Va'etchanan
Encyclopedia
Va'etchanan is the 45th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the second in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
generally read it in late July or August. It is always read on the special Sabbath
Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath immediately after Tisha B'Av
.
As the parshah describes how the Israelites would sin and be banished from the Land of Israel
, Jews also read part of the parshah, as the Torah reading for the morning (Shacharit) prayer service
on Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple
and Second Temple in Jerusalem.
pleaded with God
to let him cross over and see the land on the other side of the Jordan River. But God was wrathful
with Moses and would not listen, telling Moses never to speak of the matter again, and Moses blamed his punishment on the Israelites. God directed Moses to climb the summit
of Pisgah
and gaze about to look at the land. And God told Moses to give Joshua
his instructions and imbue him with strength and courage
, for Joshua was to lead the people and allot to them the land.
s, not to add anything to them, and not to take anything away from them, so that they might live to enter and occupy the land that God was giving them. Moses noted that in the sin of Baal-peor
, God wiped out every person who followed Baal-peor, while preserving alive those who held fast to God. Moses argued that observing the laws faithfully would prove to other peoples the Israelites’ wisdom
and discernment, for no other great nation
had a god so close at hand as God, and no other great nation had laws and rules as perfect as God’s.
Moses urged the Israelites to take utmost care not to forget
the things that they saw, and to make them known to their child
ren and children’s children: How they stood before God at Horeb, the mountain
was ablaze with flames, God spoke to them out of the fire
, and God declared to them the Ten Commandments
. At the same time, God commanded Moses to impart to the Israelites laws for them to observe in the land that they were about to occupy.
Because the Israelites saw no shape when God spoke to them out of the fire at Horeb, Moses warned them not to make for themselves a sculptured image in any likeness whatever — the form of a man, woman, beast, bird, creeping thing, or fish. And when they looked up and saw the sun, moon, stars, and heaven, they were not to be lured into bowing down
to them or serving them, for God allotted those things to other peoples, but God took the Israelites and brought them out of Egypt
to be God’s very own people.
Moses said that God was angry with him on account of the Israelites, and God swore that Moses would not enter the land but would die in the land east of the Jordan. Moses cautioned the Israelites not to forget the covenant
that God concluded with them, and not to make a sculptured image, for God is a consuming fire, an impassioned God.
Moses called heaven and earth
to witness against the Israelites that should they make for themselves a sculptured image when they were in the land, then God would scatter them among the peoples, leaving only a scant few alive. There in exile
they would serve man-made gods of wood and stone, that would not be able to see, hear, eat, or smell. But when they were in distress and they searched for God with all their heart and soul, returned to God, and obeyed God, then they would find God, even there. For God is a compassionate God, Who would not fail them, let them perish, or forget the covenant that God made with their fathers.
Moses invited the Israelites to consider whether in any time or space any people had ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire and survived, or any god had taken one nation from the midst of another by prodigious acts and awesome power as their God had done for them in Egypt before their very eye
s. Moses said that it had been clearly demonstrated to them that the Lord alone is God and there is none beside God. Moses thus admonished them to observe God’s laws and commandments, which Moses enjoined upon them that day, that it might go well with them and their children, and that they might long remain in the land that God was assigning to them for all time.
on the east side of the Jordan to which a manslayer
who unwittingly slew a person without having been hostile to him in the past could escape and live: Bezer among the Reubenites
, Ramoth
in Gilead
among the Gadites
, and Golan
in Bashan
among the Manassites
.
to face out of the fire on the mountain. Moses stood between God and them to convey God’s words to them, for they were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. God said the Ten Commandments:
God spoke these words to the whole congregation at the mountain, with a mighty voice out of the fire and the dense cloud
s, and God inscribed them on two tablets of stone, which God gave to Moses. ( 5:19 in NJPS.) When the Israelites heard the voice out of the darkness and saw the mountain ablaze with fire, the tribal heads and elders asked Moses to hear all that God had to say and then tell the people, and they would willingly obey. ( 5:20–24 in NJPS.)
(A note on verse numbering: The Mechon Mamre Hebrew-English Bible to which articles in this series link numbers its verses according to the Lower Trope Marks system, in which the verses are numbered naturally in their form for study. Many Jewish Bibles in both Hebrew and English (including the 1917 Jewish Publication Society
Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text
, the New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh
, and the ArtScroll
Chumash) use the numbering of the Upper Trope Marks system as used for public readings. Parallel verse numbering thus appears for the Ten Commandments in Exodus
and here in )
and V'ahavta, saying: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach
them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when thou rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand
, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.”
, but to keep God’s commandments and do what is right in God’s sight, that it might go well with them, that they might be able to possess the land, and that all their enemies might be driven out before you them. And when their children would ask the meaning of the commandments, they were to answer that they were slaves to Pharaoh
in Egypt, and God wrought before them marvelous and destructive signs and portents, freed them with a mighty hand to give them the land, and then commanded them to observe all these laws for their lasting good and survival.
, Girgashites, Amorite
s, Canaan
ites, Perizzites
, Hivites
, and Jebusite
s — the Israelites were to doom them to destruction, grant them no terms, and give them no quarter. The Israelites were not to intermarry with them, for they would turn the Israelites’ children away from God to worship other gods, and God’s anger would blaze forth against the Israelites and wipe them out. The Israelites were to tear down their altar
s, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred posts, and consign their images to the fire.
The Israelites were a people consecrated to God, and God chose them from all the peoples on earth to be God’s treasured people. God chose them not because they were the most numerous of peoples, but because God favored them and kept the oath God made with their fathers. Moses told them to note that only God is God, the steadfast God who keeps God’s covenant faithfully to the thousandth generation
of those who love God and keep God’s commandments, but who instantly requites with destruction those who reject God.
reports that God “summoned the heavens above, and the earth, for the trial of His people,” saying “Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!” continues: “Then the heavens proclaimed His righteousness, for He is a God who judges.”
deduced that the events of the two verses took place at the same time. Thus Rav Huna
taught that as soon as God told Moses to hand over his office to Joshua, Moses immediately began to pray to be permitted to enter the Promised land. The midrash compared Moses to a governor who could be sure that the king would confirm whatever orders he gave so long as he retained his office. The governor redeemed whomever he desired and imprisoned whomever he desired. But as soon as the governor retired and another was appointed in his place, the gatekeeper would not let him enter the king’s palace. Similarly, as long as Moses remained in office, he imprisoned whomever he desired and released whomever he desired, but when he was relieved of his office and Joshua was appointed in his stead, and he asked to be permitted to enter the Promised Land, God in denied his request. (Deuteronomy Rabbah
2:5.)
The Gemara
deduced from Moses’s example in that one should seek a suppliant frame of mind before praying. Rav Huna and Rav Hisda
were discussing how long to wait between recitations of the Amidah
if one erred in the first reciting and needed to repeat the prayer. One said: long enough for the person praying to fall into a suppliant frame of mind, citing the words “And I supplicated the Lord” in The other said: long enough to fall into an interceding frame of mind, citing the words “And Moses interceded” in (Babylonian Talmud
Berakhot 30b.)
Rabbi Simlai
deduced from that one should always first praise God at the beginning of prayer, for Moses praised God in before he asked God in to let him see the good land. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32a, Avodah Zarah 7b–8a.) Rabbi Eleazar deduced from that God let Moses see the Promised Land only because Moses prayed, and thus Rabbi Eleazar concluded that prayer is more effective than good deeds, for no one was greater in good deeds than Moses, and yet God let Moses see the land only after Moses prayed. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32b.)
Rabban Johanan ben Zakai
interpreted the word “Lebanon” in to refer to the Temple in Jerusalem
and “that goodly mountain” to refer to the Temple Mount. Thus one can interpret to say that Moses asked to see God’s House. (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 56b.) Similarly, a midrash interpreted the word “Lebanon” in to refer to the altar. Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai explained that the altar was called “Lebanon” because it made white (malbin) the sins of Israel, as indicated by the words of Isaiah
“though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white (yalbinu) as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Rabbi Tabyomi said that the altar was called “Lebanon” because all hearts (lebabot) rejoice there, as indicated by the words of “Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth, even Mount Zion.” And the Rabbis said that the altar was called “Lebanon” because of the words of 1 Kings
which says of God and the Temple: “My eyes and My heart (libbi) shall be there perpetually. (Leviticus Rabbah
1:2.)
Another midrash employed the understanding of “Lebanon” as the Temple to explain the role of gold in the world. Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish taught that the world did not deserve to have the use of gold. But God created gold for the sake of the Temple. The midrash deduced this from the use of the word “good” in both Genesis
where it says, “the gold of that land is good,” and where it says, “that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.” (Genesis Rabba
h 16:2.)
Rabbi Levi taught that God told Moses “enough!” in to repay Moses measure for measure for when Moses told Korah
“enough!” in Numbers
The Gemara provided another explanation of the word “enough! (רַב, rav)” in God was telling Moses that Moses had a master (רַב, rav), namely Joshua, waiting to assume authority to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, and thus Moses should not delay another master’s reign by prolonging his own. The Gemara provided a third explanation of the word “enough!”: God was telling Moses not to petition him anymore, so that people should not say: “How severe is the Master, and how persistent is the student.” The Gemara explained why God was so hard on Moses with a Baraita
taught in the School of Rabbi Ishmael
: according to the camel is the burden; that is, a stronger, more righteous one must bear a greater burden. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 13b.)
The School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that whenever Scripture uses the word “command” (צַו, tzav) (as does), it denotes exhortation to obedience immediately and for all time. A Baraita deduced exhortation to immediate obedience from the use of the word “command” in which says, “charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him.” And the Baraita deduced exhortation to obedience for all time from the use of the word “command” in which says, “even all that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord gave the commandment, and onward throughout your generations.” (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 29a.)
(in ), purification of the person with tzaraat
(in ), and the scapegoat
(in ). So that people do not think these “ordinances” (mishpatim) to be empty acts, which speaks of the “statutes” (hukim) and “ordinances” (mishpatim), says “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)
A Baraita deduced from the words “you shall make them known to your children, and your children’s children” in that if a parent teaches a child Torah, Scripture ascribes merit as though the parent had taught the child, the child’s children, and so on, until the end of all time. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30a.) Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
taught that if a parent teaches a child (or some say a grandchild) Torah, Scripture accounts it as if the parent had received the Torah at Mount Sinai, as says, “And you shall make them known to your children and your children's children,” and immediately thereafter, says, “The day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 21b (child); Kiddushin 30a (grandchild).) Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba
once found Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, who had hurriedly thrown a cloth upon his head, taking his child (or some say grandchild) to the synagogue to study. When Rabbi Hiyya asked Rabbi Joshua what was going on, Rabbi Joshua replied that it was no small thing that the words “you shall make them known to your children and your children's children” are immediately followed by the words “The day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb.” From then on, Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba did not eat breakfast before revising the previous
day's lesson with his child (or some say grandchild) and adding another verse. And Rabbah son of Rav Huna did not eat breakfast until he took his child (or some say grandchild) to school. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30a.)
