출애굽기 22:27의 Halakhah

The Torah identifies two institutions of authority. First, the Torah speaks of the beit din, specifically the Sanhedrin, whose Torah leadership we must follow. In this regard, the Torah exhorts us, "Based on the rulings they rule for you, and [based] on the justice they tell you you shall act" (Devarim 17:11). The Torah subsequently speaks of the leadership of a king. The Torah forbids rebellion against either of these institutions of authority. In fact, both a rebel against Torah authorities (zaken mamreih) and a rebel against political authorities (mored bemalchut) are punished by death, because such people threaten the stability and viability of society. The Ramban (Shemot 22:27) and Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 71), in explaining the prohibition of cursing a leader, write that the Torah forbids cursing any national leader, be he from the political authority or from the Torah authority.

One who curses an Israelite,¹Mishna Sheb. 35a and Gemara ibid. 36a. and even [if] he curses himself,²Tur — G. Mishna and Gemara ibid.: ‘For it is written, Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul (life) diligently (Deut. IV, 9. In Ber. 32a this verse is taken to mean that one should take good care of the body and its needs and not subject himself to dangers whence it is implied that it is forbidden to curse oneself) and … wherever it is said, take heed, lest, or not, it is nothing but a negative precept (Hence, in this verse take heed to thyself also means ‘do not invoke any curse upon thyself’).’ — by the [Divine] Name or by a substitute,³Mishna ibid.: ‘(If one said to witnesses, I adjure you) by Alef-Daleth (the first two letters of Adonai, the Lord) or by Yod-He (the Tetragrammaton) or by Shaddai (the Almighty) or by Ẓebaoth ([Lord] of Hosts) or by the Merciful and Gracious One, or by Him that is long-suffering and of great kindness, or by any of the substitutes of the Name, they are liable … If a man cursed himself or his fellow by any of them, he transgresses a negative precept.’ Gemara ibid. 36a: ‘R. Jannai said: This is the view of both (i.e., R. Meir and the Sages both agree that one who curses himself or his neighbour not merely by the Name, but even by any of the substitutes, transgresses a negative precept).’ or by one of the names that the heathens call the Holy One, Blessed be He,⁴ San. 60a whence it is derived that substitutes for the Divine Name employed by heathens are considered valid substitutes. Cf. also Ned. 3a, 10a where substitutes regarding vows are considered the foreign equivalents of the Hebrew. Thus Yad, Sanhedrin XXVI, 3 and Tur a.l. — if this took place in the presence of witnesses⁵ Deut. XIX, 15. and [was preceded by] warning,⁶ Ket. 33a. he receives lashes⁷Thus was the procedure in Temple days. Derived from Tem. 3a-b, 4a: ‘R. Iddi b. Abin stated on the authority of R. Amram, R. Isaac and R. Joḥanan: R. Jose the Galilean reported: With regards to every negative precept laid down in the Torah, if one performs an act (in violating it) he is punished with lashes, but if he does not perform an act (in violating it) he is exempt, save in the case of one who takes an oath, exchanges (an unconsecrated animal for one that is consecrated), and curses his fellow with the Name, in which cases, although he performed no act, he is punished (with lashes) … And he who curses his neighbour with the Name: Whence is this derived? — R. Eleazar stated on the authority of R. Oshaia: The text reads, If thou wilt not observe to do etc. (Deut. XXVIII, 58. The verse continues: That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God, which intimates that one should not utter the Divine Name in vain and likewise one who curses his neighbour with the Divine Name is included in the same category). And it is written, Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful (v. 59). Now I do not know what is the nature of this wonder (peculiarity of punishment). But when it says (ibid. XXV, 2): That the judge cause him to lie down to be beaten (והפילו which is similar to the expression והפלא He will make … wonderful), this indicates that the wonderful (punishment) refers to punishment with lashes … Why not say … since he transgresses two things, first in uttering the Lord’s Name in vain and then in irritating his fellow, consequently, punishment with lashes should not suffice? — You cannot say thus, for it is written, Thou shalt not curse the deaf (Lev. XIX, 14 whether with or without the Divine Name).’ Thus also in Y. Sheb. IV, 10(35d) in accord with R. Jose contra the Colleagues. , however, RaBaD to Yad ibid. who on the basis of Y. ibid. deduces that if one cursed with a substitute he is not punished by lashes. It is only when he curses with the Tetragrammaton, although no act is performed, yet lashes are administered. , Kes. Mish. to Yad ibid. who defends Maim. against RaBaD’s stricture. on account of [the negative precept] 'Thou shalt not curse the deaf,'⁸Lev. XIX, 14. Actually the negative precept Thou shalt not curse the deaf includes all persons. The deaf was singled out, although he does not hear and is not subjected to any suffering, so that people should not take advantage of his infirmity. Thus Yad, Sanhedrin XXVI, 1 and Tur a.l. — M.E. Cf. also Sifra to Lev. ibid. and if [the cursed person] was a Judge, he receives additional lashes on account of [the negative precept] 'Thou shalt not curse the Judges.'⁹Ex. XXII, 27. Thus San. 66a. This, however, refers to a permanent Judge — P.Tesh. And [if one cursed by] Arur it is considered a form of curse.¹⁰Sheb. 36a. It must, however, contain the Name or its substitutes — M.E.

