Exodus · Chapter 20

And Hashem spoke all these words, saying:

וידבר אלהים AND GOD SPAKE — The word אלהים is a term for a judge. Since there are chapters in the Torah of such a character that if a person observes the commands contained therein he will receive a reward and if he never observes them at all) he will not receive punishment on their account, one might think that the Ten Commandments are also of such a character (that no punishment will follow upon the infringement of them); therefore Scripture expressly states, “God spake” — God Who is Judge, exacting punishment (Mekhilta). את כל הדברים האלה ALL THESE WORDS — This statement (that God spake all these words) tells us that the Holy One, blessed be He, said all these words in one utterance, something that is impossible to a human being to do — to speak in this manner. Now if this be so, why does Scripture again say the first two Commandments, אנכי and לא יהיה לך? But the explanation is that He repeated and expressly uttered each of these two commandments by itself (Mekhilta). לאמר lit., TO SAY — This expression teaches us that they answered to that which required the reply “Yea” (אנכי) by “Yea” and to that which required the reply “Nay” (לא יהיה) by “Nay” (Mekhilta).

"And God spoke" (20:1). There are difficult questions in this passage. Many have said that Hashem uttered only the first two commandments directly — evidence being that in the first commandment it is written in first person, "I am Hashem your God" (v. 2); in the second, "for I am Hashem your God, a jealous God" (v. 5); whereas in the third, the text reads "the name of Hashem your God" (v. 7) and "one who bears His name in vain" (ibid.) — not "My name"; and in the fourth, "for six days Hashem made, etc., therefore Hashem blessed" (v. 11); and in the fifth, "which Hashem your God gives you" (v. 12). One must also ask: how does the utterance "I am" count among the Ten Commandments? It is the One who commands — it is neither a positive commandment nor a negative commandment. There are questions harder than these. Now we have read this passage — the portion of Va-yishma Yitro — first, and the portion of Va-etchanan second. We found that from the opening word "I am" through "one who bears His name in vain" (v. 7), there is no difference between the two passages. But from "Remember" through the end of the Ten Commandments, there are variations throughout: in the first version, "Remember" (v. 8); in the second, "Observe" (Deut. 5:12). In the second version there is also the addition, "as Hashem your God commanded you" (ibid. v. 16). In the first, "your animal" (v. 10); in the second, the addition of "your ox and your donkey" (Deut. 5:14). The hardest of all: in the first version the reason given for the Sabbath is, "for in six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth," followed by, "therefore Hashem blessed the Sabbath day" (v. 11); these verses do not appear in the second version, which gives a different reason: "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt," and concludes, "therefore Hashem your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day" (Deut. 5:15). In the first version the reward for honoring father and mother is "that your days may be lengthened" (v. 12); the second version adds "and that it may go well with you" (Deut. 5:16) and also adds "as Hashem your God commanded you" (ibid.). In the first version: "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not testify" (v. 13); in the second, conjunctive vav's are added before each (Deut. 5:17). In the first version, "a false witness" (v. 13); in the second, "a vain witness" (Deut. 5:17). In the first version, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (v. 14); in the second, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; you shall not desire your neighbor's house" (Deut. 5:18). In the first version "his field" is not written; in the second it is (ibid.). In the first version, "his slave and his maidservant" precede "his ox and his donkey"; in the second, "his ox and his donkey" come before "his slave and his maidservant." In the first version: "And God spoke all these words, saying"; in the second: "These words Hashem spoke to your whole congregation" (Deut. 5:19). When we searched in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, for what they said about this, we found that they said: "Remember" and "Observe" were spoken in a single utterance. This dictum is harder for us than all the other difficulties, as I shall explain. God forbid that I say they did not speak correctly — our understanding is as nothing compared to theirs. But men of our generation think their words are meant literally, and that is not so, as I shall explain after setting forth the difficulties, and at the end I shall explain the straight path that removes all the difficulties and questions of this passage. Now, it is impossible for "Remember" and "Observe" to have been said simultaneously except by a miracle. Even granting that, one may still ask: why was not "Remember and Observe" written together in the first version? And likewise in the second? And what are we to do with those verses that differ but were supposedly said simultaneously like "Remember" and "Observe" — why did the Sages not mention this? For it is far more wondrous how many verses with differing meanings could have been spoken simultaneously than that two words of identical meaning were spoken at once. And how can Hashem say, "as Hashem your God commanded you" (Deut. 5:16) — when had He previously commanded the honoring of father and mother before this very moment? And if "and that it may go well with you" (Deut. 5:16) is absent from the first version — then He said the one and not the other. How can He say "You shall not commit adultery" with a vav and also say "You shall not covet your neighbor's house" (v. 14), while simultaneously saying in the second version "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Deut. 5:16)? How can He simultaneously say "his slave and his maidservant, then his ox and his donkey," and at the same moment say the reverse? The mind cannot accept all of this. The hardest thing of all that I have mentioned: every wonder performed through Moses has some analogy — one who reflects will understand. But this is altogether wondrous: that He simultaneously pronounced "Remember" and "Observe." This should have been written out and explicitly stated in the Torah more than any sign or wonder that is written, for it is the most extraordinary of all. And if we say Hashem's speech is unlike human speech — then how did Israel understand what Hashem said? If a person hears "Remember" and "Observe" simultaneously, he understands neither one. Even a single word like "Zachor" — if he does not hear the zayin before the kaf and the resh, he cannot understand what the speaker is saying. We know that the sense of sight is more distinguished than the sense of hearing. We know with certainty that the moment the eye perceives a flash of lightning is the same moment as the thunder — but the eye sees it from afar, while the air carries the sound to the ear more slowly, and the ear receives it only after that instant has passed. The letters that a person speaks are formed in the air in the sequence of their production from the five places of articulation — not after the manner of written letters on a page — and so each letter of zayin enters the ear before kaf, vav, resh. Thus if we say a miracle occurred so that "Remember" and "Observe" were spoken at once — how would the ear hear them? And if we say the miracle was also that the ear heard two words at once, contrary to its nature of hearing two letters in sequence — why did our Sages not mention this, since it is harder than the problem of simultaneous utterance itself? And what do we do with the remaining difficulties of the varying verses whose meanings are not identical, as with "Remember" and "Observe"? And what is written in the second version but not the first? And how do we resolve "you shall not covet your neighbor's house" with "you shall not covet your neighbor's wife," and all the reversals? I cannot explain all of this to you until I explain the principle of the grammar of the Holy Tongue. Hashem is my witness and knows my secret — were I not compelled to explain these difficulties, I would have kept silent. Before I explain, let me set the words of our Sages in order. Said Abraham the author: The practice of speakers of the Holy Tongue is at times to expound their meaning fully and clearly, and at times to express what is needed in brief words that the listener can understand. Know that words are like bodies and meanings are like souls; the body to the soul is like a vessel. Therefore the practice of all sages in every language is to preserve the meanings without concern for variation in words, as long as those words are equivalent in meaning. Let me give you examples. Hashem said to Cain: "Cursed are you from the ground; when you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you; a fugitive and wanderer you shall be in the earth" (Gen. 4:11–12). And Cain said: "You have banished me today from the face of the ground" (ibid. v. 14). Only one lacking understanding would think the meanings differ because the words differ. Similarly: Eliezer said, "Please give me a drink" (Gen. 24:17), and he himself later says, "I said to her, 'Give me to drink, please'" (ibid. v. 45). Moses wrote, "the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon" (above, 12:29), and it is written elsewhere, "the firstborn of the maidservant behind the millstones" (ibid. 11:5). Moses also mentions in Deuteronomy a prayer he prayed for Israel on account of the golden calf, and it does not precisely match the prayer recorded in the portion of Ki Tissa — except to one who lacks understanding. In general, every repeated account — Pharaoh's dream, Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and many others — you will find varying words with the same meaning. And as I told you that speakers sometimes use a shorter form and sometimes a longer, so they sometimes add a connecting letter or drop it, and the matter is the same. Hashem said, "blue, purple, and crimson yarns" (below, 25:4), and Moses said, "blue, purple, and crimson yarns" (below, 28:6). Hashem said, "stones of shoham" (below, 25:7), and Moses said, "and stones of shoham" (below, 35:9) — and both are correct. The version without the vav took the shorter form, which causes no harm; the version with the vav adds clarification, which also causes no harm. Now the vav that is audible in pronunciation — no one demands a reason for its being dropped or retained, since both are correct. Why then do we demand a reason for a quiescent letter not pronounced — such as the word le-olam: why is it written plene or defective? Men of this generation demand a reason for both — yet if they demanded a reason for one and the other were uniform, I would keep silent. Let me give you a parable. One said to me: write to my friend. And I wrote: "I, so-and-so, love you forever" — but I wrote pleni (פלני) without a vav, ahavekha without a vav, le-olam defective. Reuven came and asked me: why did you write them defective? I had no need to write except what was told me, and I have no preference for plene or defective spelling. Perhaps Levi will come and tell me how to write — I do not wish to elaborate, but the intelligent will understand. Now I shall explain the difficulties mentioned: Know that the Ten Commandments as written in this portion were spoken by Hashem in their entirety, for it is written, "And God spoke all these words, saying" — their beginning is "I am" and their end is "all that belongs to your neighbor." And Moses likewise testified, when he recited the Ten Commandments the second time: "These words Hashem spoke to your whole congregation" (Deut. 5:19), without any break between them. Furthermore, just as they were all written by the finger of God, so Hashem spoke all of them. As for the proof they adduce that in the third, fourth, and fifth commandments the speaker shifts to third person — one may answer: since you have accepted Hashem to be your God, therefore He said, "You shall not bear the name of Hashem your God in vain" (v. 7), and, "For in six days Hashem made" (v. 11). Moreover, it is the practice of speakers of the Holy Tongue to speak this way. It is written, "You shall not let the fat of My festival offering remain overnight" (below, 23:18), and immediately after: "You shall bring to the house of Hashem your God" (ibid. v. 19). And there are many such instances. As for those who say the commandment "I am" is not among the Ten Commandments — they are divided: some say, "You shall have no other gods" is the first commandment, and the second, "You shall not make for yourself an idol" — but this is incorrect, for both address the same matter: whether in secret or in the open, whether as a conviction of the heart or as a deed. And in the commandment "Remember," "you and your son and your daughter" — the secret and the open are both one commandment. Others say that "You shall not covet your neighbor's house" is the ninth commandment and "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" is the tenth, their proof being that Hashem said "you shall not covet" twice because coveting refers to two things: one that leads to action — like robbery — corresponding to, "No man shall covet your land" (below, 34:24), for if that coveting were only in the heart it would bring no harm; and the second "you shall not covet" is in the heart alone, which is why Moses needed to explain it as "you shall not desire." But this is also nonsense, for what reason would there be to mention robbery alongside the house alone without mentioning the others? And I will give you proof from Moses' words that their view is wrong: Hashem said, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house," and Moses said, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Deut. 5:18). According to their view, the second "you shall not covet" in this portion — the one about coveting the house — refers to heart-coveting, and the first refers to robbing the house. But Moses reversed this: he placed "you shall not desire" with "your neighbor's house," and "you shall not covet" — which they say means robbery — with "your neighbor's wife." This demolishes their interpretation. The truth is that the commandment "I am" is the first, as I shall explain in its place. Now I shall address "Remember" and "Observe." Know that meanings are what are preserved, not words. Isaac said to Esau, "so that your soul may bless me before I die" (Gen. 27:4), and Rebekah said to Jacob that she had heard him say, "I will bless you before Hashem before my death" (ibid. v. 7) — which is like "before I die." So why did she add "before Hashem"? The answer is: she knew that Isaac was a prophet of Hashem and that the blessing he would give was a prophetic blessing — therefore she said to Jacob "before Hashem," explaining the nature of the blessing. This is exactly what Moses did. The Ten Commandments as written in this portion are the words of Hashem without addition or subtraction — they alone are what was written on the tablets of the covenant, not as the Gaon [Saadia] said, that "Remember" was on one tablet and "Observe" on the other. But the Ten Commandments written in the portion of Va-etchanan are the words of Moses. The conclusive proof is that there it says twice, "as Hashem your God commanded you." Know that at the back of the brain is the faculty of memory, the place where forms are stored, and memory encompasses preservation. The meaning of "Remember" is that one should recall each day what day of the week it is — and all this is in order that one observe the seventh day and not perform labor on it. Thus the meaning of remembering is the same as observing. When Hashem said "Remember," all who heard understood that its meaning is the same as "Observe" — as if both were said at once — and Moses did not need to repeat a second time the reason, "for in six days Hashem made," because he began with, "as Hashem your God commanded you" — as if to say, as written in your Torah in the commandment "Remember" (v. 8) through "and sanctified it" (v. 11). And since Hashem commanded the resting of the slave and maidservant without explaining why, Moses explained the reason: "This which Hashem commanded — that your slave should rest — is so that you remember that you were a slave like him in Egypt, and Hashem redeemed you." Know that the eight commandments are all negative commandments; the commandment "Honor" is a positive commandment. And from natural reason that Hashem implanted in the human heart, every person is obligated to do good to those who have done good to him. A son comes into the world only through his parents; they sustained him, nourished him, raised him, gave him to drink, fed him, clothed him — he is obligated to honor them all his days, for they were the cause of his being alive on the face of the earth. Therefore the reward is, "that your days may be lengthened upon the land." And because Hashem breathed a soul into him through the parents who prepared the body, He commanded that he honor his parents — for whoever honors them honors Hashem. And Moses explained and said, "Honor your father and your mother," and added, "as Hashem your God commanded you" (Deut. 5:16) — for reward pertains to positive commandments, and punishment to negative commandments, as I shall explain in the portion "You shall not eat of it" (Deut. 12:25). So Moses said: you are obligated to honor your parents so that your days may be lengthened — this obligation flows from natural reason. But moreover, since Hashem commanded you to honor them, you will receive yet further reward, namely, "that it may go well with you," for having obeyed the voice of Hashem. Moses' words are thus like what Rebekah said, as I have explained. I have already said that "stones of shoham" and "and stones of shoham" are equivalent; so too "You shall not commit adultery" and "you shall not commit adultery" with a vav; and "vain" and "false" are of the same family; and "covet" and "desire" came from the same womb. Hashem said, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house," because men of understanding first acquire a house, then a wife, then a slave and maidservant, and an ox and donkey to plow his field — and that is the order in this portion. Moses arranged them differently, because young men covet a wife first and afterward a house; and correspondingly, for the house and field he put the ox and donkey — with which one plows — before the slave and maidservant. He then concluded with, "all that belongs to your neighbor," just as Hashem concluded. And because in Moses' words, Hashem's own words are interwoven, therefore it says there, "these words" (Deut. 5:19) — and not "all these words" as written in the first version.

וידבר אלוקים, after Moses had completed warning the people G’d proceeded to utter all these commandments, as we know from the testimony of Moses in Deuteronomy 5,18 את כל הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם בהר, “all these words the Lord spoke to your assembled ranks from the Mountain.”