A Baraita deduced from the proximity of the words “And you shall make them known to your children and your children's children” in to the words “The day on which you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb” in that just as at Mount Sinai, the Israelites stood in dread, fear, trembling, and quaking, so when one teaches Torah to one’s child, one should do so in dread, fear, trembling, and quaking. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 22a.)
The Rabbis related Jacob’s dream in to Sinai. The “ladder” symbolizes Mount Sinai. That the ladder is “set upon (מֻצָּב, mutzav) the earth” recalls which says, “And they stood (וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ, vayityatzvu) at the nether part of the mount.” The words of “and the top of it reached to heaven,” echo those of “And the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven.” “And behold the angels of God” alludes to Moses and Aaron. “Ascending” parallels “And Moses went up to God.” “And descending” parallels “And Moses went down from the mount.” And the words “and, behold, the Lord stood beside him” in parallel the words of “And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai.” (Genesis Rabbah 68:12.)
Rabbi Jonah taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the world was created with a letter bet
(the first letter in which begins, Bereishit bara Elohim, “In the beginning God created”) because just as the letter bet is closed at the sides but open in front, so one is not permitted to investigate what is above and what is below, what is before and what is behind. Similarly, Bar Kappara
reinterpreted the words of to say, “ask not of the days past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth,” teaching that one may speculate from the day that days were created, but one should not speculate on what was before that. And one may investigate from one end of heaven to the other, but one should not investigate what was before this world. (Genesis Rabbah 1:10.) Simialrly, the Rabbis in a Baraita interpreted to forbid inquiry into the work of creation in the presence of two people, reading the words “for ask now of the days past” to indicate that one may inquire, but not two. The Rabbis reasoned that the words “since the day that God created man upon the earth” in taught that one must not inquire concerning the time before creation. The Rabbis reasoned that the words “the days past that were before you” in taught that one may inquire about the six days of creation. The Rabbis further reasoned that the words “from the one end of heaven to the other” in taught that one must not inquire about what is beyond the universe, what is above and what is below, what is before and what is after. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 11b.)
Rabbi Eleazar read the words "since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven" in to read, "from the day that God created Adam
on earth and to the end of heaven." Thus Rabbi Eleazar read to intimate that when God created Adam in Adam extended from the earth to the firmament. But as soon as Adam sinned, God placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him, as says: "You have fashioned me after and before, and laid Your hand upon me." Similarly, Rav Judah in the name of Rav taught that when God created Adam in Adam extended from one end of the world to the other, reading to read, "Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other." (And Rav Judah in the name of Rav also taught that as soon as Adam sinned, God placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him.) The Gemara reconciled the interpretations of Rabbi Eleazar and Rav Judah in the name of Rav by concluding that the distance from the earth to the firmament must equal the distance from one end of heaven to the other. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 12a.)
Rabbi Levi addressed the question that raises: “Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?” ( in turn, refers back to the encounter at Sinai reported at and after.) Rabbi Levi taught that the world would not have been able to survive hearing the voice of God in God’s power, but instead, as says, “The voice of the Lord is with power.” That is, the voice of God came according to the power of each individual — young, old, or infant — to receive it. (Exodus Rabbah
29:1.)
Chapter 2 of tractate Makkot
in the Mishnah
, Tosefta
, Jerusalem Talmud
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the cities of refuge in and (Mishnah Makkot 2:1–8; Tosefta Makkot 2:1–3:10; Jerusalem Talmud Makkot ch. 2; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 7a–13a.)
The Mishnah taught that those who killed in error went into banishment. One would go into banishment if, for example, while one was pushing a roller on a roof, the roller slipped over, fell, and killed someone. One would go into banishment if while one was lowering a cask, it fell down and killed someone. One would go into banishment if while coming down a ladder, one fell and killed someone. But one would not go into banishment if while pulling up the roller it fell back and killed someone, or while raising a bucket the rope snapped and the falling bucket killed someone, or while going up a ladder one fell down and killed someone. The Mishnah’s general principle was that whenever the death occurred in the course of a downward movement, the culpable person went into banishment, but if the death did not occur in the course of a downward movement, the person did not go into banishment. If while chopping wood, the iron slipped from the ax handle and killed someone, Rabbi
taught that the person did not go into banishment, but the sages said that the person did go into banishment. If from the split log rebounding killed someone, Rabbi said that the person went into banishment, but the sages said that the person did not go into banishment. (Mishnah Makkot 2:1; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 7a–b.)
Rabbi Jose bar Judah taught that to begin with, they sent a slayer to a city of refuge, whether the slayer killed intentionally or not. Then the court sent and brought the slayer back from the city of refuge. The Court executed whomever the court found guilty of a capital crime, and the court acquitted whomever the court found not guilty of a capital crime. The court restored to the city of refuge whomever the court found liable to banishment, as ordained, “And the congregation shall restore him to the city of refuge from where he had fled.” (Mishnah Makkot 2:6; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 9b.) also says, “The manslayer . . . shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil,” but the Mishnah taught that the death of a high priest who had been anointed with the holy anointing oil, the death of a high priest who had been consecrated by the many vestments, or the death of a high priest who had retired from his office each equally made possible the return of the slayer. Rabbi Judah said that the death of a priest who had been anointed for war also permitted the return of the slayer. Because of these laws, mothers of high priests would provide food and clothing for the slayers in cities of refuge so that the slayers might not pray for the high priest’s death. (Mishnah Makkot 2:6; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 11a.) If the high priest died at the conclusion of the slayer’s trial, the slayer did not go into banishment. If, however, the high priests died before the trial was concluded and another high priest was appointed in his stead and then the trial concluded, the slayer returned home after the new high priest’s death. (Mishnah Makkot 2:6; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 11b.)
Because Reuben was the first to engage in life saving of his brother Joseph in God decreed that the Cities of Refuge would be set up first within the borders of the Tribe of Reuben
in (Genesis Rabbah 84:15.)
says, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” When God saw the Israelites at Sinai, God spoke with them as says, “The Lord spoke with you face to face.” As soon as they received the Torah, became God’s nation, and said (as reported in ), “All that the Lord has spoken will we do, and obey,” God observed that it was no longer in keeping with the dignity of God’s children that God should converse with them in the open. So God instructed the Israelites to make a Tabernacle, and when God needed to communicate with the Israelites, God did so from the Tabernacle. And thus bears this out when it says, “And when Moses went into the tent of meeting that He might speak with him.” (Numbers Rabbah
12:4; see also Pesikta de-Rav Kahana
1:2, attributing the parable to Rabbi Judah bar Ilai
.)
The Mishnah taught that the priests recited the Ten Commandments daily. (Mishnah Tamid 5:1; Babylonian Talmud Tamid 32b.)
Rabbi Levi said that the section beginning at was spoken in the presence of the whole Israelite people, because it includes each of the Ten Commandments, noting that: (1) says, “I am the Lord your God,” and says, “I am the Lord your God”; (2) says, “You shall have no other gods,” and says, “Nor make to yourselves molten gods”; (3) (20:7 in NJPS) says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” and says, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely”; (4) (20:8 in NJPS) says, “Remember the Sabbath day,” and says, “And you shall keep My Sabbaths”; (5) (20:12 in NJPS) says, “Honor your father and your mother,” and says, “You shall fear every man his mother, and his father”; (6) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not murder,” and says, “Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor”; (7) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not commit adultery,” and says, “Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death; (8) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not steal,” and says, “You shall not steal”; (9) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not bear false witness,” and says, “You shall not go up and down as a talebearer”; and (10) (20:14 in NJPS) says, “You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor's,” and says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus Rabbah 24:5.)
The Sifre
taught that to commit idolatry is to deny the entire Torah. (Sifre to Numbers 111:1:3.)
Tractate Avodah Zarah
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud
interpreted the laws prohibiting idolatry in (20:3–6 in NJPS) and (5:7–10 in NJPS). (Mishnah Avodah Zarah 1:1–5:12; Tosefta Avodah Zarah 1:1–8:8; Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 2a–76b.)
Tractate Shabbat
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the Sabbath in and 29; (20:8–11 in the NJPS); and (5:12 in the NJPS). (Mishnah Shabbat 1:1–24:5; Tosefta Shabbat 1:1–17:29; Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 2a–157b.)
Noting that (20:8 in NJPS) says, “Remember the Sabbath day,” and (5:12 in NJPS) says, “Observe the Sabbath day,” the Gemara taught that God pronounced both “Remember” and “Observe” in a single utterance, an utterance that the mouth cannot utter, nor the ear hear. (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 20b; see also Mekhilta
Bahodesh 7:8:1.) Rav Ada bar Ahabah
taught that the Torah thus obligates women to sanctify the Sabbath (by reciting or hearing the Kiddush
, even though women are generally not bound to observe such positive precepts that depend on specified times). For Scripture says both “Remember” and “Observe,” and all who are included in the exhortation “Observe” are included in the exhortation “Remember.” And women, since they are included in “Observe” (which the Rabbis interpret as a negative commandment that binds all Jews), are also included in “Remember.” (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 20b.)
The Mishnah taught that both men and women are obligated to carry out all commandments concerning their fathers. (Mishnah Kiddushin 1:7; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 29a, 30b.) Rav Judah
interpreted the Mishnah to mean that both men and women are bound to perform all precepts concerning a father that are incumbent upon a son to perform for his father. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30b.)
A midrash noted that almost everywhere, Scripture mentions a father’s honor before the mother’s honor. (For example, (20:12 in NJSP), (5:16 in the NJPS)) But mentions the mother first to teach that one should honor both parents equally. (Genesis Rabbah 1:15.)
The Rabbis taught in a Baraita what it means to “honor” and “revere” one’s parents within the meaning of (20:12 in NJSP) (honor), (revere), and (5:16 in the NJPS) (honor). To “revere” means that the child must neither stand nor sit in the parent’s place, nor contradict the parent’s words, nor engage in a dispute to which the parent is a party. To “honor” means that the child must give the parent food and drink and clothes, and take the parent in and out. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 31b.)
Rabbi Tanchum ben Chanilai found in God's calling to Moses alone in proof that a burden that is too heavy for 600,000 — hearing the voice of God (see ) — can be light for one. (Leviticus Rabbah 1:1.)
to Ono
, and once he rose up early in the morning and waded all that way up to his ankles in fig honey. Resh Lakish said that he saw the flow of the milk and honey of Sepphoris
extend over an area of sixteen miles by sixteen miles. Rabbah bar Bar Hana said that he saw the flow of the milk and honey in all the Land of Israel and the total area was equal to an area of twenty-two parasang
s by six parasangs. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 111b–12a.)
