The Shelah refers to tochachah as “a very great mitzvah.” However, the sources for mitzvas tochachah are quite spread out and therefore not easily accessible. In this chapter, we provide background to understand the kiruv applications of the mitzvah of tochachah. Tochachah: It’s All About Caring It is not good enough to be a “tzaddik”... Read more »

In the previous chapter, we cited the position of many poskim who stated that under extenuating circumstances, the status of tinokos shenishbu can be applied to contemporary non-observant Jews. The implication is that many of the lenient rulings that affect how we relate to non-observant Jews cannot be applied indiscriminately. Rather, to determine whether a... Read more »

During most of Jewish history, public Shabbos desecration was rare and was usually a one-time occurrence, when a merchant accepted goods that came on Shabbos. The Jewish community dealt with such transgressions severely. In those days, a mumar was usually a Jew who had converted to Christianity. Thus, the Rishonim frequently discuss issues such as... Read more »