Ci sono quattro middoth (cioè tipi di personaggio) in un uomo: Uno che dice: "Il mio è mio e il tuo è tuo" [Non voglio darti nulla del mio, e per favore non darmi niente del tuo .] Questa è una middah mediana. Alcuni dicono: questa è la middah di Sodoma. [Si avvicina alla metà di Sodoma. Perché se uno si abitua a ciò, allora anche se il suo vicino beneficia (da ciò che gli dà) e non gli manca nulla, non vorrà darglielo. Questo era il middah di Sodoma, con l'intenzione di allontanare gli altri da loro— anche se la loro terra era ricca e non gli mancava nulla.] "La mia è tua e la tua è mia" —am ha'aretz (un ignoramus). [Perché prende e dà ugualmente, e questo "risolve la terra". Ma non (ha la sagacia di) sapere che (Proverbi 15:27): "chi odia i doni vivrà". Questa è la connotazione generale di am ha'aretz, uno che vuole apportare miglioramenti ma che manca della saggezza per discriminare tra ciò che è e ciò che non è un miglioramento.] "Il mio è tuo e il tuo è tuo"—un chasid. [Aiuta gli uomini con i suoi beni e non beneficia dei beni degli altri. È un chasid, che agisce al di sopra e al di là della lettera della legge.] "Il mio è mio e il tuo è mio"— malvagio.
Akeidat Yitzchak
The Mishnah in Avot 5,13 refers to four categories of people. One category lives according to the slogan, "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours." This is described as an average type of attitude. Some say that this is the attitude of Sodom. The second category of people live according to the slogan, "You are welcome to what is mine, and I expect to be welcome to what is yours." This is the attitude of ignorant people. The third category lives by the principle "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine also." This is a wicked attitude. The fourth category lives by the principle, "What is mine is at your disposal, and what is yours is yours." This is a pious attitude.
The sun, generally considered to be the progenitor of life in our universe, is not to be conceived as creating life, since it could do so only by ignoring such discriminatory considerations. Even mere physical life must not be initiated by forbidden means, this is why crossbreeding is prohibited elsewhere.
It is a fundamental rule of our faith that reward or punishment follow as a result of actions performed by man who is free to determine his course of action. Another fundamental rule of our faith is the conviction that man's actions interact with the way nature operates. If one conceives of man as a microcosm and of nature as the macrocosm, the former exercises profound influence on the workings of the latter. Perversion in man, ultimately results in major malfunctions in the cosmic forces controlling the universe. One can conceive of the universe as an orchestra in which each instrument plays its assigned part. Should an instrument fail consistently, the disharmony created will disable the entire orchestra. Perhaps the comment by our sages about David's harp starting to play all by itself (Berachot 3) may be understood simply. When man does his share, the entire orchestra comes alive and worships its Maker. On the one hand, nature is supposed to provide the planet's sustenance; on the other hand, man distributing nature's bounty in a fair and equitable manner complements nature's work and completes the task of performing the will of the Creator. There are numerous verses in scripture supporting this thesis of the interaction of the laws of nature and human behaviour. "If you walk in My statutes etc" (Leviticus 26,1-13) is followed by a list of at capacity. On the other hand, if you do not, nature will react accordingly (verses 14-20 same chapter). The statutes referred to are the laws of nature. G-d used the Torah as the blueprint for creation, hence the interdependence of the observance of Torah laws and the normal functioning of nature. Our sages go so far as to list seven basic sins and the distortions in nature that these sins will eventually bring in their wake (Avot 5,10). These penalties are not viewed as retribution, but as the natural corollary of the manner in which the microcosm functions within the macrocosm. Fortunately, nature is an extremely complex system, therefore aberrations in human behaviour affect only part of the system, not the whole. Were this not so, total destruction of the earth as we know it would have occurred frequently. As it is, the manifestations of malfunctions in nature affect only limited areas and mirror specific human aberrations. Perhaps the statement that the universe was created by ten directives instead of a single one (Avot 5,1) also suggests that G-d had wanted to insulate parts of the universe from other parts, to insure that man's misconduct would not result in destruction of G-d’s entire handiwork at one stroke. The very name of the musical instrument known as aley assor, the ten stringed one, may hint at the ten spheres of creation, which when working together in harmony, represent the universe in its most perfect condition. The ten directives, as our sages explain, represent G-d’s patience with His creatures. That is why G-d waited ten generatioms before He brought on the deluge. Again, we find ten generations between Noach and Abraham. G-d excercised patience during all these generations until Abraham emerged on the scene and began the task of reversing human aberrations.