The first three chapters of tractate Berakhot
in the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud and the first two chapters of tractate Berakhot in the Tosefta interpreted the laws of the Shema in and (Mishnah Berakhot 1:1–3:6; Tosefta Berakhot 1:1–2:21; Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1a–42b; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2a–26a.)
Already at the time of the Mishnah, constituted the first part of a standard Shema prayer that the priests recited daily, followed by and (Mishnah Tamid 5:1; Babylonian Talmud Tamid 32b.)
The Gemara explained that when Jews recite the Shema, they recite the words, “blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever,” quietly between the words, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” from and the words, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” from for the reason that Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish expounded when he explained what happened in That verse reports, “And Jacob called to his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what will befall you in the end of days.’” According to Rabbi Simeon, Jacob wished to reveal to his sons what would happen in the end of the days, but just then, the Shechinah
departed from him. So Jacob said that perhaps, Heaven forfend, he had fathered a son who was unworthy to hear the prophecy, just as Abraham
had fathered Ishmael
or Isaac
had fathered Esau
. But his sons answered him (in the words of ), “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” explaining that just as there was only One in Jacob’s heart, so there was only One in their hearts. And Jacob replied, “Blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever.” The Rabbis considered that Jews might recite “Blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever” aloud, but rejected that option, as Moses did not say those words in The Rabbis considered that Jews might not recite those words at all, but rejected that option, as Jacob did say the words. So the Rabbis ruled that Jews should recite the words quietly. Rabbi Isaac taught that the School of Rabbi Ammi said that one can compare this practice to that of a princess who smelled a spicy pudding. If she revealed her desire for the pudding, she would suffer disgrace; but if she concealed her desire, she would suffer deprivation. So her servants brought her pudding secretly. Rabbi Abbahu
taught that the Sages ruled that Jews should recite the words aloud, so as not to allow heretics to claim that Jews were adding improper words to the Shema. But in Nehardea
, where there were no heretics so far, they recited the words quietly. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 56a.)
Abaye
interpreted the words “and you shall love the Lord your God” in to teach that one should strive through one’s actions to cause others to love the Name of Heaven. So that if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are honest in business and speak pleasantly, then they will accord honor to the Name of God. But if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are dishonest in business and discourteous, then they will associate their shortcomings with their being Torah scholars. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86a.)
In the heart loves, and in the heart takes in words. A midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes
), sees , hears , walks , falls (1 Samuel
), stands (Ezekiel
), rejoices , cries (Lamentations
), is comforted , is troubled , becomes hardened , grows faint , grieves , fears , can be broken , becomes proud , rebels (Jeremiah
), invents , cavils , overflows , devises (Proverbs
), desires , goes astray , lusts , is refreshed , can be stolen , is humbled , is enticed , errs , trembles , is awakened (Song of Songs
), hates , envies , is searched , is rent (Joel
), meditates , is like a fire , is like a stone , turns in repentance , becomes hot , dies , melts (Joshua
), is susceptible to fear , gives thanks , covets , becomes hard , makes merry (Judges
), acts deceitfully , speaks from out of itself , loves bribes , writes words , plans , receives commandments , acts with pride (Obadiah
), makes arrangements , and aggrandizes itself (2 Chronicles
). (Ecclesiastes Rabbah
1:36.)
Discussions of the laws of tefillin
in appear at Mishnah Menachot 3:7 and Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 37b, Sanhedrin 4b, and Menachot 34b–37b.
Discussions of the laws of the mezuzah
in appear at Babylonian Talmud Menachot 31b–34b.
In God announced that God would “put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession.” Rabbi Hiyya asked: Was it then a piece of good news that plagues were to come upon them? Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai answered that when the Canaan
ites heard that the Israelites were approaching, they hid their valuables in their houses. But God promised the Israelites’ forbearers that God would bring the Israelites into a land full of good things, including, in the words of , “houses full of all good things.” So God brought plagues upon a house of one of the Israelites so that when he would pull it down, he would find a treasure. (Leviticus Rabbah 17:6.)
cited verses in the parshah for 11 positive and 15 negative commandments
:
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
, Positive Commandments 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 210; Negative Commandments 1, 2, 5, 6, 48, 50, 52, 58, 62, 64, 243, 265, 266, 289, and 320. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:1–7, 10–11, 15–23, 226–27; 2:1–2, 4–8, 47–51, 55–56, 60–61, 63–64, 232, 250–52, 269, 295. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
, there are 8 positive and 4 negative commandments
in the parshah.
.jpg)
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:245–305. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)
for the parshah, Isaiah
which speaks of "comforting" the Jewish people for their suffering. The haftarah is the first in the cycle of seven haftarot of consolation after Tisha B'Av, leading up to Rosh Hashanah
.
Who has held the waters in hand, measured the heavens, comprehended the earth, and weighed mountains in the balance? Who has counseled or instructed God? Nations are like a drop in a bucket, like dust in the balance, as nothing before God. Can one compare God to anything, to an idol that a woodworker carved? God sits above the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. God brings princes to nothing, makes the judges of the earth like nothing; scarcely are they planted, but God blows upon them, and they wither and blow away.
To whom then to liken God? Lift up your eyes and see: The One who created the stars, called them by name, by the greatness of God’s might and strong power each one appears.
. and 9 complain that Jerusalem “has none to comfort her,” “she has no comforter.” In the haftarah answers, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.” complains that “the ways of Zion mourn.” In the haftarah answers, “Clear in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.” complains that Zion’s princes “are gone without strength before the pursuer.” In and 26, the haftarah answers, “lift up your voice with strength,” God “is strong in power.” hoped for Jerusalem that “the punishment of your iniquity is accomplished” and God “will no more carry you away into captivity.” In the haftarah affirms, “Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim to her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off.”
As well, the haftarah echoes the parshah. In the parshah in Moses pleads, “Let me go over, I pray, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.” As if in answer, the haftarah rejoins in “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, . . . and Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.”
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
for Shabbat and Festivals, 141. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
The Passover
Haggadah
, in the magid section of the Seder
, quotes to elucidate the term “great terribleness” in interpreting the “great terribleness” to mean the revelation of the Shekhinah
or Divine Presence. (Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 49–50. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 94. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.)
The Lekhah Dodi
liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
quotes both the commandment of (Exodus 20:8 in the NJPS) to “remember” the Sabbath and the commandment of (Deuteronomy 5:12 in NJPS) to “keep” or “observe” the Sabbath, saying that they “were uttered as one by our Creator.” (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 21.)
The verses of the Shema and V'ahavta in constitute a central prayer in Jewish prayer services. Jews combine along with , and to form the core of K’riat Shema, recited in the evening (Ma’ariv) and morning (Shacharit) prayer services. (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, 30–31, 112–13, 282–83. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2007. ISBN 0-916219-13-5.) A shorter version of the Shema, composed of simply appears in the Torah service (Seder K’riat HaTorah) and the Kedushah of the Musaf service for Shabbat. (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, at 141, 157.) And the Shema and for some the V'ahavta, are among the first prayers said upon arising and form the central prayer of the bedtime Shema, said just before retiring for sleep. (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 66. Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 35–36, 416–17. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
Reuven Hammer noted that Mishnah Tamid 5:1 recorded what was in effect the first siddur
, as a part of which priests daily recited the Ten Commandments and (Reuven Hammer. Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service, 76–82. New York: Schocken, 1995. ISBN 0-8052-1022-9.)
The commandment to love God in is reflected in which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 18.)
The “love” of God that urges finds reflection in the characterization of God as the “Beloved” in the Lekhah Dodi liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 21.)
And the leshem yihud prayer before putting on tefillin
quotes the commandment of (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 6. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
In the magid section, the Haggadah combines and in the first answer to the Four Questions (Ma Nishtana
) in the magid section of the Seder. (Tabory, at 84.) And shortly thereafter, the Haggadah quotes to provide the question of the wise son, also in the magid section. (Tabory, at 86; Davis, at 29.)
Also in the magid section, the Haggadah quotes — emphasizing the word “us” (otanu) — for the proposition that God did not redeem the ancestral Israelites alone, but also the current generation of Jews with them. (Davis, at 60; Tabory, at 100.)
, Sephardi Jews
each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Va'etchanan, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hoseni, the maqam that expresses beauty. This is especially appropriate in this parshah because it is the parshah where Moses repeats to the Israelites their history of receiving the Ten Commandments.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the second in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
generally read it in late July or August. It is always read on the special Sabbath
Special Sabbaths
Special Shabbatot are fixed Jewish Shabbat days, which precede or coincide with certain Jewish holidays during the year. Each one has a special name.-Shabbat Shuvah:...
Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath immediately after Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
.
As the parshah describes how the Israelites would sin and be banished from the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, Jews also read part of the parshah, as the Torah reading for the morning (Shacharit) prayer service
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
on Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
and Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Summary
Moses asked to see the land
MosesMoses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
pleaded with God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
to let him cross over and see the land on the other side of the Jordan River. But God was wrathful
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
with Moses and would not listen, telling Moses never to speak of the matter again, and Moses blamed his punishment on the Israelites. God directed Moses to climb the summit
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
of Pisgah
Mount Pisgah (Bible)
Some translators of the biblical book of Deuteronomy translate Pisgah as a name of a mountain, usually referring to Mount Nebo. The region is directly east of the Jordan River and just northeast of the Dead Sea. Mount Nebo is the highest among a handful of Pisgah summits; an arid cluster of...
and gaze about to look at the land. And God told Moses to give Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
his instructions and imbue him with strength and courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, for Joshua was to lead the people and allot to them the land.
Arguments to obey the law
Moses exhorted the Israelites to heed God’s lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s, not to add anything to them, and not to take anything away from them, so that they might live to enter and occupy the land that God was giving them. Moses noted that in the sin of Baal-peor
Heresy of Peor
The heresy of Peor is an event related in the Torah at Numbers 25:1-15. Back references to the event occur in Numbers 25:18 and 31:16, Deuteronomy 4:3, Joshua 22:17, Hosea 9:10; Psalm 106:28...
, God wiped out every person who followed Baal-peor, while preserving alive those who held fast to God. Moses argued that observing the laws faithfully would prove to other peoples the Israelites’ wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
and discernment, for no other great nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
had a god so close at hand as God, and no other great nation had laws and rules as perfect as God’s.
Moses urged the Israelites to take utmost care not to forget
Forgetting
Forgetting refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that...
the things that they saw, and to make them known to their child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren and children’s children: How they stood before God at Horeb, the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
was ablaze with flames, God spoke to them out of the fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
, and God declared to them the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. At the same time, God commanded Moses to impart to the Israelites laws for them to observe in the land that they were about to occupy.
Because the Israelites saw no shape when God spoke to them out of the fire at Horeb, Moses warned them not to make for themselves a sculptured image in any likeness whatever — the form of a man, woman, beast, bird, creeping thing, or fish. And when they looked up and saw the sun, moon, stars, and heaven, they were not to be lured into bowing down
Bowing (social)
Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many countries and distinctively in Europe. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering...
to them or serving them, for God allotted those things to other peoples, but God took the Israelites and brought them out of Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
to be God’s very own people.
