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Hi rabbi, I have a question. If I have bad thoughts and feelings does that make me a bad person? For example, I gave my friend's name for a job opportunity in my office and when he got the job I felt upset. The reason I felt upset is because my chances of being promoted were slim once my very accomplished and well known friend was hired. I never expressed the way I really felt to him or anyone else, and just pretended I was excited that he got the job. Does it make me a bad person if had bad thought or feelings yet I never acted on them? This question also goes beyond the example I provided. Thank you in advance for your help.

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I was in a restaurant the other day, and a person came up to me and told me I shouldn’t be eating there because it’s not kosher. What chutzpah! Shouldn’t he mind his own business?

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Archive: Though I am a pious Jew, my life has been filled with serious illness, financial struggles, and early deaths in my family. Am I being punished for being good?

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OS 303 Here is a question for you. I own stocks in some companies that are not doing too well these days. Anyway, some of these companies just announced massive layoffs, in the tens of thousands. This will result in lower costs, therefore greater profits, and I'm liable to make some money on it when the stock subsequently rises. (One company's stock went up 5% just with the announcement of the layoffs.) My question is: I would like to feel joyful that my stock will rise, but then I am reminded that tens of thousands of families will have lost their income. This is a dilemma. Is there any Torah insight on this?

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OS 282 In America and the U.K. , the Harry Potter series of novels has swept millions of fans into their "spell." The popular books are about a young wizard and his friends who attend the distinguished Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many states in America have officially banned the books from public school curriculum because of biblical injunctions against these two activities. May we read the books with a clear conscience?