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Ki Teitzei, Ki Tetzei, Ki Tetse, Ki Thetze, Ki Tese, Ki Tetzey, or Ki Seitzei ( —
Ki Teitzei, Ki Tetzei, Ki Tetse, Ki Thetze, Ki Tese, Ki Tetzey, or Ki Seitzei ( — Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
for "when you go," the first words
First Words was a Canadian hip hop group, consisting of Halifax beatmaker Jorun Bombay, DJ STV and emcees Above and Sean One (Sean McInerney). The group released two albums and an EP, as well as contributing tracks to several hiphop compilatio ...
in the parashah
The term ''parashah'' ( he, פָּרָשָׁה ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian , Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Heb ...
) is the 49th weekly Torah portion
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...
(, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...
and the sixth in the Book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
. It comprises . The parashah sets out a series of miscellaneous laws, mostly governing civil and domestic life, including ordinances regarding a beautiful captive of war, inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
among the sons of two wives, a wayward son, the corpse of an executed person, found property, coming upon another in distress, rooftop safety, prohibited mixtures, sexual offenses, membership in the congregation, camp hygiene, runaway slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
, usury
Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...
, vows, gleaning, kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
, repossession
Repossession, colloquially repo, is a "self-help" type of action, mainly in the United States, in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property back from the party having right of possession without in ...
, prompt payment of wages, vicarious liability
Vicarious liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency, ''respondeat superior'', the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate or, in a broader sense, the res ...
, flogging, treatment of domestic animals, levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage out ...
(, ''yibbum''), weights and measures, and wiping out the memory of Amalek
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...
.
The parashah is made up of 5,856 Hebrew letters, 1,582 Hebrew words, 110 verses, and 213 lines in a Torah Scroll (, ''Sefer Torah
A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
''). Jews generally read the parashah in August or September. Jews also read the part of the parashah about Amalek
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...
, , as the concluding (, ''maftir
Maftir ( he, מפטיר, , concluder) is the last person called up to the Torah on Shabbat and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings overs) the ''haftarah'' portion from a related section of the Nevi'im (pro ...
'') reading on Shabbat Zachor, the special Sabbath immediately before Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
, which commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther
The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...
. identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek.
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In theMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of the Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
''Mamrim'' ch.7
) The first reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 139.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if one came upon another's donkey or ox fallen on the road, then one could not ignore it, but was required to help the owner to raise it.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 141.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that a woman was not to put on man's apparel, nor a man wear woman's clothing.. Another closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
And as the reading continues, Moses instructed that if one came upon a bird's nest with the mother bird sitting over fledglings or eggs, then one could not take the mother together with her young, but was required to let the mother go and take only the young. The second reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 142.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade the Israelites to charge
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade the Israelites to subvert the rights of the proselyte or the orphan, and forbade the Israelites to take a widow’s garment in pawn, remembering that they were slaves in Egypt and that God redeemed them. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that when Israelites reaped the
In the maftir () reading of that concludes the parashah, Moses enjoined the Israelites to remember what the Amalekites did to them on their journey, after they left Egypt, surprising them and cutting down all the stragglers at their rear. The Israelites were enjoined never to forget to blot out the
In , the prophet said that he had "neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to imfor interest" in violation of .
17–22
admonish the Israelites not to wrong the stranger, for "you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt." (See also ; ; ; ; and .) Similarly, in , the 8th century BCE
The Gemara recounted a discussion regarding the right of the firstborn in . Once Rabbi Jannai was walking, leaning on the shoulder of Rabbi Simlai his attendant, and Rabbi Judah the Prince came to meet them. Rabbi Judah the Prince asked Rabbi Jannai what the Scriptural basis was for the proposition that a son takes precedence over a daughter in the inheritance of a mother's estate. Rabbi Jannai replied that the plural use of the term "tribes" in the discussion of the inheritance of the 
A Midrash told that the Ishmaelites came before
in, e.g., Hersh Goldwurm, editor, ''Talmud Bavli: Tractate Bava Metzia: Volume 1'', volume 41, page 31a. If one found an identifiable item and the identity of the owner was unknown, the Mishnah taught that the finder was required to announce it.
Tractate Kilayim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of separating diverse species in .
The Mishnah employed the prohibitions of , , and to imagine how one could with one action violate up to nine separate commandments. One could (1) plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together (in violation of ) (2 and 3) that are two animals dedicated to the sanctuary, (4) plowing mixed seeds sown in a vineyard (in violation of ), (5) during a Sabbatical year (in violation of ), (6) on a Festival-day (in violation of, for example, ), (7) when the plower is a priest (in violation of ) and (8) a Nazirite (in violation of ) plowing in a contaminated place. Chananya ben Chachinai said that the plower also may have been wearing a garment of wool and linen (in violation of and ). They said to him that this would not be in the same category as the other violations. He replied that neither is the Nazirite in the same category as the other violations.
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression "statute" (, ''chok'') in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother's wife (in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the
Elsewhere, the Mishnah reported that an Ammonite convert named Judah came to the house of study and asked whether he could join the assembly. Rabban Gamaliel forbade him, but Rabbi Joshua permitted him. Rabban Gamaliel quoted , "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord." But Rabbi Joshua asked whether the Ammonites or Moabites were still in their own territory, as Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had long before conquered and mingled all the nations, as reports. So they permitted the Ammonite to enter the assembly.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that all of Balaam's curses, which God turned into blessings, reverted to curses (and Balaam's intention was eventually fulfilled), except for Balaam's blessing of Israel's synagogues and schoolhouses, for says, "But the Lord your God turned the ''curse'' into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you," using the singlular "curse," and not the plural "curses" (so that God turned only the first intended curse permanently into a blessing, that concerning synagogues and school-houses, which are destined never to disappear from Israel). 
The Mishnah interpreted the prohibition of , "No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge," to teach that a creditor who took a mill as security for a loan transgressed a negative commandment and was guilty on account of two forbidden utensils. The Mishnah interpreted to prohibit a creditor from taking in security not only millstones, but everything employed in the preparation of food for human consumption. For the continuation of says of the creditor, "for he takes a man's life to pledge" (and the debtor needs such utensils to prepare the food necessary to sustain life).
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "there was no water in it," to teach that there was no recognition of Torah in the pit into which Joseph's brothers cast him, as Torah is likened to water, as says, "everyone that thirsts, come for water." For the Torah (in ) says, "If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel . . . and sell him, then that thief shall die," and yet Joseph's brothers sold their brother.
The Gemara read the emphatic words of , "you shall surely restore . . . the pledge," repeating the verb in the Hebrew, to teach that required a lender to restore the pledge whether or not the lender took the pledge with the court's permission. And the Gemara taught that the Torah provided similar injunctions in and to teach that a lender had to return a garment worn during the day before sunrise, and return a garment worn during the night before sunset.
Rabbi Eliezer the Great taught that the Torah warns against wronging a stranger in 36, or others say 46, places (including an
17–22
. The Gemara went on to cite Rabbi Nathan's interpretation of , "You shall neither wrong a stranger, nor oppress him; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt," to teach that one must not taunt one's neighbor about a flaw that one has oneself. The Gemara taught that thus a proverb says: If there is a case of hanging in a person's family history, do not say to the person, "Hang up this fish for me." The Mishnah interpreted and to teach that a worker engaged by the day could collect the worker's wages all of the following night. If engaged by the night, the worker could collect the wages all of the following day. If engaged by the hour, the worker could collect the wages all that day and night. If engaged by the week, month, year, or 7-year period, if the worker's time expired during the day, the worker could collect the wages all that day. If the worker's time expired during the night, the worker could collect the wages all that night and the following day. The Mishnah taught that the hire of persons, animals, or utensils were all subject to the law of that "in the same day you shall give him his hire" and the law of that "the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with you all night until the morning." The employer became liable only when the worker or vendor demanded payment from the employer. Otherwise, the employer did not infringe the law. If the employer gave the worker or vendor a draft on a shopkeeper or a money changer, the employer complied with the law. A worker who claimed the wages within the set time could collect payment if the worker merely swore that the employer had not yet paid. But if the set time had passed, the worker's oath was insufficient to collect payment. Yet if the worker had witnesses that the worker had demanded payment (within the set time), the worker could still swear and receive payment.Mishnah Bava Metzia 9:12
in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, ''Mishnah'', pages 554–55
Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 111a
The Mishnah taught that the employer of a resident alien was subject to the law of that "in the same day you shall give him his hire" (as refers to the stranger), but not to the law of that "the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with you all night until the morning." The Gemara reconciled apparently discordant verses touching on vicarious responsibility. The Gemara noted that states: "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin," but (20:5 in NJPS) says: "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children." The Gemara cited a Baraita that interpreted the words "the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them" in to teach that God punishes children only when they follow their parents’ sins. The Gemara then questioned whether the words "they shall stumble one upon another" in do not teach that one will stumble through the sin of the other, that all are held responsible for one another. The Gemara answered that the vicarious responsibility of which speaks is limited to those who have the power to restrain their fellow from evil but do not do so. Reading the words of , "You shall not take a widow’s raiment to pledge," the Mishnah taught that a person may not take a pledge from a widow whether she is rich or poor. The Gemara explained that Rabbi Judah (reading the text literally) expounded the view that no pledge may be taken from her whether she is rich or poor. Rabbi Simeon, however, (addressing the purpose of the text) taught that a wealthy widow was subject to distraint, but not a poor one, for the creditor was bound (by ) to return the pledge to her, and would bring her into disrepute among her neighbors (by her frequent visits to the creditor).
Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corner of the field and gleanings to be given to the poor in and , and .
The Mishnah taught that the Torah defines no minimum or maximum for the donation of the corners of one's field to the poor. But the Mishnah also taught that one should not make the amount left to the poor less than one-sixtieth of the entire crop. And even though no definite amount is given, the amount given should accord with the size of the field, the number of poor people, and the extent of the yield.
Rabbi Eliezer taught that one who cultivates land in which one can plant a quarter ''
Mishnah Yevamot 2:5
taught that the son of a Canaanite slave mother does not impose the obligation of Levirite marriage (, ''yibbum'') under . Chapter 3 in tractate
Rabbi Levi taught that the punishment for false weights or measures (discussed at ) was more severe than that for having intimate relations with forbidden relatives (discussed at ). For in discussing the case of forbidden relatives, uses the Hebrew word , ''eil'', for the word "these," whereas in the case of false weights or measures, uses the Hebrew word , ''eileh'', for the word "these" (and the additional , ''eh'' at the end of the word implies additional punishment.) The Gemara taught that one can derive that , ''eil'', implies rigorous punishment from , which says, "And the mighty (, ''eilei'') of the land he took away." The Gemara explained that the punishments for giving false measures are greater than those for having relations with forbidden relatives because for forbidden relatives, repentance is possible (as long as there have not been children), but with false measure, repentance is impossible (as one cannot remedy the sin of robbery by mere repentance; the return of the things robbed must precede it, and in the case of false measures, it is practically impossible to find out all the members of the public who have been defrauded).
Rabbi Hiyya taught that the words of , "You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment," apply to judgment in law. But a Midrash noted that already mentioned judgment in law, and questioned why would state the same proposition again and why uses the words, "in judgment, in measures." The Midrash deduced that teaches that a person who measures is called a judge, and one who falsifies measurements is called by the five names "unrighteous," "hated," "repulsive," "accursed," and an "abomination," and is the cause of these five evils. Rabbi Banya said in the name of Rav Huna that the government comes and attacks that generation whose measures are false. The Midrash found support for this from , "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord," which is followed by , "When presumption comes, then comes shame." Reading , "Shall I be pure with wicked balances?"
Reading , 
Rabbi 
Rabbi 
In April 2014, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism ruled that women are now equally responsible for observing commandments as men have been, and that women are thus responsible for the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit, as commanded in .
23
As well, in the wisdom perspective, history is the repository of eternal truths, lessons that never grow old, and thus Deuteronomy constantly urges its readers to "remember," as does when it admonishes to "Remember what Amalek did to you." Kugel concluded that the
''Sefer ha-Chinuch''
there are 27 positive and 47 negative
In
book 4, chapter 8, paragraphs 9, 11, 20–21, 23–27, 29, 38–44
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by William Whiston, pages 116–24. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. *
''Fabulae'' 95
1st–2nd century CE. (reporting the myth of how
Kilayim 1:1–9:10Sheviit 10:2Terumot 8:19:3Shekalim 1:1Megillah 3:4
Yevamot 1:1–16:7
Ketubot 3:1–4:13
Nedarim 1:1–11:11
Sotah 6:37:248:4Gittin 1:1–9:10Bava Kamma 5:78:1Bava Metzia 1:1–2:119:11–13Bava Batra 8:4–5
Sanhedrin 1:1–3; 2:1
6:47:98:1–711:1
Makkot 3:1–16; Shevuot 1:1–8:6
Chullin 12:1–5Bekhorot 8:79Arakhin 3:14–5Temurah 6:3–4Parah 2:3Yadayim 4:4
Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 14–36, 49–68, 91, 110, 113, 251, 321, 337–78, 381–85, 406–30, 457, 461, 466–87, 515, 520, 528–34, 554–55, 574–75, 583, 585, 595, 599–602, 607, 616–39, 785–807, 812–13, 834, 1014–15, 1129. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *19:1220:741:343:945:648:1652:2555:3
61:7; 63:12; 65:2; 74:7, 15; 76:6; 81:2; 84:16; 85:5; 87:5; 94:9; 99:2. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 137–38, 157–58, 165–66, 334–35, 358–59, 384, 416, 451, 453, 483; volume 2, pages 545–46, 567, 581, 680, 686–87, 705–06, 745–46, 781–82, 792, 808, 879, 975. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *
*Babylonian
Berakhot 7a19b21b–22a25a–b28a33b35a55b63bShabbat 15a23a25b27a29b32a50b54a56a66a132b–33a136a139a144b150aEruvin 13b15bPesachim 3a25a–b26b31b41b68a72b90a98a116bYoma 13b36a67b74b81a82aSukkah 9a24b29aBeitzah 3b8b14b19b24b36bRosh Hashanah 4a5b–6bTaanit 6bMegillah 3b6b–7b8a18a25a29aMoed Katan 2a–b4b8b9b14b18b21a25bChagigah 2b3b–4a15a16bYevamot 2a–122bKetubot 2b5a6b7b9a10a–11b22a29a–41b42b–43a44a–47a48b–49a51b53b–54a66a72a74a77a–b80a82a–bNedarim 2a–91bNazir 2a23b30b37a41b58a59a66aSotah 2b3b5b9a16a18b20b–21b23a–25a26b31b33a35b43a–45aGittin 2a–90bKiddushin 2a–b3b–5a6a7a8b9a–10a11b13b–14a21b23a24b29b33b–34a40a41a44a51a56b63a–64a65b67a–69a70a72b74a75a76a–77a78a–bBava Kamma 4b–5a8a15b25a27a28a–b38b42a43a46a51a54a–b57a65b70b80b81b–82a83b–84a86b–87a88a92b100a110b113bBava Metzia 2a–33b48a54a56b60b–61a66a70b75b82a83a–93a102a110b–11b113a114a–15aBava Batra 2b11a12b16b19b21b36a45b55a72b74a82b88b–89a108b110b111b113b116b119b122b–23a124a–b126b–27b130a–b134a142b144b155b–56a168a175bSanhedrin 2a7b8b–9a10a18a–19a
''
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
), Parashah Ki Teitzei has two "open portion" (, ''petuchah'') divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ('' peh'')). Parashah Ki Teitzei has several further subdivisions, called "closed portions" (, ''setumah'') (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
samekh
Samekh (Phoenician ''sāmek'' ; Hebrew ''samekh'' , Syriac ''semkaṯ'') is the fifteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including the Hebrew alphabet.
Samekh represents a voiceless alveolar fricative . Unlike most Semitic consonants, the pro ...
'')) within the first open portion. The long first open portion spans nearly the entire parashah, except for the concluding maftir () reading. The short second open portion coincides with maftir reading. Thus the parashah is nearly one complete whole. Closed portion divisions divide all of the readings, often setting apart separate laws.
First reading — Deuteronomy 21:10–21
In the first reading (, ''aliyah''),Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
directed the Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
s that when they took captives in war, and an Israelite saw among the captives a beautiful woman whom he wanted to marry
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
, the Israelite was to bring her into his house and have her trim her hair, pare her nails, discard her captive's garb
Garb may refer to:
* Clothing
* Garb, a wheat sheaf (agriculture)
A sheaf (/ʃiːf/) is a bunch of cereal-crop stems bound together after reaping, traditionally by sickle, later by scythe or, after its introduction in 1872, by a mechanical r ...
, and spend a month lament
A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...
ing her parents. Thereafter, the Israelite could take her as his wife. But if he found that he no longer wanted her, he had to release
Release may refer to:
* Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song
* Legal release, a legal instrument
* News release, a communication directed at the news media
* Release (ISUP), a code to ident ...
her outright, and not sell
Sell can refer to:
People
* Brenda Sell (born 1955), American martial arts instructor and highest ranking non-Korean female practitioner of taekwondo
* Brian Sell (born 1978), American retired long-distance runner
* Edward Sell (priest) (1839– ...
her as a slave.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if a man had two wives, one loved and one unloved, and both bore him sons, but the unloved one bore him his firstborn son, then when he willed his property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
to his sons, he could not treat the son of the loved wife as firstborn in disregard of the older son of the unloved wife; rather, he was required to accept the firstborn, the son of the unloved one, and allot to him his birthright of a double portion of all that he possessed. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if a couple had a wayward and defiant son, who did not obey
Obey may refer to:
*Obedience (human behavior), the act of following instructions or recognizing someone's authority
* Obey (surname)
* ''Obey'' (Brainbombs album), a 1995 album by the Swedish band Brainbombs
* ''Obey'' (Axis of Advance album), a ...
his father or mother even after they disciplined him, then they were to bring him to the elders of his town and publicly declare their son to be disloyal, defiant, heedless, a glutton, and a drunkard. The men of his town were then to stone him to death. (See laws in Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
' Mishne Torah''Mamrim'' ch.7
) The first reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 139.
Second reading — Deuteronomy 21:22–22:7
In the second reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses instructed that if the community executed a man for a capital offense and impaled him on a stake, they were not to let his corpse remain on the stake overnight, but were tobury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
him the same day, for an impaled body affronted God. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here with the end of the chapter.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if one found another's lost ox, sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
, donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
, garment, or any other lost thing, then the finder could not ignore it, but was required to take it back to its owner
Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
. If the owner did not live near the finder or the finder did not know who the owner was, then the finder was to bring the thing home and keep it until the owner claimed it. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if one came upon another's donkey or ox fallen on the road, then one could not ignore it, but was required to help the owner to raise it.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 141.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that a woman was not to put on man's apparel, nor a man wear woman's clothing.. Another closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
And as the reading continues, Moses instructed that if one came upon a bird's nest with the mother bird sitting over fledglings or eggs, then one could not take the mother together with her young, but was required to let the mother go and take only the young. The second reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 142.
Third reading — Deuteronomy 22:8–23:7
In the third reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses taught that when one built a new house, one had to make aparapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
for the roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...
, so that no one should fall from it.. One was not to sow a vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
with a second kind of seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
, nor use the yield of such a vineyard.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that one was not to plow
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
with an ox and a donkey together.. One was not to wear cloth combining wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
and linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that one was to make tassels (''tzitzit'') on the four corners of the garment with which one covered oneself. Another closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
As the reading continues, Moses instructed that if a man married a woman, cohabited with her, took an aversion to her, and falsely charged her with not having been a virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
at the time of the marriage, then the woman's parents were to produce the cloth with evidence of the woman's virginity before the town elders at the town gate
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
. The elders were then to have the man flogged
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging ...
and fine
Fine may refer to:
Characters
* Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny''
* Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano
Legal terms
* Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
him 100 shekels of silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
to be paid to the woman's father. The woman was to remain the man's wife, and he was never to have the right to divorce her.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 144.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if the elders found that woman had not been a virgin, then the woman was to be brought to the entrance of her father's house and stoned to death by the men of her town. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if a man was found lying with another man's wife, both the man and the woman with whom he lay were to die. Another closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
As the reading continues, Moses instructed that if, in a city, a man lay with a virgin who was engaged to a man, then the authorities were to take the two of them to the town gate and stone them to death — the girl because she did not cry for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 145.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if the man lay with the girl by force
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
in the open country, only the man was to die, for there was no one to save her. Another closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if a man seized a virgin who was not engaged and lay with her, then the man was to pay the girl's father 50 shekels of silver, she was to become the man's wife, and he was never to have the right to divorce her. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here with the end of the chapter.
As the reading continues in chapter 23, Moses instructed that no man could marry his father's former wife. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 146.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that God's congregation could not admit into membership anyone whose testes
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoster ...
were crushed or whose member was cut off.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that God's congregation could not admit into membership anyone misbegotten (, ''mamzer'') or anyone descended within ten generations from one misbegotten.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
And as the reading continues, Moses instructed that God's congregation could not admit into membership any Ammon
Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in p ...
ite or Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
ite, or anyone descended within ten generations from an Ammonite or Moabite.. As long as they lived, Israelites were not to concern themselves with the welfare or benefit of Ammonites or Moabites, because they did not meet the Israelites with food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
and water after the Israelites left Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and because they hired Balaam
Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beo ...
to curse the Israelites — but God refused to heed Balaam, turning his curse into a blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
. The third reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 147.
Fourth reading — Deuteronomy 23:8–24
In the fourth reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses told the Israelites not to abhor the Edomites, for they were kinsman, nor Egyptians, for the Israelites were strangers in Egypt. Great grandchildren of Edomites or Egyptians could be admitted into the congregation. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here. In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that any Israelite rendered unclean by a nocturnal emission had to leave the Israelitesmilitary
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
camp, bathe in water toward evening, and reenter the camp at sundown. The Israelites were to designate an area outside the camp where they might relieve themselves, and to carry a spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
to dig a hole and cover up their excrement
Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...
. As God moved about in their camp to protect them, the Israelites were to keep their camp holy. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 149.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that if a slave sought refuge with the Israelites, the Israelites were not to turn the slave over to the slave's master, but were to let the former slave live in any place the former slave might choose and not ill-treat the former slave. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade the Israelites to act as harlots, sodomites, or cult prostitutes, and from bringing the wage
A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...
s of prostitution into the house of God
''The House of God'' is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem (a pseudonym used by psychiatrist Stephen Bergman), published in 1978. The novel follows a group of medical interns at a fictionalized version of Beth Israel Hospital over the course o ...
in fulfillment of any vow
A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath.
A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual.
Marriage vows
Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...
. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade the Israelites to charge interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct ...
on loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
s to their countrymen, but they could charge interest on loans to foreigners. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses required the Israelites promptly to fulfill vows to God, but they incurred no guilt if they refrained from vowing. The fourth reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 151.
Fifth reading — Deuteronomy 23:25–24:4
In the fifth reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses allowed a worker working in a vineyard to eatgrape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s until full, but the worker was forbidden to put any in a vessel.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
As the reading continues, Moses allowed a worker working in a field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
of standing grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
to pluck ears by hand, but the worker was forbidden to cut the neighbor's grain with a sickle.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here with the end of the chapter.
As the reading continues in chapter 24, Moses instructed that a divorced woman who remarried and then lost her second husband to divorce or death could not remarry her first husband. The fifth reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.
Sixth reading — Deuteronomy 24:5–13
In the sixth reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses exempted a newlywed man fromarmy
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
duty for one year, so as to give happiness
Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
to his wife.. Israelites were forbidden to take a handmill or an upper millstone
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
in pawn, for that would be taking someone's livelihood.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 153.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that one found to have kidnapped a fellow Israelite was to die. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that in cases of a skin affection, Israelites were to do exactly as the priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
instructed, remembering that God afflicted and then healed Miriam
Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The Tor ...
’s skin after the Israelites left Egypt. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade an Israelite who lent to a fellow Israelite to enter the borrower’s house to seize a pledge, and required the lender to remain outside while the borrower brought the pledge out to the lender. If the borrower was needy, the lender was forbidden to sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
in the pledge, but had to return the pledge to the borrower at sundown, so that the borrower might sleep in the cloth and bless the lender before God. The sixth reading (, ''aliyah'') and a closed portion (, ''setumah'') end here.
Seventh reading — Deuteronomy 24:14–25:19
In the seventh reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses forbade the Israelites to abuse a needy and destitutelaborer
A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
, whether an Israelite or a stranger, and were required to pay the laborer's wages on the same day, before the sun set, as the laborer would depend on the wages. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that parents were not to be put to death for children, nor were children to be put to death for parents; a person was to be put to death only for the person's own crime.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 155.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade the Israelites to subvert the rights of the proselyte or the orphan, and forbade the Israelites to take a widow’s garment in pawn, remembering that they were slaves in Egypt and that God redeemed them. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that when Israelites reaped the harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
in their fields and overlooked a sheaf, they were not to turn back to get it, but were to leave it to the proselyte, the orphan, and the widow.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that when Israelites beat down the fruit of their olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
trees or gathered the grapes of their vineyards, they were not to go over them again, but were leave what remained for the proselyte, the orphan, and the widow, remembering that they were slaves in Egypt. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here with the end of the chapter.
As the reading continues in chapter 25, Moses instructed that when one was to be flogged, the judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
was to have the guilty one lie down and be whipped in his presence, as warranted but with no more than 40 lashes, so that the guilty one would not be degraded. Israelites were forbidden to muzzle an ox while it was threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
.. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that when brothers dwelt together and one of them died leaving no son, the surviving brother was to marry the wife of the deceased and perform the levir's duty, and the first son that she bore was to be accounted to the dead brother, that his name
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...
might survive. But if the surviving brother did not want to marry his brother's widow, then the widow was to appear before the elders at the town gate and declare that the brother refused to perform the levir's duty, the elders were to talk to him, and if he insisted, the widow was to go up to him before the elders, pull the sandal
Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...
off his foot
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
, spit in his face, and declare: "Thus shall be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house!" They would then call him "the family of the unsandaled one." A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Devarim / Deuteronomy'', page 159.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses instructed that if two men fought with each other, and to save her husband the wife of one seized the other man's genitals, then her hand was to be cut off. A closed portion (, ''setumah'') ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Moses forbade Israelites to have alternate weights or measures, larger and smaller, and required them to have completely honest weights and measures. The long first open portion (, ''petuchah'') ends here.
Parashat Zachor
In the maftir () reading of that concludes the parashah, Moses enjoined the Israelites to remember what the Amalekites did to them on their journey, after they left Egypt, surprising them and cutting down all the stragglers at their rear. The Israelites were enjoined never to forget to blot out the memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
of Amalek from under heaven.. The second open portion (, ''petuchah'') ends here with the end of the parashah. This maftir is always read on the Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
that comes before Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
.
Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to thetriennial cycle
The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either
* The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or
* The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...
of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
In ancient parallels
The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:Deuteronomy chapter 25
Presaging the injunction of for honest weights and measures, theCode of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...
decreed that if merchants used a light scale to measure the grain or the silver that they lent and a heavy scale to measure the grain or the silver that they collected, then they were to forfeit their investment.
In inner-biblical interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:Deuteronomy chapters 12–26
ProfessorBenjamin Sommer
Benjamin D. Sommer (Hebrew: בנימין זומר; born July 6, 1964) is an American biblical scholar and Jewish theologian. He is a Professor of Bible at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Instit ...
of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
argued that borrowed whole sections from the earlier text of .
Deuteronomy chapter 21
Paralleling the "double portion" to be inherited by the firstborn son according to , in his last testament,Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
told Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, "I give you one portion more than your brothers."
The punishment of being stoned outside the city, prescribed in for a stubborn and rebellious son, was also the punishment prescribed for blaspheming the name of the Lord in . The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary suggests that "parents are considered God's representatives and invested with a portion of his authority over their children" and therefore refusal to obey the voice of one's father or mother, when they have chastened one, is akin to refusal to honor the name of God. uses the same words, "a glutton and a drunkard," as , which links to the need for obedience to and respect for one's parents: "Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old."
Deuteronomy chapter 22
The instruction in that parallels states that the duty to restore a fallen donkey or ox applies to one's enemy's animals as well as to one's brother's.Deuteronomy chapter 23
recalls the Moabites' refusal to meet the Israelites with bread and water. records the Israelites' request for safe passage and supplies through the land of the Moabites. first mention of the Moabites, reporting that they descended fromLot
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
* Land lot, an area of land
* Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
. Their exclusion in from the Israelite congregation, "to their tenth generation, shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever," was apparently understood as in force in Nehemiah's time (more than ten generations from the occupation of Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
). The text of was read in when the post-exilic Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
was rededicated.
In , the prophet said that he had "neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to imfor interest" in violation of .
Deuteronomy chapter 24
TheHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
reports skin disease (, ''tzara’at'') and a person affected by skin disease (, '' metzora'') at several places, often (and sometimes incorrectly) translated as "leprosy" and "a leper." In , to help Moses to convince others that God had sent him, God instructed Moses to put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, his hand was "leprous (, ''m’tzora’at''), as white as snow." In , the Torah sets out regulations for skin disease (, ''tzara’at'') and a person affected by skin disease (, ''metzora''). In after Miriam spoke against Moses, God's cloud removed from the ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
Tent of Meeting
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
and "Miriam was leprous (, ''m’tzora’at''), as white as snow." In the current parashah, Moses warned the Israelites in the case of skin disease (, ''tzara’at'') diligently to observe all that the priests would teach them, remembering what God did to Miriam (). In 2 Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
, part of the haftarah for parashah Tazria, the prophet Elisha
Elisha ( ; or "God is my salvation", Greek: , ''Elis îos'' or , ''Elisaié,'' Latin: ''Eliseus'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eli ...
cures Naaman
Naaman ( he, נַעֲמָן ''Naʿămān'', "pleasantness") the Aramean was a commander of the armies of Ben-Hadad II, the king of Aram-Damascus, in the time of Joram, king of Israel.
According to the Bible, Naaman was a commander of the army o ...
, the commander of the army of the king of Aram
Aram may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Aram'' (film), 2002 French action drama
* Aram, a fictional character in Japanese manga series '' MeruPuri''
* Aram Quartet, an Italian music group
* ''Aram'' (Kural book), the first of the three ...
, who was a "leper" (, ''metzora''). In , part of the haftarah for parashah Metzora, the story is told of four "leprous men" (, ''m’tzora’im'') at the gate during the Arameans’ siege of Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...
. And in 2 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
, after King Uzziah
Uzziah (; he, עֻזִּיָּהוּ ''‘Uzzīyyāhū'', meaning "my strength is Yah"; el, Ὀζίας; la, Ozias), also known as Azariah (; he, עֲזַרְיָה ''‘Azaryā''; el, Αζαρίας; la, Azarias), was the tenth king of t ...
tried to burn incense in the Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
, "leprosy (, ''tzara’at'') broke forth on his forehead."
an17–22
admonish the Israelites not to wrong the stranger, for "you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt." (See also ; ; ; ; and .) Similarly, in , the 8th century BCE
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
Amos anchored his pronouncements in the covenant community's Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
history, saying, "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt."
In , the prophet used the practice of leaving olives on the boughs and grapes in the vineyard for gleanings (as required by ) as a sign of hope for Israel when he forecast the nation's downfall: "In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane ... yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in its most fruitful branches."
Deuteronomy chapter 25
The duty of a brother pursuant to to perform a Levirate marriage (, ''yibbum'') with the wife of a deceased brother is reflected in the stories of Tamar in and Ruth in ; ; and . Proverbs 11:1 repeats the teaching that "dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord" () as well as those who use them (). The Israelites' victory over the Amalekites and the role of Moses, supported byAaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
and Hur
Hur or HUR may refer to:
People
* Hur (Korean name), also spelled Heo
* Hur (Bible), a number of biblical figures
* Hur-ul-Nisa Begum, first of the fourteen children of Mumtaz Mahal
Places
* Hur, Iran (disambiguation), a number of places
* Hur ...
in directing the battle's outcome, was recorded in , but the Exodus narrative does not mention the Amalekites' tactics of attacking the "faint and weary" at the rear of the Israelites' convoy (). At Moses' direction it was also recorded in another ancient text, possibly the Book of the Wars of the Lord, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." ().
In 1 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
, the prophet Samuel conveys the command of God to King Saul to "punish Amalek for what he did to Israel". Saul "utterly destroyed" the Amalekites; initially he spared Agag their king, but Samuel killed him later.
In early nonrabbinic interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:Deuteronomy chapter 23
The Damascus Document of the Qumran sect prohibited non-cash transactions with Jews who were not members of the sect. Professor Lawrence Schiffman ofNew York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
read this regulation as an attempt to avoid violating prohibitions on charging interest to one's fellow Jew in ; ; and . Apparently, the Qumran sect viewed prevailing methods of conducting business through credit as violating those laws.
Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's deplo ...
read to instruct us to be prompt in our gratitude to God. Philo cited Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
as an example of a "self-loving man" who (in ) showed his gratitude to God too slowly. Philo taught that we should hurry to please God without delay. Thus enjoins, "If you vow a vow, you shall not delay to perform it." Philo explained that a vow is a request to God for good things, and thus enjoins that when one has received them, one must offer gratitude to God as soon as possible. Philo divided those who fail to do so into three types: (1) those who forget the benefits that they have received, (2) those who from an excessive conceit look upon themselves and not God as the authors of what they receive, and (3) those who realize that God caused what they received, but still say that they deserved it, because they are worthy to receive God's favor. Philo taught that Scripture opposes all three. Philo taught that replies to the first group who forget, "Take care, lest when you have eaten and are filled, and when you have built fine houses and inhabited them, and when your flocks and your herds have increased, and when your silver and gold, and all that you possess is multiplied, you be lifted up in your heart, and forget the Lord your God." Philo taught that one does not forget God when one remembers one's own nothingness and God's exceeding greatness. Philo interpreted to reprove those who look upon themselves as the cause of what they have received, telling them: "Say not my own might, or the strength of my right hand has acquired me all this power, but remember always the Lord your God, who gives you the might to acquire power." And Philo read to address those who think that they deserve what they have received when it says, "You do not enter into this land to possess it because of your righteousness, or because of the holiness of your heart; but, in the first place, because of the iniquity of these nations, since God has brought on them the destruction of wickedness; and in the second place, that He may establish the covenant that He swore to our Fathers." Philo interpreted the term "covenant" figuratively to mean God's graces. Thus Philo concluded that if we discard forgetfulness, ingratitude, and self-love, we shall not longer through our delay miss attaining the genuine worship of God, but we shall meet God, having prepared ourselves to do the things that God commands us.
A Dead Sea Scroll
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nort ...
manuscript from Qumran Cave 4, probably dated to the turn of the common era, deduced from that a poor person could eat ears of corn in the field of another person, but was not allowed to take any home. On a threshing-floor, however, the poor person could both eat and gather provisions for his family.
In classical rabbinic interpretation
The parashah is discussed in theserabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
nic sources from the era of the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
:
Deuteronomy chapter 21
Deuteronomy 21:10–14 — the beautiful captive
TheGemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
taught that provided the law of taking a beautiful captive only as an allowance for human passions. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that taking a beautiful captive according to the strictures of was better than taking beautiful captives without restriction, just as it was better for Jews to eat the meat of a ritually slaughtered ill animal than to eat the meat of an ill animal that had died on its own. The Rabbis interpreted the words "and you see among the captives" in to mean that the provisions applied only if the soldier set his eye upon the woman when taking her captive, not later. They interpreted the words "a woman" in to mean that the provisions applied even to a woman who was married before having been taken captive. They interpreted the words "and you have a desire" in to mean that the provisions applied even if the woman was not beautiful. They interpreted the word "her" in to mean that the provisions allowed him to take her alone, not her and her companion. They interpreted the words "and you shall take" in to mean that the soldier could have marital rights over her. They interpreted the words "to you to wife" in to mean that the soldier could not take two women, one for himself and another for his father, or one for himself and another for his son. And they interpreted the words "then you shall bring her home" in to mean that the soldier could not molest her on the battlefield. Rav
''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that:
The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...
said that permitted a priest to take a beautiful captive, while Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
maintained that it was forbidden.
A Baraita taught that the words of , "And you carry them away captive," were meant to include Canaanites who lived outside the land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, teaching that if they repented, they would be accepted.
The Gemara taught that the procedure of applied only when the captive did not accept the commandments, for if she accepted the commandments, then she could be immersed in a ritual bath (, ''mikveh
Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
''), and she and the soldier could marry immediately. Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Hyrcanus ( he, אליעזר בן הורקנוס) was one of the most prominent Sages (tannaim) of the 1st and 2nd centuries in Judea, disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben ZakkaiAvot of Rabbi Natan 14:5 and colleague of Gamaliel ...
interpreted the words "and she shall shave her head and do her nails" in to mean that she was to cut her nails, but Rabbi Akiva interpreted the words to mean that she was to let them grow. Rabbi Eliezer reasoned that specified an act with respect to the head and an act with respect to the nails, and as the former meant removal, so should the latter. Rabbi Akiva reasoned that specified disfigurement for the head, so it must mean disfigurement for the nails, as well.
Rabbi Eliezer interpreted the words "bewail her father and her mother" in to mean her actual father and mother. But Rabbi Akiva interpreted the words to mean idolatry, citing . A Baraita taught that "a full month" meant 30 days. But Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar interpreted to call for 90 days — 30 days for "month," 30 days for "full," and 30 days for "and after that." Rabina said that one could say that "month" meant 30 days, "full" meant 30 days, and "and after that" meant an equal number (30 plus 30) again, for a total of 120 days.
Deuteronomy 21:15–17 — inheritance among the sons of two wives
The Mishnah and the Talmud interpreted the laws of the firstborn's inheritance in in tractatesBava Batra
Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...
and Bekhorot
150px, Pidyon haben
Bekorot (Hebrew: בכורות, "First-borns") is the name of a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud which discusses the laws of first-born animals and humans. It is one of the tractates forming ''Seder Kodashim'' (Hebrew סד ...
. The Mishnah interpreted to teach that a son and a daughter have equal inheritance rights, except that a firstborn son takes a double portion in his father's estate but does not take a double portion in his mother's estate. The Mishnah taught that they disregarded a father who said, "My firstborn son shall not inherit a double portion," or "My son shall not inherit with his brothers," because the father's stipulation would be contrary to . But a father could distribute his property as gifts during his lifetime so that one son received more than another, or so that the firstborn received merely an equal share, so long as the father did not try to make these conveyances as an inheritance upon his death.
The Gemara recounted a discussion regarding the right of the firstborn in . Once Rabbi Jannai was walking, leaning on the shoulder of Rabbi Simlai his attendant, and Rabbi Judah the Prince came to meet them. Rabbi Judah the Prince asked Rabbi Jannai what the Scriptural basis was for the proposition that a son takes precedence over a daughter in the inheritance of a mother's estate. Rabbi Jannai replied that the plural use of the term "tribes" in the discussion of the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad
The Daughters of Zelophehad ( he, בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד ''Bənōṯ Ṣəlāfəḥāḏ'') were five sisters – Mahlah (מַחְלָה ''Maḥlā''), Noa (נֹעָה ''Nōʿā''), Hoglah (חָגְלָה ''Ḥoglā''), Milcah (מִל ...
in indicates that the mother's tribe is to be compared to the father's tribe, and as in the case of the father's tribe, a son takes precedence over a daughter, so in the case of the mother's tribe, a son should take precedence over a daughter. Rabbi Judah the Prince challenged Rabbi Jannai, saying that if it this were so, one could say that as in the case of the father's tribe, a firstborn takes a double portion, so in the case of the mother's tribe would a firstborn take a double portion. Rabbi Jannai dismissed the remark of Rabbi Judah the Prince. The Gemara then inquired why it is true that a firstborn son takes a double share in his father's estate but not his mother's. Abaye replied that says, "of all that he he fatherhas," implying all that "he" (the father) has and not all that "she" (the mother) has. The Gemara asked whether the proposition that a firstborn son takes a double portion only in the estate of his father might apply only in the case where a bachelor married a widow (who had children from her first marriage, and thus the father's firstborn son was not that of the mother). And thus where a bachelor married a virgin (so that the firstborn son of the father would also be the firstborn son of the mother) might the firstborn son also take a double portion in his mother's estate? Rav Naḥman bar Isaac replied that says, "for he he firstborn sonis the first-fruits of his he father’sstrength," from which we can infer that the law applies to the first fruits of the father's strength and not the first-fruits of the mother's strength. The Gemara replied that teaches that though a son was born after a miscarriage (and thus did not "open the womb" and is not regarded as a firstborn son for purposes of "sanctification to the Lord" and "redemption from the priest" in ) he is nonetheless regarded as the firstborn son for purposes of inheritance. thus implies that only the son for whom the father's heart grieves is included in the law, but a miscarriage, for which the father's heart does not grieve, is excluded. (And thus, since is necessary for this deduction, it could not have been meant for the proposition that the law applies to the first fruits of the father's strength and not of the mother's strength.) But then the Gemara reasoned that if is necessary for excluding miscarriages, then should have read, "for he is the first-fruits of strength," but in fact says, "''his'' strength." Thus one may deduce two laws from . But the Gemara objected further that still that the words of , "the first-fruits of ''his'' he father’sstrength," not ''her'' strength, might apply only to the case of a widower (who had children from his first wife) who married a virgin (since the first son from the second marriage would be only the wife's firstborn, not the husband's). But where a bachelor married a virgin (and thus the son would be the firstborn of both the father and the mother), the firstborn son might take a double portion also in his mother's estate. But Rava concluded that states, "the right of the firstborn is his he father’s" and this indicates that the right of the firstborn applies to a man's estate and not to a woman's.
A Midrash told that the Ishmaelites came before Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
to dispute the birthright with Israel, accompanied by the Canaanites and the Egyptians. The Ishmaelites based their claim on , "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated," and Ishmael was the firstborn. Gebiah the son of Kosem representing the Jews, asked Alexander whether a man could not do as he wished to his sons. When Alexander replied that a man could, Gebiah quoted , "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." The Ishmaelites asked where the deed of gift to his other sons was. Gebiah replied by quoting , "But to the sons of the concubines, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts." Thereupon the Ishmaelites departed in shame.
Deuteronomy 21:18–21 — the wayward son
Chapter 8 of tractateSanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the above laws of the wayward and rebellious son (, ''ben sorer umoreh''; see under the Hebrew article re the terminology) in . A Baraita taught that there never was a "stubborn and rebellious son" and never would be, and that was written merely that we might study it and receive reward for the studying (see also under ''Ir nidachat
The Ir nidachat (Hebrew: עיר נידחת; the "city led astray") is a Mitzvah, biblical command on idolatry in Deuteronomy]13:13-19
If the inhabitants of an Israelites, Israelite city become Idolatry, idolaters, they and their livestock must be ...
''). But Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan (Hebrew: רבי יונתן, ''Rabi Yonatan'') was a '' tanna'' of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted.
Jonathan is generally so cited within
further designation; but there is ample re ...
said that he saw a stubborn and rebellious son and sat on his grave.
The Mishnah interpreted the words "a son" in to teach that provision applied to "a son," but not a daughter, and to "a son," but not a full-grown man. The Mishnah exempted a minor, because minors did not come within the scope of the commandments. And the Mishnah deduced that a boy became liable to being considered "a stubborn and rebellious son" from the time that he grew two genital pubic hairs until his pubic hair grew around his genitalia. Rav Judah taught in Rav
''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that:
The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...
's name that implied that the son had to be nearly a man.
The Mishnah interpreted the words of to exclude from designation as a "stubborn and rebellious son" a boy who had a parent with any of a number of physical characteristics. The Mishnah interpreted the words "then his father and his mother shall lay hold on him" to exclude a boy if one of his parents had a hand or fingers cut off. The Mishnah interpreted the words "and bring him out" to exclude a boy who had a lame parent. The Mishnah interpreted the words "and they shall say" to exclude a boy who had a parent who could not speak. The Mishnah interpreted the words "this our son" to exclude a boy who had a blind parent. The Mishnah interpreted the words "he will not obey our voice" to exclude a boy who had a deaf parent.
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 — dignity in death
Interpreting , the Mishnah taught that they would hang a transgressor for only a very short time, and then immediately untie the corpse. The Mishnah taught that leaving the corpse hanging overnight would transgress and desecrate the name of Heaven, reminding everybody of the deceased's transgression. TheTosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
taught that in order to fulfill the commandment of hanging the transgressor, one person tied as another person untied. Reading , Rabbi Meir compared the situation to two brothers who were very similar to each other. One was the master of the whole world and the other was bandit. They caught the bandit and crucified him, and everyone who passed by said that it seemed as though the master had been crucified! Therefore says “he that is hanged is a reproach to God." In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Meir compared it to two brothers who were twins and lived in the same city. One was appointed king, while the other became a bandit. The king commanded that his brother be punished, and they hanged the bandit brother for his crimes. Anyone who saw the bandit hanging would say that the king had been hanged. The king, therefore, commanded that his brother be taken down. In the Mishnah, Rabbi Meir said that the phrase in , "for he that is hung is a curse (, ''kilelat'') of God," should be understood to tell that when a transgressor suffers in the wake of the transgressor's sin, the Divine Presence says, "I am distressed (, ''kallani'') about My head, I am distressed about My arm," meaning, "I, too, suffer when the wicked are punished." If God suffers such distress over the blood of the wicked, even though they justly deserved their punishment, one can infer ''a fortiori'' that God suffers distress over the blood of the righteous.
Deuteronomy chapter 22
The first two chapters of Tractate Bava Metzia in the Mishnah, Tosefta,Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of lost property in . The Mishnah read the reference to "your brother’s ox or his sheep" in to apply to any domestic animal. The Mishnah read the emphatic words of , "you shall surely return them," repeating the verb "return" in the Hebrew, to teach that required a person to return a neighbor's animal again and again, even if the animal kept running away four or five times. And Rava taught that required a person to return the animal even a hundred times.Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 31ain, e.g., Hersh Goldwurm, editor, ''Talmud Bavli: Tractate Bava Metzia: Volume 1'', volume 41, page 31a. If one found an identifiable item and the identity of the owner was unknown, the Mishnah taught that the finder was required to announce it.
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishn ...
taught that the finder was obliged to announce it until his neighbors could know of it. Rabbi Judah
Judah bar Ilai (), also known as Yehuda bar Ma'arava (, lit. "Judah of the West") and Rabbi Judah, was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of tannaim). Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" a ...
maintained that the finder had to announce it until three festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
had passed plus an additional seven days after the last festival, allowing three days for going home, three days for returning, and one day for announcing.
A Baraita cited among affirmative precepts not limited to time those regarding returning lost property in , the dismissal of the mother bird in , and the building of fences around accessible roofs in .
Rava taught that , “And so shall you do with every lost item of your brother,” serves to include an obligation to protect one's brother from the loss of his land. Rav Ḥananya replied that a Baraita taught that if one saw water that is flowing and coming to inundate another's field, one must establish a barrier before the water in order to preserve the other's field.
The Mishnah read the emphatic words of and to teach that these verses required people to help lift a neighbor's animal even if they lifted it, it fell again, and again, even five times. If the owner sat down and said, "Since the commandment is on you, if you wish to unload, unload," one was not obligated, for says "with him." But if the owner was aged or sick, one was obligated to lift even without the owner's help. The Gemara concluded that and require people to prevent suffering to animals. And the Gemara argued that when the Mishnah exempts the passerby when the owner does not participate in unloading the burden, it means that the passerby is exempt from unloading the burden for free, but is obligated to do so for remuneration.
Chapter 12 of tractate Chullin in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of sending the mother bird away from the nest (, '' shiluach hakein'') in . The Mishnah read to require a person to let the mother bird go again and again, even if the mother bird kept coming back to the nest four or five times. And the Gemara taught that required a person to let the mother bird go even a hundred times.
Tractate Kilayim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of separating diverse species in .
The Mishnah employed the prohibitions of , , and to imagine how one could with one action violate up to nine separate commandments. One could (1) plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together (in violation of ) (2 and 3) that are two animals dedicated to the sanctuary, (4) plowing mixed seeds sown in a vineyard (in violation of ), (5) during a Sabbatical year (in violation of ), (6) on a Festival-day (in violation of, for example, ), (7) when the plower is a priest (in violation of ) and (8) a Nazirite (in violation of ) plowing in a contaminated place. Chananya ben Chachinai said that the plower also may have been wearing a garment of wool and linen (in violation of and ). They said to him that this would not be in the same category as the other violations. He replied that neither is the Nazirite in the same category as the other violations.
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression "statute" (, ''chok'') in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother's wife (in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
(in ), and (4) the red cow (in ).
calls on the Israelites to obey God's "statutes" (, ''chukim'') 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" (, ''chukim'') were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to , ''shaatnez
''Shatnez'' (or ''shaatnez'', ; he, ) is cloth containing both wool and linen (linsey-woolsey), which Jewish law, derived from the Torah, prohibits wearing. The relevant biblical verses ( and ) prohibit wearing wool and linen fabrics in one ...
'' (in and ); , ''chalitzah
''Halizah'' (or ''chalitzah''; he, חליצה) is, under the Hebrew Bible, biblical system of levirate marriage known as ''yibbum'', the process by which a childless widow and a brother of her deceased husband may avoid the duty to marry.
The p ...
'' (in ); purification of the person with skin disease, , ''tzara’at'' (in ), and the scapegoat (in ). So that people do not think these "ordinances" (, ''mishpatim'') to be empty acts, in , God says, "I am the Lord," indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them.
Similarly, reading , "My ordinances (, ''mishpatai'') shall you do, and My statutes (, ''chukotai'') shall you keep," the Sifra
Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim", a ...
distinguished "ordinances" (, ''mishpatim'') from "statutes" (, ''chukim''). The term "ordinances" (, ''mishpatim''), taught the Sifra, refers to rules that even had they not been written in the Torah, it would have been entirely logical to write them, like laws pertaining to theft, sexual immorality, idolatry, blasphemy and murder. The term "statutes" (, ''chukim''), taught the Sifra, refers to those rules that the impulse to do evil (, '' yetzer hara'') and the nations of the world try to undermine, like eating pork (prohibited by and ), wearing wool-linen mixtures (, ''shatnez
''Shatnez'' (or ''shaatnez'', ; he, ) is cloth containing both wool and linen (linsey-woolsey), which Jewish law, derived from the Torah, prohibits wearing. The relevant biblical verses ( and ) prohibit wearing wool and linen fabrics in o ...
'', prohibited by and ), release from levirate marriage (, ''chalitzah'', mandated by ), purification of a person affected by skin disease (, ''metzora'', regulated in ), and the goat sent off into the wilderness (the scapegoat, regulated in ). In regard to these, taught the Sifra, the Torah says simply that God legislated them and we have no right to raise doubts about them.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah taught that people should not say that they do not want to wear a wool-linen mixture (, ''shatnez'', prohibited by and ), eat pork (prohibited by and ), or be intimate with forbidden partners (prohibited by and ), but rather should say that they would love to, but God has decreed that they not do so. For in , God says, "I have separated you from the nations to be mine." So one should separate from transgression and accept the rule of Heaven.
The Mishnah taught that the fines for rape, seduction, the husband who falsely accused his bride of not having been a virgin (as in ), and any judicial court matter are not canceled by the Sabbatical year.
Chapter 3 of tractate Ketubot
A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a Jewish views of marriage, traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the b ...
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of seducers and rapists in .
Deuteronomy chapter 23
Interpreting , "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord," the Mishnah taught that whereas an Ammonite and a Moabite are forbidden to enter into the congregation of Israel, their women are permitted immediately (following conversion). The Babylonian Talmud reported that Rava said that this tradition came from the prophet Samuel, and it thus allowedDavid
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(whom reports descended from Ruth the Moabite) and his family to marry into the Israelite congregation.
Elsewhere, the Mishnah reported that an Ammonite convert named Judah came to the house of study and asked whether he could join the assembly. Rabban Gamaliel forbade him, but Rabbi Joshua permitted him. Rabban Gamaliel quoted , "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord." But Rabbi Joshua asked whether the Ammonites or Moabites were still in their own territory, as Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had long before conquered and mingled all the nations, as reports. So they permitted the Ammonite to enter the assembly.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that all of Balaam's curses, which God turned into blessings, reverted to curses (and Balaam's intention was eventually fulfilled), except for Balaam's blessing of Israel's synagogues and schoolhouses, for says, "But the Lord your God turned the ''curse'' into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you," using the singlular "curse," and not the plural "curses" (so that God turned only the first intended curse permanently into a blessing, that concerning synagogues and school-houses, which are destined never to disappear from Israel). Rabbi Johanan Yohanan, Yochanan and Johanan are various transliterations to the Latin alphabet of the Hebrew male given name ('), a shortened form of ('), meaning "YHWH is gracious".
The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of the Se ...
taught that God reversed every curse that Balaam intended into a blessing. Thus Balaam wished to curse the Israelites to have no synagogues or school-houses, for , "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob," refers to synagogues and school-houses. Balaam wished that the Shechinah
Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a plac ...
should not rest upon the Israelites, for in , "and your tabernacles, O Israel," the Tabernacle symbolizes the Divine Presence. Balaam wished that the Israelites’ kingdom should not endure, for , "As the valleys are they spread forth," symbolizes the passing of time. Balaam wished that the Israelites might have no olive trees and vineyards, for in , he said, "as gardens by the river's side." Balaam wished that the Israelites’ smell might not be fragrant, for in , he said, "as the trees of lign aloes that the Lord has planted." Balaam wished that the Israelites’ kings might not be tall, for in , he said, "and as cedar trees beside the waters." Balaam wished that the Israelites might not have a king who was the son of a king (and thus that they would have unrest and civil war), for in , he said, "He shall pour the water out of his buckets," signifying that one king would descend from another. Balaam wished that the Israelites’ kingdom might not rule over other nations, for in , he said, "and his seed shall be in many waters." Balaam wished that the Israelites’ kingdom might not be strong, for in , he said, "and his king shall be higher than Agag. Balaam wished that the Israelites’ kingdom might not be awe-inspiring, for in , he said, "and his kingdom shall be exalted.
Rabbi Jose noted that the law of rewarded the Egyptians for their hospitality notwithstanding that indicated that the Egyptians befriended the Israelites only for their own benefit. Rabbi Jose concluded that if Providence thus rewarded one with mixed motives, Providence will reward even more one who selflessly shows hospitality to a scholar.
Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman ( he, שמואל בן נחמן) or Samuel arNahmani ( he, שמואל רנחמני) was a rabbi of the Talmud, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century until the beginning of the ...
compared the laws of camp hygiene in to the case of a High Priest who was walking on the road and met a layman who wanted to walk with him. The High Priest answered the layman that he was a priest and needed to go along a ritually clean path, and that it would thus not be proper for him to walk among graves. The High Priest said that if the layman would come with the priest, it was well and good, but if not, the priest would eventually have to leave the layman and go his own way. So Moses told the Israelites, in the words of , "The Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you."
Rabbi Eleazar ben Perata taught that manna counteracted the ill effects of foreign foods on the Israelites. But the Gemara taught after the Israelites complained about the manna in , God burdened the Israelites with the walk of three parasangs to get outside their camp to answer the call of nature. And it was then that the command of , "And you shall have a paddle among your weapons," began to apply to the Israelites.
The Mishnah taught that a red cow born by a caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
, the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog was invalid for the purposes of . Rabbi Eliezer ruled it valid, as states, "You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God," and the red cow was not brought into the house.
In part by reference to , the Gemara interpreted the words in , "This is the law of the burnt-offering: It is that which goes up on its firewood upon the altar all night into the morning." From the passage, "which goes up on its firewood upon the altar all night," the Rabbis deduced that once a thing had been placed upon the altar, it could not be taken down all night. Rabbi Judah taught that the words "''This'' . . . goes up on . . . the altar all night" exclude three things. According to Rabbi Judah, they exclude (1) an animal slaughtered at night, (2) an animal whose blood was spilled, and (3) an animal whose blood was carried out beyond the curtains. Rabbi Judah taught that if any of these things had been placed on the altar, it was brought down. Rabbi Simeon noted that says "burnt-offering." From this, Rabbi Simeon taught that one can only know that a fit burnt-offering remained on the altar. But Rabbi Simeon taught that the phrase "the law of the burnt-offering" intimates one law for all burnt-offerings, namely, that if they were placed on the altar, they were not removed. Rabbi Simeon taught that this law applied to animals that were slaughtered at night, or whose blood was spilt, or whose blood passed out of the curtains, or whose flesh spent the night away from the altar, or whose flesh went out, or were unclean, or were slaughtered with the intention of burning its flesh after time or out of bounds, or whose blood was received and sprinkled by unfit priests, or whose blood was applied below the scarlet line when it should have been applied above, or whose blood was applied above when it should have been applied below, or whose blood was applied outside when it should have been applied within, or whose blood was applied within when it should have been applied outside, or a Passover-offering or a sin-offering that one slaughtered for a different purpose. Rabbi Simeon suggested that one might think that law would also include an animal used for bestiality, set aside for an idolatrous sacrifice or worshipped, a harlot's hire or the price of a dog (as referred to in ), or a mixed breed, or a ''trefah'' (a torn or otherwise disqualified animal), or an animal calved through the cesarean section. But Rabbi Simeon taught that the word "''This''" serves to exclude these. Rabbi Simeon explained that he included the former in the general rule because their disqualification arose in the sanctuary, while he excluded the latter because their disqualification did not arise in the sanctuary.
Tractates Nedarim
In Judaism, a neder (נדר, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept o ...
and Shevuot
Shevu'ot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, "Oaths") is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oaths in halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also tra ...
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of vows and oaths in , and , , and .
The Rabbis taught that Providence examines one's record of deeds on three occasions: (1) if one goes on a journey alone, (2) if one sits in an unstable house, and (3) if one vows and does not fulfill one's vow. The Midrash taught that we know about the problem of vowing and not paying from , “When you vow a vow to the Lord your God, you shalt not be slack to pay it”; and from , “It is a snare to a man rashly to say, ‘Holy,’ and after vows to make inquiry.” If one delays paying one’s vow, Providence examines one’s record, and the angels assume a prosecutorial stance, and scrutinize one’s sins. The Midrash illustrated this by noting that when Jacob left Canaan for to Aram-Naharaim, reports, “Jacob made a vow.” Then he became wealthy, returned, and did not pay his vow. So God brought Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
against him, bent on killing Jacob, and Esau took a huge gift from him of the 200 goats and other gifts reported in , yet Jacob did not fulfill his vow. So God brought the angel against him, and the angel wrestled with Jacob but did not kill him, as reports, “Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” The Midrash taught that it was Samael, Esau's guardian angel, who wanted to kill him, as reports, “He saw that he could not prevail against him.” But Jacob left disabled. And when Jacob still did not pay his vow, the trouble with Dinah
In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
came upon him, as reported in . When Jacob still did not pay his vow, as reports, “ Rachel died and was buried.” Then God asked how long Jacob would take punishment and not pay attention to the sin for which he suffered. So God told Jacob to go to Bethel, make an altar there, at the very place where Jacob vowed to God.
Tractate Bava Metzia in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of regarding eating the fruit of another's vineyard or field. The Mishnah taught that a worker could eat cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.
s or dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
*Play date, an ...
even to a denar's worth. Rabbi Elazar ben Hisma said that a worker could not eat more than the value of the worker's wages. But the Sages allowed a worker to do so, but advised that they teach the worker not to be so gluttonous as to close the door against the worker's own future employment. The Tosefta taught that workers were allowed to eat bread with brine (before working) so that they would (get thirsty and) eat a lot of grapes. But the employer was also allowed to give the workers wine to drink so that they would not eat a lot of grapes. And the Tosefta taught that workers who guarded four or five cucumber patches should not fill their bellies from only one of the patches, but should eat a bit from each patch in proportion The Jerusalem Talmud asked whether applied to anybody who wandered into a field
and began to eat. Thus, goes on say, “But you shall not wave a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain,” and this encompasses only one who had permission to wave a sickle in the neighbor's standing grain, and that must mean a worker. Issi ben Aqabiah, however, said that Scripture speaks of anybody who enters the field, not just workers. The Jerusalem Talmud explained that says, "But you shall not wave a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain," to teach that one has the right to eat from the crop only
during the time that the sickle is being waved, that is, harvest time. In the Babylonian Talmud, however, Rav objected that Issi's view would not let any farmer remain in business. Interpreting the words "until you have enough" in , the Gemara in the Babylonian Talmud taught that a worker was not to eat excessively. Interpreting the words "but you shall not put any in your vessel", the Gemara taught that the worker was not to put any in a vessel to take home.
Deuteronomy chapter 24
Tractate Gittin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of divorce in .
The Mishnah interpreted the prohibition of , "No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge," to teach that a creditor who took a mill as security for a loan transgressed a negative commandment and was guilty on account of two forbidden utensils. The Mishnah interpreted to prohibit a creditor from taking in security not only millstones, but everything employed in the preparation of food for human consumption. For the continuation of says of the creditor, "for he takes a man's life to pledge" (and the debtor needs such utensils to prepare the food necessary to sustain life).
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "there was no water in it," to teach that there was no recognition of Torah in the pit into which Joseph's brothers cast him, as Torah is likened to water, as says, "everyone that thirsts, come for water." For the Torah (in ) says, "If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel . . . and sell him, then that thief shall die," and yet Joseph's brothers sold their brother.
The Gemara read the emphatic words of , "you shall surely restore . . . the pledge," repeating the verb in the Hebrew, to teach that required a lender to restore the pledge whether or not the lender took the pledge with the court's permission. And the Gemara taught that the Torah provided similar injunctions in and to teach that a lender had to return a garment worn during the day before sunrise, and return a garment worn during the night before sunset.
Rabbi Eliezer the Great taught that the Torah warns against wronging a stranger in 36, or others say 46, places (including an17–22
. The Gemara went on to cite Rabbi Nathan's interpretation of , "You shall neither wrong a stranger, nor oppress him; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt," to teach that one must not taunt one's neighbor about a flaw that one has oneself. The Gemara taught that thus a proverb says: If there is a case of hanging in a person's family history, do not say to the person, "Hang up this fish for me." The Mishnah interpreted and to teach that a worker engaged by the day could collect the worker's wages all of the following night. If engaged by the night, the worker could collect the wages all of the following day. If engaged by the hour, the worker could collect the wages all that day and night. If engaged by the week, month, year, or 7-year period, if the worker's time expired during the day, the worker could collect the wages all that day. If the worker's time expired during the night, the worker could collect the wages all that night and the following day. The Mishnah taught that the hire of persons, animals, or utensils were all subject to the law of that "in the same day you shall give him his hire" and the law of that "the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with you all night until the morning." The employer became liable only when the worker or vendor demanded payment from the employer. Otherwise, the employer did not infringe the law. If the employer gave the worker or vendor a draft on a shopkeeper or a money changer, the employer complied with the law. A worker who claimed the wages within the set time could collect payment if the worker merely swore that the employer had not yet paid. But if the set time had passed, the worker's oath was insufficient to collect payment. Yet if the worker had witnesses that the worker had demanded payment (within the set time), the worker could still swear and receive payment.Mishnah Bava Metzia 9:12
in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, ''Mishnah'', pages 554–55
Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 111a
The Mishnah taught that the employer of a resident alien was subject to the law of that "in the same day you shall give him his hire" (as refers to the stranger), but not to the law of that "the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with you all night until the morning." The Gemara reconciled apparently discordant verses touching on vicarious responsibility. The Gemara noted that states: "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin," but (20:5 in NJPS) says: "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children." The Gemara cited a Baraita that interpreted the words "the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them" in to teach that God punishes children only when they follow their parents’ sins. The Gemara then questioned whether the words "they shall stumble one upon another" in do not teach that one will stumble through the sin of the other, that all are held responsible for one another. The Gemara answered that the vicarious responsibility of which speaks is limited to those who have the power to restrain their fellow from evil but do not do so. Reading the words of , "You shall not take a widow’s raiment to pledge," the Mishnah taught that a person may not take a pledge from a widow whether she is rich or poor. The Gemara explained that Rabbi Judah (reading the text literally) expounded the view that no pledge may be taken from her whether she is rich or poor. Rabbi Simeon, however, (addressing the purpose of the text) taught that a wealthy widow was subject to distraint, but not a poor one, for the creditor was bound (by ) to return the pledge to her, and would bring her into disrepute among her neighbors (by her frequent visits to the creditor).
Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corner of the field and gleanings to be given to the poor in and , and .
The Mishnah taught that the Torah defines no minimum or maximum for the donation of the corners of one's field to the poor. But the Mishnah also taught that one should not make the amount left to the poor less than one-sixtieth of the entire crop. And even though no definite amount is given, the amount given should accord with the size of the field, the number of poor people, and the extent of the yield.
Rabbi Eliezer taught that one who cultivates land in which one can plant a quarter ''kav
Kaspersky Anti-Virus (russian: Антивирус Касперского (''Antivirus Kasperskogo''); formerly known as ''AntiViral Toolkit Pro''; often referred to as KAV) is a proprietary antivirus program developed by Kaspersky Lab. It is des ...
'' of seed is obligated to give a corner to the poor. Rabbi Joshua
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...
said land that yields two '' seah'' of grain. Rabbi Tarfon
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon ( he, רבי טרפון, from the Greek Τρύφων ''Tryphon''), a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the f ...
said land of at least six handbreadths by six handbreadths. Rabbi Judah ben Betera said land that requires two strokes of a sickle to harvest, and the law is as he spoke. Rabbi Akiva said that one who cultivates land of any size is obligated to give a corner to the poor and the first fruits
First Fruits is a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions, the first fruits were given to priests as an offering to deity. In Christian faiths, the tithe is similarly g ...
.
The Mishnah taught that the poor could enter a field to collect three times a day — in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon. Rabban Gamliel Gamaliel (''Heb.'' גמליאל), also spelled Gamliel, is a Hebrew name meaning "God (אל) is my (י-) reward/recompense (גמל)" indicating the loss of one or more earlier children in the family. A number of influential individuals have had the ...
taught that they said this only so that landowners should not reduce the number of times that the poor could enter. Rabbi Akiva taught that they said this only so that landowners should not increase the number of times that the poor had to enter. The landowners of Beit Namer used to harvest along a rope and allowed the poor to collect a corner from every row.
The Mishnah defined “a defective cluster (, ''olelet'')” within the meaning of and to mean any cluster that had neither a shoulder nor a dangling portion (but rather was entirely attached to the main stem). If the cluster had a shoulder or a dangling portion, it belonged to the property owner, but if there was a doubt, it belonged to the poor. A cluster that was attached to the joint between branches or the stem and the trunk, if it was plucked with the grape cluster, it belonged to the property owner; if not, it belonged to the poor. Rabbi Judah said that a single-grape cluster was a cluster, but the Sages said that it was a defective cluster (and thus belonged to the poor).
The Mishnah taught that if a wife foreswore all benefit from other people, her husband could not annul his wife's vow, but she could still benefit from the gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corner of the field that and , and commanded farmers to leave for the poor.
Noting that the discussion of gifts to the poor in appears between discussions of the festivals — Passover and Shavuot on one side, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on the other — Rabbi Avardimos ben Rabbi Yossi said that this teaches that people who give immature clusters of grapes (as in and ), the forgotten sheaf (as in ), the corner of the field (as in and ), and the poor tithe (as in and ) is accounted as if the Temple existed and they offered up their sacrifices in it. And for those who do not give to the poor, it is accounted to them as if the Temple existed and they did not offer up their sacrifices in it.
Deuteronomy chapter 25
Tractate Yevamot in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of levirate marriage (, ''yibbum'') in . Interpreting the laws of Levirite marriage (, ''yibbum'') under , the Gemara read to address a Hebrew slave who married the Master's Canaanite slave, and deduced from that the children of such a marriage were also considered Canaanite slaves and thus that their lineage flowed from their mother, not their father. The Gemara used this analysis of to explain whMishnah Yevamot 2:5
taught that the son of a Canaanite slave mother does not impose the obligation of Levirite marriage (, ''yibbum'') under . Chapter 3 in tractate
Makkot
Makot (in Hebrew: מכות) (in English: "Lashes") is a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the order of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of the Jewish courts (beis din) and the punishments which they may adminis ...
in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of punishment by lashes in .
The Gemara interpreted to teach that both one's wealth and one's necessities depend on one's honesty.
Reading , Rabbi Levi taught that blessed actions bless those who are responsible for them, and cursed actions curse those who are responsible for them. The Midrash interpreted the words of , "A perfect and just weight you shall have," to mean that if one acts justly, one will have something to take and something to give, something to buy and something to sell. Conversely, the Midrash read to teach, "You shall not have (possessions if there are) in your bag diverse weights, a great and a small. You shall not have (possessions if there are) in your house diverse measures, a great and a small." Thus, if one does employ deceitful measures, one will not have anything to take or give, to buy or sell. The Midrash taught that God tells businesspeople that they "may not make" one measure great and another small, but if they do, they "will not make" a profit. The Midrash likened this commandment to that of (20:20 in the NJPS) "You shall not make with Me gods of silver, or gods of gold, you shall not make," for if a person did make gods of silver and gold, then that person would not be able to afford to have even gods of wood or stone.
Rabbi Levi taught that the punishment for false weights or measures (discussed at ) was more severe than that for having intimate relations with forbidden relatives (discussed at ). For in discussing the case of forbidden relatives, uses the Hebrew word , ''eil'', for the word "these," whereas in the case of false weights or measures, uses the Hebrew word , ''eileh'', for the word "these" (and the additional , ''eh'' at the end of the word implies additional punishment.) The Gemara taught that one can derive that , ''eil'', implies rigorous punishment from , which says, "And the mighty (, ''eilei'') of the land he took away." The Gemara explained that the punishments for giving false measures are greater than those for having relations with forbidden relatives because for forbidden relatives, repentance is possible (as long as there have not been children), but with false measure, repentance is impossible (as one cannot remedy the sin of robbery by mere repentance; the return of the things robbed must precede it, and in the case of false measures, it is practically impossible to find out all the members of the public who have been defrauded).
Rabbi Hiyya taught that the words of , "You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment," apply to judgment in law. But a Midrash noted that already mentioned judgment in law, and questioned why would state the same proposition again and why uses the words, "in judgment, in measures." The Midrash deduced that teaches that a person who measures is called a judge, and one who falsifies measurements is called by the five names "unrighteous," "hated," "repulsive," "accursed," and an "abomination," and is the cause of these five evils. Rabbi Banya said in the name of Rav Huna that the government comes and attacks that generation whose measures are false. The Midrash found support for this from , "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord," which is followed by , "When presumption comes, then comes shame." Reading , "Shall I be pure with wicked balances?" Rabbi Berekiah
R. Berekiah (or R. Berekhyah; he, רבי ברכיה, read as ''Rabbi Berekhyah'') was an '' Amora'' of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ' ...
said in the name of Rabbi Abba that it is impossible for a generation whose measures are false to be meritorious, for continues, "And with a bag of deceitful weights" (showing that their holdings would be merely illusory). Rabbi Levi taught that Moses also hinted to Israel that a generation with false measures would be attacked. warns, "You shall not have in your bag diverse weights . . . you shall not have in your house diverse measures." But if one does, one will be attacked, as , reports, "For all who do such things, even all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God," and then immediately following, says, "Remember what Amalek did to you (attacking Israel) by the way as you came forth out of Egypt."
Rabbi Judah said that three commandments were given to the Israelites when they entered the land: (1) the commandment of to appoint a king, (2) the commandment of to blot out Amalek, and (3) the commandment of to build the Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
. Rabbi Nehorai, on the other hand, said that did not command the Israelites to choose a king, but was spoken only in anticipation of the Israelites’ future complaints, as says, "And (you) shall say, ‘I will set a king over me.’"
In medieval Jewish interpretation
The parashah is discussed in thesemedieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Jewish sources:
Deuteronomy chapter 22
Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that the commandment of to return lost property appears in the Torah portion that begins in , “When you go forth to battle” (, ''ki tetze la-milchamah''), to teach that the duty to return lost property applies even in a time of war.
Reading , Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
taught that if a person sees a lost object and the person's father says not to return it, the person should return it instead of obeying the person's father. For by obeying the father and fulfilling the positive commandment “Honor your father” in , the person would violate the positive commandment “And you shall certainly return it,” as well as the negative commandment “You may not ignore it.” And reading , “''All'' objects lost by your colleague,” Maimonides taught that if a person sees flood waters coming that will ruin a building or a field belonging to a colleague, the person is obligated to put up a barrier before the waters to check them. Maimonides said that the mention of “All” in includes the devastation of property.
Maimonides wrote that the object of the law of restoring lost property to its owner in is plain. In the first instance, it is in itself a good feature in a person's character. Secondly, its benefit is mutual: For if a person does not return the lost property of another, nobody will restore to the person what the person may lose, just as those who do not honor their parents cannot expect to be honored by their children.
The '' Sefer ha-Chinuch'' also taught that the root of is plain — as there is in it a benefit to all, and to the ordering of the state, as all people are forgetful, and their animals flee here and there. The ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' argued that with this commandment in place, beasts and vessels will be safe anywhere in the holy land as if they were under the hand of their owners.
Nachmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
noted that says “your brother’s,” while the parallel commandment in states “your enemy’s” and says “of him who hates you.” Nachmanides taught that Scripture thus means to say, “Do this for him (in assisting him), and remember the brotherhood between you and forget the hatred.”
Similarly, Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biogra ...
noted the parallel between and . Bahya concluded that thus promises that if you assist your enemy with his falling donkey, he will eventually appreciate you and become “your brother.” When you assist him, he will forget the “hatred” between you and only remember the bond of love that unites brothers. Bahya taught that there is more to the commandment to restore lost property than merely the act of restoring it. If one is in a position to perform a useful service for one's fellow and to thereby protect one's fellow against loss, this is part of the commandment. Bahya also found in encouragement regarding the resurrection, reading that God will practice this commandment personally by restoring the souls of the departed bodies to their original owners after the arrival of the Messiah. Noting that continues, “You must not hide yourself,” Bahya found the moral lesson: Do not hide yourself from God, so that when the time comes, God will not hide from you.
Maimonides read , “You shall not see your brother's ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him to lift them up again,” together with , “If you see the ass of him that hates you lying under its burden, you shall forbear to pass by him; you shall surely release it with him.” Maimonides taught that when a person encounters a colleague on a journey and the colleague's animal has fallen under its load, commands the person to unload the burden from it, whether or not the animal was carrying an appropriate burden for it. Maimonides interpreted to command that one should not unload the animal and depart, leaving the wayfarer in panic, but one should lift up the animal together with its owner, and reload the animal's burden on it. Maimonides taught that the general principle is that if the animal were one's own and one would unload and reload it, one is obligated to unload and reload it for a colleague. If one is pious and goes beyond the measure of the law, even if one is a great prince, and sees an animal belonging to a colleague fallen under a load of straw, reeds or the like, one should unload and load it with its owner. Maimonides interpreted the intensified form of the verbs in and to indicate that if one unloaded and reloaded the animal, and it fell again, one is obligated to unload and reload it another time, indeed even 100 times. Thus, one must accompany the animal for a distance thereafter, unless the owner of the burden says that it is not necessary. Maimonides read to obligate one when one sees the fallen animal in a way that can be described as an encounter, for says, “When you see your colleague’s donkey,” and says, “When you encounter . . . .” Maimonides taught that if one finds an animal belonging to a colleague fallen under its load, it is a commandment to unload and reload it even if its owner is not present, for the words “You shall certainly help” and “You shall certainly lift up” imply that one must fulfill these commandments in all situations. Maimonides said that says “together with him” (that is, the animal's owner) to teach that if the owner of the animal was there and goes off to the side and relies on the passerby to unload it alone because the passerby is subject to a commandment, then the passerby is not obligated. If the owner of the animal is old or ailing, however, the passerby is obligated to load and unload the animal alone.
Maimonides taught that enjoins that one should let the mother fly away when one takes the young to prevent pain to the mother bird. Maimonides argued that there is no difference between the pain of humans and animals. Maimonides concluded that if the Torah provides that we should not cause such grief to animals, how much more careful should we be not to cause grief to other people.
Rabbi David Kimchi ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise
David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commen ...
stated that a parapet () needed to be "ten hands
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...
high, or more, that a person might not fall from it".
Deuteronomy chapter 23
Maimonides used to interpret how far to extend the principle of charity. Maimonides taught that the Law correctly says in , "You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor." Maimonides continued that the Law taught how far we have to extend this principle of treating kindly every one with whom we have some relationship — even if the other person offended or wronged us, even if the other person is very bad, we still must have some consideration for the other person. Thus says: "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother." And if we find a person in trouble, whose assistance we once enjoyed, or of whom we have received some benefit, even if that person has subsequently wronged us, we must bear in mind that person's previous good conduct. Thus says: "You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land," although the Egyptians subsequently oppressed the Israelites very much.Deuteronomy chapter 25
Reading the words of , "You shall not take a widow’s raiment to pledge," Maimonides taught that collateral may not be taken from a widow, whether she is rich or poor, whether it is taken at the time the loan is given or after the time the loan is given, and even when a court would supervise the matter. Maimonides continued that if a creditor takes such collateral, it must be returned, even against the creditor's will. If the widow admits the debt, she must pay, but if she denies its existence, she must take an oath. If the security the creditor took was lost or consumed by fire before the creditor returned it, the creditor was punished by lashes.In modern interpretation
The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:Deuteronomy chapter 21
ProfessorTamara Cohn Eskenazi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.
She was the first woman hired by the Hebrew Union College-Jewi ...
of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
cited , which describes a process by which a woman captured in war could become the wife of an Israelite man, as an example of intermarriage in the Torah, for although the text does not specify the woman's ethnic identity, the context implies that she was non-Israelite.
Rabbi David Wolpe
David J. Wolpe (born 1958) is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA.
Wolpe became th ...
of Sinai Temple said that although the law of the beautiful captive is barbaric by the ethical standards of the 21st century, it was ahead of its time by the ethical standards of antiquity. The law, according to Wolpe, indicates that the Torah distrusts people to control their sexual urges towards people over whom they hold power.
Deuteronomy chapter 22
Rabbi Donniel Hartman
Donniel Hartman is an Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbi and educator. He is President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. He has written books and essays on Judaism and modernity and is a frequent speaker at academic conferences and ...
argued that contains one of Judaism's central answers to the question of what is just and right, what he called “the religious ethic of nonindifference.”
Writing for the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...
, Rabbis Elliot N. Dorff Elliot N. Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is an American Conservative rabbi. He is a Visiting Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) in C ...
and Aaron L. Mackler
Aaron L. Mackler is Associate Professor of Theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and an ordained Conservative Rabbi. He is an author in the fields of bioethics and Jewish law. He was editor of ''Life and Death Responsibilit ...
relied on , among other verses, to find a duty to help see that our society provides health care to those who need it. Dorff and Mackler noted that the Rabbis found the authorization and requirement to heal in several verses, including , according to which an assailant must insure that his victim is “thoroughly healed,” and , “And you shall restore the lost property to him.” Dorff and Mackler reported that on the basis of an extra letter in the Hebrew text of , the Talmud declared that includes the obligation to restore another person's body as well as his or her property, and hence there is an obligation to come to the aid of someone in a life-threatening situation.
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Joseph Telushkin (born 1948) is an American rabbi, lecturer, and bestselling author of more than 15 books, including volumes about Jewish ethics, Jewish literacy, as well as the book '' Rebbe'', a ''New York Times'' bestseller released in Ju ...
noted that the Torah three times promises long life for obeying commandments — and and — and all three involve issues of ethics and kindness.
Professor William Dever of Lycoming College noted that most of the 100 linen and wool fragments, likely textiles used for cultic purposes, that archeologists found at Kuntillet Ajrud
Kuntillet Ajrud ( ar, كونتيلة عجرود) is a late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE site in the northeast part of the Sinai Peninsula. It is frequently described as a shrine, though this is not certain.
Excavations
Kuntillet Ajrud (Arabic ك ...
in the Sinai Desert
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
(where the climate may better preserve organic materials) adhered to the regulations in and .
In April 2014, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism ruled that women are now equally responsible for observing commandments as men have been, and that women are thus responsible for the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit, as commanded in .
Deuteronomy chapter 25
Professor James Kugel of Bar Ilan University noted that Deuteronomy shares certain favorite themes withWisdom literature
Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it w ...
, such as the prohibition of using false weights in and , an23
As well, in the wisdom perspective, history is the repository of eternal truths, lessons that never grow old, and thus Deuteronomy constantly urges its readers to "remember," as does when it admonishes to "Remember what Amalek did to you." Kugel concluded that the
Deuteronomist
The Deuteronomist, abbreviated as either Dtr or simply D, may refer either to the source document underlying the core chapters (12–26) of the Book of Deuteronomy, or to the broader "school" that produced all of Deuteronomy as well as the Deutero ...
was closely connected to the world of wisdom literature.
In critical analysis
Some scholars who follow theDocumentary Hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...
consider all of the parashah to have been part of the original Deuteronomic Code
The Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the law code set out in chapters 12 to 26 of the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. The code outlines a special relationship between the Israelites and Yahweh and provides instructions ...
(sometimes abbreviated Dtn) that the first Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 1) included in the edition of Deuteronomy that existed during Josiah
Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...
’s time.
Commandments
According to th''Sefer ha-Chinuch''
there are 27 positive and 47 negative
commandments
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...
in the parashah.
*To keep the laws of the captive woman
*Not to sell the captive woman into slavery
*Not to retain the captive woman for servitude after having relations with her
*The court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
s must hang those stoned for blasphemy
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
or idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
.
*To bury the executed on the day that they die.
*Not to delay burial overnight
*To return a lost object to its owner
*Not to turn a blind eye to a lost object
*Not to leave another's beast lying under its burden
*To lift up a load for a Jew
*Women must not wear men's clothing.
*Men must not wear women's clothing.
*Not to take the mother bird from her children
*To release the mother bird if she was taken from the nest
*To build a parapet
*Not to leave a stumbling block about
*Not to plant grains or greens in a vineyard
*Not to eat diverse seeds planted in a vineyard
*Not to do work with two kinds of animals together
*Not to wear cloth of wool and linen
*To marry a wife by means of ketubah
A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...
and kiddushin
*The slanderer must remain married to his wife.
*The slanderer must not divorce his wife.
*The court must have anyone who merits stoning stoned to death.
*Not to punish
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...
anyone compelled to commit a transgression
*The rapist
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, Abusive power and control, ...
must marry his victim if she chooses..
*The rapist is not allowed to divorce his victim.
*Not to let a eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
marry into the Jewish people
*Not to let the child of a prohibited union (, '' mamzer'') marry into the Jewish people
*Not to let Moabite and Ammonite men marry into the Jewish people
*Not to ever offer peace to Moab or Ammon
*Not to exclude a third generation Edomite convert
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
from marrying into the Jewish people.
*To exclude Egyptian converts from marrying into the Jewish people only for the first two generations
*A ritually unclean person should not enter the camp of the Levites.
*To prepare a place of easement in a camp
*To prepare a boring-stick or spade for easement in a camp
*Not to return a slave who fled into Israel from his master abroad
*Not to oppress a slave who fled into Israel from his master abroad
*Not to have relations with women not married by means of ketubah and kiddushin
*Not to bring the wage of a harlot
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
or the exchange price
A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...
of a dog as a holy offering
*Not to borrow at interest from a Jew
*To lend at interest to a non-Jew if the non-Jew needs a loan, but not to a Jew
*Not to be tardy with vowed and voluntary offerings
*To fulfill whatever goes out from one's mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
*To allow a hired worker to eat certain foods while under hire
*That a hired hand should not raise a sickle to another's standing grain
*That a hired hand is forbidden to eat from the employer's crops during work
*To issue a divorce by means of a get
Get or GET may refer to:
* Get (animal), the offspring of an animal
* Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law
* GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request
* "Get" (song), by the Groggers
* Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia
* Get AS, a ...
document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
*A man must not remarry his ex-wife after she has married someone else.
*Not to demand from the bridegroom any involvement, communal or military during the first year
*To give him who has taken a wife, built a new home, or planted a vineyard a year to rejoice therewith
*Not to demand as collateral
Collateral may refer to:
Business and finance
* Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan
* Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Collate ...
utensils needed for preparing food
*The ''metzora'' must not remove his signs of impurity.
*The creditor must not forcibly take collateral.
*Not to delay return of collateral when needed
*To return the collateral to the debtor when needed
*To pay wages on the day that they were earned
*Relatives of the litigants must not testify
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
La ...
.
*A judge must not pervert a case involving a convert or orphan..
*Not to demand collateral from a widow
*To leave the forgotten sheaves in the field
*Not to retrieve the forgotten sheaves
*The precept of whiplashes for the wicked
*The court must not exceed the prescribed number of lashes.
*Not to muzzle an ox while plowing
*The widow must not remarry until the ties with her brother-in-law are removed..
*To marry a childless brother's widow (to do ''yibum'')
*To free a widow from yibum (to do , ''chalitzah'')
*To save someone being pursued by a killer, even by taking the life of the pursuer.
*To have no mercy on a pursuer with intent to kill
*Not to possess inaccurate scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
and weights even if they are not for use
*To remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people
*To wipe out the descendants of Amalek
*Not to forget Amalek's atrocities and ambush on the Israelites’ journey from Egypt in the desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
In the liturgy
The parashah is reflected in these parts of the Jewish liturgy: Following the ''Shacharit
''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers.
Different traditions identify different primary components of ...
'' morning prayer service, some Jews recite the Six Remembrances, among which is , "Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam by the way as you came forth out of Egypt," recalling that God punished Miriam with skin disease (, ''tzara’at'').''The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation''. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 241. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. Yosaif Asher Weiss. ''A Daily Dose of Torah'', volume 7, pages 139–40. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2007.
The Weekly Maqam
In the 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. T ...
, Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For Parashah Ki Teitzei, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba. Saba, in Hebrew, literally means "army." It is appropriate here, because the parashah commences with the discussion of what to do in certain cases of war with the army.
Haftarah
The haftarah for the parashah is . The haftarah is the fifth in the cycle of seven haftarot of consolation afterTisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian E ...
, leading up to Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
.
Notes
Further reading
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Biblical
* (Amalekites); (two wives, one loved and one unloved); (Amalek); (Amalek); (levirate marriage). * (Amalek); (punishing children for fathers’ sin), (vows); (restoring a pledged garment); (the priests’ linen vestments); (punishing children for fathers’ sin); (making the priests’ linen vestments). * (vows); (priest wearing linen); (high priest wearing linen); (vows); (paying what is due by sundown); (just balances, weights, and measures). * (punishing children for fathers’ sin); (vows). * (5:9 in NJPS) (punishing children for fathers’ sin); (''no'' capital punishment of children for fathers’ sin). *1 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
(priest wearing linen); (priests wearing linen).
* (David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
wearing linen in worship).
* (favoring the son of the favored wife over the firstborn in inheritance).
* (labor without compensation); , (31:29–30 in NJPS) (''not'' punishing children for fathers’ sin).
* (holy man clad in linen); (''not'' punishing children for fathers’ sin); (the just restore pledges); (priests wearing linen).
* (levirate marriage).
* (Agagite read as Amalekite via ).
* (holy man clad in linen); (holy man clad in linen).
*Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
(lending without interest); (the wicked do not fear God); (daughter, forget your father's house); (performing vows); (performing vows); (counted for righteousness); (God's mercies over all God's works).
* (David and Levites wearing linen in worship).
* (Levites wearing linen in worship).
Ancient
*Law Code ofGortyn
Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna ( el, Γόρτυν, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn ...
. Columns 7–8. Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, circa 480–450 BCE. In, e.g., Adonis S. Vasilakis. ''The Great Inscription of the Law Code of Gortyn''. Heraklion, Greece: Mystis O.E. (marriage of an heiress).
Early nonrabbinic
*Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, ''Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
'book 4, chapter 8, paragraphs 9, 11, 20–21, 23–27, 29, 38–44
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by William Whiston, pages 116–24. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. *
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...
''Fabulae'' 95
1st–2nd century CE. (reporting the myth of how
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
(Ulysses) plowed with ox and horse together to show himself insane).
*Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
2:275; 3:130. Arabia, 7th century. (Islam's parallel prohibition of interest, or '' riba'').
Classical rabbinic
*Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
: Peah 1:1–8:9Kilayim 1:1–9:10
Yevamot 1:1–16:7
Ketubot 3:1–4:1
Nedarim 1:1–11:11
Sotah 6:3
Sanhedrin 1:1–3; 2:1
6:4
Makkot 3:1–16; Shevuot 1:1–8:6
Chullin 12:1–5
Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 14–36, 49–68, 91, 110, 113, 251, 321, 337–78, 381–85, 406–30, 457, 461, 466–87, 515, 520, 528–34, 554–55, 574–75, 583, 585, 595, 599–602, 607, 616–39, 785–807, 812–13, 834, 1014–15, 1129. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *
Sifre
Sifre ( he, סִפְרֵי; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of ''Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers a ...
to Deuteronomy 211:1–296:6. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 CE. In, e.g., ''Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 2, pages 111–266. Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
: Scholars Press, 1987.
*Tosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
: Berakhot 5:14; Peah 1:1–4:21; Kilayim 1:1–5:27; Maasrot 3:12; Megillah 3:2, 25; Yevamot 1:1–14:10; Ketubot 3:1–4:1; Nedarim 1:1–7:8; Sotah 5:9; 7:20; Gittin 1:1–7:13; Kiddushin 5:4; Bava Kamma 8:10; Bava Metzia 1:1–2:33; 8:7; 10:3, 8, 10–11; Bava Batra 5:7; Sanhedrin 4:1; 7:4; 9:7; Makkot 1:7; 5:14, 17; Shevuot 1:1–6:7; Bekhorot 6:1; Negaim 1:7; 3:2; 6:2; Parah 2:2; Yadayim 2:17. Land of Israel, circa 250 CE. In, e.g., ''The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 31, 61, 65, 75, 292, 644, 650, 707, 720, 725, 731, 752, 785–805, 852, 866, 899–901, 920, 943; volume 2, pages 997, 1023–30, 1067, 1084, 1086, 1115, 1155, 1169, 1177, 1201, 1218–44, 1486, 1711, 1717, 1730, 1748, 1908. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
*Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
: Berakhot 54b, 59b; Peah 1a–73b; Demai 14a; Kilayim 1a–84b; Terumot 2a, 8a, 12a, 32a, 62a–63b; Maasrot 19a–20a; Challah 8b, 16a; Orlah 20a; Bikkurim 6b; Shabbat 24a, 79a, 86a; Eruvin 35a; Pesachim 13b; Yoma 41b, 53b; Rosh Hashanah 3b, 5b; Moed Katan 14a; Chagigah 1b, 10b; Yevamot 1a–88b; Ketubot 16b, 17b–18b, 20b–22a, 23b, 24b–25a, 26a–27a, 28a, 29a, 30a; Nedarim 1a–42b; Nazir 21a, 29a, 36a–b, 38a; Sotah 1a–b, 6b–7a, 10a, 11b, 12b–13a, 19b–20a, 28b, 30a, 32a, 41b–42a, 43a, 45a; Gittin 1a–53b; Kiddushin 1a–b, 2b, 4b, 5b, 11a, 16b, 21b–22a; Bava Kamma 22b, 27a, 31a; Bava Metzia 1a–8b, 26b–27a, 32b–33b; Bava Batra 19a, 26a, 27a; Sanhedrin 22a–23a, 35b, 36b, 43b–44a, 49a–b, 50b–52b, 55b, 57a, 62b, 70a–71a, 75a; Makkot 1a, 8b, 11a; Shevuot 1a–49a; Avodah Zarah 1a. Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz
Chaim Zev Malinowitz (1952 – November 21, 2019) was a Haredi community rabbi, dayan (rabbinical court judge), and Talmudic scholar. Fluent in all areas of the Talmud, halakha (Jewish law), and hashkafa (Orthodox Jewish worldview), he was the g ...
, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 2–5, 7–9, 11–13, 15, 17–18, 21, 24, 27–31, 33–35, 37–47, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2020. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
*Genesis Rabbah
Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...
br>17:761:7; 63:12; 65:2; 74:7, 15; 76:6; 81:2; 84:16; 85:5; 87:5; 94:9; 99:2. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 137–38, 157–58, 165–66, 334–35, 358–59, 384, 416, 451, 453, 483; volume 2, pages 545–46, 567, 581, 680, 686–87, 705–06, 745–46, 781–82, 792, 808, 879, 975. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–1105) ...
24:7. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 4, pages 309–10. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
Berakhot 7a