Moses said that God was angry with him on account of the Israelites, and God swore that Moses would not enter the land but would die in the land east of the Jordan. Moses cautioned the Israelites not to forget the covenant
Covenant (biblical)
A biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible between God and His people in which God makes specific promises and demands. It is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith. It it is used in the Tanakh 286 times . All Abrahamic religions consider the Biblical covenant...
that God concluded with them, and not to make a sculptured image, for God is a consuming fire, an impassioned God.
Moses called heaven and earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
to witness against the Israelites that should they make for themselves a sculptured image when they were in the land, then God would scatter them among the peoples, leaving only a scant few alive. There in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
they would serve man-made gods of wood and stone, that would not be able to see, hear, eat, or smell. But when they were in distress and they searched for God with all their heart and soul, returned to God, and obeyed God, then they would find God, even there. For God is a compassionate God, Who would not fail them, let them perish, or forget the covenant that God made with their fathers.
Moses invited the Israelites to consider whether in any time or space any people had ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire and survived, or any god had taken one nation from the midst of another by prodigious acts and awesome power as their God had done for them in Egypt before their very eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
s. Moses said that it had been clearly demonstrated to them that the Lord alone is God and there is none beside God. Moses thus admonished them to observe God’s laws and commandments, which Moses enjoined upon them that day, that it might go well with them and their children, and that they might long remain in the land that God was assigning to them for all time.
Cities of refuge
Then Moses set aside three cities of refugeCities of Refuge
The Cities of Refuge were towns in the Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah in which the perpetrators of manslaughter could claim the right of asylum; outside of these cities, blood vengeance against such perpetrators was allowed by law...
on the east side of the Jordan to which a manslayer
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
who unwittingly slew a person without having been hostile to him in the past could escape and live: Bezer among the Reubenites
Tribe of Reuben
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Reuben was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government...
, Ramoth
Ramoth-Gilead
Ramoth-Gilead, , is a city of refuge east of the Jordan river; called "Ramoth in Gilead"...
in Gilead
Gilead
In the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
among the Gadites
Tribe of Gad
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Gad was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Gad was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed,...
, and Golan
Golan
Golan was a biblical city in Land of Israel. It was in the territory of Manasseh in the Bashan.Golan was the most northerly of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River . Manasseh gave this city to the Gershonite Levites .According to the Bible, the Israelites conquered Golan from the...
in Bashan
Bashan
Bashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth", where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
among the Manassites
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
.
The Ten Commandments
Moses summoned the Israelites and called on them to hear the laws and rules that he proclaimed that day, to study them and observe them faithfully. At Horeb, God made a covenant with them — not with their fathers, but with them, the living, every one of them. God spoke to them faceFace
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
to face out of the fire on the mountain. Moses stood between God and them to convey God’s words to them, for they were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. God said the Ten Commandments:
- “I the Lord am your God.”
- “You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters below the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” ( 5:7–9 in NJPS.)
- “You shall not swearOathAn oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
falsely by the name of the Lord your God.” ( 5:11 in NJPS.) - “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holySacredHoliness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
.” ( 5:12 in NJPS.) - “Honor your fatherFatherA father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
and your motherMotherA mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
.” ( 5:16 in NJPS.) - “You shall not murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.” - “You shall not commit adulteryAdulteryAdultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
.” - “You shall not stealTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
.” - “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” ( 5:17 in NJPS.)
- “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wifeMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
. You shall not crave your neighbor’s houseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, or his fieldField (agriculture)In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
, or his male or female slaveSlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, or his oxCattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, or his assDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” ( 5:18 in NJPS)
God spoke these words to the whole congregation at the mountain, with a mighty voice out of the fire and the dense cloud
Cloud
A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth's atmosphere are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology...
s, and God inscribed them on two tablets of stone, which God gave to Moses. ( 5:19 in NJPS.) When the Israelites heard the voice out of the darkness and saw the mountain ablaze with fire, the tribal heads and elders asked Moses to hear all that God had to say and then tell the people, and they would willingly obey. ( 5:20–24 in NJPS.)
(A note on verse numbering: The Mechon Mamre Hebrew-English Bible to which articles in this series link numbers its verses according to the Lower Trope Marks system, in which the verses are numbered naturally in their form for study. Many Jewish Bibles in both Hebrew and English (including the 1917 Jewish Publication Society
Jewish Publication Society of America
The Jewish Publication Society , originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English...
Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text
Jewish Publication Society of America Version
The Jewish Publication Society of America Version of the Tanakh was the first Bible translation published by the Jewish Publication Society of America and the first translation of the Tanakh into English by a committee of Jews...
, the New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh
New Jewish Publication Society of America Version
The JPS TANAKH, published in 1985, is a modern Jewish translation of Hebrew Scripture into English.This translation emerged from the collaborative efforts of an interdenominational team of Jewish scholars and rabbis working together over a thirty-year period...
, and the ArtScroll
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...
Chumash) use the numbering of the Upper Trope Marks system as used for public readings. Parallel verse numbering thus appears for the Ten Commandments in Exodus
and here in )
The Shema
And Moses imparted God’s instruction, the ShemaShema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
and V'ahavta, saying: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when thou rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates.”
Further exhortation to obey God
Moses exhorted the Israelites, when God brought them into the land and they ate their fill, not to forget the God who freed them from bondage in Egypt, to revere and worship only God, and to swear only by God’s name. Moses warned the Israelites not to follow other gods, any gods of the people about them, lest the anger of God blaze forth against them and wipe them off the face of the earth. Moses warned the Israelites not to try God, as they did at MassahMeribah
Meribah is one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus, although the continuous list of visited stations in the Book of Numbers doesn't mention it...
, but to keep God’s commandments and do what is right in God’s sight, that it might go well with them, that they might be able to possess the land, and that all their enemies might be driven out before you them. And when their children would ask the meaning of the commandments, they were to answer that they were slaves to Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
in Egypt, and God wrought before them marvelous and destructive signs and portents, freed them with a mighty hand to give them the land, and then commanded them to observe all these laws for their lasting good and survival.
Instructions for conquest
Moses told the Israelites that when God brought them to the land and dislodged seven nations before them — the HittitesBiblical Hittites
The Hittites and children of Heth are a people or peoples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are listed in Book of Genesis as second of the twelve Canaanite nations, descended from one Heth...
, Girgashites, Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s, Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ites, Perizzites
Perizzites
Perizzites - villagers; dwellers in the open country, the Girgashite Canaanite nation inhabiting the fertile regions south and south-west of Carmel."They were the graziers, farmers, and peasants of the time."...
, Hivites
Hivites
The Hivites were one group of descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, according to the Table of Nations in .- History : does not list the Hivites as being in the land that was promised to the descendants of Abraham...
, and Jebusite
Jebusite
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who inhabited and built Jerusalem prior to its conquest by King David; the Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus prior to this event...
s — the Israelites were to doom them to destruction, grant them no terms, and give them no quarter. The Israelites were not to intermarry with them, for they would turn the Israelites’ children away from God to worship other gods, and God’s anger would blaze forth against the Israelites and wipe them out. The Israelites were to tear down their altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred posts, and consign their images to the fire.
The Israelites were a people consecrated to God, and God chose them from all the peoples on earth to be God’s treasured people. God chose them not because they were the most numerous of peoples, but because God favored them and kept the oath God made with their fathers. Moses told them to note that only God is God, the steadfast God who keeps God’s covenant faithfully to the thousandth generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
of those who love God and keep God’s commandments, but who instantly requites with destruction those who reject God.
Deuteronomy chapter 4
Moses calls heaven and earth to serve as witnesses against Israel in and Similarly, PsalmPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
reports that God “summoned the heavens above, and the earth, for the trial of His people,” saying “Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!” continues: “Then the heavens proclaimed His righteousness, for He is a God who judges.”
Deuteronomy chapter 3
Noting that and both use the same expression “at that time” (בָּעֵת הַהִוא), a midrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
deduced that the events of the two verses took place at the same time. Thus Rav Huna
Rav Huna
Rav Huna , a Kohen, was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; He was born about 216, died in 296-297 ).-Youth:...
taught that as soon as God told Moses to hand over his office to Joshua, Moses immediately began to pray to be permitted to enter the Promised land. The midrash compared Moses to a governor who could be sure that the king would confirm whatever orders he gave so long as he retained his office. The governor redeemed whomever he desired and imprisoned whomever he desired. But as soon as the governor retired and another was appointed in his place, the gatekeeper would not let him enter the king’s palace. Similarly, as long as Moses remained in office, he imprisoned whomever he desired and released whomever he desired, but when he was relieved of his office and Joshua was appointed in his stead, and he asked to be permitted to enter the Promised Land, God in denied his request. (Deuteronomy Rabbah
Deuteronomy Rabbah
Deuteronomy Rabbah is an aggadic midrash or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. Unlike Bereshit Rabbah, the Midrash to Deuteronomy which has been included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot in the ordinary editions does not contain running commentaries on the text of the Bible,...
2:5.)
The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
deduced from Moses’s example in that one should seek a suppliant frame of mind before praying. Rav Huna and Rav Hisda
Rav Chisda
Rav Chisda was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the third generation , mentioned frequently in the Talmud.-Youth:...
were discussing how long to wait between recitations of the Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
if one erred in the first reciting and needed to repeat the prayer. One said: long enough for the person praying to fall into a suppliant frame of mind, citing the words “And I supplicated the Lord” in The other said: long enough to fall into an interceding frame of mind, citing the words “And Moses interceded” in (Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Berakhot 30b.)
Rabbi Simlai
Simlai
Rabbi Simlai was a talmudic sage from Palestine in the early 3rd century. The calculation of 613 Mitzvot is attributed to him. He was a student of Rabbi Judah I, the grandson of the author of the Mishnah. A famous Haggadist, Simlai endeavored to induce Judah II to abrogate the prohibition against...
deduced from that one should always first praise God at the beginning of prayer, for Moses praised God in before he asked God in to let him see the good land. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32a, Avodah Zarah 7b–8a.) Rabbi Eleazar deduced from that God let Moses see the Promised Land only because Moses prayed, and thus Rabbi Eleazar concluded that prayer is more effective than good deeds, for no one was greater in good deeds than Moses, and yet God let Moses see the land only after Moses prayed. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32b.)
