Teaching #16: Being a Good Neighbor

Core Teaching #16: Being a Good Neighbor

Living in this world means being a neighbor. This fundamental principle is found in the very roots of the Hebrew language. According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: “[The Hebrew word] shachan means both to dwell, and also to be a neighbor… In Jewish thought, to dwell means to be a neighbor. When a Jew takes a place on earth to be his dwelling place he must at the same time concede space and domain to his fellow men for a similar dwelling place.”

Being a good neighbor is a Jewish obligation. It can also be a tremendous challenge. We all have physical needs and wants to satisfy in order to live in this world, but much of what we do to satisfy these needs and wants can negatively impact our neighbors. This is especially true today, with so many people, with so much technology, living on a material level beyond the dreams of our ancestors.

Being a Good Neighbor

• Summary Article

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• Source Sheet
  

• Audio Podcast
  

• Video
  

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

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