In Judaism, Lifnei Iver (, "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 "Before the blind, do not put a stumbling block" (). The Hebrew term ''lifnei iver'' is one of the offenses which the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

argues to be punishable by excommunication in Judaism. The stumbling block as a distinct, and negative, concept is also established in Christian theology: in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 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, 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 () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

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 () is the Midrash halakha 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, and in two passages ''Sifr ...

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

from the time of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

) 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

extends the principle to also prohibit the facilitation of a sinful 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 made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

to someone who has taken the

nazirite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( ''Nāzīr'') is an Israelite (i.e. Jewish) man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . This vow required the nazirite to: * Abstain from wine and strong drink as well as all oth ...

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''. Examples of Lifnei iver: as Amnon had sought the advice of Jonadab in order to rape his half sister Tamar, Absalom had sought the advice of Ahitophel who advised Absalom to have incestuous relations with his father's concubines in order to show all Israel how odious he was to his father Samuel 16:20 ''Lifnei iver'' as a principle recurs many times in more practical applications of Jewish law. For example, the

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...

, 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 (

''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.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lifnei Iver Jewish courts and civil law Jewish ethical law Negative Mitzvoth Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law

Biblical context

In Jewish oral law

Academic perspectives

See also

References