Rabban Johanan ben Zakai
Yochanan ben Zakai
Johanan ben Zakai , also known as Johanan B. Zakkai was one of the tannaim, an important Jewish sage in the era of the Second Temple, and a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinical Judaism, the Mishnah. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time...
interpreted the word “Lebanon” in to refer to the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
and “that goodly mountain” to refer to the Temple Mount. Thus one can interpret to say that Moses asked to see God’s House. (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 56b.) Similarly, a midrash interpreted the word “Lebanon” in to refer to the altar. Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai explained that the altar was called “Lebanon” because it made white (malbin) the sins of Israel, as indicated by the words of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
“though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white (yalbinu) as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Rabbi Tabyomi said that the altar was called “Lebanon” because all hearts (lebabot) rejoice there, as indicated by the words of “Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth, even Mount Zion.” And the Rabbis said that the altar was called “Lebanon” because of the words of 1 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
which says of God and the Temple: “My eyes and My heart (libbi) shall be there perpetually. (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
1:2.)
Another midrash employed the understanding of “Lebanon” as the Temple to explain the role of gold in the world. Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish taught that the world did not deserve to have the use of gold. But God created gold for the sake of the Temple. The midrash deduced this from the use of the word “good” in both Genesis
where it says, “the gold of that land is good,” and where it says, “that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.” (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 16:2.)
Korah
Korah or Kórach Some older English translations, as well as the Douay Bible), spell the name Core, and many Eastern European translations have Korak...
“enough!” in Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
The Gemara provided another explanation of the word “enough! (רַב, rav)” in God was telling Moses that Moses had a master (רַב, rav), namely Joshua, waiting to assume authority to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, and thus Moses should not delay another master’s reign by prolonging his own. The Gemara provided a third explanation of the word “enough!”: God was telling Moses not to petition him anymore, so that people should not say: “How severe is the Master, and how persistent is the student.” The Gemara explained why God was so hard on Moses with a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
taught in the School of Rabbi Ishmael
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
: according to the camel is the burden; that is, a stronger, more righteous one must bear a greater burden. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 13b.)
The School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that whenever Scripture uses the word “command” (צַו, tzav) (as does), it denotes exhortation to obedience immediately and for all time. A Baraita deduced exhortation to immediate obedience from the use of the word “command” in which says, “charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him.” And the Baraita deduced exhortation to obedience for all time from the use of the word “command” in which says, “even all that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord gave the commandment, and onward throughout your generations.” (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 29a.)
Deuteronomy chapter 4
In Moses calls on Israel to heed the “statutes” (hukim) and “ordinances” (mishpatim). The Rabbis in a Baraita taught that the “ordinances” (mishpatim) were commandments that logic would have dictated that we follow even had Scripture not commanded them, like the laws concerning idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and blasphemy. And “statutes” (hukim) were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to shaatnez (in Leviticus and ), halizahHalizah
Under the Biblical system of levirate marriage known as Yibbum, Halizah is the ceremony by which a widow and her husband's brother could avoid the duty to marry after the husband's death....
(in ), purification of the person with tzaraat
Tzaraath
The Hebrew noun tzaraath describes a disfigurative condition mainly referred to in chapters 13-14 of Leviticus, as well as conditions equivalent to be "mildew" on clothes and houses.Tzaraath affects both animate...
(in ), and the scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
(in ). So that people do not think these “ordinances” (mishpatim) to be empty acts, which speaks of the “statutes” (hukim) and “ordinances” (mishpatim), says “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)
A Baraita deduced from the words “you shall make them known to your children, and your children’s children” in that if a parent teaches a child Torah, Scripture ascribes merit as though the parent had taught the child, the child’s children, and so on, until the end of all time. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30a.) Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
taught that if a parent teaches a child (or some say a grandchild) Torah, Scripture accounts it as if the parent had received the Torah at Mount Sinai, as says, “And you shall make them known to your children and your children's children,” and immediately thereafter, says, “The day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 21b (child); Kiddushin 30a (grandchild).) Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba
Hiyya bar Abba
Hiyya bar Abba or Rabbi Hiyya was an amoraic sage of priestly descent of the latter Mishnaic period. Active in Tiberias, Hiyya was the primary compiler of the tosefta. He was the uncle of Abba Arika....
once found Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, who had hurriedly thrown a cloth upon his head, taking his child (or some say grandchild) to the synagogue to study. When Rabbi Hiyya asked Rabbi Joshua what was going on, Rabbi Joshua replied that it was no small thing that the words “you shall make them known to your children and your children's children” are immediately followed by the words “The day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb.” From then on, Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba did not eat breakfast before revising the previous
day's lesson with his child (or some say grandchild) and adding another verse. And Rabbah son of Rav Huna did not eat breakfast until he took his child (or some say grandchild) to school. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30a.)
A Baraita deduced from the proximity of the words “And you shall make them known to your children and your children's children” in to the words “The day on which you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb” in that just as at Mount Sinai, the Israelites stood in dread, fear, trembling, and quaking, so when one teaches Torah to one’s child, one should do so in dread, fear, trembling, and quaking. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 22a.)
The Rabbis related Jacob’s dream in to Sinai. The “ladder” symbolizes Mount Sinai. That the ladder is “set upon (מֻצָּב, mutzav) the earth” recalls which says, “And they stood (וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ, vayityatzvu) at the nether part of the mount.” The words of “and the top of it reached to heaven,” echo those of “And the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven.” “And behold the angels of God” alludes to Moses and Aaron. “Ascending” parallels “And Moses went up to God.” “And descending” parallels “And Moses went down from the mount.” And the words “and, behold, the Lord stood beside him” in parallel the words of “And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai.” (Genesis Rabbah 68:12.)
Bet (letter)
Bet, Beth, Beh, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Arabic alphabet , Aramaic, Hebrew , Phoenician and Syriac...
(the first letter in which begins, Bereishit bara Elohim, “In the beginning God created”) because just as the letter bet is closed at the sides but open in front, so one is not permitted to investigate what is above and what is below, what is before and what is behind. Similarly, Bar Kappara
Bar Kappara
Shimon Bar Kappara was a Jewish rabbi of the late 2nd and early 3rd century CE, during the period between the tannaim and amoraim. He was active in Caesarea in the Land of Israel, from around 180 to 220 CE. His name, meaning “Son of Kapparah”, was taken from his father, Eleazar ha-Kappar...
reinterpreted the words of to say, “ask not of the days past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth,” teaching that one may speculate from the day that days were created, but one should not speculate on what was before that. And one may investigate from one end of heaven to the other, but one should not investigate what was before this world. (Genesis Rabbah 1:10.) Simialrly, the Rabbis in a Baraita interpreted to forbid inquiry into the work of creation in the presence of two people, reading the words “for ask now of the days past” to indicate that one may inquire, but not two. The Rabbis reasoned that the words “since the day that God created man upon the earth” in taught that one must not inquire concerning the time before creation. The Rabbis reasoned that the words “the days past that were before you” in taught that one may inquire about the six days of creation. The Rabbis further reasoned that the words “from the one end of heaven to the other” in taught that one must not inquire about what is beyond the universe, what is above and what is below, what is before and what is after. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 11b.)
Rabbi Eleazar read the words "since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven" in to read, "from the day that God created Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
on earth and to the end of heaven." Thus Rabbi Eleazar read to intimate that when God created Adam in Adam extended from the earth to the firmament. But as soon as Adam sinned, God placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him, as says: "You have fashioned me after and before, and laid Your hand upon me." Similarly, Rav Judah in the name of Rav taught that when God created Adam in Adam extended from one end of the world to the other, reading to read, "Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other." (And Rav Judah in the name of Rav also taught that as soon as Adam sinned, God placed God's hand upon Adam and diminished him.) The Gemara reconciled the interpretations of Rabbi Eleazar and Rav Judah in the name of Rav by concluding that the distance from the earth to the firmament must equal the distance from one end of heaven to the other. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 12a.)
Rabbi Levi addressed the question that raises: “Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?” ( in turn, refers back to the encounter at Sinai reported at and after.) Rabbi Levi taught that the world would not have been able to survive hearing the voice of God in God’s power, but instead, as says, “The voice of the Lord is with power.” That is, the voice of God came according to the power of each individual — young, old, or infant — to receive it. (Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
29:1.)
Chapter 2 of tractate Makkot
Makkot
Makkot is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the book of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of Jewish courts and the punishments which they may administer, and may be regarded as a continuation of tractate Sanhedrin, of which it originally formed part.Included in...
in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the cities of refuge in and (Mishnah Makkot 2:1–8; Tosefta Makkot 2:1–3:10; Jerusalem Talmud Makkot ch. 2; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 7a–13a.)
The Mishnah taught that those who killed in error went into banishment. One would go into banishment if, for example, while one was pushing a roller on a roof, the roller slipped over, fell, and killed someone. One would go into banishment if while one was lowering a cask, it fell down and killed someone. One would go into banishment if while coming down a ladder, one fell and killed someone. But one would not go into banishment if while pulling up the roller it fell back and killed someone, or while raising a bucket the rope snapped and the falling bucket killed someone, or while going up a ladder one fell down and killed someone. The Mishnah’s general principle was that whenever the death occurred in the course of a downward movement, the culpable person went into banishment, but if the death did not occur in the course of a downward movement, the person did not go into banishment. If while chopping wood, the iron slipped from the ax handle and killed someone, Rabbi
Judah haNasi
Judah the Prince, or Judah I, also known as Rebbi or Rabbeinu HaKadosh , was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . He was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the...
taught that the person did not go into banishment, but the sages said that the person did go into banishment. If from the split log rebounding killed someone, Rabbi said that the person went into banishment, but the sages said that the person did not go into banishment. (Mishnah Makkot 2:1; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 7a–b.)
Because Reuben was the first to engage in life saving of his brother Joseph in God decreed that the Cities of Refuge would be set up first within the borders of the Tribe of Reuben
Tribe of Reuben
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Reuben was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government...
in (Genesis Rabbah 84:15.)
Deuteronomy chapter 5
Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon taught that the familiarity with which God spoke with the Israelites in befit the infancy of Israel’s nationhood. Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon explained in a parable. A mortal king had a daughter whom he loved exceedingly. So long as his daughter was small, he would speak with her in public or in the courtyard. When she grew up and reached puberty, the king determined that it no longer befit his daughter's dignity for him to converse with her in public. So he directed that a pavilion be made for her so that he could speak with his daughter inside the pavilion. In the same way, when God saw the Israelites in Egypt, they were in the childhood of their nationhood, as HoseaBook of Hosea
The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets.-Background and Content:...
says, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” When God saw the Israelites at Sinai, God spoke with them as says, “The Lord spoke with you face to face.” As soon as they received the Torah, became God’s nation, and said (as reported in ), “All that the Lord has spoken will we do, and obey,” God observed that it was no longer in keeping with the dignity of God’s children that God should converse with them in the open. So God instructed the Israelites to make a Tabernacle, and when God needed to communicate with the Israelites, God did so from the Tabernacle. And thus bears this out when it says, “And when Moses went into the tent of meeting that He might speak with him.” (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
12:4; see also Pesikta de-Rav Kahana
Pesikta de-Rav Kahana
Pesikta de-Rab Kahana is a collection of Aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Solomon Buber and Bernard Mandelbaum . It is cited in the Aruk and by Rashi. It consists of 33 homilies on the lessons forming the Pesikta cycle: the Pentateuchal lessons for special Sabbaths Pesikta...
