marriage pool
- 558. The Old Ball-and-Chain: The prohibition against a rapist ever divorcing his victim
- 557. Why Would She Want That?: The obligation for a rapist to marry his victim
- 556. Fairly Self-Evident but Just in Case: The prohibition against punishing one acting under duress
- 555. Capital Punishment (#4 of 4): The obligation to execute by stoning when called for
- 554. Let Me Sleep on It: The prohibition against the slanderer divorcing his wife
- 553. Scandal!: The obligation for a slanderer to remain with his wife
- 552. I Do: The obligation to marry a wife properly
- 551. The Vegetable Lamb: The prohibition against wearing a garment containing both wool and linen
- 550. Iditarod: The prohibition against working different types of animals together
- 549. Seedy: The prohibition against eating diverse seeds from a vineyard
- 548. Key Lime Wine?: The prohibition against planting diverse species in a vineyard
- 547. Attractive Nuisance: The prohibition against leaving hazards on one’s property
- 546. Roofies: The obligation to make a guard rail on a flat roof
- 545. Shoo!: The obligation to send away the mother bird
- 544. Loaded Question: The prohibition against taking a mother bird with her young
PARSHAT Re'eh
MITZVAH COUNTER
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| Mitzvos to date: | 459 |
| Positives: | 191 |
| Negatives: | 268 |
| That can be performed today: | 200 |
| Plus those that can be performed only in Israel: | 20 |
459. Cruel to Be Kind: The prohibition against saving a meisis
…your eye shall not have pity on him… (Deuteronomy 13:9)
We’ve said regarding the meisis (one who tries to convert other Jews to idolatry) that we are not to legitimize him nor are we to soften our position regarding him. Our current mitzvah is going to be surprising, though. If we see the meisis in trouble – even mortal peril – we are not to help him. Just like the previous tells us that the meisis is an exception to making amends with our enemies, this mitzvah tells us that the meisis is an exception to Mitzvah #237, not standing idly by when another person is in danger.
The reason that some might find this mitzvah surprising is that we all know Judaism to be a compassionate and caring religion. How could it command us to stand by and do nothing when a meisis is in danger? Really, there’s a time to exercise the trait of compassion and a time to be harsh. The Midrash in Yalkut Shimoni (and elsewhere) cites a familiar dictum that one who is merciful when he should act harshly will ultimately act harshly when he should be merciful. The poster child for such errors in judgment is King Saul, who let King Agag of Amalek live, but who killed the kohanim of the city of Nov because he imagined that they had aided David against him. Even in modern times, we know of genocidal maniacs who are good to their dogs. Misplaced compassion is a real danger that the Torah warns against through this mitzvah.
The reason for the mitzvah is, of course, to stop the spread of idolatry. If you save the meisis, he’ll continue with his work, further undermining God in society.
This mitzvah applies in all times and places. It is discussed in the Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin on pages 29a, 33b, 67a and 85b. It is codified the Mishneh Torah in the fifth chapter of Hilchos Avodas Kochavim. This mitzvah is #19 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #26 of the 194 negative mitzvos that can be observed today as listed in the Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar of the Chofetz Chaim.
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