[Avodah] Hashavat Aveida or Lifnei Iver?

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Liron Kopinsky wrote:
> However there is only so much halachik information a person
> can take in at one time. Slamming someone newly introducted
> to Halacha with the full gamut of 613 is probably going to be
> overload. Is there an idea that you should only be teaching the
> person halachot that they can reasonably do? For example,
> someone becoming shomer shabbat, may be comfortable with
> stopping driving/listening to music etc., but may not be
> capable yet to shower l'halacha.

Oh, yes, this definitely puts the question in a different light. I'm confident that no matter who you'd ask in the kiruv world, they'd answer NOT to "slam" the person with all 613 at once. If you want a reference in the classic sources, I think it is simple enough to draw a precedent from that fact that we do not slam a ger with all 613 at once, even after the conversion.

In the current case, I think the best thing to do would be to return it to him, with an explanation about TWO halachos. Don't just get on his case with the issur of shaving, but use it as an oppotunity to teach about Hashavat Aveida!

I'd probably say something like, "I found this in our room at the hotel, and I think it might be yours. One of the mitzvos is to return lost objects, so I figured I probably have to return it to you. [Give it to him at this point.] But I have to be honest, I wasn't really sure if I should, because you may not realize it, but there are some pretty strict halachos about shaving. Whenever you're ready, let me know and I'll tell you about them." This clues him in to the idea that shaving is probably assur, but also allows him to stay in the sort-of-shogeg category if he is not yet ready to stop using the razor.

Akiva Miller

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