1:2, attributing the parable to Rabbi Judah bar Ilai
Judah ben Ilai
Judah bar Ilai, also known as Judah ben Ilai, Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian , was a tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.Judah bar Ilai...
.)
The Mishnah taught that the priests recited the Ten Commandments daily. (Mishnah Tamid 5:1; Babylonian Talmud Tamid 32b.)
Rabbi Levi said that the section beginning at was spoken in the presence of the whole Israelite people, because it includes each of the Ten Commandments, noting that: (1) says, “I am the Lord your God,” and says, “I am the Lord your God”; (2) says, “You shall have no other gods,” and says, “Nor make to yourselves molten gods”; (3) (20:7 in NJPS) says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” and says, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely”; (4) (20:8 in NJPS) says, “Remember the Sabbath day,” and says, “And you shall keep My Sabbaths”; (5) (20:12 in NJPS) says, “Honor your father and your mother,” and says, “You shall fear every man his mother, and his father”; (6) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not murder,” and says, “Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor”; (7) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not commit adultery,” and says, “Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death; (8) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not steal,” and says, “You shall not steal”; (9) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not bear false witness,” and says, “You shall not go up and down as a talebearer”; and (10) (20:14 in NJPS) says, “You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor's,” and says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus Rabbah 24:5.)
The Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
taught that to commit idolatry is to deny the entire Torah. (Sifre to Numbers 111:1:3.)
Tractate Avodah Zarah
Avodah Zarah
Avodah Zarah is the name of a tractate in the Talmud, located in Nezikin, the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages...
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
interpreted the laws prohibiting idolatry in (20:3–6 in NJPS) and (5:7–10 in NJPS). (Mishnah Avodah Zarah 1:1–5:12; Tosefta Avodah Zarah 1:1–8:8; Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 2a–76b.)
Tractate Shabbat
Moed
Moed is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people . Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:# Shabbat: or Shabbath deals with the 39 prohibitions of "work" on the Shabbat...
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the Sabbath in and 29; (20:8–11 in the NJPS); and (5:12 in the NJPS). (Mishnah Shabbat 1:1–24:5; Tosefta Shabbat 1:1–17:29; Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 2a–157b.)
Noting that (20:8 in NJPS) says, “Remember the Sabbath day,” and (5:12 in NJPS) says, “Observe the Sabbath day,” the Gemara taught that God pronounced both “Remember” and “Observe” in a single utterance, an utterance that the mouth cannot utter, nor the ear hear. (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 20b; see also Mekhilta
Mekhilta
This article refers to the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael. There is a separate article on the Mekhilta de-Rabbi ShimonMekhilta or Mekilta is a halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus...
Bahodesh 7:8:1.) Rav Ada bar Ahabah
Adda bar Ahavah
Adda bar Ahavah or Adda bar Ahabah is the name of two Jewish rabbis and Talmudic scholars, known as Amoraim, who lived in Babylonia.-The amora of the second generation:...
taught that the Torah thus obligates women to sanctify the Sabbath (by reciting or hearing the Kiddush
Kiddush
Kiddush , literally, "sanctification," is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays.-Significance:...
, even though women are generally not bound to observe such positive precepts that depend on specified times). For Scripture says both “Remember” and “Observe,” and all who are included in the exhortation “Observe” are included in the exhortation “Remember.” And women, since they are included in “Observe” (which the Rabbis interpret as a negative commandment that binds all Jews), are also included in “Remember.” (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 20b.)
The Mishnah taught that both men and women are obligated to carry out all commandments concerning their fathers. (Mishnah Kiddushin 1:7; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 29a, 30b.) Rav Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
interpreted the Mishnah to mean that both men and women are bound to perform all precepts concerning a father that are incumbent upon a son to perform for his father. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 30b.)
A midrash noted that almost everywhere, Scripture mentions a father’s honor before the mother’s honor. (For example, (20:12 in NJSP), (5:16 in the NJPS)) But mentions the mother first to teach that one should honor both parents equally. (Genesis Rabbah 1:15.)
The Rabbis taught in a Baraita what it means to “honor” and “revere” one’s parents within the meaning of (20:12 in NJSP) (honor), (revere), and (5:16 in the NJPS) (honor). To “revere” means that the child must neither stand nor sit in the parent’s place, nor contradict the parent’s words, nor engage in a dispute to which the parent is a party. To “honor” means that the child must give the parent food and drink and clothes, and take the parent in and out. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 31b.)
Rabbi Tanchum ben Chanilai found in God's calling to Moses alone in proof that a burden that is too heavy for 600,000 — hearing the voice of God (see ) — can be light for one. (Leviticus Rabbah 1:1.)
Deuteronomy chapter 6
The Gemara reported a number of Rabbis’ reports of how the Land of Israel did indeed flow with “milk and honey,” as described in and 17, and and and and 15, and Once when Rami bar Ezekiel visited Bnei Brak, he saw goats grazing under fig trees while honey was flowing from the figs, and milk dripped from the goats mingling with the fig honey, causing him to remark that it was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey. Rabbi Jacob ben Dostai said that it is about three miles from LodLod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
to Ono
Ono, Benjamin
Ono - a town of Benjamin, in the "plain of Ono" ; now Kiryat-Ono, 5 miles north of Lydda , and about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Not succeeding in their attempts to deter Nehemiah from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat and Tobiah resorted to stratagem, and pretending to wish a...
, and once he rose up early in the morning and waded all that way up to his ankles in fig honey. Resh Lakish said that he saw the flow of the milk and honey of Sepphoris
Tzippori
Tzippori , also known as Sepphoris, Dioceserea and Saffuriya is located in the central Galilee region, north-northwest of Nazareth, in modern-day Israel...
extend over an area of sixteen miles by sixteen miles. Rabbah bar Bar Hana said that he saw the flow of the milk and honey in all the Land of Israel and the total area was equal to an area of twenty-two parasang
Parasang
The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of itinerant distance comparable to the European league.In antiquity, the term was used throughout much of the Middle East, and the Old Iranian language from which it derives can no longer be determined...
s by six parasangs. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 111b–12a.)
The first three chapters of tractate Berakhot
Berakhot (Talmud)
Berachot is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim, a collection of the Mishnah that primarily deals with laws relating to plants and farming...
in the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud and the first two chapters of tractate Berakhot in the Tosefta interpreted the laws of the Shema in and (Mishnah Berakhot 1:1–3:6; Tosefta Berakhot 1:1–2:21; Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1a–42b; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2a–26a.)
Already at the time of the Mishnah, constituted the first part of a standard Shema prayer that the priests recited daily, followed by and (Mishnah Tamid 5:1; Babylonian Talmud Tamid 32b.)
The Gemara explained that when Jews recite the Shema, they recite the words, “blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever,” quietly between the words, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” from and the words, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” from for the reason that Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish expounded when he explained what happened in That verse reports, “And Jacob called to his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what will befall you in the end of days.’” According to Rabbi Simeon, Jacob wished to reveal to his sons what would happen in the end of the days, but just then, the Shechinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
departed from him. So Jacob said that perhaps, Heaven forfend, he had fathered a son who was unworthy to hear the prophecy, just as Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
had fathered Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
or Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
had fathered Esau
Esau
Esau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
. But his sons answered him (in the words of ), “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” explaining that just as there was only One in Jacob’s heart, so there was only One in their hearts. And Jacob replied, “Blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever.” The Rabbis considered that Jews might recite “Blessed be the name of God’s glorious Kingdom for ever and ever” aloud, but rejected that option, as Moses did not say those words in The Rabbis considered that Jews might not recite those words at all, but rejected that option, as Jacob did say the words. So the Rabbis ruled that Jews should recite the words quietly. Rabbi Isaac taught that the School of Rabbi Ammi said that one can compare this practice to that of a princess who smelled a spicy pudding. If she revealed her desire for the pudding, she would suffer disgrace; but if she concealed her desire, she would suffer deprivation. So her servants brought her pudding secretly. Rabbi Abbahu
Abbahu
Abbahu was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd amoraic generation , sometimes cited as R. Abbahu of Caesarea . His rabbinic education was acquired mainly at Tiberias, in the academy presided over by R. Johanan, with whom his relations were almost...
taught that the Sages ruled that Jews should recite the words aloud, so as not to allow heretics to claim that Jews were adding improper words to the Shema. But in Nehardea
Nehardea
Nehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. As the seat of the exilarch it traced its origin back to King Jehoiachin...
, where there were no heretics so far, they recited the words quietly. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 56a.)
Abaye
Abaye
Abaye was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia [בבל], known as an amora [אמורא] born about the close of the third century; died 339 . His father, Kaylil, was the brother of Rabbah bar Nachmani, a teacher at the Academy of Pumbedita. Abaye's real name was Nachmani, after his...
interpreted the words “and you shall love the Lord your God” in to teach that one should strive through one’s actions to cause others to love the Name of Heaven. So that if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are honest in business and speak pleasantly, then they will accord honor to the Name of God. But if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are dishonest in business and discourteous, then they will associate their shortcomings with their being Torah scholars. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86a.)
In the heart loves, and in the heart takes in words. A midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
), sees , hears , walks , falls (1 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
), stands (Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
), rejoices , cries (Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
), is comforted , is troubled , becomes hardened , grows faint , grieves , fears , can be broken , becomes proud , rebels (Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
), invents , cavils , overflows , devises (Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
), desires , goes astray , lusts , is refreshed , can be stolen , is humbled , is enticed , errs , trembles , is awakened (Song of Songs
Song of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
), hates , envies , is searched , is rent (Joel
Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets".-Content:After...
), meditates , is like a fire , is like a stone , turns in repentance , becomes hot , dies , melts (Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
), is susceptible to fear , gives thanks , covets , becomes hard , makes merry (Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
), acts deceitfully , speaks from out of itself , loves bribes , writes words , plans , receives commandments , acts with pride (Obadiah
Book of Obadiah
The canonical Book of Obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible....
), makes arrangements , and aggrandizes itself (2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
). (Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
1:36.)
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
in appear at Mishnah Menachot 3:7 and Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 37b, Sanhedrin 4b, and Menachot 34b–37b.
Discussions of the laws of the mezuzah
Mezuzah
A mezuzah is usually a metal or wooden rectangular object that is fastened to a doorpost of a Jewish house. Inside it is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah...
in appear at Babylonian Talmud Menachot 31b–34b.
In God announced that God would “put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession.” Rabbi Hiyya asked: Was it then a piece of good news that plagues were to come upon them? Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai answered that when the Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ites heard that the Israelites were approaching, they hid their valuables in their houses. But God promised the Israelites’ forbearers that God would bring the Israelites into a land full of good things, including, in the words of , “houses full of all good things.” So God brought plagues upon a house of one of the Israelites so that when he would pull it down, he would find a treasure. (Leviticus Rabbah 17:6.)