וידבר אלוקים את כל הדברים האלה, G'd spoke all these words, etc. The reason we find the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים mentioned at this point is that G'd gave the Torah to the Jewish people in His capacity as the attribute of Justice as well as in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy. The words וירד אלוקים reflect the attribute of Justice, whereas the words אנכי השם reflect the attribute of Mercy. By saying אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך, G'd also revealed the mystical dimension of both attributes being part of the same essence, something we repeat twice daily when we recite the first line of קריאת שמע prayer. We are told in Menachot 41 that an angel criticised Rabbi Ketinah for not having Tzitzit on his nighgown. The latter retorted angrily: "since when does Heaven punish a person for sins of omission?" The angel told him that at a time when a person is being judged for other errors even sins of omission are also accounted against him. We learn from here that ordinarily a person is not punished for neglecting to observe a positive commandment. G'd indicated here that when He exacts retribution this will also include the positive commandments in the Ten Commandments, i.e. the commandment to believe in Him, to observe the Sabbath by sanctifying it, as well as the commandment to honour father and mother. The words וידבר אלוקים are a reminder that the attribute of Justice deals with both positive and negative commandments. When the Torah writes: את כל הדברים, this is a reminder that one cannot accept Torah piecemeal. Anyone who accepts all of the Torah's commandments bar one is considered as having rejected the whole Torah (Bechorot 30). I have explained in my introduction to פרשת בראשית that when G'd speaks in His capacity as אלוקים, He utters words which are so exalted that a human mouth cannot utter these words or comprehend them. I postulated that the entire Ten Commandments were a single utterance. There were many such utterances by G'd in His capacity as אלוקים during the directives He gave while creating the universe. We may therefore view the revelation at Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments as a re-enactment of the creation of the universe. The word לאמור will become intelligible when we examine the format of the Ten Commandments. You will find that sometimes G'd addresses the Jewish people directly, whereas other times, such as in the latter half of verse seven, He speaks of them in the third person, i.e. "the Lord will not hold him guiltless, etc." We find that in the middle of the Sabbath legislation G'd switches from direct speech to "for the Lord created the Heavens and the earth and all that is found therein during six days and rested on the seventh day, etc." Why did G'd switch to indirect speech in those instances? We have been told in Makkot 24 that Israel was able to comprehend the first two commandments, i.e. their capacity to understand G'd's utterances was enhanced during the time it took to hear this part. Nonetheless, according to t...

וידבר אלוקים את כל הדברים האלה, The reason for this introduction is that the Torah wishes to show that G-d organises His words just as human beings organise their words prior to expressing them to outsiders. Hence: “G-d spoke all these words:”The word: וידבר here is to indicate that G-d said these words to Himself, in a preparatory manner; subsequently, the word: לאמור, refers to the final draft of this address by G-d to the people.“I am the Lord your G-d;” this is what Job meant when he said: (Job 28,2728) אז ראה ויספרה, הכינה וגם הקרה ויאמר לאדם, “then He saw and gauged it; He measured it and probed it and said to man etc.:” the Torah teaches you what are good manners, i.e. that even if you are an erudite scholar do not be arrogant enough when facing a crowd until after you have weighed carefully every word that you are going to say. You will do well to practice what you are going to say two or three times before actually addressing your words to an assembly of people. It happened once to Rabbi Akiva in a synagogue (Tanchuma item 15 on our verse) that the sages called upon him to read publicly from the Torah scroll, i.e. to accept an aliyah. He declined the honour. When his students asked him why he had declined, quoting that he had taught them a verse in Deuteronomy 30,20, according to which reading from the Torah in public is one of the highest achievements in your life, so how could he refuse such a request? He answered them that indeed this was so, but that he had declined to do so as he had not previously reviewed this particular portion and it would be an insult to the congregation to presume to read to them unprepared as he had been. He should have first gone over that text at least two or three times. He quoted our verse from the Torah as the source of his reticence. If G-d had not addressed the Jewish people before having marshaled His thoughts first, how could he permit himself to do less? את כל הדברים האלה, according to Rashi, G-d uttered all these words as a single utterance, something no human being is able to do. If so, why did He repeat the first two commandments a second time? The second time He spelled out each of these commandments separately word by word. This explains why the first two commandments were written in direct speech whereas parts of the remainder were written in indirect speech. The Israelites found it too overwhelming to have to listen to all of this without collapsing, and this is why they interrupted by asking Moses to act as their go between, as related by Moses in verse 16. They had been literally afraid of dying before hearing the end of the commandments.(Rashi bases himself on the Mechilta on our portion) According to the Talmud in tractate Makkot folio, 24, the last 8 commandments were each addressed to the Israelites one by one and relayed to the people by Moses. This is hinted at by the numerical value of the letters in the word תורה in the line: תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses commanded the Torah to us.” The combined numerical value of the word Torah is 611, the other two commandments of the 613 commandments had been communicated to the people by G-d directly, without an interpreter. This interpretation seems reasonable as a close look at the first two commandments creates the impression that the author was speaking about Himself, as opposed to the third and fourth commandment which sound as if the author is addressing an audience, although referring to Himself in the third person. According to Rashi’s commentary, all of the commandments were spoken twice, once by G-d and once by Moses.

