Reply To: Lo sichanem

Cs, good question; you’re touching on a machlokes…well, perhaps one. There is a meiri which says that many of the injunctions chazal made with akum don’t apply – he doesn’t specify how many, if i recall – because today’s goyim believe in Hashem, on some level, for the most part. He does agree, however, that things like bishul akum, stam yainon, do apply.

The rambam famously held that the issur hanaah no longer applies to stam yainon for this reason, but halacha doesn’t follow his shitoh.

And some yekkishe rabbonim quote the meiri. In their timw and piece, it was advantageous and it’s not clear how seriously they meant it. However, the meiri was not known in the achronims time, and the chazon ish says that we don’t overturn achronim because we find rishonim later on.

Back to lo sichanem; if we don’t go with the meiri, we have no shailoh; we are not permitted to give free presents or compliments to any goy, which answers your 2nd question about “stam” goyim nowadays. I disagree, though, that stam goyim wish to make the world a better place. Many say that they do, but you of all people know what the Tanya says at the end of the first perek about chessed le’umim chatas, which is why I’m surprised at your stance on this issue.

As for chasidei umos haolam, one of my rebbeim showed me a source in a chabad sefer (maybe you know which one) which says that the shoresh neshoma of a chosid umos haolam os the same as a yisroel. Ger toshav has its set of laws, and I don’t believe lo sichanem applies to them. Hashavas aveidah, if i remember correctly, applies to them, and not stam goyim.

Nom, i would think so. If you’re driving at the idea that “this goys health must affect SOME jew somewhere” i disagree. And a person needs to know where their intentions lie. We’re taught by this mitzvah not to have special love for ainom yehudim. Derech eretz, yes, not cheating, stealing, certainly! But to go above and beyond when there’s no hakaras hatov or benefit, is forbidden. And according to your view, the magen avrohom wouldn’t have said it was assur to so so if on some level a yid benefits everytime a goy is prosperous.