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What does it mean to be "good to God and bad to people"? The shiur develops a chiddush from Kiddushin 40a: it's not the religious hypocrite who steals—that's evil to both God and people. Rather, it's someone who does all the right mitzvos but only because God commanded them, without genuine feeling for the recipient. Parshas Mishpatim's mitzvah (מצוה) of lending money illustrates this: the Torah (תורה) uses the ambiguous word "im" to teach that we must lend in a way that preserves the borrower's dignity and reflects true care, not mere religious compliance.
The shiur opens with a close reading of Shemos 22:24, the mitzvah (מצוה) to lend money to a fellow Jew. The verse uses the word "im kesef talveh," which typically means "if" or "when" you lend money—suggesting a voluntary act. Rashi (רש"י), citing Rabbi Yishmael in the Mechilta, explains that this is one of only three exceptions in the Torah (תורה) where "im" means "you must," making lending an obligation, not optional. But Rabbi Zweig asks a fundamental textual question: if the Torah wants to convey obligation, why use an ambiguous word that usually means "if"? Why not simply say "kesef talveh" (money you must lend) and eliminate the confusing word entirely? To answer this, Rabbi Zweig develops a profound insight about interpersonal mitzvos through an analysis of Kiddushin 40a. The Gemara (גמרא) asks: the verse says "the righteous who is good" will be rewarded—but is there a righteous person who is not good? The Gemara answers: a righteous person who is good to God and good to people versus one who is good to God but not good to people. Most people assume the latter refers to the religious hypocrite—someone who prays and keeps kosher in shul but cheats in business. But the Gemara immediately refutes this understanding: when discussing the wicked, it defines "evil to God and evil to people" as a thief or robber. Rashi clarifies: stealing is evil to God because God forbade it, and evil to people because they are harmed. Therefore, a religious person who cheats is not "good to God"—he is evil on both counts.
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Shemos 22:24 (Parshas Mishpatim)
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