Behar-Bechukotai 5786 | Rabbi Dani Zuckerman

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── Shiur Outline ──
(0:08) Introducing the Two Types of Ona'ah

AI-Generated Summary (AI can be inaccurate. Check important information):

1. Dual Ona’ah obligations — The Torah in Parshat Behar presents two distinct prohibitions of Ona’ah (oppression): Ona’as Mamon (monetary) and Ona’as Devarim (verbal).
2. The Mishnaic link — The Mishna in Bava Metzia links the two, stating that just as there is a prohibition against overcharging, there is a prohibition against hurtful speech.
3. Defining “Bad Advice” — Rashi explains that Ona’as Devarim includes many forms of belittling, such as giving someone advice that is not proper for them.
4. Distinction from Lifnei Iver — While giving bad advice also violates Lifnei Iver, Ona’as Devarim focuses on the speaker's intent rather than just the listener's potential loss.
5. The Speaker’s Superiority — A central yesod is that Ona’as Devarim reflects the speaker's desire to feel superior by treating another person as if they are worth less.
6. Inner Motivation Matters — Unlike many civil laws, this issur depends on the internal path (lefi darko) and selfish pleasure (hana’aso) of the one giving the advice.
7. The Value of Man — Just as Ona’as Mamon prohibits misrepresenting the value of an object, Ona’as Devarim prohibits misrepresenting the infinite value of a person created B’tzelem Elokim.
8. Beyond Speech Alone — According to the Rishonim, this prohibition can be violated through gestures or any action that demonstrates a person thinks lowly of their fellow.
9. Holiness in Civil Law — Torah civil law is not just about preventing anarchy; it is designed to refine our character and build us into a Goy Kadosh.

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The Torah in פרשת בהר introduces us to the איסור of אונאה.

There are really two separate איסורים of אונאה.

There's אונאת ממון,

taking advantage of somebody in the marketplace,

whether that is selling an item for too high of a price or buying

an item for too low of a price.

And there's a separate איסור of אונאת דברים.

The איסור of אונאת דברים is very difficult to understand for at least two

reasons.

Number one:

Why does it share a name with אונאת ממון?

Why are they both called אונאה?

They seem to be completely different.

אונאת ממון has to do with taking advantage in the marketplace,

whereas אונאת דברים has to do with belittling somebody or hurting somebody with words.

How does that have anything to do with אונאת ממון?

Not only do they share a name,

but the משנה בבא מציעא says כשם שיש אונאה במקח כך יש אונאה בדברים.

It draws a direct comparison between the two.

Just like there's אונאה with מקח,

so too there's אונאה with דברים.

The second question on אונאת דברים is that רש"י in our פרשה in בהר

uses the exact same לשון when explaining an example of אונאת דברים as he

uses for a different איסור from just two weeks ago.

רש"י on אונאת דברים says כאן הזהיר על אונאת דברים.

This is פרק כה פסוק יז.

What is אונאת דברים?

שלא יקניט איש את חברו,

a person should not belittle his fellow,

ולא ישיאנו עצה שאינה הוגנת לו,

and you should not give him bad advice,

advice which is not proper for him.

The exact same phrase is used by רש"י in פרשת קדושים on the איסור

of לפני עור.

רש"י says there in פרשת קדושים,

פרק יט פסוק יד,

לפני עור לא תתן מכשול,

לפני סומא בדבר,

with somebody who's blind in a certain matter,

he doesn't know much about it,

it's a משל,

it's not a literal stumbling block,

לא תתן עצה שאינה הוגנת לו.

Do not give him advice which is not proper for him.

The exact same משל.

So what is the difference between אונאת דברים and לפני עור?

Both of them are violated when a person gives bad advice.

So why does the Torah need two separate לאווי?

Just say if you give someone bad advice,

you are placing a proverbial stumbling block in front of a proverbial blind person,

he's going to get messed over.

Right?

You tell him to buy a stock that you happen to know is definitely

going down and he loses a lot of money from that,

so that's לפני עור.

Where is the Torah adding by telling us that this is also אונאת דברים?

So רש"י by אונאת דברים adds,

רש"י in our פרשה in בהר on the פסוק again,

פרק כה פסוק יז,

adds five more words.

And those five words I think are the key to understanding אונאת דברים.

רש"י says again,

שלא יקניט איש את חברו,

do not belittle your fellow,

ולא ישיאנו עצה שאינה הוגנת לו,

and do not give him advice which is not proper for him,

לפי דרכו והנאתו של היועץ,

according to the path and pleasure of the one giving the advice.

So רש"י's telling us an incredible יסוד,

and this יסוד is developed by רב J.

David Bleich שליט"א in an article in the journal הדרום.

אונאת דברים is not defined by the detriment to the person being spoken to,

but rather it's defined by the sense of superiority felt by the person speaking.

Meaning,

when a person gives bad advice,

if it doesn't matter whether the person who hears the advice actually follows,

but the fact that I think so lowly of somebody else that I would

try to trick them,

I think that his finances are not important,

they're not valuable to me,

I have no interest in helping him,

actually I'm trying to to do him in.

Or if I call him a not nice name,

or if I belittle him for a bad decision he made,

or for his history as being a בעל עבירה,

or for his family's history as being בעלי עבירה.

In all of those cases,

the what defines אונאת דברים is not the pain felt by the מתאנה,

by the person who was spoken to.

Not that that pain is not important,

that is it's not good that he feels that pain,

but what defines אונאת דברים is the sense of superiority that a person thinks

he's so great and somebody else is so lowly and he wants to make

that person hear the words that that express his greatness.

That is what the Torah is focusing on.

Don't put down other people not because not just because they're going to feel

bad,

even if they wouldn't feel bad,

but because not to feed into your own selfish need,

your own selfish desire to feel good at his expense.

That is the איסור of אונאת דברים.

So to answer our two questions,

אונאת דברים is different than לפני עור.

לפני עור is focused on the harm that will come to the אונאת

דברים doesn't focus on the harm,

but rather focuses on the speaker.

Don't,

don't put down the guy who doesn't know anything in the stock market by

telling him bad advice that has to do with the stock market just to

make you feel good about yourself that you are such a חכם in finance.

Number two,

we understand how אונאת דברים shares a term with אונאת ממון.

In both cases,

the Torah's focus is on value,

on value,

taking advantage or playing up differences in value.

When it comes to אונאת ממון,

the Torah is saying if something's worth X,

don't treat it as if it's worth Y,

whether Y is higher or lower.

And similarly,

when it comes to human beings.

A human being is worth X,

a human being is worth infinite value,

a human being is created בצלם אלקים.

Don't treat him like he's worth much less.

That is אונאת דברים.

אונאת דברים at its core is when a מענה looks at another human being

and sees him as less than,

as less valuable,

and treats him as such,

whether it's with speech or the ראשונים say even without speaking a person could

do אונאת דברים with gestures and all of those things which are which which

demonstrate that the speaker or the actor thinks less of another human being,

that is what's included in אונאת דברים.

This is one of many הלכות that the Torah gives us that show us

that when we talk about the Torah's view of civil law,

it's not merely to prevent anarchy,

it's not merely to ensure smooth running of the financial system,

but it's actually to build us up as individuals,

build us up as a society,

a society of כלל ישראל,

of an עם סגולה,

a גוי קדוש,

and a society that is אם ירצה השם getting closer to the great day

of מתן תורה that הקדוש ברוך הוא gave us in order to build us

up to be as close to him as we can.

Have a wonderful שבת.