Time To Speak Up
Do not stand by idly over the blood of your friend[2]
This phrase, as is well known through the gemara,[3] demands that we intervene on behalf of a Jew in danger. A wider thrust of the pasuk can be found by looking at its positioning in the text. It is nestled snuggly between what comes before it, and what follows it. The larger theme that is uncovered is that when Jews find themselves facing difficult times and conditions, we must be careful not to speak of their shortcomings, but only to find arguments to vindicate them.
Thus, Toras Kohanim derives from our pasuk that if a person knows of testimony that can help the case of another Jew, remaining silent is not an option. He is obligated to share his knowledge in the courtroom. Another way of looking at this is that when this litigant is embroiled in a court battle, his friend must produce any merit for him that will ease the difficulty of his predicament. This obligation, however, is not limited to courtroom testimony. Limud zechus on other Jews – finding ways to exonerate them – is also a form of “testimony,” and we should endeavor to proclaim such testimony far and wide.
“Do not accept a false report; do not extend your hand with the wicked to become a corrupt witness.”[4] The Besht saw in this a commandment to never speak evilly of another Jew. Doing so makes one a corrupt witness in service of the Chief Rasha himself: the yetzer hora/Soton, testifying on behalf of his prosecutorial claims. Therefore, whenever a person is forced to call out the behavior of a Jew, he should verbally proclaim that he is faulting the evil trait, but not the person himself.
The Rebbe of Ziditchev sharpened this a bit. One who speaks ill of his fellow can be said to be an informant! He claimed that when the Soton attempts to bring charges against someone in the Heavenly Tribunal, he is not taken too seriously. After all, he is but a single witness. He fails to meet the evidentiary threshold of two witnesses. He waits, therefore, until one of us echoes his charge. Now that a second witness joins him, he can successfully prosecute his case. Furthermore, we know that Hashem’s midah tovah far exceeds His demand for din. If merely voicing some criticism of another Jew can be seen as offering testimony in the service of Soton, then it follows that advocating for the merit of another Jew also counts as a kind of Heavenly testimony on his behalf!
The words immediately preceding those we’ve highlighted support this theme. “Do not be a talebearer among your people.” The Torah interdicts lashon hora, which aids the Soton’s efforts to seek harsh judgment against Jews.[5]
The pesukim continue with this theme. “Don’t hate your brother in your heart.” One is obligated to hate an evildoer – but only when observing him in the process of committing the evil. Afterwards, he is obligated to restore in his heart his love for the guilty party, as the pesukim continue, “Do not hate your brother in your heart.”
Moving on, “You must reprove your fellow.” Indeed, seeing a Jew commit an aveirah cannot pass without a reaction. You must chastise him for it. However, “Do not bear a sin because of him.” Meaning, when you must criticize, you must be careful to do so in a way that does not aid the Soton’s prosecutorial designs.
Finally, “You shall love your fellow as yourself.” You know that you have faults of your own. Knowing that, you don’t hate yourself! You must act the same way to your fellow. Why? Because, as the pasuk concludes, “I am Hashem.” There is a spark of Me within every Jew, and you must remember and appreciate that.
- Adapted from Be’er Moshe by the Ozherover Rebbe zt”l ↑
- Vayikra 19:16 ↑
- Sanhedrin 77a ↑
- Shemos 23:1 ↑
- One might add that the words immediately before those are, “Judge your fellow with righteousness!” ↑
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Date: May 9, 2025