וידבר אלו-הים את כל הדברים האלה לאמור, “G‘d spoke all these words to be relayed.” The word לאמור was added here in order to teach that all these Ten Commandments were spoken in a single utterance. This was something a human mouth would be unable to do, and a human ear would be unable to hear. We also find in Bamidbar Rabbah 11,19 concerning two apparently contradictory statements in Psalms 147,4 and Isaiah 40,26 that what G’d is able to do, man is not. In the former statement the psalmist says: “He counts each one of the stars supplying them with names,” whereas in Isaiah the prophet says: “He leads out their number as an army, each one He calls by name.” The meaning is that when G’d calls upon the stars He calls each one by name simultaneously. Another way of understanding the word לאמור in our verse is that it refers to the hidden meaning of the words of the revelation. Each utterance of G’d contains meanings obvious to all as well as hidden meaning. In this instance the expression דבור, i.e. וידבר, refers to the plain meaning, the revealed message, whereas the hidden meaning is alluded to by the word לאמור. This principle may be applied to most instances where the Torah writes: וידבר ה’ אל משה לאמור, “G’d spoke to Moses, saying.” The text tells us that G’d said more than what meets the eye at a superficial reading of the words. I have already elaborated on this concept in my commentary on Exodus 13,1 (page 907 my translation, Ed.) In this instance, a moment in time when the Israelites were all of a level capable of receiving prophetic insights, G’d revealed both aspects of His words, the plain and the more sophisticated, at one and the same time to all of them. This is the meaning of Psalms 62,12: “G’d has said one (word) whereas I have heard two.” You should know that in the view of Maimonides (Moreh Nevuchim section 2 chapter 33) at the revelation at Mount Sinai the sound the Children of Israel heard (G’d’s voice) had been created for the purpose. This was a one-time manifestation of that sound and while they heard it, they were not able to separate different letters from one another. It was heard a single time and comprised only the first two of the Ten Commandments. Concerning this phenomenon the Torah wrote (Deut. 5,19) “a powerful sound without break.” The Torah also wrote concerning this sound (Deut. 5,20) “when you heard the sound.” Furthermore, in Deut. 4,12 Moses said קול דברים אתם שמעים, “you hear the sound of words.” Significantly, Moses did not say that the people actually heard words,” i.e. were able to hear distinct letters. This is also what is meant in Exodus 19,9: “in order that the people hear when I speak with you (Moses).” The meaning is that the people will hear the sound but will not be able to make out the individual words. Our sages (Makkot 24) say that the Israelites heard the first two commandments from G’d’s own mouth. The wording there is: מפי הגבורה שמענום. This reflects the difference between what Moses heard and what the people heard. The people only heard קול דברים, “the sound of words,” whereas Moses heard the words themselves. This is why Moses interpreted the words he had heard to the people by separating between letter and letter and word and word. This is what Moses referred to when he said (Deut. 5,5) “I was standing between you and G’d at that time in order to tell you the word of the Lord.” Moses referred to the first two commandments which the people, though having heard them, had not been able to understand. This explains the way Onkelos renders both the words וידבר אלוה-הים את כל הדברים האלה לאמור, and וידבר אלו-הים אל משה לאמור, as ומליל ה’ as if both verses meant the same. He is correct because the word לאמור in each verse means that Moses was to communicate G’d’s words to the people. In 20,15 when Onkelos translates the people saying to Moses ואל ידבר עמנו אלו-הים פן נמות, “let not G’d speak to us so that we shall not die,” he translates this as ולא יתמלל עמנא מן קדם ה’, instead of ולא ימלל עמנא. The distinction Onkelos makes between the way the people heard G’d’s voice and the way Moses perceived it is clearly reflected in his rendering what the people had heard as מן קדם ה’. The people had been aware that what they heard was something other than words. After the people had heard the first two commandments by hearing G’d’s voice their souls departed as we know from Song of Songs 5,6 (compare our comments page 1049 this volume on Exodus 19,17) נפשי יצאה בדברו, “my soul departed at His decree.” They were afraid that they would continue to hear G’d’s voice and were afraid they would die as a result. This is when they said to Moses (Deut. 5,22) “let us not die,”....(and in verse 24) ”approach you and hear what G’d says,....and tell us what G’d said.” Moses heard every one of the Ten Commandments one at a time and related them to the people. To sum up: the Israelites did hear the first two commandments at the same time and from the same source as did Moses, but they could not make sense out of them. The other eight commandments they heard from Moses just as they heard all other commandments in the Torah from Moses. This is what is meant at the beginning of Shir Hashirim Rabbah (5,6), that the words in Deut. 33,4 תורה צוה לנו משה “Moses commanded us the Torah” (not G’d), means that Moses relayed to the people 611 of the 613 commandments. The numerical value of the letters in the word תורה add up to 611. The other two commandments G’d personally commanded the people. Seeing that the first two commandments were heard by the people as a continuous utterance (no break between letters to form words or sentences), this was what David had said in Psalms 62,12: “G’d said a single word but I heard two.” This is the opinion of Maimonides of what transpired at the giving of the Torah. Nachmanides is of the opinion that the entire people heard all the Ten Commandments directly from G’d. According to his view this is the meaning of our verse: “G’d spoke all these words,” as well as Deut. 5,19: “these words G’d spoke to your entire congregation at the mountain out of the fire, etc.” Furthermore, it is written: “He told you of His covenant ....and He inscribed them on the two stone Tablets” (Deut. 4,13). From this we learn that just as G’d had communicated the Ten Commandments to the entire people directly by word of mouth, He subsequently communicated them to the entire people in writing. How does Nachmanides understand the words of the Talmud in Makkot 24 that the Israelites heard the first two commandments from G’d’s own mouth which suggests that they did not hear the other commandments from His mouth? He understands the word שמעום in the Talmud as relating to what the ear heard, similar to the meaning of the words in Proverbs 15,31 אזן שומעת תוכחת חיים, “the ear that listens to life-giving discipline.” This verse implies that the heart also understood the message as is evident from Kings I 3,9 (also Solomon speaking to G’d in his dream) לב שומע, “a heart that hears.” [Seeing that it is not the function of the heart to hear and to listen, clearly Solomon asked for something more, i.e. understanding, when he asked G’d to be granted a “heart which can hear.” Ed.] As far as the Israelites were concerned, they heard and understood only the first two of the Ten Commandments. The other eight commandments they “heard” without understanding what they heard. This is why Moses had to interpret for them what their ears had heard. This is the meaning of Deut. 5,5: “I was standing between G’d and you at that time in order to tell you the word of G’d.” This is also the meaning of 19,19: “Moses would speak and G’d would respond with a voice.” What G’d had said בקול, in an indistinguishable voice,” Moses interpreted to the people. The word עניה, which usually appears in the form of ויען means “beginning.” We find it in this sense in Job 3,2. [In that verse the word ויען could not have meant: “he replied,” as Job’s friends were reported sitting with him for seven days without opening their mouth. Ed.] This is the way Nachmanides understands what happened at Mount Sinai. A Kabbalistic approach: The words וידבר אלו-הים really mean וידבר ה’. The reason we do not find the attribute י-ה-ו-ה spelled out in this verse is that Israel had attained such a high level of spirituality at the time that it did not need to be addressed by an attribute which primarily represented the attribute of Mercy, i.e. an attribute which makes allowance for human weakness. The Torah had already hinted at that in verse 3 when Moses was described as ומשה עלה אל האלו-הים, that Moses ascended to the presence of G’d in His capacity as אלו-הים. Onkelos, in his infinite wisdom, has therefore seen fit to translate the word אלו-הים wherever it appears in this chapter as י-ה-ו-ה, so that we would understand the spiritual level at which this entire episode occurred. [The author must have had a different edition of Onkelos, as in our editions he only renders אלו-הים as י-ה-ו-ה in 19,17. Chavell]. At any rate, the word אלו-הים is not used to depict G’d in His capacity as delegating to agents such as nature, but as the attribute of גבורה, Justice; at the same time use of this attribute indicates that the people did not experience what we have called אספקלריא מאירה a “clear vision,” (such as was reserved for Moses) but they experienced the type of visions granted prophets of lower rank. In other words: whereas the attribute of Hashem spoke to Moses, the people heard the attribute of Elohim. You must appreciate that in view of the fact that actually the attribute Hashem was speaking, the Torah should have written here: וידבר ה’ את כל הדברים האלה, just as Moses said when he recalled the event of 40 years ago to the people in Deuteronomy. At that point he said in Deut. 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה’ אל כל קהלכם בהר מתוך האש הענן והערפל קול גדול ולא יסף. Also in Deut. 4,12 Moses quotes G’d as וידבר ה’ אליכם מתוך האש. Seeing that that in Exodus 19,18 the Torah wrote אשר ירד עליו ה’ באש, “on which Hashem descended in fire,” and it has been explained that His great name represents the emanation תפארת, which “resides within fire,” it had now become necessary to write וידבר אלו-הים, as these words reflect that the sound of the voice emanated from the fire. In other words, the Israelites heard a sound which seemed to come out of the fire. We find a similar description [involving both the attributes Elohim and Hashem. Ed.] in Deut. 5,21: הן הראנו ה’ אלו-הינו את כבודו ואת גדלו ואת קולו שמענו מתוך האש. “The Lord our G’d has just shown us His majestic Presence, and we heard His voice out of the fire.” [Israel speaking, Moses quoting how they had perceived what they had experienced. 40 years earlier. Ed.]. Keeping all these factors in mind, when Moses mentioned וידבר ה’ אליכם in Deut. 4,12 he immediately added the words “out of the fire.” He did the same again when referring to what had occurred in Deut. 5,19 after reviewing the Ten Commandments immediately prior to that verse. The reason is that whereas in Hebrew, and to Hebrew speakers the achievements of Israel are considered primary, in the Aramaic translation of Onkelos (which reflects the use of the language by people speaking that tongue) the achievements of Moses are highlighted. When the Torah (in Hebrew) writes וידבר אלו-הים, this reflects the spiritual level reached by the Jewish people, whereas when Onkelos translates as if the Torah had written וידבר ה’, this reflects the spiritual level achieved by Moses. Onkelos wants to make plain by his very translation of the words of the Torah that Moses had attained a higher spiritual plateau than had the people. Isaiah 26,4 writes as follows: בטחו בי-ה-ו-ה עדי עד כי בי-ה י-ה-ו-ה צור עולמים, “trust in Hashem for ever and ever, for in Yah Hashem you have an everlasting Rock.” What the prophet means is that the name Hashem which symbolizes the concept of “an everlasting Rock” may be described on occasion as Yah. When G’d is described in 20,2 saying: אנכי ה’ אלו-היך, He is described as speaking in His capacity as Yah, an aspect of the צור עולמים. This צור עולמים contains this name as we learn from Exodus 23,21 כי שמי בקרבו “for My name is within it,” the “it” being the צור עולמים. This is also the mystical dimension of אני ה’ בקרב הארץ (Exodus 8,18) a reference to this Rock. A kabbalistic approach to the words אשר הוצאתיך, “who has taken you out.” The Exodus, as distinct from the utterance of the Ten Commandments, was orchestrated by G’d in His capacity as Hashem. This is the reason the Torah writes (13,16 ) כי בחזק יד הוציאנו י-ה-ו-ה ממצרים, “for with the power of the hand Hashem took us out of Egypt.” The same formula is repeated in 13,3. When the Torah writes: (20,3) לא יהיה לך אלו-הים אחרים על פני, generally translated as “you must not have (recognize) any other gods in My Presence,” the meaning is that the only Presence you are to recognize as divine is My Presence, i.e. פני. The wording here is similar to the wording in Genesis 31,50 where Lavan warns Yaakov not to marry any additional wives. He said: ואם תקח נשים על בנותי. Lavan meant: ”but my daughters certainly are to remain your wives.” Similarly here; G’d forbids other gods to be recognised implying that most certainly He is to be recognised as G’d. The fact that this is so is demonstrated by the use by G’d of the word פנים in Deut. 34,10 when describing His relationship with Moses as אשר ידעו י-ה-ו-ה פנים אל פנים, “whom G’d knew (intimately) face to face.” A similar use of the word פנים is found in Deut. 5,4 describing the close relationship of G’d to the whole people at the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Torah describes this as פנים בפנים דבר י-ה-ו-ה עמכם, “face to face Hashem spoke to you.” All these expressions made it necessary to repeatedly use the expression מתוך האש, in order to explain whence G’d’s voice emanated. The best way to understand these words is that the power of G’d is within another power, just as the appearance of fire, while representing a display of power, contains within it another core of power. This what is meant in Numbers 14,14 כי עין בעין נראה אתה ה’, “that You, Hashem, appeared eye to eye.” The true meaning is that though You Hashem appeared to the eye, there is an inner dimension to this manifestation which remained invisible. This is also the mystical dimension of 20,23 לא תעשון אתי, “you shall not make ‘with’ Me, etc.” The meaning is that no other so-called deity shall share על פני, “My Divine Presence.” When the Torah writes about Moses ascending the mountain (19,3) ומשה עלה אל האלו-הים ויקרא אליו - י-ה-ו-ה that “Moses ascended to G’d, and Hashem called to him,” the meaning is that Hashem called to him from within the attribute אלו-הים. This too is the meaning in Deut. 5,21 ואת קולו שמענו מתוך האש, “and we have heard His voice out of the fire.” The voice referred to there is the voice of the attribute Hashem. It was this voice which the people had been afraid of hearing again, and this is why they said: אם יוספים אנחנו לשמוע את קול י-ה-ו-ה אלו-הינו עוד ומתנו “if we will continue to hear the voice of Hashem, our G’d, again we will die.” This is also the mystical aspect of our sages’ saying (Shevuot 20) זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו, “the words זכור and שמור [one of which appears in the first version of the Ten Commandments in Exodus and the other in the version in Deuteronomy, Ed.] were said as one.” The former refers to the attribute of Mercy, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה, the other to the attribute of Justice, the attribute known best as אלו-הים. The attribute of Mercy spoke from within the attribute of Justice. This was also why there were two Tablets instead of merely one. One represented the attribute of Mercy, the other the attribute of Justice. The Tablet on which the words לא תרצח, “do not murder,” was inscribed at the top represented the attribute of Justice. (according to the view that five of the Commandments were written on each Tablet) Moses, who, as we explained had attained the level of communicating with G’d’s attribute (emanation) תפארת, heard the word זכור, i.e. as a positive commandment, an expression of the attribute of Mercy. The people who had not attained such a lofty level of communication with G’d heard the word as שמור, as a negative commandment, as an expression of the attribute of Justice. When we find an expression (verse 22) such as כי מן השמים דברתי עמכם, ”for I have spoken with you from the heaven,” the meaning of the word מתוך in that verse is similar to the meaning of the words מתוך האש in the verses we have already discussed. If you peruse all the verses connected with מתן תורה, you will not find a single one mentioning the tetragrammaton unless it is connected to the words מתוך האש. Whereas all of the Israelites heard the tetragrammaton, no one, including the אצילי בני ישראל, who are described in Exodus 24,11 as having “seen” האלו-הים, “saw” G’d as it is impossible to “see” G’d as we know from Exodus 33,20 that no living human being can have a visual experience of G’d. If you were to counter that G’d Himself had told the people that on the third day ”G’d will descend in full view of all the people” (19,11), the meaning is that when the people would observe this great glory, “like a fire consuming the top of the mountain,” they would understand that within that spectacle the name Hashem would be concealed, i.e. the attribute which cannot be perceived by human eyes. The “glory” of G’d on the other hand, is subject to being seen by human eyes, the attribute called Elohim. It is this attribute which is described as being seen both by the expression ויחזו, and by the expression ויראו in Exodus 24,10 and Exodus 24,11 respectively. Once we have established this you will appreciate that when G’d described Himself as “descending” on the third day in full view of the people” (19,11) what is meant is a “descent” to that level of His glory which could be seen by the people. The area to which G’d had “descended,” was the area from which the word communicated itself to that attribute of glory which in turn became audible to our physical ears. This is what Moses meant when he said in Deut. 4,36 מן השמים השמיעך את קולו “out of the heaven He made you hear His voice.” We find a very similar verse in Nechemyah 9,13 (the Levites addressing G’d in the presence of the people) ועל הר סיני ירדת ודבר עמהם משמים, “and You descended on Mount Sinai to speak to them from the heaven.” You must realise that this is the G’d who is referred to also as שם (“there”, vowel kametz under the letter ש). The word שם is the “home” of the כרובים, as we know from Samuel II 6,2 להעלות מ-שם את ארון האלו-הים אשר נקרא שם שם י-ה-ו-ה צבאות יושב הכרובים עליו, “to bring up from there the Ark of G’d to which the Name was attached, the name Lord of Hosts enthroned on the Cherubim.” This was the attribute of G’d in whose honour King Solomon built the Temple as a residence on earth. This is why you find Solomon refer to it again and again as a sanctuary built לשמך, “in honour of Your name.” (Examples: Kings I 8,44: “the house I built for Your name.” Kings I 19: “the house he will build for My name.”] The sacrifices which were offered up on the altar of that Temple were all offered to the attribuite described there as שמך, “Your name.” Solomon’s father David had already instructed him that דע את אלו-הי אביך ועבדהו, “know the G’d of your father and serve Him” (Chronicles I 28,9). When Moses upbraids Korach in Numbers 16,9 for wanting to be a priest not only a Levite, he describes the function of the Levites as כי הבדיל אלו-הי ישראל אתכם מעדת ישראל להקריב אתכם אליו, “for the G’d of the Israelites has separated you (elevated) from the community of Israel to bring you near to Him.” Nachmanides comments on Exodus 32,27 where Moses tells the Levites to seek out the idolaters who served the golden calf and to execute them that the words אלו-הי ישראל in that verse refer to the attribute to whom sacrificial service to G’d is directed. Furthermore you find a verse in Chronicles II 29,7 ועולה לא העלו בקדש לאלו-הי ישראל, “they did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the G’d of Israel.” This teaches clearly that such burnt offerings were offered to the attribute known as אלו-הי ישראל. Another explicit verse teaching us the same is found in Leviticus 21,8: כי את לחם אלו-היך הוא מקריב, “for he offers the food of your G’d,” and the attribute אלו-הים is used to describe the attribute of G’d to whom the offerings are directed. Additionally, it is worthwhile to reflect on the expression לחם אשה, in Leviticus 3,11 where the priest is described as the one offering such an offering to Hashem. The word אשה is derived from אש; we have many similar expressions all referring to certain sacrifices as אשה לה’, “fire-offerings to the Lord.” The reason that the Torah does not describe such food for the altar as (לחם אש) “fiery food,” is that the word אשה is almost identical to the word אשה, woman, meaning that the recipient of the sacrifice is passive like a woman who is passive, a recipient. All of this proves that sacrifices are offered to the attribute of Justice. This is the reason that such “food,” i.e. לחם, is called לחם אשה. The truth is that while the sacrifices are offered up to the attribute אלו-הים, they are intended for the attribute Hashem. Similarly, when we offer our prayers in (lieu of sacrifices), we dedicate them to the attribute which is far above all our abilities to praise, and we verbalize that when we emphasize this very fact by saying that G’d is מרומם על כל ברכה ותהלה “exalted far above every blessing and praise” (Nechemyah 9,5). The same thought is expressed in the Kaddish prayer i.e.לעילא מכל ברכתא ושירתא תושבחתא. Kabbalists do not agree. They believe that all prayers are addressed to the one and only great name, the tetragrammaton. They believe that G’d is not beyond our ability to praise, but that He is close to all who call upon him as stated in Psalm 145,18 קרוב ה’ לכל קוראיו. There is only one condition for the “closeness” of G’d to all who call upon Him; it too has been stated in the same verse of that Psalm, i.e. יקראוהו באמת, “they must be truthful (not ambiguous) in their appeal to G’d.” Nachmanides himself mentions in his liturgical poem beginning with the words מראש מקדמי עולמים אקרא הלא תענה כי בושתי לשאול מן המלך, “l call, for are You not sure to answer? for I would be ashamed to ask (such a thing) from a king (human ruler).” We have numerous instances when the petitioner describes himself as addressing a particular attribute and at the same time expects to receive his response from a different attribute. Example: Psalms 55,17 אני אל אלו-הים אקרא וי-ה-ו-ה יושיעני, “I will call out to Elohim, and Hashem will deliver me.”—An example of a different nature which comes to mind is Psalms 6,10 where David had addressed the attribute Hashem asking not to be judged by an attribute G’d employs when He is angry. David acknowledges that Hashem answered him. There are too many examples of man addressing the attribute Hashem directly for us to have to enumerate them. If you will examine Solomon’s prayer more closely you will observe that he too did not address himself simply to the subordinate attribute Elohim, but that he combined both attributes in his petition addressing himself to י-ה-ו-ה- אלו-הי ישראל, “the Lord G’d of Israel.” He stressed merely that there is none like Him either on earth or in the heavens. Solomon avoided using the attribute אלו-הי ישראל exclusively when appealing to G’d. [The specific verse quoted by the author from Kings I 8,26 has Solomon saying: ועתה אלו-הי ישראל, without referring to the attribute Hashem. The verse prior does indeed begin ועתה ה' אלו-הי ישראל. Ed.] At any rate, we find that sometimes a combination of G’d’s attributes is being addressed, whereas at other times only a single attribute, be it Hashem or Elohim is being addressed The above will help you understand why the sages when formulating our benedictions and mentioning the attributes of Hashem and Elohim in the benedictions we recite have at the same time not employed the grammatical formula we would have expected such as אשר קדשתנו במצותיך וצויתנו, “You have sanctified us and You have commanded us,” but have insisted on the formula “who has sanctified us and who has commanded us” in the third person. The reason is that the words ברוך אתה, “blessed are You” at the beginning of the benediction refer to the words מלך העולם in a later part of the benediction. This is an attribute more familiar to us by the name תפארת. It is a reference to a certain emanation and it is this emanation (the attribute it represents) which “has sanctified us and commanded us.” It is this emanation which is the repository of G’d’s commandments to us. You will find what I have said confirmed in the Sefer Habahir item 184 who queries אשר קדשנו במצותיו instead of אשר קדשתנו וצויתנו? The answer given is that all the commandments are found in two worlds. In His great Mercy G’d has given them to us in order to sanctify us so that we will merit to establish a claim to the hereafter, the עולם גדול, in the here and now. Thus far the quote from the Sefer Habahir. From there you can conclude that the relationship between the Shechinah and the people of Israel is not one based merely on the need of the common Israelite, but that it is a reciprocal relationship also satisfying a need of the celestial forces represented by the Shechinah. Seeing that the glory of the tetragram and all it stands for is disseminated by the attribute כבוד, “glory, honour,” whenever this occurs an additional element of Holy Spirit is added to the Shechinah. This is why a prayer (Psalms 104,31) such as יהי כבוד ה’ לעולם ישמח ה‘ במעשיו, makes sense. The meaning of these words is: “the glory of G’d is enhanced to the emanation עולם when the attribute we know as the tetragram has occasion to rejoice in the deeds of its creatures.” This means that every Israelite has the potential to strengthen or, G’d forbid, to “weaken” certain attributes of G’d by his deeds or lack of them. This idea is expressed succinctly in Deut. 32,18 as צור ילדך תשי, literally: “You neglected the Rock that begot you;” according to Kabbalists this means: “when Israel neglects the Torah, it weakens the power of the Torah.” A verse conveying a similar sentiment is Psalms 60,14 באלו-הים נעשה חיל, “we can perform valiant deeds which enhance Elohim.” The attribute of כבוד which we have spoken about is expressed in our verse by the words וידבר אלו-הים, “The One who spoke was the One who both writes and gives, i.e. hands over what He has written.” It is the same attribute we find referred to in Exodus 32,16 והמכתב מכתב אלו-הים הוא, “and the writing was the writing of Elohim.” When we read in Exodus 31,18 ויתן אל משה וגו’, the unnamed subject is the same Elohim who did the writing on the Tablets. The reference is to the word אלו-הים which appears at the very end of that verse. It was also this attribute of G’d which Moses (Deut. 33,12) referred to when he described Benjamin as ידיד ה’ ישכון לבטח עליו, describing that while this attribute rested on the Holy Temple, Benjamin and the entire Jewish people would dwell securely. Moses singled out Benjamin as the Holy Temple would be built on his tribal territory. This attribute was also referred to as פי י-ה-ו-ה, in Exodus 17,11 at al. This expression, i.e. “The mouth of the tetragram” means that the instructions emanated from an attribute outside the core of Hashem. It was the attribute described as פי ה’ which Moses and Aaron sinned against in Numbers 20,12 when instead of having spoken to the rock Moses struck the rock. G’d spelled this out when He said לא האמנתם בי ...אשר מריתם את פי, “you did not believe in Me....you rebelled against פי. (Numbers 20,24) I shall explain this in greater detail when we discuss that event. You will now be able to understand the meaning of the word צור when this word refers to an aspect of G’d. We have verses such as הצור תמים פעלו, “the Rock, His works are perfect” (Deut. 32,4). Another verse of that category is Deut. 33,12: צור ילדך תשי. A third word featuring the word צור occurred in Exodus 17,6 הנני עומד לפניך שם על הצור בחורב; I will explain the last verse in detail in connection with Numbers 20,8 [where only the word סלע is mentioned in contrast with the word צור in Exodus 17,6 Ed.]. First we have to understand why G’d repeated the word צור in His instructions to Moses in Exodus 17,6 when all He had to say was והכית בו, “strike it,” seeing that He had already told Moses that the צור was the object he was to concentrate on. This hints that the words והכית בצור, may refer to a different “צור.” The attribute כבוד we have been mentioning repeatedly is the one that said to Yaakov (Genesis 31,13) אנכי האל בית-אל, seeing that it was this attribute which had been described earlier as the G’d of his father when we read of G’d (introducing) revealing Himself to Moses (Exodus 3,6) saying אנכי אלו-הי אביך אלו-הי אברהם, אלו-הי יצחק, ואלו-הי יעקב, ויסתר משה פניו כי ירא מהביט אל-האלו-הים. ”I am the G’d of your father, the G’d of Avraham, the G’d of Yitzchak, and the G’d of Yaakov; Moses averted his face as he was afraid to look at Elohim.” [The common denominator in the last two verses quoting G’d is the word אנכי coupled with Elohim. Ed.] According to Hoseah 12,5 בית אל is an attribute by means of which G’d addresses human beings. The verse in Hoseah, clearly a reference to Yaakov, reads as follows: וישר אל מלאך ויכל, בכה ויתחנן לו, בית אל ימצאנו ושם ידבר עמנו “He wrestled with an angel and prevailed; he (the angel) cried and pleaded with him. At Bet-El He would meet him, and there He would speak with us.” [The next verse continues (not quoted by our author) “But the Lord, the Lord of Hosts must be invoked as “the Lord.” Ed.]. When G’d said to Moses (Exodus 33,19) אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך, “I shall let all My goodness pass before you,” He referred to His capacity as the attribute כבוד. In Exodus 34,6 this is described as “Hashem passed before him.” I shall explain the apparent anomaly in this verse when we get to it. The verse in Ki Tissa refers to the attribute which is meant in verse 23 of the same chapter where the Torah speaks of the pilgrims presenting themselves את פני האדון י-ה-ו-ה- אלו-הי ישראל. You have to understand the meaning of the words את פני האדון coupled with the expression י-ה-ו-ה -אלו-הי ישראל. What is meant is that the Hashem aspect is concealed within the manifestation of the attribute פני אדון. The word את פני used in connection with the pilgrimages in Ki Tissa is the mystical dimension of על פני in our verse, and it is the attribute to which Moses appealed in Exodus 32,11 as soon as G’d told him about the Israelites having made themselves a molten calf to worship. Moses’ prayer commenced with the words ויחל משה את פני י-ה-ו-ה אלו-היו. Moses pleaded with the attribute of Justice. It is also possible, following the approach of Nachmanides on that verse, that the word ויחל is derived from תחלה, “beginning.” In that event the meaning of the Torah’s description of Moses’ prayer is that he drew strength throughout from the beginning of his prayer until its successful conclusion known as פנים. [I suppose the word פנים in that context means that G’d was once again prepared to turn His face, i.e. goodwill, to the people at the conclusion of Moses’ intercession. Ed.] This may have been why Moses used the words למה י-ה-ו-ה i.e. the attribute Hashem in the course of his prayer as if to ask G’d: “why do You Hashem allow the attribute of Justice to exercise authority over Your people?” The attribute which Moses addressed at that time was the one we described as כבוד. We find confirmation of this in Deut. 9,26 where Moses recalls the events of that period saying: ואתפלל אל י-ה-ו-ה ואומר אד-ני אלו-הים אל תשחת עמך ונחלתך אשר פדית בגדלך אשר הוצאת ממצרים ביד חזקה. “I prayed to Hashem and said: “My Lord Hashem/Elohim do not destroy Your people and Your heritage that You redeemed in Your greatness, that You took out of Egypt with a strong hand.” You will observe that Moses addressed the name with the letters אד followed by the name with the letters יה. [The author refers to the name printed in most editions as yud heh vav heh but read as Elohim, i.e. a combination of part of adonay and the tetragrammaton. Ed.] Seeing Moses had addressed the attribute of Justice, he had pleaded by saying: “do not destroy Your people, etc.” If we were to sum up the meaning of the verse we would say: “Lord (אדון), You within whom is the attribute of Mercy, do not destroy Your people.” We find another occasion in the desert when Moses employed the term adonay in the same sense in Deut. 3,24 where he begins his prayer to be allowed to cross the Jordan prior to his death. At that time Moses reminds G’d that He had revealed to him at the burning bush that within the attribute of Justice there is concealed the attribute of Mercy. Yet another instance when Moses used this address was when he asked G’d to continue to be present amongst the people in Exodus 34,9. A fourth time Moses employs that attribute is in Numbers 14,17 after the debacle with the spies. In our daily blessing of the attribute כבוד when we recite ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו, “blessed be the glory of Hashem from His place” [an inadequate though customary translation, Ed.], the meaning of the word ממקומו is: ”from the place from which the attribute כבוד receives its input,” i.e. from the attribute גבורה. The ultimate source of blessing is the אין סוף, the essence of the Lord. In our daily kedushah prayer we first proclaim the Holiness of the Lord, followed by ברוך, blessing Him. The reason we make a distinction between קדושה and ברכה, Holiness and blessing, is that the type of sanctity on terrestrial earth and the type of Holiness in the celestial spheres is not to be compared although we call both by the name קדושה. We do this although the blessing is derived from the Holiness in the celestial regions. The two domains must remain separate from one another. Midrash Tehillim 19 on the words יום ליום asks the rhetorical question: “whence did Moses know while he was on Mount Sinai (in heaven) when it was day and when it was night?” Answer: at the time when the angels were engaged in praising the Lord using the word קדוש, Moses knew that it was daylight on earth. When the angels used the word ברוך in their praise of the Lord Moses knew that it must be night on earth. When we read in Hoseah 3,5 ובקשו את ה' אלו-היהם ואת דויד מלכם, “and they will seek the Lord their G’d and David their king,” the prophet expresses the difference between Holiness in the celestial spheres and holiness on earth. This is a reference to the respective attributes of תפארת and כבוד. The third part of the daily קדושה prayer when we recite the words ימלוך ה' לעולם אלו-היך ציון, “may the Lord reign forever, your G’d Zion,” re-establishes the joint partnership between the attributes of כבוד and תפארת, the words ימלוך ה' לעולם being a reference to the attribute תפארת, whereas the words אלוה-יך ציון are a reference to the attribute כבוד. We find a similar concept expressed in writings explaining aggadic material. We are told there that when the Shechinah will once again take up residence in the Holy of Holies, the inner Sanctum of the third Temple, people will acknowledge this event by reciting ברוך כבוד י-ה-ו-ה ממקומו. In the Sefer Habahir (item 131) this is explained in the following way: “what precisely is this כבוד ה'? We may understand all this in the form of a parable. A king had a beautiful lady in his chamber, a lady that all his soldiers amused themselves with. The king and that lady’s children would pay daily visits to the palace blessing their father the king profusely and asking: “where is our mother?” The king replied: ‘you cannot see her just now.” The children then said: “may she be blessed wherever she is.” Thus far the Sefer Habahir. This “כבוד” is known generally as שכינה, and you know already that it is perceived as extending to all “extremities, endings,” i.e. all six directions [in terms of our terrestrial world, i.e. the six directions in which we shake the Lulav, Ed.] This emanation כבוד itself ranks seventh [from the bottom up in the ten emanations, Ed.] so that it “presides,” i.e. provides spiritual input for the six “lower” emanations. Basically, this is what occurred at Mount Sinai when the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments as if emanating out of the fire. This is also what the sages (Shemot Rabbah 28,4) had in mind when they said “the Torah was given with seven קולות, “voices.” The word קול or קולות occurs seven times in our paragraph. [The word קול or קולות occurs six times, the seventh time being the words וידבר אלו-הים “G’d spoke,” something obviously involving קול, “voice.” — compare 19,15, 19,16, 19,19,(twice) 20,16. (twice)]. When you look at the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5,19 you will again find that the word קול or קולות occurs seven times. I will refer to this in detail when we discuss those verses. On this occasion Moses attained an understanding of seven different קולות, which in kabbalistic terms are called seven emanations, and to which our sages referred as שבעה קולות, “seven voices,” whereas in the language of our prophets these are called שבעה עינים, “seven facets.” This is the mystical dimension of Zecharyah 3,9 על אבן אחת שבעה עינים. The word עינים is related in meaning to גוונים, “varieties.” Only Moses understood the name and the full meaning of it. The people at large only heard the voice of G’d as a single קול. This is what Moses referred to when he wrote Deut 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם ...קול גדול ולא יסף, “these words the Lord spoke to your entire congregation.. .a great voice without addition,” The verse makes it plain that the congregation only heard a single voice, nothing additional. This was because their limited powers of perception did not allow them to distinguish nuances within that voice. You also find that David mentions seven קולות Psalms 29,3 (1); 29,4(2+3); 29,5 (4); 29,6 (5); 29,7 (6); 29,8 (7). The sequence there is understood in a descending order, i.e. from חסד-גבורה-תפארת-נצה-הוד-יסוד-מלכות. After Moses had attained understanding of these seven emanations, he turned to G’d asking to be granted understanding of the emanations which were still higher, i.e. the emanations בינה-חכמה-כתר in ascending order. This is the meaning of Exodus 33,18 הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your כבוד. I will deal with this in detail when we discuss that verse. In the meantime you must appreciate that the Shechinah is the seventh emanation and it exudes its influence on “seventy,” i.e. the seventy nations. As soon as the דבור left the mouth of the Shechinah it split into seven nuances, קולות, and subsequently into seventy languages parallel to the seventy nations on earth and their respective languages. As a result every single nation participated to some degree in the revelation at Mount Sinai, hearing sort of an echo of that original voice (Shabbat 88). This is also mentioned in Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 68,6 (on verse 11 in that Psalm) on the words א-ד-נ-י יתן אומר המבשרות צבא רב. “The Lord gives a command; the women who bring the news are a great host.” When G’d (attribute גבורה) spoke His words, the sound was split into seven voices which in turned were subdivided into seventy voices, i.e. the seventy languages of the seventy nations to enable all of them to hear part of G’d’s voice. The process may be compared to a person who strikes an anvil and sparks fly in all directions. This is the meaning of the words המבשרות צבא רב. Having understood this it is possible to understand the mystical dimensions of שבועה and נדר, commonly translated as “oath” and “vow” respectively. The word שבועה is derived from the word שבע, “seven,” whereas the word נדר is related to the three emanations “above” the seven represented by the קולות ה' as we described previously. A נדר ranks higher in Jewish law than an oath, שבועה. Seeing that the Torah (in its aspect as a Book of laws) does not concern itself with matters beyond the seven lower emanations and the Torah itself is a product of those seven emanations, it makes sense that in Jewish law an oath would never be overriding one of the already existing Torah commandments, i.e. someone who swore an oath not to observe one or several of the Torah’s commandments would not thereby have obligated himself to keep his oath. Any such oath is as if the person who uttered it had not said anything. Regarding a נדר the matter is quite different, seeing that basically the concept of נדר emanates from a domain higher than the lower seven emanations. In principle, a נדר, a vow of a certain type, is able to override a מצוה. The very wording which our sages have assigned to the respective formulations of vows and oaths reflect their legal status in Jewish law. By definition, a נדר is unlimited, i.e. person says “I accept for myself a certain duty,“ such as when David said in Psalms 56,13 עלי אלו-הים נדרך אשלם “it is up to me to pay my vows to You G’d.” There was no time-limit to that obligation, nor was there any kind of contingency which might have rendered the vow as invalid. The word נדר is related to דירה dwelling, as I will explain in greater detail on Numbers 30,3. David understands that the obligation to fulfill his vow is not contingent on pre-existing contrary obligations which would invalidate it. The same is the case in Numbers 30,7 where the Torah describes the absolute duty of a woman, who has not had a husband or the authority of a father who could have objected to her vow at the time she made it, to make good on her vow. When we will discuss the third of the Ten Commandments, I will elaborate on the seriousness of the failure to keep an oath and how it is related to the seven emanations, while in Numbers 30,3 I will discuss the difference between that prohibition and the sin of not honoring a vow one has made. Seeing that I have explained some basic principles of the Torah here I will not need to elaborate on these principles again.