To not curse the judge: To not curse the judges, as it is stated (Exodus 22:27), "Lords (elohim) shall you not curse." And the understanding of elohim [here] is judges, as [in] (Exodus 22:8), "that the elohim deem guilty." And the verse [chose] this expression [which can also mean, God], so that another negative commandment would be included in this negative commandment, and that is the negative commandment of 'blessing' God. As they, may there memory be blessed, said in the Mekhilta and the Sifri, "The warning for 'blessing God' is from that it is written, 'Elohim shall you not curse.'" And that which is written in another place, "And the one that blasphemes the name of the Lord will surely die" (Leviticus 24:16), is [the mention of] its punishment. But the warning (prohibition) is from here. As mention of the punishment of a commandment without its warning is not sufficient for us. And this is what our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, always said (Sanhedrin 54a), "We have heard the punishment, from where is the warning?" And the matter is because of this: That if the prevention of God did not come to us in the matter, but it would [only] state, "One who does thing x will be punished with this," it would be implied that there is permission to transgress the commandment in the hand of anyone who is willing to take the punishment and is not concerned with his pain, and that he will not go against the will of God and His commandment with this. And [so] the matter of the commandment will turn into a type of give and take, meaning to say that one who wants to do thing x, can give such and such and do it, or bare his shoulder to suffer such and do it. And the intention of the commandments is not like this, but rather that God prevented us from things for our [own] good, and informed us in some of them of the punishment that comes to us immediately, besides transgressing His will, which is weightier than anything. And this is [the meaning] of that which they, may their memory be blessed, said in every place (Yoma 81a), "He did not punish, unless He warned," meaning to say, God did not inform of the punishment that comes for a sin, unless He first informed us that His will is that we do not do that thing for which the punishment is coming.

To not curse a chieftain (nassi): To not curse a chieftain, as it is stated (Exodus 22:27), "and a chieftain among your people shall you not malign." And the explanation upon it came that the nassi is the king (Mishneh Torah, Laws of The Sanhedrin and the Penalties within their Jurisdiction 26:1). But nonetheless, this negative commandment also includes the nassi of Israel and that is the head of the Great Sanhedrin, who is also called the nassi; since the intention of the verse is about anyone who is the head authority over Israel, whether it is the government of the kingdom or whether it is the government of the Torah.

