What Does Judaism Teach US About Envy? (Ask the Rabbis‪)‬

Independent Legendary film director Cecil B. DeMille's tenth commandment does not forbid envy. It forbids craving someone else's property or partner. Craving is not envying. It is a unique concept, actually the only innovative idea in the Sinai revelation: Sins of the mind, the sin not of envying what someone else has but of craving it. Craving sits on the edge of actually going for it. Therefore, the ancient rabbis distinguished between the quality of a negative thought that is fleeting and one that is obsessive. The former is harmless and very human, the latter festers the potential for actually acting on it. All of our emotions are equally creations of God and thus as sacred as any of our limbs and organs. Hatred, envy, selfishness, all have their place, their time, their context. I envied the knowledge my teachers possessed and strove to gain at least a fraction. Envy challenges me to discover my unique self. By thinking, "1 wish I had the special tiling that they have," I might be led to ask, "What special thing do I have?" Rabbi Gershon Winkler Walking Stick Foundation Thousand Oaks, CA