The Bad Neighbour problem

One of the shortest teachings in Pirkei Avot is that of Nittai HaArbeli:

הַרְחֵק מִשָּׁכֵן רָע, וְאַל תִּתְחַבֵּר לָרָשָׁע, וְאַל תִּתְיָאֵשׁ מִן הַפּוּרְעָנוּת

In English: Distance yourself from a bad neighbour, and do not join up with someone who is wicked, and do not abandon belief in retribution (Avot 1:7).

On a literal interpretation, the first of these three propositions raises many issues. Nor does it easily lend itself to practical application in the modern world. In former times we might simply pull up our tent and pitch it further away from the person whose proximity we wish to avoid. Today, however, the option of physically relocating our homes is usually costly, time-consuming and inconvenient—and there is no guarantee that the place to which we move will not have neighbours who are at least as bad as those whom we seek to avoid.

If we take the instruction to distance ourselves from bad neighbours in a figurative sense, we run into a different problem: just keeping our distance from people whom we regard as bad influences would appear to be implicit in the second proposition in this mishnah, since one does not normally join up with someone who is wicked without having ceased to distance oneself first.

A further issue must be addressed whether we prefer a literal interpretation or a figurative one, which is that we must first decide whether a person is wicked. Nittai’s contemporary, Yehoshua ben Perachyah, has already taught (Avot 1:6) that we should judge others on a favourable basis, having regard to that person’s merit; this judgement should not be made before we have stood in that person’s shoes, as it were, and not on the basis of our own ideals, principles and circumstances (per Hillel, Avot 2:5).

Nittai’s teaching also assumes that the good person whose neighbour is bad will be affected by that person rather than the other way round. This is not an inevitable consequence of having bad neighbours but it is at least a risk that a person should weigh up carefully before deciding what to do.

In Western society, the role of the neighbour in our lives is often dramatically different from that with which Nittai was familiar. Family units have shrunk in size and it is now usual for women to work outside the home. With so many people living in apartment blocks which provide only limited opportunities for getting to know one’s neighbours, for many people there is no “bad neighbour problem” since they scarcely ever come into contact with those who live closest to them. The social media provide much scope for interpersonal contact and even relationship-building, but it is difficult to characterise fellow users of the social media as “neighbours”.

None of the above should be seen as an excuse for ignoring Nittai’s teaching. Rather, we should take it as a statement regarding the need to exercise caution and vigilance when coming into close and regular company of others. Without being judgemental or hostile, we should not let our guard drop and, with it, the standards we hold dear as responsible human beings.