“And God spoke all these words, saying.” The text mentions both “dibur” [speaking] and “amirah” [saying] — one is harsh and one is soft, as it is written: Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob — these are the women, speak to them in soft language; and tell the children of Israel — to the males, words as harsh as sinews. For this reason, these are called the Ten Statements [“dibrot”], while all of creation is referred to as the Ten Sayings [“ma’amarot”], because all of creation was formed according to their own inclination, meaning in those forms which they chose for themselves — which is soft speech without decree. But God’s commandments are all royal decrees, as a person should not say “I don’t want to eat pork because I find it disgusting” but rather “I do want it, but the Holy One, blessed be He, has decreed against it” — which is harsh speech. Nevertheless, for women who are intellectually weaker, one needs to explain in soft language to inform them of the benefits of the commandments, because any intelligent person accepts the decrees of the Holy One, blessed be He, while those with weaker intellect need explanation so that they will accept willingly. Even regarding the creation of heaven and earth it is written: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made (Psalms 33:6). Since they possess intelligence, they accepted God’s decree upon themselves even if not according to their own inclination. But regarding the lower beings it says: Let all the earth fear the Lord… For He said, and it came to be (Psalms 33:8-9). This means that He talked to them with soft speech, and they were created according to their own inclination. However, with the higher beings we find rebuke, as it says: Let there be a firmament (Genesis 1:6), for “a rebuke enters a person of understanding,” and similarly Moses said: Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the sayings of my mouth (Deuteronomy 32:1). This works well with the language of “dibur” and “amirah,” whether speaking of heaven and earth in general, or speaking toward people who have [spiritual] height and their height is like the height of heaven, and toward the common people [“amei ha’aretz”]. And these statements [commandments] were ten, to teach that upon them the world stands, as it was created with ten sayings in order to reveal the being of the ten sefirot without substance, and furthermore to punish the wicked, etc. For they say to the wicked, “Evil one, you should have paid attention that the world was not created with ten sayings for nothing, but because its existence depends on the Ten Commandments, which include the entire Torah,” as Rashi explained at the end of Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 24:12). And if so, by transgressing them, you are destroying an entire world, and for this reason, it is fitting to punish them, etc.

