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Why does failing to escort a guest make you responsible for their murder? The shiur develops a profound insight: receiving favors devastates people's dignity, making them feel worthless and victim-prone. True chesed (חסד) requires restoring the recipient's honor by making them feel they gave something valuable to you.
This shiur explores the Torah (תורה)'s teaching about eglah arufah (the broken-necked heifer) from Parshas Shoftim, focusing on a cryptical grammatical anomaly and its profound implications for human relationships. When a murdered person is found outside a city, the elders must declare "yadeinu lo shafchu et hadam" (our hands did not spill this blood). The Rishonim note that "shafchu" is written with a heh instead of a vav, indicating five obligations to guests: food, drink, lodging, escort, and gifts. Rabbi Zweig addresses the fundamental question: how can failing to escort a guest a few feet make one responsible for a murder that occurred miles away? The answer reveals a universal principle about human psychology and relationships. While giving favors feels wonderful, receiving them is deeply uncomfortable and demeaning. People naturally resist being takers, preferring even dangerous alternatives to the humiliation of dependence.
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Parshas Shoftim - Eglah Arufah
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