To not curse an Israelite, whether a man or a woman: To not curse an Israelite, whether a man or a woman; and even though he does not hear the curse, as it is stated (Leviticus 19:14), "You shall not curse the deaf" - and the explanation comes about this [that it is] one who does not hear your curse. And so did Onkelos translate [it]. And the language of Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2:13 [is] "I only have a deaf person, from where do I include every man? [Hence] we learn to say (Exodus 22:27), 'among your people, you shall not maledict.' If so, why does it state, 'deaf?' Just like a deaf person is unique that he is alive - to exclude the dead that is not alive." Even thought we do not have the power to know in which way a curse impacts upon the one cursed, and with what power within speech there is to bring [that impact] upon him, we know more generally that people are concerned about curses - whether Israel or other nations - and say that curses of people, and even curses of commoners, have an impact on the one cursed and attaches malediction and distress to him. And since we know this thing from the mouth of the creatures, we will say that it is from the roots of the commandment that God prevented us from injuring others with our mouths, [just] like he prevented us from injuring them with action. And similar to this did they, may their memory be blessed, say (Moed Katan 18a), "A covenant is made with the lips" - meaning to say that there is power in the words of a person's mouth.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Shevuot 35a) that it is forbidden to curse in any way. But nonetheless, he is not lashed unless he cursed with a name of one of the names [of God], such as Y-ah, Sha-dai, E-loah and similar to them, or with any appellation of one of the appellations [of God], such as Compassionate, Jealous and similar to them. And he is liable in any language that he curses with a name or appellation, as the names that the gentiles call the Holy One, blessed be He, are among the appellations (even though they are in their languages). And [also] that which they said (Shevuot 36a) that even one who curses himself is lashed, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:9), "But you shall guard yourself and guard your soul much." And also that [which they said] in Mekhilta (see Sanhedrin 66a), "'You shall not curse the deaf' - [it is speaking] about the wretched among men." And they also said there (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yismael 22:27) that when the verse (Exodus 22:27) states, "a chieftain (nassi) among your people, you shall not maledict, etc.," it implies both a chieftain and a judge. What [then] do we learn by saying, "[Judges] shall you not curse"? To impose liability for this one in itself and for that one in itself. From here they said, "One may speak one thing and be liable for four things. (How so?) If the son of a chieftain curses his father, he is liable on account of chieftain, on account of father, on account of judge, and on account of 'among your people you shall not maledict'" (see Tur, Choshen Mishpat 26).

To not curse father and mother: To not curse father and mother, as it is stated (Leviticus 20:9), "Any man that curses his father and his mother, etc." And the truth is that the main warning of cursing father and mother is not from Scripture, since here it only mentions the punishment of the one that curses; and so [too,] that which is written in the Order of Mishpatim (Exodus 21:17), "And he who curses his father and his mother shall surely be killed" - there too, it only spoke about the punishment. And that is what they said in Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:17:3, "'And he who curses his father and his mother, etc.' - we have heard the punishment, but from where is the warning? [Hence] we learn to say (Exodus 22:27) 'Lords you shall not curse[, etc.]' If his father is a chieftain (nassi), behold he is included in 'and a chieftain in your people you shall not malign.' If he is a boor, behold he is included in 'You shall not curse the deaf.' Hence it is to be derived by a constructive paradigm (binyan av) through the three of them, etc." until, "Their common denominator is that they are 'in your people,' and you are exhorted against cursing them. Your father, too, is 'in your people,' and you are exhorted against cursing him." And so did they say in Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10:7, "'And he who curses his father and his mother - we have heard the punishment, etc." exactly like the language of the Mekhilta. And since there is no specific [textual] negative commandment to this warning - but rather it is comes out from the principle [understand by an analysis] of three negative commandments - I have written it on this verse that is speaking about the punishment [for it]. And likewise, Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote about "he who curses his father and his mother shall surely be killed," that it is speaking about the punishment (Sefer Ha Mitzot LaRambam, Mitzvot Lo Taase 318).

