Do not throw a stone into the well from which you have drunk/ cast not dirt into the well that gives you water/ do not bite the hand that feeds you

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Do not throw a stone into the well from which you have drunk/ cast not dirt into the well that gives you water/ do not bite the hand that feeds you

Do not throw a stone into the well from which you have drunk/ cast not dirt into the well that gives you water/ do not bite the hand that feeds you

Figuratively: Do not be ungrateful. A place from which you have learned or received something good should not be slandered or harmed in any way. (Literally: Do not throw a stone into the well from which you have drunk, for by doing so you might destroy it.)

('Is it not a saying of people: In a well that you drank from, do not throw in a stone? He replied, as it is written (Deuteronomy 23) You Shall Not Abhor an Edomite for He is Your Brother, Nor Shall You Abhor an Egyptian, for You Were a Stranger in His Land' - Baba Kamma 92b. And Likewise: 'But Because He Grew Up in the Land of Midian, He Said: It Is Not Just that I Should Afflict One Who Did a Good Deed for Me, The Proverb Says: A Well You Drank From, Do Not Throw a Stone In' - Midrash Rabbah 22.")

Translation

Expression (Hebrew)

בּוֹר שֶׁשָּׁתִיתָ מִמֶּנּוּ אַל תִּזְרֹק בּוֹ אֶבֶן

Definition (Hebrew)

בְּהַשְׁאָלָה: אַל תִּהְיֶה כְּפוּי טוֹבָה. מָקוֹם שֶׁלָּמַדְתָּ מִמֶּנּוּ אוֹ קִיבַּלְתָּ מִמֶּנּוּ מַשֶּׁהוּ טוֹב לֹא יָאֶה לְהַשְׁמִיצוֹ אוֹ לִפְגּוֹעַ בּוֹ בְּכָל דֶּרֶךְ (מִלּוּלִית: אַל תַּשְׁלִיךְ אֶבֶן לְתוֹךְ בְּאֵר שֶׁשָּׁתִיתָ מִמֶּנָּה, כִּי בְּכָךְ אַתָּה עָלוּל לְהַרְסָהּ).

("הָא מִלְּתָא דְּאָמְרֵי אִינָשֵׁי: בֵּירָא דִּשְׁתֵית מִנֵּהּ לָא תִּשְׁדֵּי בֵּהּ קָלָא? א"ל (אָמַר לוֹ) דִּכְתִיב (דְּבָרִים כג) לֹא תְתַעֵב אֲדֹמִי כִּי אָחִיךָ הוּא, וְלֹא תְתַעֵב מִצְרִי כִּי גֵר הָיִיתָ בְאַרְצוֹ"-בָּבָא קַמָּא צָב ע"ב, וְכֵן:"אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנִּתְגַּדֵּל (מֹשֶׁה) בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְיָן אָמַר: אֵינוֹ בְּדִין שֶׁאֲנִי מֵצֵר לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה מִי טוֹבָה, הַמָּשָׁל אוֹמֵר: בּוֹר שֶׁשָּׁתִיתָ מִמֶּנּוּ אַל תִּזְרֹק בּוֹ אֶבֶן"- מִדְרַשׁ רַבָּה כב.

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