את כל הדברים האלה לאמר, “all of these words.” The word לאמר teaches that the entire Ten Commandments would be part of a single utterance, something that it is impossible for the mouth of a human being to do. Seeing that this was so, why does the Torah write it as if it had been a number of separate utterances, i.e. אנכי ה' אלוקיך, לא יהיה לך, etc.? This shows that Moses repeated each of the commandments. (Mechilta, Yitro bachodesh, section 4) This appears hard to understand, how did the author of the Mechilta think that Moses contributed to our understanding the Ten Commandments by repeating, or trying to repeat what G–d had done? What was meant is that Moses by adding the cantillations, enabled the people to understand every word. A different interpretation of this Mechilta by Rabbi Baruch: Moses in his repeating the utterance separated between what is the first verse in our chumashim, and the second verse by taking a breath, although basically the two verses are part of the same commandment. Proof of that is the fact G–d is speaking in the first person repeatedly, i.e. “I have taken you out of Egypt; My presence; I am the Lord your G–d; “the ones who hate Me.” “The ones who love Me.” All the other parts of the Ten Commandments are addressed to “you.” This is why the Talmud in tractate Makkot folio 24 states that the first two Commandments were uttered by G–d personally. The Talmud explains that although G–d uttered all Ten Commandments, the people could only hear and understand G–d as speaking the first two commandments. [They had asked Moses to interpret the remainder for them. Ed]

I am Hashem your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים WHO HAVE BROUGHT THEE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT — That act of bringing you out is alone of sufficient importance that you should subject yourselves to Me. Another explanation: because He had revealed Himself to them at the Red Sea as a mighty man of war and here He revealed Himself as a grey-beard filled with compassion, as it is stated in connection with the Giving of the Law, (Exodus 24:10) “and there was under His feet as it were a brick-work of sapphire”, which is explained to mean that this (the brick-work) was before Him at the time of their bondage; “and there was as the essence of heaven” (i. e. joy and gladness) when they had been delivered (cf. Rashi on Exodus 24:10), thus the Divine Glory changed according to circumstances, — therefore He stated here: Since I change, appearing in various forms, do not say, “There are two divine Beings”; it is I Who brought you forth from Egypt and Who appeared to you at the Sea (cf. Mekhilta). Another explanation: because they then heard many voices, as it is said (v. 15) “the people heard the voices (הקלות)” — voices coming from the four cardinal points and from the heavens and from the earth — therefore God said to them, “Do not say there are many Deities”. — Why did God say in the singular אלהיך, “Thy God”, (as though speaking to one person alone)? To afford Moses an opportunity to speak in defence of Israel at the incident of the golden calf. This, is exactly what he did say, (Exodus 32:11) “Wherefore, O Lord, doth Thy wrath glow against Thy people”, for not to them didst Thou give the command, “There shall be to thee no other gods” but to me alone! (Exodus Rabbah 43:5) מבית עבדים OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVES — This means, from the house of Pharaoh where ye were slaves to him. Or perhaps it only says “from the house of slaves” in the sense of a house belonging to slaves to that the words imply that they were slaves to slaves (a most abject form of slavery)! But elsewhere it states, (Deuteronomy 7:8) “He redeemed thee from the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt”, so that you must now admit that they were slaves of the king and not slaves to slaves and the meaning is: from the house where you were slaves (Mekhilta).

I AM THE ETERNAL THY G-D. This Divine utterance constitutes a positive commandment. He said, I am the Eternal, thus teaching and commanding them that they should know and believe that the Eternal exists and that He is G-d to them. That is to say, there exists an Eternal Being through Whom everything has come into existence by His will and power, and He is G-d to them, who are obligated to worship Him. He said, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, because His taking them out from there was the evidence establishing the existence and will of G-d, for it was with His knowledge and providence that we came out from there. The exodus is also evidence for the creation of the world, for assuming the eternity of the universe, [which precludes a Master of the universe Who is in control of it], it would follow that nothing could be changed from its nature. And it is also evidence for G-d’s infinite power, and His infinite power is an indication of the Unity, as He said, that thou [i.e., Pharaoh] mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth. This is the intent of the expression, Who brought thee out, since they are the ones who know and are witnesses to all these things. The meaning of out of the house of bondage is that they stayed in Egypt in a house of bondage as captives of Pharaoh. He said this to them [in order to indicate] that they are obligated [to accept] this Great, Glorious and Fearful Name as their G-d, and to worship Him, because He redeemed them from Egyptian bondage. It is similar in meaning to the verse, They are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I have also already alluded to above by way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], to the reason why the two sacred Names — [the Tetragrammaton and Elokim] — are mentioned here. This commandment, in the words of our Rabbis, is called the obligation “to take upon oneself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,” for these words, [i.e., the Eternal your G-d], which I have mentioned, indicate a King addressing His people. Thus the Rabbis have said in the Mechilta: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Why is this said? Because it says, I am the Eternal thy G-d. This can be illustrated by a parable: A king invaded a country, and his attendants said to him, ‘Issue decrees to us.’ He, however, refused, saying: ‘No! When you have accepted my sovereignty, I will issue decrees to you, for if you do not accept my sovereignty, how will you carry out my decrees?’ Similarly, G-d said to Israel: ‘I am the Eternal thy G-d, thou shalt have no other gods. I am He Whose sovereignty you have accepted in Egypt.’ And when they said to Him: ‘Yes,’ [He continued]: ‘Now, just as you have accepted My sovereignty, so you must also accept My decrees.’” That is to say, “Since you have accepted upon yourselves and have admitted that I am the Eternal, and that I am your G-d from the [time that you were yet in the] land of Egypt, then accept all My commandments.”Now all the [Ten]...

The First Commandment: "I am." Know that all commandments fall into two categories. The first category consists of rational commandments that Hashem implanted in the heart of every intelligent person, and these are many. Among the Ten Commandments, only the Sabbath falls outside the category of rational obligation — hence every intelligent person of every nation and tongue assents to the others, for they are grounded in reason, and nothing may be added to or subtracted from them. Abraham observed these along with the additional commandments. Hashem gave the Torah only to rational persons; one without reason has no Torah. The second category consists of hidden commandments whose reasons are not made explicit. God forbid, God forbid that any of them should contradict reason — rather, we are obligated to observe all that Hashem commanded us, whether the secret behind them has been revealed or not. If we find one that appears to contradict reason, we must not take it literally; we must search in the books of our Sages, of blessed memory, for whether it is a parable. If we do not find it written there, we must investigate and search with all our capacity — perhaps we can resolve it. If we cannot, we leave it as it is and acknowledge that we do not know its meaning — as in: "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart" (Deut. 10:16). Did He command us to slaughter ourselves like a cruel man? We know with certainty that each of the commandments not obligated by reason has a hidden secret within it, even if it is concealed from us. The proof: some of them are given with explicit reasons — e.g., the Sabbath as a remembrance of creation; Passover, "so that you remember" (Deut. 16:3); "Love the stranger, for you were strangers" (Deut. 10:19); mixed seeds, lest the crop become forfeit (Deut. 22:9); "he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return" (Deut. 17:16); likewise, "he shall not multiply wives for himself" — with the stated reason, "lest his heart turn away" (Deut. 17:17) — and this is not a separate commandment, as stated in the Halakhot of Shimon ben Qayyara; and the meaning of "he shall read in it" (Deut. 17:19) is explained as, "lest his heart be lifted up above his brothers" (Deut. 17:20); and the portion of Hakhel, "so that they may learn" (Deut. 31:12) — and many commandments like these. It follows that the intelligent person, whose eyes Hashem has opened, can discern the secret of every commandment from the words of the Torah. All commandments fall into three types: commandments of the heart, commandments of the tongue, and commandments of deed. Commandments of the heart take two forms — positive and negative. Positive: "You shall love Hashem your God" (Deut. 11:1), and cleaving to Him, and fearing the revered Name (Deut. 28:58), and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). Negative: "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," and "You shall not take revenge nor bear a grudge" (Lev. 19:17–18). Commandments of the tongue also take both forms: positive — such as the recitation of Shema, the grace after meals, the priestly blessing, and the confession of tithes, and many like them; negative — "You shall not testify falsely against your neighbor" (v. 16), "You shall not curse judges" (below, 22:27), "You shall not curse the deaf" (Lev. 19:14). Positive and negative commandments of deed are numerous and need not be listed. Commandments of the heart are the most important of all. Many have thought there is no sin in thought alone — only in deed; but in truth the heart-commandments stand against all others combined. Do they not see the verse: "These six things Hashem hates" (Prov. 6:16), where it is written, "a heart that devises wicked plans" (Prov. 6:18)? And it is written: "You have done well, for it was in your heart" (2 Chr. 6:8); "Deal well with Hashem with those who are good and upright in their hearts" (Ps. 125:4); "Let your heart be whole" (1 Kgs. 8:61); "I, Hashem, search the heart" (Jer. 17:10); "Hashem sees into the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). This first commandment is the foundation of all nine commandments that follow it, and it is close to a commandment of the heart. The meaning of this commandment is that one should believe — and hold in his heart without doubt — that this revered Name, which is written but not pronounced, is his only God. R. Judah HaLevi, may he rest in honor, asked me: why did it say "I am Hashem your God who brought you out of Egypt" rather than "who made heaven and earth and made you"? This was my answer to him: Know that human beings are not equal in the quality of their belief in the revered Name. The many believe by what their ears have heard — what their masters told them. Above them are those who have seen it written in the words of the Torah that Hashem gave to Moses; yet if a heretic comes to challenge them and says there is no God, they are silenced, for they cannot answer. But one whose heart moved him to study the sciences — which are like rungs of a ladder leading to where one wishes to go — will recognize Hashem's works in metals, plants, animals, and in the human body itself, knowing the function of each and every limb according to its nature and why it was formed this way. He will then rise further to understand the movements of the celestial spheres, which are Hashem's work in the intermediate world, and will know when the sun or moon will be eclipsed and to what extent — and all this he will know with certainty, without doubt. From Hashem's ways the wise person knows Hashem, as Moses said: "Make Your ways known to me, that I may know You" (below, 33:13). So the revered Name said in the first commandment, "I am Hashem your God" — and this can only be fully understood by one who is exceptionally wise. For as I explained in the portion of Shemot, this Name alone is what stands without change; there is nothing else that endures forever, and nothing like Him who has dwelt from eternity (Ps. 55:20). He sustains the upper world by His power, the intermediate world by the power of His holy angels in the upper world, and this lower world is sustained by the power of Hashem and by the power of the two upper worlds. Now, "I am Hashem" suffices for the wise person of any nation. For the making of heaven and earth was, by today's reckoning, close to five thousand years ago — and only Israel accepts this, while the sages of the nations do not deny that Hashem alone made heaven and earth; they only say He makes continuously, without beginning or end. But Hashem performed signs and wonders in Egypt until Moses brought Israel out, to be their God — as Moses said, "Or has any god attempted to come and take for himself a nation" (Deut. 4:34)? The meaning is that Hashem did for Israel what He did for no other nation. For Hashem created the intermediate world, which rules over the lower world according to the stellar constellation of each people — good or evil as Hashem assigned to them. The constellation of Israel was such that they should still be enslaved — but Hashem, by His power, for love of the patriarchs, wrought new signs in the lower world beyond the dominion of the intermediate world, and took Israel out from under the rule of the constellations to be His own people and inheritance. This is why our ancestors said: Israel is not subject to the constellations (Nedarim 32a). I will explain this further with parables in the portion of Ki Tissa. Because of the sign that Hashem performed in Egypt, Moses said, "You have been shown, to know" (Deut. 4:35) — for everyone saw this, wise and simple, great and small. He also added the matter of the standing at Mount Sinai where they heard Hashem's voice: "From the heavens He made you hear His voice to discipline you" (Deut. 4:36). And he said at the end, that the complete knowledge consists in one taking it to heart until it becomes clear by proofs that Hashem alone exists — hence he said, "Know today and take it to your heart" (Deut. 4:39). David similarly said, "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him" (1 Chr. 28:9). Knowledge is in the heart, not in the utterance of the mouth. So He said to the wise person: "I am Hashem" — and He added "who brought you out" so that the simple person could also understand. He said "your God" because you are obligated — since He brought you out of the house of slavery — to be His servant and serve Him, and to be His people while He is your God. Moses explained this in the portion of "When your son asks you" (Deut. 6:20). The question there is: why are we obligated to perform Hashem's commandments more than all other people, when we all have one Creator? He offered three answers: first, "we were slaves to Pharaoh" (Deut. 6:21) — He did this great good for us, and therefore we are obligated to keep everything He commands us, even without knowing the reasons; second, these commandments are not for His benefit but for ours — "for our good always, to give us life" (Deut. 6:24); third, "and it shall be righteousness for us" (Deut. 6:25) — that we be righteous and inherit the World to Come. The philosophers found that all properties of physical things are ten, with none higher — the first being the substance of a thing, which stands alone, and the other nine are all accidents, all dependent on the first and flowing from it — for it is like the number one among ten, from which all numbers issue and in which all numbers can be found, for it is the foundation. So this first commandment that the revered Name spoke encompasses all commandments of heart, tongue, and deed — for one who does not believe in his heart in Hashem has no commandment upon him. One is obligated to recall Him at every moment for His honor; everything one does should be done only for His honor, and one should refrain from transgression only for the honor of Hashem alone. Like a person who gives charity to a poor man — he should not give it for the honor of the charity collector, nor so that people will praise him, for then he would regard his own standing as higher than the honor of Hashem who gave him wealth and surplus beyond what he can give, in order to receive reward from Hashem. Similarly, one who transgresses in secret, because the king will not know or people will see him and think lightly of him — such a person is a fool, for it is written: "He who formed the eye, does He not see?" (Ps. 94:9). Hashem sees in secret what people cannot see in the open, for Hashem knows his thoughts and his secret. One fears the king who may die tomorrow lest he punish him — yet does not fear the true King who holds his soul in this world and the next. Rav Saadia Gaon composed the Azharot and organized all the commandments under the Ten Commandments, finding the revered Name in the first five. I have already explained that the first commandment is the foundation and all the structures of the commandments rest upon it. After it comes "You shall have no other gods." The transgression of one who does not believe in Hashem is greater than the transgression of one who worships idolatry — for many believe in Hashem while also sacrificing and burning incense to idols, like those who burned incense to the Queen of Heaven, thinking it would benefit them, as they said: "Ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven...we have lacked everything" (Jer. 44:18). And it is written: "They feared Hashem but served their own gods" (2 Kgs. 17:33) — and similarly Naaman, "when I bow in the house of Rimmon" (2 Kgs. 5:18). These believe in Hashem but associate another with Him. That is why in this commandment the revered Name is written, and in the third commandment it is also written — for the transgression of one who swears falsely is less than idolatry, yet he publicly scorns Hashem; perhaps he did it out of anger or need, for in his heart he believes in Hashem and does not associate another with Him. In the fourth commandment Hashem's name is written because He rested on the seventh day — and one who performs labor on the Sabbath denies creation, though this transgression is less than swearing falsely in His name. In the fifth commandment Hashem's name is written because parents are partners with Him in creation — and one who does not honor them is as one who does not honor Hashem. The remaining five commandments concern human beings: the first and hardest, to separate the soul from the body; the next does not affect the body; the next is theft of property; then falsehood by tongue; and finally coveting in the heart.

אנכי, “I alone am the Lord; I am the One responsible for creating the material world, for creating egos. Individuals. I am known to you by tradition.” אלוקיך, “I keep My promise to be and remain your G’d, I am not to be worshipped through intermediaries, I am to be prayed to directly.” אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים, in doing so I had to overcome all the obstacles that intermediaries (forces of nature, also My creatures and appointed by Me to perform My will) had tried to use to block My efforts. I am the One Whom you accepted as such when you said (Exodus 15,2) “this is My G’d and I want to glorify Him.” מבית עבדים, from all exterior coercion in order for you to be free to worship Me, exclusively.

אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך, "I am the Lord your G'd, etc." The reason G'd repeats "who took you out of Egypt, the house of bondage," was to heighten the contrast between then and now. The Israelites had been enslaved in a country which was notorious for not releasing slaves nor letting them escape (compare Isaiah 14,17). The Israelites had two major strikes against them at the time. They were mired deeply in impurity, and they were under the rule of a king notorious for not letting anyone escape. G'd also referred to His dual role as both the Eternal, i.e the meaning of the tetragram and the supreme authority, i.e. אלוקיך. Anyone who rebelled against G'd's decrees would face retribution. G'd manifested Himself in this dual capacity to remove all doubt about philosophies which inspired idol worship by suggesting that He had partners. G'd's taking the Israelites out of Egypt should have dispelled any such doubts about any opposing deities possessing any power at all. מבית עבדים, from the house of bondage. G'd makes the point that since it was He Who liberated us from one master, He is entitled to demand that we show Him obeisance. The reference to the house of bondage also alludes to the souls whom Israel came to rescue during its enforced stay in Egypt. I have explained this at length on Genesis 46,3 in connection with the expression: "I will make you (Jacob) a great nation there." Kabbalists go further and believe that Deut. 4,7: "for who is a great nation whose G'd is close to them, etc.?" is also a reference to the fact that all Jewish souls past, present, and future participated in the revelation at Mount Sinai. Accordingly, G'd repeated the statement concerning the Exodus because it referred not only to the bodies but also to the souls. The many stray souls which had been imprisoned in Egypt as part of the loot captured by the forces of the קליפה after Adam's sin had also been freed at that time. Yerushalmi Sukkah 5,4 commenting on Psalms 22,4: "You are the Holy One, enthroned, the Praise of Israel," states that G'd prefers the praise of Israel to that of anyone else. Whereas others praise the Lord by referring to Him as "the Lord of the universe," or as "the G'd of the angels," He prefers to be called the Lord G'd of Israel. When G'd says here: "I am the Lord your G'd," this means that He is not happy with being defined in any other way than as the G'd of Israel. By saying this, G'd advertised throughout the celestial regions that Israel was superior. By saying: אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים, G'd advertised that Israel was His favourite on earth, and that He had taken them out of a place which had been considered a prison with maximum security. The statement is to be considered as a compliment to G'd. The best proof of this is to be found when Yitro described the Exodus in Exodus 18,1. He had already realised that the experience of the Exodus had stamped Israel as the choicest of the nations for all times. When G'd continues with the words מבית עבדים, the...

אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G-d;” Rabbi Levi is quoted as saying (old version of Tanchuma Yitro 17) G-d appeared to the Israelites as if a multifaceted portrait visible to a thousand people at the same time (by means of refraction) so that all could see Him and vice versa. The people each heard His voice in a similar manner [as of course a visual image was out of the question since even if they had seen one that would be proof that it could not be His “face.” Ed.]. In this way every Israelite was able to claim that G-d had spoken to him individually, saying: “I am the Lord your G-d, etc. This is the reason that G-d had not said: אלוקיכם “your G-d (plural mode,)” but אלוקיך, “your G-d, (singular mode)”. He had addressed all of them in the order in which they stood assembled around the Mountain. This corresponded exactly to G-d’s commandment to Moses in 19,12: והגבלת את העם סביב לאמור, “you are to set bounds to the people around, saying:Do not raise the question that if the people had been used already to receive their daily ration of manna by picking it up around the boundaries of the encampment, and in spite of each one receiving the same amount, its taste would vary in accordance with the imagination of its recipient, then each one would presumably have a different recollection of how G-d’s voice had sounded to him? ה' אלוקיך, “the Lord your G-d,” (two separate attributes of G-d) the author refers the reader to his commentary on Genesis 1,1 where he had pointed out that the “plural” ending in the word אלוהים, is not a plural ending at all. אנכי ה' אלוקיך, this is the beginning of the first of the ten Commandments. By means of this declaration G-d commands the people never to forget that is was He Who had redeemed the people by taking them out of bondage in Egypt. As a result, He had now become their new Master. He implies that they are far better off serving Him than remaining slaves to Pharaoh. אשר הוצאתיך, “Who has taken you out;” why did G-d choose this activity when He could have said: “I have made you,” or “I have created you?” He could have listed any number of favours that He had performed for the Jewish people already. Each one have them would have established His claim to be their Master and to obey Him. The answer is simple; they would have replied that G-d had performed deeds of loving kindness for the other nations also without requiring them to accept His Torah as a result. The one He listed here He had not performed for anyone else, however. By listing the Exodus as His claim to become their Master, He forestalled any such replies by the people.

אנכי ה' אלו-היך, “I am the Lord your G’d,” This is a commandment to be carried out by the heart (compare Chovot Halevavot beginning of the first chapter); it therefore is not counted except as an obligation of the heart to believe with complete and absolute faith that there is a Creator who preceded any phenomena in the universe that we are either aware of or will ever become aware of. We must similarly believe that He is alone, has no partners. (Deut. 4,35). The word אנכי always refers to a presence and the letter א at the beginning of the word alludes both to His existence and to His preceding all. The other letters (נכי) are all multiples of ten which itself is a dimension of the number 1, i.e the א. The entire word conveys “oneness, unity.” [the letter י is to multiples of the number 10 what the letter א is to multiples of the number 1 The number 1 spelled as a word, אחד, equals 81 when squared (1x1 plus 8x8 plus 4x4). This is the numerical value of the letters in the word אנכי. Furthermore, the word אנכי alludes to all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The א represents the three letters known as אמות (א,מ,ש); the נ represents the 12 letters known as פשוטות (ה,ו,ז,ח,ט,י,ל,נ,ס,ע,צ,ק); the letter כ represents the seven letters known as כפולות. (ב,ג,ד,כ,פ,ר,ת). This means all 22 letters are accounted for. The last letter is the י which is one of the so-called נעלמות (i.e. the letters א-ה-ו-י, letters not usually heard when a word containing them is uttered). An additional comment on the word אנכי found in Shabbat 105 is that the word אנכי is also an acrostic אנא נפשי כתיבת יהבית, “I Myself have written and given” (Aramaic). It is appropriate to explain why such an acrostic is necessary seeing that immediately after the word אנכי G’d spells out the fact that He gave the Torah by referring to Himself as י-ה-ו-ה אלוה-יך. You are familiar with the fact that Onkelos translates the word אנכי when applied to G’d as מימרי, except in this instance where he does not translate it but renders it in the original Hebrew. By not translating the words and simply copying them, Onkelos preserves the fact that G’d refers to the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice as having been equally involved in uttering the Ten Commandments and makes plain that the commandment which demands from us complete faith in G’d’s Oneness and being unprecedented extends to both of these attributes of His. By reminding us of the acrostic concealed in these four letters, the sages reminded us of the fact that the entire Torah was given by the attribute Hashem. Our sages (Mechilta Bachodesh section 6) have called this commandment “acceptance of the Kingdom of heaven.” Both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy are qualities which a king of flesh and blood also has to display when judging his nation. Solomon already refers to this when he says (Proverbs 29,4) “a king sustains the land by justice.” The same Solomon writes in Proverbs 20,28: “mercy and truth preserve the king; he upholds his throne by loving kindness.” אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים, “who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.” He did this in order to demonstrate the miracles to establish His claim to Kingship and Divinity in your eyes. Seeing that it was all-important to G’d to remind the people of their visual experience of what He had done, He decided not to introduce Himself as the G’d Who had created heaven and earth. The people had not witnessed that, nor for that matter had anyone else. In fact, G’d used the visual experience the people had of Him to support His claim that He had created the heaven and earth. Moreover, the Exodus of Egypt was a manifestation of G’d equal to creation of heaven and earth. The miracles which occurred subsequent to the Exodus were many and variegated; the various miracles which contradicted the laws of nature were proof that only Someone Who had established those “laws of nature” could have also have been the One Who created heaven and earth. This is why G’d chose the word הוצאתיך to describe the Exodus. The word also means “to bring forth,” and has been used repeatedly in that sense in the first chapter of Genesis. It signifies that what occurred at the Exodus was a חדוש העולם, “a rebirth of the world as it had been known.” Instead of being slaves to an earthly power, i.e. Pharaoh, the Israelites would now serve an entirely different Master, the Creator, Who had adopted them as His special people. When referring to the bondage in Egypt as a “house of slaves,” G’d may even have alluded to the fact that the masters,” i.e. the Egyptians, had been shown to be only slaves themselves, subject to a higher authority, G’d. After all, the Egyptians were descended from Cham, youngest son of Noach, whose descendants had been cursed by their father Noach to be slaves. (Compare the Egyptians’ genealogy in Genesis 10,7). Having become the slaves of slaves was in itself unnatural. It is also possible that the word עבדים in the expression בית עבדים in our verse is a reference to an object or objects. We would have to translate it as “the house of eternal slavery.” It is also possible to explain the words מבית עבדים as “from the house of horoscopes to which all Egyptians were mentally enslaved.” The reason the Torah describes the horoscopes as “slaves,” is that whereas they are like kings to those who believe in them and feel utterly dependent on their power, they are in reality servants to all the celestial forces above them. There is a hint here that actually the Israelites had been condemned to remain in Egypt for longer (according to horoscopic calculations) had not the Lord negated the power of the horoscopes and taken the Israelites out as a miracle. This is the meaning of Deut. 4,20: “He took you out from the iron crucible” in which the Israelites had been meant to dissolve like iron being melted down. Our verse then describes that the Exodus proceeded in two stages, first G’d took the people out of the iron crucible, then out of the land of Egypt.

“I am the Lord your God, etc.” There is a disagreement among the commentators, as some say that we only heard I am and You shall have no other gods directly from the Almighty, and their evidence is that these two commandments are stated in first person while the rest of the commandments are in third person. Others say that we heard all 10 commandments from the Holy One, blessed be He, and when they said You speak with us and we will hear (Exodus 20:16), this was after they had heard the 10 commandments. According to this view, it requires explanation why specifically these two commandments were stated in first person. According to the simple explanation, I will say something that applies to both views: it is the way of the world that after a person sees the face of the king, recognizes him and knows him, from then on he accepts him as king. And after accepting the yoke of his kingship, it is proper to accept his commandments, whether those commanded through a messenger or those commanded directly, even if he does not see the king’s face at the time of the command. But if he has never seen the king’s face and is uncertain about accepting him, how will he listen to his messenger? For if there is no sender, there is no messenger. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, needed to speak first in the present tense I am the Lord your God to bring them into the covenant of accepting His divinity, for eye to eye they shall see the Lord of His holy ones. And after accepting His divinity, it is fitting to listen also to His messenger who comes in His name. But since He said I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and did not say “who created you” or “who created heaven and earth” [for reasons that will be explained shortly], this led to a distorted judgment by those who err, saying: Even if it is true that this is the Lord who brought us out of Egypt, perhaps there is another god who created us and who created heaven and earth. What reason is there to listen to the voice of this God, our God, who brought us out of Egypt? Perhaps there is another God who created us, and it is His voice I should obey. Therefore, He immediately said, You shall have no other gods before Me, to indicate that there is no other god besides Him. And thus, you are not permitted to listen to any messenger except to this one sent from Me. And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, needed to command these two statements in the second person, in order to strengthen in their hearts the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven’s sovereignty. And after that, they were obligated automatically to listen also to His agent who speaks in the third person. But He could not command these two statements through an agent, because they had not yet accepted upon themselves the Sender as God, and if there is no Sender, there is no agent. And this explanation agrees with both opinions, because according to those who say I am and You shall not have were heard directly from the Almighty, it makes good sense in order to inform them who is the Sender who is fit to be obeyed through His agent. And according to those who say that all the commandments were heard directly from the Almighty, in the first two statements God spoke with them face to face in the second person, so that they would recognize who their King is. And after this, they are obligated to listen to His voice even if they do not see any image but only hear a voice, even though in the first statements they also did not see any image. Nevertheless, the speech in the second person indicates face-to-face communication, as it is written Face to face God spoke with you, etc. (Deuteronomy 5:4). But the rest of the statements He spoke in the third person to inform that He is a concealed God, and nevertheless they are obligated to listen to His voice after accepting the yoke of His sovereignty face to face. Another explanation, Since all these commandments are obligations of the body and are not dependent on the land, and Israel is obligated to observe them whether in the land [of Israel] or outside it, whether during the time when the Temple exists or when it doesn’t exist, except for these two commandments I am [the Lord your God] and You shall have no [other gods] which are not fulfilled except when Israel dwells on their land and God makes His face shine upon them and speaks to them directly, for they do not exist with the hiding of [God’s] face. But at the time when the children are exiled from their Father’s table, then I am the Lord your God is not fulfilled, as our Sages already said (Ketubot 110b) that one who dwells outside the Land [of Israel] is like one who has no God, etc. And You shall have no other gods is not fulfilled because it is said in the rebuke (Deuteronomy 28:64) And there you will serve other gods. Rashi explained: “Since you pay taxes to the priests of idolatry, the verse considers it as if you worshipped them.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke these two commandments specifically in direct address, because when Israel is successful, it is said (Leviticus 26:9) I will turn to you. And then the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks with them face to face, and at that time these two commandments are fulfilled, therefore it says before Me. But the rest of the commandments are fulfilled even when Israel is in a state of the hiding of [God’s] face, therefore they are stated in third person. And this is what was said (Makkot 24a) I am and You shall have no we heard from the mouth of the Might. They specifically mentioned the attribute of Might regarding the Holy One, blessed be He, because this was said about the time when Israel is in tranquility, and at that time they add strength to the Might above. But at the time when they are in a state of the hiding [of His] face, they weaken His strength, as it were, as our Sages said (Yalkut Shimoni, Ha’azinu 945) that the righteous add strength to the Might above, as it is said (Numbers 14:17) And now, may the strength of the Lord be increased. And the wicked weaken His strength, as it is said The Rock who bore you, you weakened. And all this is said from the perspective of the receivers, for in truth there is no change above, as it is written (Malachi 3:6) I am the Lord, I have not changed. But this weakening of strength occurs at the time when a wicked person’s sins have captured him and his judgment is decided to cut off the flow of the channels from him. It appears as if there is, heaven forbid, a weakening of strength above which prevented [God] from doing good to him. But the righteous cause the flowing of the channels, and through them the Might above is seen. And as for what is said, “who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” and it does not say, “who created heaven and earth” — this is because one who wishes to lie will distance his witnesses, as this matter [of creation] they did not see. Therefore, He mentioned to them the thing which they saw with their own eyes. And so you will find in the book of the Zohar. And who created you is not said because our Sages of blessed memory said (Eruvin 13b) that it would have been better for man not to have been created than to have been created. And here, He only came to mention the good things that He did for them, because on account of these they are obligated to serve Him.

אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G’d.” This is a positive commandment to believe in and feel absolutely certain of the existence of Hashem as a primordial force that preceded any phenomenon which is part of the material universe, and that He is the sole Creator of the entire universe, that He is our G’d, and that we are His people. We are obliged to serve Him, and He has taken us out of bondage in Egypt. The historical fact that He took us out of Egypt serves as eternal proof of His existence and His express desire to guide our fate. It proves that our Exodus was the product of His will. It also proves that He must have been the original cause in this universe, seeing that once the universe, i.e. the laws of nature had been formulated, no radical changes such as the taking out of a completely assimilated nation such as the Israelites from the midst of another nation was conceivable according to what is considered “normal” in our world. The Exodus was not only testimony to His power, but also to His uniqueness. For all the above reasons, G’d did not commence to identify Himself as the One Who had created heaven and earth, but He identified Himself as the One who had taken us out of Egypt, a visible historical fact witnessed by millions. [No one had been around to watch the universe come into existence. Ed.] Some commentators understand the emphasis on the word אנכי here as meant to draw attention to Hashem saying that He is the One Who had already told Avraham “I will also judge the people who will enslave your descendants and they will depart from that country with great riches” (Genesis 15,13) At the beginning of the Decalogue, G’d introduces Himself as the One who had fulfilled that promise of over 400 years ago. The first two commandments of the Decalogue which were addressed to the people in direct speech, i.e. “I have taken you out, etc.,” were distinct from the other eight in which G’d appears to refer to Himself in the third person, were spoken by G’d to the people directly, whereas the others were relayed to the people by Moses. The fact that our chapter commences with the words: וידבר אלוקים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר, “G’d spoke all these words to say,” as well as the verse in Deut. 5,19 את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם בהר, “the Lord spoke these words to you at the Mountain, etc.,” certainly gives the impression that the people had heard all the Ten Commandments directly from G’d’s mouth. Moses adds that all these words were inscribed on the two Tablets, which proves that as G’d was saying the words He simultaneously was inscribing them on the Tablets. Nachmanides claims that there is no question that G’d addressed all of the Ten Commandments to the whole people directly. The problem was that the people did not understand what they were hearing. Moses therefore needed to explain the text to the people, with the exception of the first two Commandments which they both heard and understood directly from Hashem without the need of any intermediary. The point in all this is that at that point in time the people were all on the spiritual level of prophets, who have primary knowledge of the uniqueness of Hashem, and the absolute impossibility to relate to anyone else as something Divine. מבית עבדים, “from the house of bondage.” Although the people did not need to be told this, G’d reminded them that seeing they had been enslaved by a cruel ruler such as Pharaoh, they could certainly not have any objection of trading such a ruler for Hashem. Some commentators see in the words מארץ מצרים the major significance of this line, i.e. seeing that everyone knows that there was no other country in which the Israelites had been enslaved. They therefore stress that the Egyptians being slaves, i.e. being descendants of Cham whose children Noach had condemned to be slaves, had instead become masters over descendants of Shem, had been an especially degrading experience. The fact that G’d had put an end to this geo-politically demeaning situation, deserved especial mention, and therefore the Israelites’ gratitude. [The Egyptians were fourth generation descendants of Cham. (Genesis 10,6-7) Ed.] The Ten Commandments were all formulated in the singular mode, as opposed to the summation of אתם ראיתם, in 20,19 as well as the formulation (plural) אם שמוע תשמעו, “if you will surely hearken, etc.” (19,5). The reason for the variation in the singular and plural mode is to warn the people that they are both individually and collectively obligated to carry out G’d’s instructions, and to refrain from violating negative commandments. G’d wanted to be on record as if He had spoken to every Israelite individually.

אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G–d;” how can we understand this utterance as a “commandment?” In which way does it represent an order to the listener? We must understand the words: “I am the Lord your G–d,” as implying that this is something that you must accept as fact, not merely as an article of faith, i.e. “you know, you do not merely believe.” It follows from accepting this as a fact that there is a system of reward and punishment for your actions, as He is capable of meting out reward and punishment as a result of being the Creator. Rabbi Tanchuma adds that this obligation of yours is the direct result of your having been allowed to see Him revealing Himself as a mighty warrior at the sea of reeds, when He saved you miraculously and meted out punishment to your pursuers. At the same time, He appeared to you in the guise of a merciful G–d at Mount Sinai. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Power that addressed you at Mount Sinai, is a different Power than the One which dealt with the Egyptians. You have merely witnessed G–d manifesting Himself as possessing multiple attributes. The word אנכי is best translated as “I and no one else.” (Mechilta, bachodesh, section 5) A different approach: seeing that at the revelation G–d had been accompanied by tens of thousands of spiritual beings, angels, it was necessary for Him to point out that only He is the Lord, all other beings are merely servants of His. He also used the opportunity to show them that heaven consists of seven layers of what are commonly known as “heaven,” but that only the highest layer is the domain in which His throne is to be found. This event has been recalled by Moses in Deuteronomy 4,35, i.e.אתה הראת לדעת כי ה' הוא אין עוד מלבדו האלו-הים, “you have been given a visual demonstration that only the Lord is the G–d, there is none other." This is also why the first two commandments are addressed in the singular mode, i.e. to each Israelite separately, a fact that Moses took advantage of when pleading on behalf of the people after they committed the sin of the golden calf, when he said to G–d: “I am the only human being to whom You have addressed the first two commandments. The people only heard it from me. Therefore they have not violated a commandment that they have heard from You.” The Midrash adds that this is also the reason why all the other eight commandments were addressed to the Israelites as individuals, not collectively as in Leviticus 25,2-7, for instance, or as in Leviticus 26,3-13. G–d foresaw that individual Israelites in the future, such as the false prophet Micah (Judges chapter 17) who tried to eliminate the first commandment, or King Jerobam (Kings I chapter 12) who tried to abolish the second commandment. The list can be lengthened showing that individuals acted in a way that showed they felt they could ignore one or another basic commandment of the Ten Commandments.” By wording these Commandments in the singular mode addressed to each Israelite individually, none could claim that it did not apply to them. When you count the letters in the Ten Commandments, commencing with the letter א in אנכי and concluding with the letter in ך in לרעך there are a total of 613 letters, signaling to us that all the 613 commandments of the Torah are in one way or another contained in these Ten Commandments which are a summary. In the first chapter of tractate Kidushin, in the Talmud we are told that when the gentile nations heard the first two of the Ten Commandments, they concluded that G–d was concerned only with establishing His own reputation. When they subsequently heard of the commandment to honour father and mother, they changed their mind and accepted also the first two commandments as valid. This is what David referred to in Psalms 138,4: יודוך ה' כל מלכי ארץ כי שמרו אמרי פיך, “all the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, for they have heard the words coming forth from Your mouth.”

You shall have no other god besides Me.

לא יהיה לך THERE SHALL NOT BE UNTO THEE [OTHER GODS] — Why is this said? Does not the preceding verse state: I — and no other — shall be thy God? But since it states immediately after this, “Thou shalt not make unto thee [any graven image etc.]” I might say that I have only a prohibition that one may not make such gods; whence could I know that one may not retain an idol that has already been made? Perhaps there is no such law! Therefore it states here: “there shall not be unto thee” (thou shalt not have other gods) (Mekhilta.) אלהים אחרים OTHER GODS — which are not gods, but others have made them gods over themselves. It would not be correct to explain this to mean “gods other than Me”, for it would be blasphemy of the Most High God to term them gods together with Him (cf. Mekhilta). Another explanation of אלהים אחרים : they are so called because they are other (i. e. strange) to those who worship them; these cry to them but they do not answer them, and it is just as though it (the god) is another (a stranger) to him (to the worshipper), one who has never known him at all (Mekhilta). על פני BEFORE ME — i. e. so long as I exist; and these apparently superfluous words are added in order that you may not say that no one received any command against idolatry except that generation which went forth from Egypt (Mekhilta).

THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE MY FACE. Rashi wrote: “Thou shalt have no other gods. Why is this said? It is because it says, Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. From this I would only know that it is forbidden to make an idol. Whence do I know that one may not keep an idol that has already been made? Scripture therefore says, Thou shalt have no other gods.” This is indeed a Beraitha taught in the Mechilta. But if this is so, this verse would constitute a negative commandment in itself, being a prohibition against a person who retains an idol on his premises. [The violation thereof] does not make one liable to the death-penalty by the court. So [the question arises]: Why did He state the prohibition against keeping an idol, which makes one liable to whipping, before [He stated] the prohibition against bowing down to idols or worshipping them, which makes one liable to extinction [if done intentionally but with no witnesses present], or death by the court [if there were witnesses]?In my opinion, the final decision of the Law is not in accordance with this Beraitha, for it represents the opinion of a single Sage [against the opinion of the majority]. Thus we find it taught in the Sifra: “Nor make ye to yourselves molten gods. I might think that others may make it for you. Scripture therefore says, Nor… to yourselves. From this I know only that [others may not make it] for you, but I might think that you may make it for others. Scripture therefore says, Nor make ye: not for you by others, and not by you for others. It is from here that the Rabbis have derived the principle that he who makes an idol for himself, transgresses two negative commandments: Nor make ye, and Nor… to yourselves. Rabbi Yosei says, ‘He transgresses three negative commandments: Nor make ye, Nor… to yourselves, and also Thou shalt have no other gods.’” Thus you see that Rabbi Yosei’s opinion is that of one against a majority, for it is he who says that the verse Thou shalt have no other gods constitutes a prohibition against retaining an idol [in one’s house]. However, according to the opinion of the first Sage, [which is that of the majority of the Rabbis], it is not so. The correct interpretation even according to the literal meaning of Scripture is that the usage of the language of the verse here is similar to the expressions: and the Eternal shall be my G-d; to be your G-d. The verse here thus states that excepting the Eternal only, we are not to have others as gods, neither from all the angels above nor from all the host of heaven who are called elohim. This is something like that which is said, he that sacrificeth ‘la’elohim’ (unto the gods) save unto the Eternal only, shall be utterly destroyed. It is thus a prohibition against believing in any of these beings, accepting them as gods, or saying to them, “thou art my god.” This is also the opinion of Onkelos, who translated: “[thou shalt have no] other gods excepting Me.”Know that wherever Scripture says...

"You shall have no other gods." Scripture speaks about Elohim from the viewpoint of the idol-worshippers, as in: "Then Hananiah the prophet took" (Jer. 28:10); and "the men pursued after them" (Josh. 2:7); and similarly Samuel said, "Why have you disturbed me?" (1 Sam. 28:15) — for Scripture spoke according to Saul's own understanding. This is not the place to explain it. The meaning of "before Me" (al panai) is like: "And Haran died before the face of Terah his father" (Gen. 11:28) — meaning Terah was present with him and witnessed his death. Similarly: "Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office before the face of Aaron their father" (Num. 3:4). The meaning of our verse is therefore: since I am your God and I am always present everywhere and see all that you do, it is not fitting for you to associate other gods with Me. One of the sages said: "Do not anger your master when he is watching you." This commandment — "You shall have no other gods" — applies both to the heart and to the mouth, for it is the only negative commandment in the Torah directed to the heart. For if a person says before witnesses that he is going to murder or commit adultery, he is not put to death for his words if he has not acted. But one who says, "Let us go and serve other gods" — Scripture commands: "You shall surely kill him" (Deut. 13:10). And with regard to deed: "You shall not make for yourself an idol or any form, of wood or stone, nor shall you make by any craft a form that is in the heavens" — and it says "above," meaning above the earth on all sides. There are no forms in the heavens except for the forty-eight forms. The makers of forms create things they should not, and their work borders on idolatry.

לא יהיה לך אלוהים, even though you accepted My Kingdom, you must not at the same time also attribute divine qualities to any other servant of Mine. A violation of this commandment is cited in Kings II 17,33 (the subject being the Samarians, a people transplanted by the king of Assyria from Babylon, Chamass, etc., to where the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom had lived before being exiled by the Assyrians under Tiglat Pilesser. These people are reported as “worshipping the G’d of Israel (as they now were within what they considered to be His domain.) But at the same time they also worshipped other deities. The priest sent by the king of Assyria to teach these Samarians the Jewish religion considered their worshipping the G’d of Israel as quite useless. He told them that unless they worshipped the G’d of Israel exclusively they would likely continue to suffer the incursions of lions, etc. על פני. It is intolerable to honour the servant in the presence of the Master. If that is so with masters and servants that are mortal, how much more so is it true of Eternal G’d and His underlings.

לא יהיה לך אלוקים אחרים על פני, "Do not have any other gods before Me." Having first commanded us to demonstrate faith in G'd, something which is basically a matter of the heart, G'd adds that it is also important to divest oneself of idolatrous thoughts, even if one does not verbalise them. G'd added the word לך to include the command that one must not even think such thoughts to oneself. We find that such thoughts are culpable (Kidushin 39) based on Ezekiel 14,4-5: "who will bring up his idols to his heart. Thus I will hold the House of Israel to account for their thoughts, etc." We have a tradition that one cannot impose capital punishment on a person unless the warning of such a penalty is spelled out in the Torah. Our verse is the source for this penalty (compare Zevachim 106). The word לך also implies that whereas idolatry practiced by Gentiles is reprehensible, it is not nearly as reprehensible as idolatry by a Jew. When a Gentile serves idols this does not make such an idol into a deity. The object of the Gentile's worship remains unaffected. If a Jew were to turn to idols, however, this would have far greater effect because of the Jew's standing with G'd. It would confer deity status on such an idol, at least in the eyes of the Gentiles. The word יהיה implies that an Israelite having idolatrous thoughts would invent such a deity. According to Jeremiah 2,19 "that your evil will discipline you," it is the idol you have created which will become the instrument of your punishment. As soon as a Jew makes an additional deity for himself he automatically cannot relate to G'd as the only G'd anymore. This is so even if he has no intention of serving the deity he has made. The Torah speaks of לא יהיה in the singular while concluding the sentence in the plural, i.e. אלהים אחרים, other deities (pl). The meaning is: "there will no longer be a single deity as soon as you have additional deities." Another meaning of this combination of singular and plural is simply that once a person adopts an additional deity this is bound to lead to a variety of other deities he is apt to worship. Sanhedrin 102 illustrates that the Israelites used to worship a large variety of deities proving the point we have just made. על פני, before Me. We can understand this expression in connection with what Maimonides writes in chapter nine of his Hilchot Yessodey Hatorah that a prophet established credibility as a true prophet if, when he asks the people to disregard one of G'd's commandments on a temporary basis only, that commandment is not one involving idolatry. Anyone tampering with any law involving idolatry automatically disqualifies himself as a prophet. The word על פני means "at any time." Inasmuch as G'd is eternal there would be absolutely no time frame during which the prohibition of idolatry could be suspended. Another meaning is that G'd is angry at those who idolise anyone else. Some people would have argued that inasmuch as serving one of G'd's agents such...