Deuteronomy chapter 7
A midrash expounded on why Israel was, in the words of like “a leafy olive tree.” In one explanation, the midrash taught that just as all liquids commingle one with the other, but oil refuses to do so, so Israel keeps itself distinct, as it is commanded in (Exodus Rabbah 36:1.)According to Maimonides
MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
cited verses in the parshah for 11 positive and 15 negative commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
:
- That warriors shall not fear their enemies nor be frightened of them in battle
- To know that there exists God
- Not to entertain the thought that there is any god but the Lord
- Not to make a graven image, neither to make oneself nor to have made for oneself by others
- Not to bow down to an object of idolatry, even if that is not its normal way of worship
- Not to worship an object of idolatry in its normal ways of worship ( )
- Not to take an oath in vain
- Not to do work on the Sabbath
- To honor one's father and mother
- Not to kill an innocent person
- Not to kidnap any person of Israel; this is theft of a person.
- Not to covet
- Not to desire
- To acknowledge God’s Oneness
- To love God
- To read the Shema twice daily
- To learn Torah and teach it
- To bind tefillin on the head
- To bind tefillin on the arm
- To fasten a mezuzah
- To fear God
- To swear by God’s Name
- Not to test the word of God
- Not to make a covenant with the seven Canaanite nations
- Not to have mercy on idolaters
- Not to intermarry with idolaters
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Positive Commandments 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 210; Negative Commandments 1, 2, 5, 6, 48, 50, 52, 58, 62, 64, 243, 265, 266, 289, and 320. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:1–7, 10–11, 15–23, 226–27; 2:1–2, 4–8, 47–51, 55–56, 60–61, 63–64, 232, 250–52, 269, 295. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
According to Sefer ha-Chinuch
According to Sefer ha-ChinuchSefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are 8 positive and 4 negative commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah.
- Not to desire another’s possession
- To know that God is oneMonotheismMonotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
- To love God
- To study Torah
- To say the Shema twice daily
- To bind tefillin on the arm
- To wear tefillin on the head
- To put a mezuzah on each door post
- Not to test the prophetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
unduly - Not to make a covenant with idolatersIdolatryIdolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
- Not to show favor to them
- Not to marry idolaters
Haftarah
The parshah is always read on the special Sabbath Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath immediately after Tisha B'Av. Shabbat Nachamu (“Sabbath of comfort”) takes its name from the first word of the haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah, Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
which speaks of "comforting" the Jewish people for their suffering. The haftarah is the first in the cycle of seven haftarot of consolation after Tisha B'Av, leading up to Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
.
Summary
God told the prophet to comfort God’s people and bid Jerusalem to take heart, as the city’s guilt had been paid off. A voice in the wilderness called to clear the way and make a highway for God, for every valley will be lifted up, every mountain will be made low, and God’s glory will be revealed to all. A voice proclaimed that all flesh is grass, its goodness like a flower of the field, which withers and fades; but God’s word will stand for ever. The herald of good tidings should go to the mountain and announce to the cities of Judah that God will come as a Mighty One to rule, as a shepherd that feeds the flock, gathers the lambs, carries them, and gently leads them.Who has held the waters in hand, measured the heavens, comprehended the earth, and weighed mountains in the balance? Who has counseled or instructed God? Nations are like a drop in a bucket, like dust in the balance, as nothing before God. Can one compare God to anything, to an idol that a woodworker carved? God sits above the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. God brings princes to nothing, makes the judges of the earth like nothing; scarcely are they planted, but God blows upon them, and they wither and blow away.
To whom then to liken God? Lift up your eyes and see: The One who created the stars, called them by name, by the greatness of God’s might and strong power each one appears.
Connection to the Special Sabbath
The haftarah answers laments read on Tisha B'Av from the book of LamentationsBook of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
. and 9 complain that Jerusalem “has none to comfort her,” “she has no comforter.” In the haftarah answers, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.” complains that “the ways of Zion mourn.” In the haftarah answers, “Clear in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.” complains that Zion’s princes “are gone without strength before the pursuer.” In and 26, the haftarah answers, “lift up your voice with strength,” God “is strong in power.” hoped for Jerusalem that “the punishment of your iniquity is accomplished” and God “will no more carry you away into captivity.” In the haftarah affirms, “Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim to her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off.”
As well, the haftarah echoes the parshah. In the parshah in Moses pleads, “Let me go over, I pray, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.” As if in answer, the haftarah rejoins in “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, . . . and Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.”
In the liturgy
The Torah reader and the congregation recite immediately before the Torah reading, signifying how learning the Torah embodies remaining steadfast to God. (Reuven HammerReuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer. He is a founder of the Masorti movement in Israel and a past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel...
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 141. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
The Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
Haggadah
Haggadah of Pesach
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
, in the magid section of the Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
, quotes to elucidate the term “great terribleness” in interpreting the “great terribleness” to mean the revelation of the Shekhinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
or Divine Presence. (Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 49–50. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 94. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.)
The Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv...
liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
quotes both the commandment of (Exodus 20:8 in the NJPS) to “remember” the Sabbath and the commandment of (Deuteronomy 5:12 in NJPS) to “keep” or “observe” the Sabbath, saying that they “were uttered as one by our Creator.” (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 21.)
Reuven Hammer noted that Mishnah Tamid 5:1 recorded what was in effect the first siddur
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
, as a part of which priests daily recited the Ten Commandments and (Reuven Hammer. Entering Jewish Prayer: A Guide to Personal Devotion and the Worship Service, 76–82. New York: Schocken, 1995. ISBN 0-8052-1022-9.)
The commandment to love God in is reflected in which is in turn one of the six Psalms recited at the beginning of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 18.)
The “love” of God that urges finds reflection in the characterization of God as the “Beloved” in the Lekhah Dodi liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service. (Hammer, Or Hadash, at 21.)
And the leshem yihud prayer before putting on tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
quotes the commandment of (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 6. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
In the magid section, the Haggadah combines and in the first answer to the Four Questions (Ma Nishtana
Ma Nishtana
Ma Nishtana are the four questions sung during the Passover seder. Called "ma nishtanah" in Hebrew, meaning "What has changed?", it is taken from the first line of the song. In English, it is referred to as "The Four Questions". Traditionally, the Four Questions are asked by the youngest child at...
) in the magid section of the Seder. (Tabory, at 84.) And shortly thereafter, the Haggadah quotes to provide the question of the wise son, also in the magid section. (Tabory, at 86; Davis, at 29.)
Also in the magid section, the Haggadah quotes — emphasizing the word “us” (otanu) — for the proposition that God did not redeem the ancestral Israelites alone, but also the current generation of Jews with them. (Davis, at 60; Tabory, at 100.)
The Weekly Maqam
In the Weekly MaqamThe Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
, Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Va'etchanan, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hoseni, the maqam that expresses beauty. This is especially appropriate in this parshah because it is the parshah where Moses repeats to the Israelites their history of receiving the Ten Commandments.
Further reading
The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Ancient
- Code of HammurabiCode of HammurabiThe Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1780 BC . It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay...
Epilogue reverse 25, lines 60–73. Babylonia, Circa 1780 BCE. Reprinted in e.g. James B. PritchardJames B. PritchardJames Bennett Pritchard was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon...
. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 178. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0691035032. (not to change the law).
Biblical
(firstborn); (firstborn); 20:5 in NJPS (punishing children for fathers’ sin); (Ten Commandments); (cities of refuge); (firstborn); (punishing children for fathers’ sin). (firstborn); (punishing children for fathers’ sin); (firstborn); (worshipping sun, moon, stars); (no capital punishment of children for fathers’ sin). (cities of refuge). (worshipping sun, moon, stars); (31:29–30 in NJPS) (not punishing children for fathers’ sin). (sun worship); (not punishing children for fathers’ sin); (the just one does not rob). (value of God’s law); (God’s righteousness reaches to heaven); (none like God among the gods); (heavens praise God in the assembly of the holy ones); (fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom).- JobBook of JobThe Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
(worshipping sun, moon).
Early nonrabbinic
- MarkGospel of MarkThe Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
Circa 70 CE. (Shema).
- MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
Circa 70–100 CE. (Shema). - LukeGospel of LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
Circa 80–150 CE. (Shema). - JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
4:8:2, 13 Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Berakhot 1:1–3:6; 9:5; Orlah 1:7; Shabbat 1:1–24:5; Sotah 7:1, 8; Kiddushin 1:7; Bava Kamma 5:7; Sanhedrin 2:4; Makkot 2:1–8; Avodah Zarah 1:1–5:12; Avot 3:8; Zevachim 8:10; Menachot 3:7; Tamid 5:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 3–7, 14, 160, 179–208, 457, 459, 488, 515, 586, 612–16, 660–72, 679, 717, 739, 869. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Berakhot 1:1–3:1, 6:1; Maaser Sheni 5:28; Shekalim 2:2; Rosh Hashanah 2:13; Chagigah 2:7; Sotah 7:7, 17, 8:10; Bava Kamma 6:18, 7:9; Sanhedrin 4:7; Makkot 2:1–3:10; Avodah Zarah 1:16, 3:15; Zevachim 8:23. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - SifreSifreSifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
to Deuteronomy 26:1–36:4. Reprinted in, e.g., Jacob Neusner. Sifre to Deuteronomy, 69–104. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:67–104. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Berakhot 1a–42b, 53a, 54a, 72b, 86b–88a, 92b, 93b; Peah 6b–7a; Sheviit 46b; Terumot 7a; Shabbat 1a–; Yoma 5b, 9a; Makkot ch. 2; Avodah Zarah 1a–. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–3, 6b–7, 21. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2011.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 2a–6a, 30b, 32a–b, 48b, 54a, 61b; Shabbat 9b, 10b, 32b, 33b, 51b, 56b, 75a, 78b, 79b, 87a–b, 103b, 132a; Eruvin 13a, 22a, 48a, 92b, 95b; Pesachim 22b, 25a, 55a, 56a; Yoma 10a, 11a, 19b, 33b, 72b, 82a, 86a; Sukkah 3a–b, 10b, 25a–b, 41b–42a, 53b; Beitzah 5a; Rosh Hashanah 18a–b, 27a, 28b, 32b; Taanit 9a; Megillah 9a–b, 11a, 17b, 20a, 21a, 24b, 31b; Moed Katan 7b, 15a–b, 18b, 21b; Chagigah 3a, 9b, 11b–12a; Yevamot 6b, 17a, 23a, 48b, 49b, 62a, 76a, 78b, 105a, 109b; Ketubot 111b; Nedarim 8a, 37a, 38a, 62b; Sotah 5a, 10b, 13b, 31a, 32b, 49a; Gittin 12a, 45b, 56b, 57b, 88a; Kiddushin 29a–30b, 34a, 39b–40a, 57a, 58a, 68b; Bava Kamma 41b, 54b–55a, 67b, 79b, 87a, 92b, 102b; Bava Metzia 16b, 35a, 89a, 108a; Bava Batra 110a; Sanhedrin 4b, 17a, 21b–22a, 29a, 38a–b, 56a–57a, 59b, 64a, 67b, 74a; Makkot 9b–10a, 11b, 12b–13a; Shevuot 20b, 36a; Avodah Zarah 2b–3a, 4b–5a, 7b, 11a, 20a, 23b, 25a, 36b, 45b, 54b, 58b; Zevachim 19a, 37b, 80a; Menachot 28a, 31b–37b, 42b, 43b–44a, 53b, 71a, 99b; Chullin 7b, 17a, 23a, 89a, 91b, 119b, 141a, 142a; Bekhorot 29a, 57a; Arakhin 3b; Temurah 3b–4a, 28b. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. - Deuteronomy RabbahDeuteronomy RabbahDeuteronomy Rabbah is an aggadic midrash or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. Unlike Bereshit Rabbah, the Midrash to Deuteronomy which has been included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot in the ordinary editions does not contain running commentaries on the text of the Bible,...
