[Avodah] Taut aku"m

[Saul Mashbaum]

Joel Rich quoted the Be'er HaGolah on CHM 348 on the virtue of
honesty towards all, including nochrim. People who cheated aku"m ultimately
suffered for it, and those who dealt honestly, thereby creating a kiddush
HaShem. were rewarded in the end.

The Torah T'mimah to Vayikra 25:14 quotes this Be'er HaGolah, and  notes
that this comment is particularly noteworthy in light of the personal
history of the Beer HaGolah. He and his family were expelled from their
homes in the upheavals around the time of the persecutions of 1648-49
(gzeirot Tach veTat), losing all their possessions and becoming utterly
impoverished. The Be'er HaGolah made his way to Amsterdam, where he
published his work on Choshen Mishpat, in which included his exhortation to
deal with non-Jews justly and honestly, despite the grievous injustices
which the hostile surrounding Christian society inflicted on him and his
family.

I have always found this ability of the Be'er HaGolah to maintain a
principled commitment to moral standards even in the face of personal
tragedy inspiring.

Please see the TT's own words at

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?sits=1&req=14132&st=%u05D1%u05D0%u05E8%20%u05D4%u05D2%u05D5%u05DC%u05D4

Saul Mashbaum
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20100414/b254023e/attachment-0001.htm>