16. Being a Good Neighbor

Rabbi Samphson Rafael Hirsch, commentary to Leviticus 19:14, in The Pentateuch: vol. 1: Genesis,
Rendered into English by Isaac Levy from the original German, Judaica Press, Gateshead, England, 1989, p. 516-517

Now we get to two sentences warning us against doing any injury at all to others, in the widest application of the word injury...’And before a blind man you shall not place a stumbling block.’ This is a sentence of the most far-reaching import. It warns against carelessness in word or deed through which the material or spiritual well-being of our fellow man could in any way be endangered. By 'blind person' is understood not only the actual blind, but also those who are, in any way, spiritually or morally blind, dazzled by passion or ignorance.... Thus the whole great sphere of the material and spiritual happiness of our neighbor is entrusted to our care. Our care and consideration must be exercised for the benefit of our neighbor to prevent his coming into any material or moral harm through our means.
But you shall fear your God, I am Hashem. And in all these matters, we are not to feel ourselves under the judgment of our fellowmen, to be before a human tribunal, but to be placed under the Eye of God, the All- seeing One Whose constant presence teaches us the most conscientious watch over ourselves and self- criticism of all our behavior.

Rabbi Samphson Rafael Hirsch, commentary to Leviticus 19:18, in The Pentateuch: vol. 1: Genesis
Love your neighbor's well-being as if it were your own; I am God, is the summarizing final maxim for the whole of our social behavior, in feelings, word, and deed.
Hillel’s interpretation of this as: “That which is hateful to you don’t do to someone else” imposes complete equality of all as the guiding principle of all of our deeds, makes everyone take to heart the weal and woe of everybody else, changes selfishness...into consideration and love of one’s neighbor. The concept of “your neighbor” extends the ideas beyond the narrow confines of your fellow men to the idea of fellow creatures, so that in fact this sentence does contain the contents of the whole Torah, which indeed is nothing else, but the teaching of avoiding everything which is contrary and hateful to the happiness and well-being of
ourselves and to that of the fellow creatures who enjoy existence down here in this world.

Translated by CN team, YEAR.

Rashi to Tractate Bava Kama, p. 82b, translation by Yonatan Neril
'Kutra'—smoke which blackens walls, which is an ugly thing.

Rivash (Rabbi Yizhak bar Sheshet), Responsum 196, translation by Dr. Akiva Wolff
One may not save their own property from damage at the expense of their fellow’s damage.

Rabbi Ezra Batzri, Monetary Laws, section 2, page 376, note 9, translation by Dr. Akiva Wolff
And behold, this law [of distancing damages], to our great sorrow is disregarded and many people suffer damage, and even have their lives shortened, (may G-d save us), as the experts inform us, and we should sound the alarm on this. Especially responsible are those that are involved in community affairs, who should not be silent on this matter. New factories in particular, should be inspected carefully to know what type of damages they are likely to cause to the community and factories should not be permitted to be established until they are known to be observing the law of distancing of damages properly, and to have all the necessary devices for ensuring that their wastes will not damage the environment...

[We are obligated] to go according to the laws of nature that Hashem established in his world and his creation, and to be careful from natural pitfalls and to protect ourselves and others from things that are likely to cause damage; and if we don’t operate thusly, even if we think we are acting out of faith, this is the council of the evil inclination... Because these matters [smoking in public or causing other harmful forms of pollution to others] are not to be considered as inconsequential, heaven forbid. They are matters of Jewish law that stand up at the heights of the world and in the future there will be an accounting on them [on those who violate these prohibitions]...

Every person is obligated to be very extremely careful with the conditions and rules of safety that are known today [even if not written in the Talmud], because these are not just matters of good behavior or piety towards neighbors, but rather these are clearly mandated by law and a person is obligated to observe the rules of safety according to the custom of the locale and according to the recommendations of the experts. Everyone who observes halacha and wouldn’t violate Torah law is obligated to observe all laws of protecting others and safety rules ... as if they [the safety laws] were written in the Talmud and the Shulchan Arukh.