Photo Credit: Jewish Press
Sticks and stones can break my bones⦠while words can crush oneâs self-esteem and lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical health challenges.
In truth, there shouldnât be a âcompetitionâ between the different ways that people can hurt others. Physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal abuse are all damaging and morally reprehensible. Yet, as the original âsticks and stonesâ adage hints at, many people underestimate the damage that can be inflicted with âjustâ words.
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Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah delineates dozens of interpersonal commandments, reflecting the vigilance we must show vis-Ã -vis other people and their property. While both are extremely important, a third group of laws â on emotional sensitivity to others âoften gets overlooked.
On March 19, 2019, the world press widely reported that the chief executive of Volkswagen (VW), Herbert Diess, apologized for.
But sometimes miscarriages of justice can be even worse than the Hudspeth case. In 1906, Ed Johnson, a black man, was convicted of raping Nevada Taylor, a white woman, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and sentenced to death. His victim had not been able to describe her attacker and wasn’t even sure if he was black or white.
Johnson appealed the conviction, on the basis that his constitutional rights had been violated; no blacks had been allowed on the jury, and he should have been tried in a different district. As a result of his appeal Johnson was granted a stay of execution and the right of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court – but the Chattanooga sheriff, Joseph Shipp, was having none of it.
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Just over two years ago, a Jew by the name of Richard Alpert passed away. More commonly known as Ram Dass, this guru and psychologist transformed the lives of many spiritual seekers with his motto: “Be Here Now” – also the title of his seminal book, which popularized Eastern spirituality in the West in the 1970s. However, Parshat Mishpatim shows that this profound principle was revealed to the world in one of the most important moments in our own tradition.
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One day, some years ago, I was in conversation with a rabbi when someone interrupted with a “very urgent” question in halacha.
This man relayed that his daughter had buttered a slice of toast. The bread slipped and landed butter side down on the floor.
He wanted to know if there were now any kashrut issues with the toast.