The Torah's Most Surprising Contradiction - Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz

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The opening of this shiur, in Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

You would not believe what I learned about Parshas Eikev. Does the Torah ever speak Lashon Hara? We know we're not allowed to speak negatively about people. But isn't the Torah full of negativity about other people? We hear about all the terrible foibles and things done by Esau, Korach, Dathan, Abiram, a rogue's gallery. So, how is it that a rogue's gallery. So, how is it that the Torah tells us all these terrible things about people and that's okay? I'd like to share with you a Rambam in the Shmona Prakim, his eight-chapter introduction to Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of Our Fathers. The Rambam says in chapter five that the Torah shares no more and no less than exactly what we need to know in order to live a proper life. in order to live a proper life. There's nothing gratuitous in the Torah. Everything there is to teach us a lesson. And this is very consistent with the laws of Lashon Hara, actually, which allow you to say something negative about somebody if there is a to'eles, a constructive benefit to prevent harm. The Divrei Shaul, Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson, otherwise known as the Shaul U'Mayshiv, was a leading rabbi in Galicia in Eastern Poland in the 1800s. Galicia in Eastern Poland in the 1800s. I'm a huge fan of the Shaul U'Mayshiv. He says, based on this Rambam, we can understand why the sin of the Dor Haflagah, otherwise known as Haflagah, those who built the Tower of Babel, their sin is not mentioned clearly in the Torah. We only know the specifics from our tradition. In the text, it's very obscure. He says it's because of this Rambam. The Shulhan Arukh says that their sin was based upon having one common language,

Jump to a moment

1. 0:03You would not believe what I learned about Parshas Eikev. Does the Torah ever speak Lashon…
2. 0:34a rogue's gallery. So, how is it that the Torah tells us all these terrible things…
3. 1:04in order to live a proper life. There's nothing gratuitous in the Torah. Everything there is…
4. 1:34Galicia in Eastern Poland in the 1800s. I'm a huge fan of the Shaul U'Mayshiv. He…
5. 2:07based upon having one common language, which allowed them to collaborate in rebelling and fighting against…
6. 2:38Torah. It's not relevant any longer." And he goes on to say, "This is why God…
7. 3:09asher yetsavve es banav es beiso." "I know that Abraham is going to command his children…
8. 3:40It's lashon hara. The justification is not to put down the people of Sodom gratuitously. It…
9. 4:12Dathan and Abiram did. And the Ramban wonders, what happened to Korach? The Shalom Achshav says,…
10. 4:43does not want to gratuitously put people down in the Torah, even Korach. But we already…

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