He prohibited us from cursing any Israelite person. And that is His saying, "You shall not curse a deaf person" (Leviticus 19:14). And understand the content of this, 'deaf person,' from me: And that is that when the spirit is moved to take revenge upon the injurer according to the nature of the imagined injury - behold it will not veer from its activity until the injurer is repaid according to the injury recorded by the imagination. And when his repayment is complete, the activity then departs from the imagination. So sometimes he will repay him only with a curse and disparagement, and his mind will be calmed by the measure of injury caused by those statements and by the disparagement. But sometimes the matter will be harsher, and the activity will not be stilled until he destroys [the offender's] property. Then his mind is calmed by the measure of pain caused to [the other] by the loss of his property. However sometimes the matter is [even] harsher, such that he will not be calmed until he takes revenge on [the other's] body with different injuries and the destruction of [his] limbs. And sometimes the matter will be harsher [still] and the [mental] activity will not cease until he takes the life of the injurer and his portion of existence; and that is the extreme. But sometimes the activity of the soul will be gentler than to seek the punishment of the injurer - due to the smallness of the crime - to the point that the activity will end with [just] yelling, anger and cursing [of the other], even though that other person does not hear [it] and is not present. And this is well-known about the actions of temperamental and angry people - that their minds are calmed from light offenses with this measure, even though the offender does not know of their anger and does not hear their disparagement. And perhaps we would have in our mind that the point of what is forbidden to us is the curse of an Israelite when he hears it, such that distress and pain come to him; but since a deaf person does not hear [it] and it does not hurt him, the curse would not be a sin. Hence Scripture is informing us that it is forbidden, and we are prohibited from [doing] it. For the Torah was not only concerned exclusively with the state of the one cursed, but also with that of the one cursing - in that it forbade him to move his soul towards vengeance, and that he not become accustomed to getting angry. And the masters of the tradition accordingly brought a proof about the cursing of any Israelite from His saying, "You shall not curse a deaf person": And the language of the Sifra (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2:13) is, "I only know of a deaf person. From where [do we know] to include all people? [Hence] we learn to say, 'You shall not curse a nassi (elevated person) among your people' (Exodus 22:27). If so, why is it stated, 'a deaf person?' Just as a deaf person is distinctive in being alive [so too is it the case for anyone alive] - to exclude a dead man, who is not alive." And in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:17:3): "'You shall not curse a deaf person' - the most abject of people." And everything that we have said is on condition that it be with [God's] name. And one is also lashed when he curses himself. Behold it has already been explained that one who curses his fellow with [God's] name is transgressing a negative commandment - and that is, "You shall not curse a deaf person." And one who curses a judge is transgressing two negative commandments, and is lashed twice. But one who curses a nassi is lashed three times. And the language of the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 22:27:2) is, "When he says, 'You shall not curse a nassi among your people,' both a nassi and a judge are implied. So what do we learn to say [from], 'You shall not curse the powers (judges)' (Exodus 22:27)? To make liable for this on its own and for that on its own. From here, they said, 'One may speak one thing and be liable on account of four things. On account of, "You shall not curse a deaf person," on account of the father, on account of a judge and on account of "a nassi among your people," in any event.'" Behold, what we mentioned has become clear. And the regulations of this commandment have been explained in the fourth [chapter] of Shevuot. (See Parashat Kedoshim; Mishneh Torah, The Sanhedrin and the Penalties within their Jurisdiction 26.)

He prohibited - not to curse father and mother. Indeed, the language of the Torah is clear about its punishment, when He says, "And if one curses his father or his mother, he shall surely die" (Exodus 21:17); and he is among those that are stoned. And even if he [only] cursed one of them with [God's] name after [the parent's] death, he is stoned. However the prohibition is not explicit in Scripture. For it does not say, "You shall not curse your father." But it already preceded that a prohibition came about cursing every Israelite; and that includes a father and anyone besides him. And in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:17:3), they said, "'And if one curses his father or his mother, he shall surely die' - we have heard the punishment; from where [do we know] the prohibition? [Hence] we learn to say, 'You shall not curse the powers' (Exodus 22:27). If your father is a judge, behold he is included in the powers. And if he is a nassi, behold he is included in, 'and do not maledict a nassi among your people.' And if he is a boor, behold he is included in, 'You shall not curse a deaf person' (Leviticus 19:14). [If he is not a judge, not a nassi and not a deaf person,] behold, you can argue by induction (binyan av) from the three of them, according to the common element among them: That they are, 'among your people,' and you are prohibited [from] cursing them." And it is written in the Sifra (Sifra Kedoshim, Chapter 10:7), "'If any man curses his father or his mother, he shall surely die' (Leviticus 20:9) - we have heard the punishment; from where [do we know] the prohibition? [Hence] we learn to say, 'You shall not curse the powers'" - exactly like the language of the Mekhilta. And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in the seventh [chapter] of Sanhedrin. (See Parashat Mishpatim; Mishneh Torah, Rebels 5.)