MAY 5 • 2022 | 41

Richmond 61st
G

ene and Claire
Richmond marked
their 61st wedding
anniversary on Dec. 26,
2021. They plan to cele-
brate this summer, when
COVID no longer threatens,
with their children, grand-
children and friends.

Shapiro 100th

Feldheim-Harvie

E

thel Shapiro of
Farmington Hills turns
100 on May 24, 2022. At
the age of 17, she married the
“greatest man in the world,
Seymour Shapiro.” She was
known as “Dear” for 68 years.
Together they had four beau-
tiful daughters who married,
had children and made her a
Nana. Ethel is celebrating with
her eight children, 14 grandchil-
dren, 15 great-grandchildren
and many friends. Her secret to long life is being gor-
geous every day and staying glad not mad.

B

everly and Stuart
Feldheim of West
Bloomfield wish to
announce the engagement
of their daughter, Kimberly
Shindel to Jamie Harvie, son
of Alex Harvie and Katherine
Fowler of Troon, Scotland.
The pair met in Glasgow,
where Kim was attending grad-
uate school.
A September wedding
is planned at Oran Mor in
Glasgow, Scotland.

SPIRIT

Exploiting Weaknesses
I

magine this scene: A mother
says to her daughter, “Have
a good time playing outside;
be a good girl, be honest; respect
people you meet; by the way, if
you see a blind person on the
street don’t put something
in his way so he trips and
falls.
”
That last instruction
would seem unnecessary
after the general instruc-
tion to be “good.
” Yet, that
is exactly what we read in
this week’s Torah portion.
The parshah begins
with the general introduc-
tion: “You shall be holy
for I, the Lord your God,
am holy.
” Then we read a
rather long list of specific
mitzvot, including respect your
parents, observe the Shabbat,
don’t bear a grudge, love your
neighbor as yourself and don’t
put a stumbling block before the
blind.
How are we to understand
the last mitzvah in this list?
Wouldn’t we have known not
to do something so horrendous
without the Torah reminding us?
The rabbis of tradition had an
answer to this question. They
understood the use of the phrase
“stumbling block before the
blind” as referring to actions that
we might be less careful to avoid;
and, thus, the mitzvah becomes
a critical part of teaching us
to be “holy.
” They interpreted
“blind” to refer to someone who
is, metaphorically speaking,
blind in a particular way.
The rabbis understood that
if someone has a weakness
that they struggle with that
is beyond their control and
another person takes advantage
of that weakness, that person
is, in essence, “putting a stum-

bling block before the blind.
”
If we, for example, offer food
or drink to an individual that
we know should not have it, or
tempt someone to violate what
we know to be their values and
commitments, we are
transgressing the mitzvah.
In addition, there is
another interpretation,
which says the stumbling
block reference means
giving someone advice
that is not appropriate for
him or her. How often do
we find ourselves willing
to offer our ideas to some-
one else without thinking
whether the advice is
good for them? How often
do we, instead of telling a
friend to consult a physician, an
attorney or a counselor, decide
to dispense “wisdom” based on
our experience — experience
that might be totally or even
subtly different from theirs? In
that way, we are, in fact, leading
someone astray and perhaps
causing them to stumble.
Of course, giving advice to a
friend isn’t always a bad idea;
and, while it is good to be sen-
sitive, it is up to an individual
to act on advice, accept or not
accept it. Each person must be
aware of his or her own weak-
nesses and not simply blame
someone else for tempting them.
In commanding us to be holy,
the Torah instructs us to take
on more responsibility in caring
for the well being of others. By
being sensitive to others, we take
a step closer to the Torah’s ulti-
mate goal.

Robert Dobrusin is rabbi emeritus at

Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor.

This article originally appeared in the

JN April 28, 2011.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Robert
Dobrusin

Parshat

Kedoshim:

Leviticus

19:1-20:27;

Amos 9:7-15.