| Several readers commented on Friday's lesson. Three of the questions are posted below. We welcome your response to these questions. Please send your response to salantorg@gmail.com. We will post selected answers.
1. "What about the Mitzva to love people and give gentle , caring rebuke ?" 2. "I cannot agree in this case. This person has broken the law. If we are asked to pray for the prosperity of the government then we need to abide by their laws.
I am not going to "go along" with a thief. I might not say something but I will judge him." 3. "Sorry, but I find this advice offensive & unacceptable. If someone is committing a crime & you saw it, you are a witness, if the person is your friend, you should tell him to put everything back. Do that with a smile, otherwise you are enabling a thief."
The Healing Power of Love \ Parashat Mishpatim D'var Torah: "You shall surely let go of your indignation" (Shemot 23:5). Imagine you are in the mall. As you are shopping you bump into your neighbor. You can't help noticing that he is shoplifting. He knows you saw him and he gives you a little smile and says, "Hi David," as if nothing happened. You are shocked and feel upset that he stole, but there is very little you can do about it without causing a scene. How should you veiw him in the future? The Torah has remarkable advice, "Let it go!" Forget what happened and let go of your critical feelings. It is a Mitzvah to draw him close to you with love and friendship! Maybe this positive approach will have a good impact on him and he will be inspired by your compassion to correct and improve his ways.
Moral: Judgement and criticism of others is often counterproductive. The compassionate Torah has a game-changing idealogy: "Let it go," and win your friend's redemption by smiling on him with love, acceptance, and joy.
Application: Emulate HaShem's compassion and forgiveness. (1) Let go of your judgements of others. (2) Respond to unsuitable behavior with love and friendship. (3) Give people the support and confidence to grow towards goodness and personal transformation. (4) Remember the healing power of love. (Based on the commentary of the Tomer Devorah, Chapter One)
Each year on Rav Yisrael's yarzeit, we ask our subscibers to send us names and email addresses of their friends and family members who will be enriched by our daily lessons. Please send in the names and emails of your friends to salantorg@gmail.com
The Salant Foundation is currently looking for a Shul or community to partner with us in sharing the merit of the unique and important Salant Kollel. There are practical and easy ways (such as adoptakollel.org) to create a special mutual relationship between the Kollel and a Shul or community. If you think your shul or community or even workplace might want to participate in supporting the Salant Kollel, please contact Rabbi Zvi Miller at salantorg@gmail.com, and we'll discuss how to go about implementing your idea. Thank you. | 
