Constructive Criticism
The commandment to rebuke one another teaches the importance of mutual responsibility.
By Rabbi Avraham Fischer. Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.Morality is not enough.
As important as it is to build an ethical society in which no harm is tolerated, the Torah sets a higher standard: to create a holy society.
Among the many mitzvot (commandments) in this part of Vayikra [Leviticus], the book of the sanctified society, we find:
You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall surely rebuke your friend, and you shall not bear sin upon him (Vayikra 19:17).
Here, we are taught about the importance of mutual responsibility. In the sanctified society, each individual has a personal interest that everyone aspires to holiness. This sometimes requires constructive criticism.
Analyzing the Verse
Many of the classic commentaries analyze the flow of ideas in this verse. Rashbam (Samuel ben Meir, 12th-century France), for example, says: If you feel wronged by him, do not pretend to love him. Correct him, rather than preserve sinful feelings toward him.
Ibn Ezra (12th-century Spanish commentator) and Ramban (Nachmanides) add that v'lo tissa alav chet--and you shall not bear sin upon him--provides a rationale and a motive: It is possible that your feelings are groundless, but you will not know unless you confront him. But, if your concerns are justified, you will bear some responsibility for his continued wrong, because you could have corrected him. On the other hand, when you reprove him he will apologize to you, or--if his sin was against Hashem--he will confess, and he will be forgiven.
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