In this chapter, we will clarify the general principles affecting someone who desecrates Shabbos in public. In the next chapter, we will apply these principles to the Jews of our generation.
- DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF TRANSGRESSORS
The Rambam defines a broad range of different transgressors and/ or nonbelievers, such as minim, apikorsim, kofrim, and apostates. These are not all distinct and separate categories, and it is not always clear which kind of sinner belongs to which category.
The level of culpability of a non-observant Jew — whether he is considered a deliberate sinner, a negligent transgressor, a faultless violator, or one who was convinced that his actions were permissible — will also be impacted by whether his family, schooling, and neighborhood environment were Torah-oriented or not. It makes a difference whether he commits the transgression once or repeatedly; whether he is doing it because of natural desires or because he does not care. It also matters whether he has done teshuvah or not. We will not attempt to resolve all of the issues. Rather, we will be focusing on those categories that will make the most difference in regard to the laws we hope to clarify in this work.
Please click here to purchase a copy of the Laws of Outreach.
Please refer to the archives below for our previously published chapters of the Laws of Outreach:
Preface to The Laws of Outreach
Chapter I: The Mitzvos of Kiruv
Chapter II: Kiruv as a Rescue Mission
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OlamiResources.com is honored to present free to the Olami Community and beyond, Rabbi Avraham Edelstein’s new landmark sefer, The Laws of Outreach. We are featuring the sefer to the readership of OlamiResources.com in downloadable installments over the next few months. We are greatly appreciative that Rabbi Edelstein has kindly offered to share this important publication, including extensive Hebrew footnotes, with rabbis, educators and mekarvim worldwide. This installment is Chapter III: Categories of Transgressors and Our Obligations Toward Them. Please click here to purchase a copy of the Laws of Outreach.