2:1–37. Land of Israel, 9th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Medieval
- Solomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
. A Crown for the King, 2 (“You are one”). Spain, 11th century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, 4–6. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-511962-2. - RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Deuteronomy 3–7. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 5:45–81. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-030-7. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 1:87–91; 2:34, 50; 3:31, 35, 39–41; 4:3; 5:23. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 21, 60–63, 108, 114, 165, 168, 172–73, 205, 293. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
- Numbers RabbahNumbers RabbahNumbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
23:13. 12th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
3:260a–270a. Spain, late 13th century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:42; 4:45. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 545–47, 672, 676. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950. - Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
. JerusalemJerusalem (Mendelssohn)Jerusalem or On Religious Power and Judaism is the title of a book written by Moses Mendelssohn, which was first published in 1783 – the same year, when the Prussian officer Christian Wilhelm von Dohm published the second part of his Mémoire Concerning the amelioration of the civil status of the...
, § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander AltmannAlexander AltmannAlexander Altmann was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary, today Košice, Slovakia. He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productively for a decade and a half as a professor within the Philosophy Department at Brandeis...
, 100, 119. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.
- Samson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, 5–8, 12–13, 18–35, 43–46, 61–78, 102–09, 117–21, 175–80, 187–89, 217–22, 274, 298–302, 359–66, 369–74, 378–81, 406–16, 441–43, 448–52, 478, 514, 544, 565–68. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002 ISBN 0-900689-40-4. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel’s Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. - Samson Raphael Hirsch. The Jewish Sabbath. Nabu Press, 2010. Originally published Germany, 19th Century.
- Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
. Poem 112 (Where bells no more affright the morn —). Circa 1859. Poem 168 (If the foolish, call them "flowers" —). Circa 1860. Poem 564 (My period had come for Prayer —). Circa 1862. Poem 597 (It always felt to me — a wrong). Circa 1862. Poem 1260 (Because that you are going). Circa 1873. Poem 1591 (The Bobolink is gone —). Circa 1883. Poem 1719 (God is indeed a jealous God —). 19th century. Poem 1733 (No man saw awe, nor to his house). 19th century. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 53, 79–80, 274–75, 293–94, 551–52, 659, 698, 703. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4.
- Abraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
. The Moral Principles. Early 20th century. Reprinted in Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion BokserBen Zion Bokser-Biography:Bokser was born in Lubomi, Poland, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 13 in 1920. He attended City College of New York and Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary, followed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University...
, 156, 176. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X. - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 325, 447, 612, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Thomas Mann, Rebecca WestRebecca WestCicely Isabel Fairfield , known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public...
, Franz WerfelFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
, John ErskineJohn Erskine (educator)John Erskine was a U.S. educator and author, born in New York City and raised in Weehawken, New Jersey. He graduated from Columbia University ....
, Bruno FrankBruno FrankBruno Frank was a German author, poet, dramatist, and humanist.Frank studied law and philosophy in Munich, where he later worked as a dramatist and novelist until the Reichstag fire in 1933...
, Jules RomainsJules RomainsJules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule , was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement...
, André MauroisAndré MauroisAndré Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was a French author.-Life:Maurois was born in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a Jewish textile manufacturer, and Alice Herzog...
, Sigrid UndsetSigrid UndsetSigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
, Hendrik Willem van LoonHendrik Willem van LoonHendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian and journalist.-Life:He was born in Rotterdam, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. He went to the United States in 1902 to study at Cornell University, receiving his degree in 1905...
, Louis BromfieldLouis BromfieldLouis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.-Biography:...
, Herman RauchningHermann RauschningHermann Rauschning was a GermanConservative Revolutionary who briefly joined the Nazis before breaking with them. In 1934 he renounced Nazi party membership and defected to the United States where he denounced Nazism...
. The Ten Commandments: Ten Short Novels of Hitler's War Against the Moral Code. Edited by Armin L. Robinson. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1943. - Abraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
. The Sabbath. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1951. Reprinted 2005. ISBN 0-374-52975-2. - Abraham Joshua Heschel. Man's Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism, 36, 120. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954.
- Morris Adler. The World of the Talmud, 26, 28–29, 76, 89–90. B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, 1958. Reprinted Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0548080003.
- Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 80–121. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. - Hermann CohenHermann CohenHermann Cohen was a German-Jewish philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg School of Neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century".-Life:...
. Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism, 76. New York: F. Ungar Pub. Co., 1972. ISBN 0804452296.
- W. Gunther PlautGunther PlautWolf Gunther Plaut, CC, O.Ont is a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 is its Senior Scholar....
. Shabbat Manual. New York: CCAR, 1972. - Walter J. Harrelson. The Ten Commandments and Human Rights. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980. ISBN 0-8006-1527-1. Revised ed. Mercer Univ. Press, 1997. ISBN 0865545421.
- Patrick D. Miller Jr. “The Many Faces of Moses: A Deuteronomic portrait.” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 4 (5) (Oct. 1988). - David Noel FreedmanDavid Noel FreedmanDavid Noel Freedman , son of the writer David Freedman, was a biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and ordained Presbyterian minister ....
. “The Nine Commandments: The secret progress of Israel’s sins.” Bible Review. 5 (6) (Dec. 1989). - Krzysztof KieślowskiKrzysztof KieslowskiKrzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
. The DecalogueThe DecalogueThe Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner...
. Warsaw: Sender Freies Berlin (SFB), Telewizja Polska (TVP), and Zespol Filmowy “Tor,” 1989. - Pinchas H. Peli. The Jewish Sabbath: A Renewed Encounter. New York: Schocken, 1991. ISBN 0-8052-0998-0.
- Moshe WeinfeldMoshe WeinfeldMoshe Weinfeld , Professor Emeritus of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and recipient of the 1994 Israel Prize for Bible.-Biography:...
. Deuteronomy 1-11, 5:189–384. New York: Anchor BibleAnchor Bible SeriesThe Anchor Bible project, consisting of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production...
, 1991. ISBN 0-385-17593-0. - Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 3. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. "In God's Name". Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1879045265. (calling God One).
- Moshe Weinfeld. “What Makes the Ten Commandments Different?” Bible Review. 7 (2) (Apr. 1991).
- Ronald Youngblood. “Counting the Ten Commandments.” Bible Review. 10 (6) (Dec. 1994).
- Mark Dov Shapiro. Gates of Shabbat: A Guide for Observing Shabbat. New York: CCAR Press, 1996. ISBN 0-88123-010-3.
- Moshe Weinfeld. “Deuteronomy’s Theological Revolution.” Bible Review. 12 (1) (Feb. 1996).
- Jeffrey H. Tigay. The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, 38–88, 432–44. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996. ISBN 0-8276-0330-4.
- Baruch J. Schwartz. “What Really Happened at Mount Sinai? Four biblical answers to one question.” Bible Review. 13 (5) (Oct. 1997).
- William H.C. Propp. “Why Moses Could Not Enter The Promised Land.” Bible Review. 14 (3) (June 1998).
- David Noel Freedman. The Nine Commandments: Uncovering a Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000. ISBN 0-385-49986-8.
- Reuven HammerReuven HammerReuven Hammer is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer. He is a founder of the Masorti movement in Israel and a past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel...
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim ShalomSiddur Sim ShalomSiddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 30. New York: The Rabbinical AssemblyRabbinical AssemblyThe Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8. (mezuzah). - Joseph TelushkinJoseph TelushkinJoseph Telushkin is an American rabbi, lecturer, and author.-Biography:Telushkin attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, was ordained at Yeshiva University, and studied Jewish history at Columbia University....
. The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life, 52–59, 61–65, 76–80, 129–32, 177–80, 189–90, 204–06, 275–78. New York: Bell Tower, 2003. ISBN 1-4000-4509-6. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Shabbat” and “Intermarriage.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 51–57, 103. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Esther JungreisEsther JungreisEsther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor, she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
. Life Is a Test, 86–89, 116–19, 147–48, 154, 163, 166, 169, 219, 248–49, 257–58, 266. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. ISBN 1-4226-0609-0. - Ziv Hellman. “And on the Seventh Day: Israelis ponder the public nature of the Shabbath in a state that seeks to be both Jewish and democratic.” The Jerusalem ReportThe Jerusalem ReportThe Jerusalem Report is a biweekly print and online newsmagazine that covers political and social issues in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world...
. 20 (19) (Jan. 4, 2009): 26–30. - Frank Newport. “Extramarital Affairs, Like Sanford’s, Morally Taboo: Recent Confessions of Affairs by Elected Officials Fly in Face of Americans’ Normative Standards” Gallup Inc. June 25, 2009.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeUnited Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
. International Homicide Statistics. 2009. - Joseph TelushkinJoseph TelushkinJoseph Telushkin is an American rabbi, lecturer, and author.-Biography:Telushkin attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, was ordained at Yeshiva University, and studied Jewish history at Columbia University....
. Hillel: If Not Now, When? 55–57. New York: Nextbook, Schocken, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8052-4281-2. (honoring father and mother). - “Day of Rest: Judith Shulevitz’s New Book Considers the Sabbath Throughout the Ages and in Her Own Life.” In Tablet MagazineTablet MagazineTablet Magazine is a two-time National Magazine Award-winning online publication of Jewish life, arts, and ideas. Sponsored by Nextbook, it was launched in June 2009. Its Editor in Chief is Alana Newhouse....
. (Mar. 15, 2010). - “Body Image: An Art Historian Tackles the Thorny Matter of Jews and Figurative Painting.” In Tablet Magazine. (June 7, 2010). (the commandment not to make graven images and Jewish artists).
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- eparsha.com
- G-dcast
- The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- Miriam Aflalo
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- TorahVort.com
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?
- Yeshiva University
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah