Wednesday, August 18, 2021

The Ben Franklin Effect

 Ki Tetzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)

The Ben Franklin Effect
by 

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of a rival legislator with whom he was having trouble getting along. Franklin devised what may seem as a counterintuitive plan to win him over.

Knowing that this rival had a rare book in his library, Franklin sent him a message requesting that the legislator lend him the book for a few days. Franklin returned the book with a thank you note a week later. Subsequently, the man who up to this point never spoke to Franklin, treated him with great civility and they kindled a friendship for the rest of their lives.

The lesson from this story became known in the psychological literature as the Ben Franklin Effect. First studied in the 1960’s by Jon Jecker and David Landry, the Ben Franklin effect demonstrates that a benefactor who does a favor for another person is likely to increase positive feelings towards the person he is benefiting, even if the benefactor originally did not like the other person.

The hypothesized psychological concept underlying this phenomenon is cognitive dissonance. We tend to dislike having competing conceptions of ourselves in our minds so we generally try and synthesize perceived differences. On the one hand, it doesn’t make sense to help someone that I don’t like, yet on the other hand, I helped this person who I thought I didn’t like. Hence, subconsciously I resolve that it must be that I really do like the person.

If we pay close attention to the laws Moses repeats in Deuteronomy, we will notice discrepancies between the formulation in Deuteronomy and previous presentations. In this week's Torah portion the law regarding helping a fallen animal on the road states, “If you see your fellow’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it - you must help him raise it” (Deut 22:4). Yet in Parshat Mishpatim the law reads as follows: “When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him” (Exodus 23:5). While there is more than one difference between the verses, the most glaring one that the commentators address is the switch from the animal belonging to one’s enemy (“sona’acha”) to belonging to one’s fellow (“achica”). Why the switch from enemy to friend?

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, in his commentary, Meshech Chochma, suggests a chronological answer. Something significant happened in between the presentation in Parshat Mishpatim where it says “enemy” and Parshat Ki Teitzei where it says “fellow,” namely, the sin of the golden calf. To make his point, Rabbi Meir Simcha first references the Talmud in Pesachim (113a), which is bothered by the use of the term “sona’acha” - enemy or hated one – used in in Parshat Mishpatim. Doesn’t the Torah in Parshat Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:17) prohibit us from hating each other?

The Talmud answers that there is an exception to the rule. One is allowed, and even perhaps obligated, to hate someone whom he sees has transgressed a commandment. In a powerful limitation of the application of this Talmud, Rabbi Meir Simcha argues that this is only true before the Children of Israel sinned with the golden calf. Afterwards, we all became spiritually flawed and limited. Only someone who is pure and virtuous, would be allowed to have a righteous indignation towards those that have sinned. After the sin of the golden calf, there is nobody who could reach such a status, hence everyone should be considered brethren. Therefore the verse in Parshat Ki Teitzei switches from the term “enemy” to “fellow,” because enemy is no longer a viable option.

Rabbeinu Bechaye suggests a different answer to the switch from enemy to friend. He writes that the Torah is hinting to a strategy as to how to transform someone from an enemy to a friend. If there is someone that you don’t like, and you go out of your way to help him, you will come to like him. By doing him a favor, you will become his friend. In other words, the switch of the words in the verses is hinting to the Ben Franklin effect.

If we would like to decrease the amount of strife and hatred in our lives, we would do well to internalize these messages. First, realize that there are limited acceptable justifications for hating someone. Second, if we do have strong negative feelings towards other people, consider doing them a favor. By acting kindly towards them, you can alter your own perceptions and enhance the relationship, transforming them from enemy to friend.

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Letter From Rav Weinberger & The Hanala

 Dear Chevra,


Elul has arrived and we’re all thinking of ways to improve, to give more nachas to Hachodesh Boruch Hu. His greatest nachas is when He sees how we care about his children and help each other in times of need. It’s been many years since I reached out publicly for donations to the Shul’s discretionary fund. At this point I have no choice. Many families are crushed under the burden of tuition, various therapies, etc. It’s overwhelming, particularly at this time of the year. I am turning to you to help me help them, and in turn Hashem should help all of us, and grant us and all of Klal Yisroel a שנה טובה ומתוקה.

Rav Moshe Weinberger
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I've just joined the list

 

  • Hello,

    I've just joined the list because I'm (once again) trying to switch away from thunderbird email on linux.

    I installed evolution on archlinux via the pacman package manager.

    My mail server has a self issued cert, and I had some trouble getting evolution to connect at all. This required continuing to re-enter the IMAP and SMTP passwords on initial account creation.

    Once evolution started to sync my existing mail store to the local computer, I noticed a very troubling thing: many many emails were showing up in the Junk folder. In my existing thunderbird client configuration, I don't use the Junk folder at all. Mail deemed SPAM is moved directly to the Trash folder, which I review before emptying.

    Quite a number of these emails are from deeply nested IMAP folders where I squirrel away many tens of thousands of historic emails from the last several decades.

    Now, several hundred of these IMAP folder emails are deposited into the JUNK folder.

    This doesn't seem like initial behavior that is intended to keep new users happy 8-(

    My reading of the online docs prior to first execution indicated that Evolution used external programs to perform spam detection, and that it wouldn't be enabled by default.

    What should I do to prevent Evolution from trashing my mail archives?

    Thanks for your help!

    John A
    2021-08-17
    _______________________________________________
    evolution-list mailing list
    To change your list options or unsubscribe, visit ...
  • Pete Biggs <pete@biggs.org.uk>
    To:evolution-list@gnome.org
    Wed, Aug 18 at 4:34 AM

    >
    > I installed evolution on archlinux via the pacman package manager.

    It is more helpful if you tell us the version of Evolution you are
    using.  For some queries the desktop you are using is also important.

    >
    > My mail server has a self issued cert, and I had some trouble getting
    > evolution to connect at all. This required continuing to re-enter the
    > IMAP and SMTP passwords on initial account creation.

    The self signed certificate should only need to be accepted once per
    account; that shouldn't require you to enter the password multiple
    times.  They aren't connected as far as I know.

    The passwords are stored in gnome-keyring so that needs to be running
    in order to not be re-prompted for passwords.

    >
    > Once evolution started to sync my existing mail store to the local
    > computer, I noticed a very troubling thing: many many emails were
    > showing up in the Junk folder. In my existing thunderbird client
    > configuration, I don't use the Junk folder at all. Mail deemed SPAM
    > is moved directly to the Trash folder, which I review before
    > emptying.

    How do you deem the mail to be SPAM?

    >
    > Quite a number of these emails are from deeply nested IMAP folders
    > where I squirrel away many tens of thousands of historic emails from
    > the last several decades.
    >
    > Now, several hundred of these IMAP folder emails are deposited into
    > the JUNK folder.

    If you have not changed the configuration at all, then the Junk folder
    is virtual - i.e. it shows the messages that have been marked as Junk,
    the messages themselves are still in their original folders, you just
    can't see them (View -> Show Junk messages). You can mark the messages
    as "Not Junk" and they will reappear and not be shown in the Junk
    folder.

    You should be aware that Trash is also a virtual folder by default. The
    Trash folder shows the messages that are marked as deleted. Again, by
    default those deleted messages are hidden (View -> Show deleted
    messages). Since the Trash is virtual, there is no concept of "Move to
    Trash".

    This can be configured on an a per account basis - i.e. the Junk and
    Trash can be real folders.

    >
    > This doesn't seem like initial behavior that is intended to keep new
    > users happy 8-(
    >
    > My reading of the online docs prior to first execution indicated that
    > Evolution used external programs to perform spam detection, and that
    > it wouldn't be enabled by default.

    Yes, but if the messages are marked as junk by something else then they
    will appear in the virtual Junk folder.

    >
    > What should I do to prevent Evolution from trashing my mail archives?

    Edit -> Preferences -> Mail Preferences -> Junk

    Then untick the "Check incoming messages for junk" to turn off Spam
    checking.
  • John A via evolution-list <evolution-list@gnome.org>
    To:evolution-list@gnome.org
    Wed, Aug 18 at 10:39 AM
    On 8/18/21 1:34 AM, Pete Biggs wrote:
    >
    > It is more helpful if you tell us the version of Evolution you are
    > using.  For some queries the desktop you are using is also important.
    >

    Thank you for your reply Pete!

    I'm running: evolution 3.38.4 on a Fluxbox 1.3.7 desktop

    >>
    >> My mail server has a self issued cert, and I had some trouble getting
    >> evolution to connect at all. This required continuing to re-enter the
    >> IMAP and SMTP passwords on initial account creation.
    >
    > The self signed certificate should only need to be accepted once per
    > account; that shouldn't require you to enter the password multiple
    > times.  They aren't connected as far as I know.
    >
    > The passwords are stored in gnome-keyring so that needs to be running
    > in order to not be re-prompted for passwords.
    >

    That's very helpful. Obviously, evolution is meant to run as part of gnome, and I'm on a Fluxbox desktop here. Are there any other support utilities that should be running?

    >>
    >> Once evolution started to sync my existing mail store to the local
    >> computer, I noticed a very troubling thing: many many emails were
    >> showing up in the Junk folder. In my existing thunderbird client
    >> configuration, I don't use the Junk folder at all. Mail deemed SPAM
    >> is moved directly to the Trash folder, which I review before
    >> emptying.
    >
    > How do you deem the mail to be SPAM?
    >

    I saw the emails in the Junk folder, not in evolution, but in thunderbird running on a different machine.

    All the messages in the Junk folder had the SPAM flag set.

    There are other email clients running on the same IMAP account: K-9 on android, thunderbird on an old machine (won't be replaced), thunderbird locally (hope to replace).

    When I first started and configured the IMAP account on evolution locally, it had quite a bit of downloading to do. It was during this initial IMAP download that certain mail was flagged as SPAM and appeared in the Junk folder of all the running clients.

    No other mail clients are configured to use the "Junk" folder at all. Only thunderbird on the old machine has SPAM detection enabled, and it moves any mail designated as SPAM to the Trash folder, not to Junk. This machine also does other mail filtering, such as putting this message in an "evolution" folder. I intend to eventually replace this with server side sieve and SPAM detection, but that is another project.

    >>
    >> Quite a number of these emails are from deeply nested IMAP folders
    >> where I squirrel away many tens of thousands of historic emails from
    >> the last several decades.
    >>
    >> Now, several hundred of these IMAP folder emails are deposited into
    >> the JUNK folder.
    >
    > If you have not changed the configuration at all, then the Junk folder
    > is virtual - i.e. it shows the messages that have been marked as Junk,
    > the messages themselves are still in their original folders, you just
    > can't see them (View -> Show Junk messages). You can mark the messages
    > as "Not Junk" and they will reappear and not be shown in the Junk
    > folder.
    >
    > You should be aware that Trash is also a virtual folder by default. The
    > Trash folder shows the messages that are marked as deleted. Again, by
    > default those deleted messages are hidden (View -> Show deleted
    > messages). Since the Trash is virtual, there is no concept of "Move to
    > Trash".
    >
    > This can be configured on an a per account basis - i.e. the Junk and
    > Trash can be real folders.
    >

    How will evolution interact with other clients on the same IMAP account? How will any other client recognize a "virtual" folder?

    Is there some way to set these options on a newly configured evolution before it starts creating virtual copies of things?

    What are these "virtual copies"? When I search I see "saved search" "virtual folders" for thunderbird, and "shared virtual folders" for courier-imap (courier is the IMAP server here), and "virtual directories" for dovecot. Are any of these related to evolution's "virtual folders"?

    >>
    >> This doesn't seem like initial behavior that is intended to keep new
    >> users happy 8-(
    >>
    >> My reading of the online docs prior to first execution indicated that
    >> Evolution used external programs to perform spam detection, and that
    >> it wouldn't be enabled by default.
    >
    > Yes, but if the messages are marked as junk by something else then they
    > will appear in the virtual Junk folder.
    >

    All of the messages seen in Junk where pre-existing in filtered IMAP folders, not marked as SPAM.

    These weren't incoming messages, but messages filtered into folders long ago.

