In Judaism, Lifnei Iver (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: לִפְנֵי עִוֵּר, "Before the Blind") is a Hebrew expression defining a prohibition against misleading people by use of a "
stumbling block," or allowing a person to proceed unawares in unsuspecting danger or culpability. The origin comes from the
commandment, "וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל (Before the blind, do not put a stumbling block)" ().
The Hebrew term ''lifnei iver'' is one of the offenses which the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
argues to be punishable by
excommunication in Judaism. The
stumbling block as a distinct, and negative, concept is also established in Christian theology: in
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
it is known as creating ''scandal''.
Biblical context
The regulation appears among a brief miscellany of regulations concerning ethical behaviour, covering issues such as consideration of the
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
,
an "evil tongue", not bearing grudges, the impartiality of justice, and
leaving gleanings for the poor demonstrate similar concerns against exploiting individuals, but focus on different issues.
In Jewish oral law
Many
halakhic principles are derived from ''lifnei iver'', the
oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
expanding its ramifications beyond a purely literal interpretation. In
classical rabbinical literature, ''lifnei iver'' is seen as a figuratively expressed prohibition against misleading people; the
Sifra
Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim ...
(a
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
from the time of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
) argues that since the recipient of advice would be metaphorically ''blind'' in regard to its accuracy, they would metaphorically ''stumble'' if the advice was damaging or otherwise bad.
The
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
extends the principle to also prohibit the facilitation of a
sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
ful act by another individual, where the person in question would otherwise have lacked the opportunity or means to have committed the sin;
['' Avodah Zarah'' 6b] for example, the Talmud takes the regulation to prohibit the giving of a cup of
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
to someone who has taken the
nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...
vow (which includes a vow to not partake in wine or grape products). The Talmud expresses caution in regard to figurative interpretations of this principle, emphasising that the law only really covers those situations where the other individual could not possibly have committed the transgression without the aid of the first person violating the ''lifnei iver'' rule; this is known in the Talmud as ''two sides to the river'' (''Trei Ivrah deNaharah'')—if, for example, the person who took a nazirite vow had been about to take a glass of wine anyway, then handing them a glass of wine would not transgress ''lifnei iver''.
''Lifnei iver'' as a principle recurs many times in more practical applications of Jewish law. For example, the
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...
, an authoritative codification of Jewish Law (Halacha), warns a father to not physically chastise older children, as this will only entice them to hit back, which in its view would be a capital offence (
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...
''Yoreh Deah'' 240:20).
Academic perspectives
According to the editors of the 1906 ''
Jewish Encyclopedia'', the prevailing notion in ancient Middle Eastern cultures was that bodily ailments and defects, such as blindness and loss of hearing, as well as circumstantial ailments, such as poverty, were punishments for sin;
[''Jewish Encyclopedia''] the blind, together with cripples and lepers, were outcast by society and were prevented from entering towns, becoming paupers as a result.
The biblical provision of laws to protect individuals afflicted in this manner would have had the effect, perhaps intended, of reducing the prejudice they suffered.
See also
*
Stolpersteine, German expression for "stumbling blocks" and memorial artwork by Gunter Demnig commemorating those deported and killed by the Nazis
*
Stumbling block
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifnei Iver
Jewish courts and civil law
Jewish ethical law
Negative Mitzvoth
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law