“The prohibition of wronging others is one of the more challenging prohibitions in the Torah. It is easy to identify with the idea that murder, rape or theft are despicable acts that have no place in civil society, but it is much harder to internalize that wronging others in apparently minor ways can destroy the fabric of society to a similar extent.

 …Our quality of life is much more affected by those small pangs of sorrow that we cause to our neighbors or friends, be they close or distant. This can happen anywhere and anytime: when we curse other drivers as we seek a parking spot in a packed parking lot, when we skip others in line at the supermarket, or when teenagers make noise late at night in the middle of a quiet and calm neighborhood.

 The very Torah portion in which the Holy One Blessed Be He attempts to educate us about the fundamentals of a proper social order is where He also reminds us that before we embark on our quest to heal the world… we ought to look for things that need fixing in our own backyard, such as how we treat our spouses, our children, and our neighbors.”