    >>
    >> What should I do to prevent Evolution from trashing my mail archives?
    >
    > Edit -> Preferences -> Mail Preferences -> Junk
    >
    > Then untick the "Check incoming messages for junk" to turn off Spam
    > checking.
    >
    >
    > P.
    >

    Thanks so much for your help and insight!

    John A
    San Diego CA
    2021-08-18
  • Patrick O'Callaghan <poc@usb.ve>
    To:evolution-list@gnome.org
    Wed, Aug 18 at 11:23 AM
    On Wed, 2021-08-18 at 07:39 -0700, John A via evolution-list wrote:
    > > The passwords are stored in gnome-keyring so that needs to be
    > > running
    > > in order to not be re-prompted for passwords.
    > >
    >
    > That's very helpful. Obviously, evolution is meant to run as part of
    > gnome, and I'm on a Fluxbox desktop here. Are there any other support
    > utilities that should be running?

    I run Evolution under KDE/Plasma. Gnome-keyring-d handles
    authentication, but IIRC Evo will start it automatically. You may need
    to register your passwords in the database using seahorse.

    poc
  • Ángel <angel@16bits.net>
    To:evolution-list@gnome.org
    Wed, Aug 18 at 1:08 PM
    On 2021-08-18 at 07:39 -0700, John A via evolution-list wrote:
    > > You should be aware that Trash is also a virtual folder by default.
    > > The Trash folder shows the messages that are marked as deleted.
    > > Again, by default those deleted messages are hidden (View -> Show
    > > deleted messages). Since the Trash is virtual, there is no concept
    > > of "Move to Trash".
    > >
    > > This can be configured on an a per account basis - i.e. the Junk
    > > and Trash can be real folders.
    > >
    >
    > How will evolution interact with other clients on the same IMAP
    > account? How will any other client recognize a "virtual" folder?
    >
    > Is there some way to set these options on a newly configured
    > evolution before it starts creating virtual copies of things?
    >
    > What are these "virtual copies"? When I search I see "saved search"
    > "virtual folders" for thunderbird, and "shared virtual folders" for
    > courier-imap (courier is the IMAP server here), and "virtual
    > directories" for dovecot. Are any of these related to evolution's
    > "virtual folders"?

    No. Virtual folders in evolution are just searches, shown as a folder.
    They are local to evolution, other clients won't know about them (and
    in fact, you can have a virtual folder spanning several accounts).
    Since you saw the changes in the other clients, it seems you are using
    them as real folders.

    Regards
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Genesis 1

 Genesis 1

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth
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Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

 Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

Marrying Female Captives

10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,[a] 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

A Rebellious Son

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

22 “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Various Laws

22 “You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. 2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. 4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

5 “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

6 “If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.

8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited,[b] the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.

Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality

13 “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip[c] him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels[d] of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin[e] of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

28 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

30 [f] “A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness.[g]

Those Excluded from the Assembly

23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws

15 “You shall not give up to his master a slave[h] who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

17 “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog[i] into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19 “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

21 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

24 “If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.

Laws Concerning Divorce

24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Miscellaneous Laws

5 “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife[j] whom he has taken.

6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

7 “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 “Take care, in a case of leprous[k] disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

14 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

25 “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.’ 10 And the name of his house[l] shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’

Miscellaneous Laws

11 “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.

13 “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair[m] weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 21:15 Or hated; also verses 16, 17
  2. Deuteronomy 22:9 Hebrew become holy
  3. Deuteronomy 22:18 Or discipline
  4. Deuteronomy 22:19 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  5. Deuteronomy 22:19 Or girl of marriageable age
  6. Deuteronomy 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Hebrew
  7. Deuteronomy 22:30 Hebrew uncover his father's skirt
  8. Deuteronomy 23:15 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
  9. Deuteronomy 23:18 Or male prostitute
  10. Deuteronomy 24:5 Or to make happy his wife
  11. Deuteronomy 24:8 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  12. Deuteronomy 25:10 Hebrew its name
  13. Deuteronomy 25:15 Or just, or righteous; twice in this verse
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