לא יהיה לך, “You must not retain for yourselves;” do not say that you will serve Me as well as other deities. Seeing that only I took you out of Egypt without the assistance of any other powers, it is clear that no other deity deserves your respect. Besides, they are useless even if they had attempted to help you. אלהים אחרים, “other deities,” This translation is incorrect. The correct translation is: “deities worshipped by others.” If they are so useless why do they have the title: “deity?” According to Rabbi Yossi in the Mechilta chapter 6 on this verse, (a dissenting voice there) explains the need for G-d to say: לא יהיה לכם אלוהים אחרים, as follows: He said it so that the gentiles would not have a pretext to say that if these “deities” had been called by their individual names in the Torah, instead of simply “non gods,” this would be proof that G-d had had need of them for some purpose at some time. [There had indeed been a time when man had referred to such “deities” by the same title as G-d; this happened during the generation of Enosh, a grandson of Adam, when the Torah in Genesis 4,26, reported: 'אז הוחל לקרא בשם ה, “at that time some people called (other forces) by the name that had been reserved until then for G-d.” When that happened, one third of the earth’s landmass was flooded by the oceans rising, a mini-deluge as a warning to mankind. Ed.] אחרים, according to Rabbi Eliezer, in the same paragraph of the Mechilta, the expression elohim acheyrim means that they coined new names for new deities constantly, i.e. when one proved impotent, they exchanged it for another. If a deity made of gold had proved worthless they substituted one made of silver. He derives this from when Moses said in Deuteronomy 32,17: חדשים מקרוב באו, “new ones, which had come into existence only lately.” לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים, “you will have no authority over you other than Mine.” על פני, “in My place;” we find a similar use of this expression in Deuteronomy 21,16: על פני בן השנואה, where the Torah forbids to treat the firstborn son of a beloved wife, that has been born later than the firstborn son of a less beloved wife, preferentially. In other words, as long as the firstborn son of the less beloved wife is alive, his claim to be treated as the firstborn of the father cannot be overruled. We also have this expression when after the death of the two oldest sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, his sons Elazar and Ittamar were appointed as priests in their stead. An alternate explanation: “If you were to accept any of these deities as your gods this would be against My express wishes and would arouse My anger against you.” An example of a similar construction would be: חמס ושוד ישמע על פני, “before Me constantly are grief and wounds.” Or: ,אם לא אל פניך יברכך, “if not he will curse you to your face.” (Job 2,5)

לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים על פני, “You are not to have any other deities in My presence.” We are not to accept any of G’d’s agents, forces, known as Elohim as deities for ourselves, nor any of the horoscopes as guiding our fates. The word אחרים “others,” [which might suggest that there are such. Ed.] is explained in Sifri Eikev section 43 as justified by the fact that they are “different, false” to those who serve them. Another explanation of the meaning of the word אחרים: the deities whom people serve differ from day to day or from year to year. One day they worship gold, another day they worship silver, a third day they worship wood. The principal reason they are called אחרים is that they derive whatever power they are presumed to possess from אחרים, from “other” sources, they have absolutely no power of their own. This is spelled out in Exodus 34,14, לא תשתחוה לאל אחר, “do not worship a deity which derives its power from another (alien) source!” You are to bow down, i.e. worship only the true source of power, the G’d of Israel who does not derive His power from an external source. This is also the way our sages (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1,45) interpret Isaiah 44,6 ומבלעדי אין אלו-הים, “there is no god that exists independently of Me.” על פני, ‘in My presence.” According to the plain meaning of the text this means “in addition to My essence.” It is similar in meaning to Samuel II 17,11 ופניך הולכים בקרב “and you yourself are marching into battle.” An alternate meaning of the words על פני may be a reference to the direction, the place to which G’d turns. Seeing that G’d turns to every direction, is all-present, this means that we must not turn to deities in any direction. A Kabbalistic approach: the mystical dimension of the words על פני is על הפנים שלי, “to My face,” similar to the meaning of Deut. 5,4 פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, ”face to face did Hashem speak with you;” the mystical dimension of the word אחרים is to be found in the fact that G’d did not say לא יהיה לך אל אחר על פני, but He said אחרים in the plural. it is similar to Lavan who had said to Yaakov (Genesis 31,50) אם תקח נשים על בנותי “you must not marry other women in addition to my daughters.” I have already explained (See commentary on verse 1 והוא כמו אם תקח נשים וכו') why Lavan could not have used the word נשים in the singular, i.e. אשה. Nachmanides explains that idolatry may manifest itself in three different ways. 1) Some people worship the angels; 2) some people worship the celestial constellations in the sky, horoscopes and astrology; 3) Some people worship demons. During the early generations of mankind any deviation from pure monotheism occurred by the people addressing the angels as G’d’s ministers, believing that since G’d had given authority to these angels to supervise and intervene in the fates of different nations they deserved to be “worshipped,” albeit as subordinate beings. When Daniel 10,20 speaks of the שר יון or the שר מלכות פרס, he refers to the angels G’d appointed to supervise those kingdoms and their respective peoples. At that time each tribe or nation worshipped only a single such angel, i.e. the one appointed to supervise its fate. The reason that the Torah (Deut. 10,17) describes Hashem as הוא אלו-הי האלו-הים is to make clear that Hashem was understood to be the supreme power above these angels who had jurisdiction over one nation each. This is also what Yitro referred to when he said he had learned that כי גדול ה' מכל האלוהים, that “Hashem was greater than all the divine powers known as Elohim.” The angels are the ones described as Elohim. This is also what David had in mind in Psalm 97,7 where he says השתחוו לו כל אלהים, “all divine beings (angels) bow down to Him.” This is what our sages said (Menachot 110) that Yitro referred to G’d as the “G’d of gods.” (Exodus 18,11). After the period when people still worshipped the Supreme G’d but only in His capacity as a remote “boss” of the respective angels to whom He had entrusted their fate, they began to worship visible deities, horoscopes, all kinds of celestial constellations consisting of stars, and other planets. They realized that these forces exercised great influence on what goes on earth. This is the period described as people prostrating themselves before the sun, the moon and many other stars and constellations visible in the sky (Jeremiah 8,2). These people believed that by serving these forces they would increase their relative power and that this in turn would be of benefit to them. The people initiating this were very learned people who had studied what they perceived as the method of these stars exercising their influence on earth. Still later, people began to worship demons. This is what is meant in Deut. 32,17 אלוהים לא ידעום, “gods they had never known of.” The Torah ridicules the people who sacrifice to demons, phenomena which had never been endowed with divine powers at all, referring to them as “newcomers, recently arrived, whom your ancestors did not dread.” These forces were new to the Israelites; they had heard of them only during their exile in Egypt. Even the Canaanites had not known of their existence. Because of all these various forms of phenomena competing with G’d, the Torah warns not to place any store in any of them. The word אלהים אחרים in our verse refers to the first group, i.e. the angels.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Since it says I am the Lord and the special Name is in the language of Being [Havayah], indicating that He, blessed be He, is always in His being, whether in the past, present, or future — at all times He was, is, and will be in one state of being — it was necessary to say here You shall have no [other gods], because these [other gods] are not in a state of being and they change. For we find that our Sages of blessed memory (Pesachim 23) interpret the language of will be [yihyeh] as indicating “in their state of being they will remain.” Therefore it says here [literally] There will not be for you to indicate that they [other gods] will not remain in their state of being, but rather they change and become “others” — both from the perspective that as they age, their form deteriorates, in the city You despise their image (Psalms 73:20); and from the perspective that they change from silver to gold to wood to stone; and from the perspective that they are “other” to their worshippers, who cry out to them but are not answered. Therefore it says there will not be for you, and the proof of this is that they are other gods. And it says before Me — we have already said above that specifically when My face is turned toward you, then You shall have no other gods, but if sin causes you to be in a state of “the hiding of [God’s] face” [hester panim], then inevitably you will serve other gods, as Moses warned in the rebuke (Deuteronomy 28:64), And there you will serve other gods, which means that because you pay taxes to idolatrous priests, Scripture considers it as if you worshipped them. Another explanation: Since God appeared to them in many aspects [literally “faces”], at the sea as a mighty warrior and at Mount Sinai as an elder seated in a council, you might say that since I appeared in several forms, there must be multiple authorities. Therefore, the verse says before Me [literally, upon My faces] in a form that can be understood as plural, to indicate that all those aspects are truly one and the same. Another explanation: “Panim” [faces/before Me] is a language of anger and wrath, for if they say as they said in the days of Ezekiel, Let us be like the nations, etc. and they wanted to cast off the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, the Holy One, blessed be He, responded to them, What comes into your mind shall never come to pass; for with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I will rule over you (Ezekiel 20:32–33). Therefore it says before Me [al panai], for in My anger and in My wrath I will rule over you if you wish to cast off the yoke of My kingdom from upon yourselves.

לא יהיה לך אלוקים אחרים, “You must not have any other kind of divinity.” Rashi understands this as not maintaining (יהיה referring to something already in existence) any idolatrous image, seeing that there is a separate commandment following immediately afterwards that prohibits the construction of such images. This latter commandment would by itself have been insufficient, as it would have left open the option of preserving or even worshipping existing idols. Concerning this interpretation, Nachmanides writes that if that were so, G’d’s words: לא יהיה לך, while a prohibition, would not have indicated that violating this prohibition carries the death penalty. Furthermore, why would the Torah first tell us about the lesser sin of not destroying an existing idol rather than inform us of the worse sin of constructing a new idol ourselves? Seeing that the Torah spelled out the death penalty in this world [if tried and convicted by a tribunal. Ed.] and in the world to come [if it was impossible to convict legally or carry out the sentence. Ed.] for worshiping idols, we would have thought that maintaining idols was a minor offense. Whereas there is indeed a view expressed in the Mechilta that the maintaining, i.e. not destroying an existing idol is “only” a warning by the Torah, but not an indictable offense, this is the view of a lone sage, and we do not rule in accordance with that view. According to the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, we need to understand the verses as follows: the meaning of the word אלוהים here is similar to והיה לך לאלוהים or to להיות לך לאלוהים, (Genesis 17,7, for instance) where the meaning is that we must not consider any of the celestial forces which have been imbued with some power by G’d as sharing power with G’d, or even as intermediaries. The fact that these forces are called by the name אלוהים on occasion, as for instance vis a vis Pharaoh (compare Exodus 7,1) is not a factor in our relationship to Hashem. If we were to allow such celestial bodies, or the like to substitute or to rank alongside G’d, it would not only dilute, but eventually ruin, our belief in G’d the sole and unique Creator. We must never address such celestial forces as אלי אתה, ”you are a celestial force in my eyes.” Ibn Ezra explains these verses as not viewing anything in nature as a junior partner to the Creator. This warning was necessary as there were theologians or philosophers who, while recognizing the supremacy of Hashem did not recognize His being absolutely exclusive as such. [If there really were such a thing as אלוהים אחרים, “other deities” (plural, as suggested by the plural ending in the word אלוהים), the Torah should have written לא יהיו לך, in the plural, not לא יהיה לך in the singular, i.e. reminding the reader that the idea of other gods is a non-starter. Ed.] אלוהים אחרים, “other deities.” We must not admit that there are such other deities, even if we refuse to pay any tribute to these supposed deities. It is noteworthy that when the Torah forbids the making of such symbols, such images of other supposed deities, it does not dignify them with the title “other gods, or other deities,” but simply tells us not to make אלוהי מסכה, (Exodus 34,17). There is a subtle difference, in that the making for commercial purposes of a symbol to serve others, when such a symbol is known to be serving others as a deity or symbol of such. When making a symbol of one’s own deity the Torah wants it understood, in addition to the examples mentioned in our verse, that even a symbol of our true faith is totally forbidden to be made. If the Torah had not forbidden to make something אחר, something else, something that is not divine, as a symbol of one’s faith, this would be equivalent to admitting that such a notion would be credible, though foolish. The very idea of עושה אלוהים is laughable, as only The Creator could imbue anything created with divine power if He wanted to, not any creature. על פני, “in My presence.” We find a similar use of the expression על פני when Eleazar and Ittamar are appointed as priests in the presence of their father Aaron (Numbers 3,4). Here too, the meaning is the same as if the Torah had written לפני, “before Me.” This expression is used in all instances when we are reminded that there is nothing that is hidden from the Lord, and though He is not manifest, nothing does not occur in His presence. The reason why the Torah does not warn against prostrating oneself to idols here, is that it had already included this in verse five which is a conceptual continuation of not making idols mentioned in verse four.

'לא יהיה לך וגו, for I alone took you out of Egypt.

You shall not make for yourself an image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or what is on the earth below, or what is in the waters beneath the earth.

פסל A GRAVEN IMAGE — it is so called because it is chiselled out (the root פסל has this meaning). וכל תמונה lit., OR ANY LIKENESS i. e. the likeness of any thing אשר בשמים THAT IS IN THE HEAVENS.

ALL THAT IS IN THE WATER UNDER THE EARTH. This expression includes the demons beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. And so the Rabbis have said, “All that is in the water under the earth: this includes the reflected images [which appear in the water].” Of all of them He said, Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them in any manner of worship whatsoever, even if the worshipper’s intent is not to remove himself from the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus He has ordered all these services to be devoted to the Proper Name [of the Eternal], blessed be He.

"And that which is on the earth beneath" — that is, beneath the heavens. The forms there are many, as enumerated in the portion of Va-etchanan. So too in the waters — and Scripture says "beneath the earth" because the sea and the earth form a single sphere.

לא תעשה לך פסל, even if you do not mean to use it as an object of worship.

לא תעשה לך פסל, "Do not make a graven image for yourself, etc." Seeing that G'd had already outlawed even entertaining idolatrous thoughts on pain of death, why would He have to prohibit the making of an idol? If the Torah referred to making an idol for someone else, why did it add the word לך "for yourself?" Besides, if only the construction of an idol as a piece of art is meant, the Torah did not need to add the words: "do not bow down to them" in verse 5! Why does the Torah employ the expression פטל instead of אלוהים אחרים? Why did the Torah have to repeat the words ה׳ אלוקיך in verse 5? G'd had already described Himself as a "jealous G'd," etc.! Why did G'd have to give a reason for the prohibition by saying: "because I am a jealous G'd," etc.? Does He have to justify His objection to the Israelites serving idols? Apparently, the Torah speaks about a prohibition of idol worship over and above that which was mentioned in verse 3. It may well refer to the person who believes in the One and only G'd but, who, due to G'd's invisibility, desires to remind himself of His existence and all-pervasiveness by means of a symbol such as a picture or a sculpture. When such a person offers up a prayer he feels more comfortable if he can concentrate on a visual image of sorts; hence he constructs for himself such an image in order to pray more intensely to our One and only G'd. Or, such a worshiper may feel embarassed to bother G'd Himself with all his little problems, but he feels at ease speaking of these problems to someone whom he considers merely a subordinate of G'd. Most of the idol worshipers have fallen victim to this error. Originally, they knew very well that they did not bow down in front of a deity but only in front of one of G'd's servants whom they had decided to adopt as a symbol. The reason that the Torah refers to such a sculpture as פסל and not as אלוה is precisely because that is all the sculpture meant to the person who fashioned it. The word is closely connected to פסולת, refuse, something to be discarded; as such it reminds a person that it has no intrinsic value or power. Another reason the Torah may call it פסל is that it is liable to become worthless as soon as G'd decides to rob it of its value because someone had idolised it. We find something along these lines in Eycha Rabbati chapter 2 where the people of the generation which perished during the deluge [in my edition this seems to apply to the generation of the time of Jeremiah, Ed.] are described as making use of G'd's celestial forces to overcome their enemies. G'd outmanoeuvered them by changing the names of these various forces so that people could not make improper use of their knowledge of the powers invested in these celestial forces. At any rate, G'd said: "Do not make a פסל for yourself (of anything representing celestial forces) even if you are fully aware that it has no intrinsic value." G'd then continued to describe what purpose such a פסל was meant to serve, i....

לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה, “do not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness (of what is in heaven above or on earth below)” In Deuteronomy 4,15 the Torah supplies the reason for this prohibition when we read: “for you have not seen any likeness (at the revelation)”. You should not be able to say that I am a G-d Who hides Himself, and since no one can see You I am forced to make for myself an image in order to constantly remind myself of You and to prostrate myself before Your image instead, in Your honour. וכל תמונה, “nor any likeness;” the prefix letter ו seems unnecessary; it is meant to mean: “do not make for yourself a sculptured image of any likeness, even if it is doesn't have a face (and as Mercurius stone heaps does not have a face). Since the reason of making such artwork is to be a symbol of G-d - then it is idolatrous by definition. In the verse, the word "כל" is in the same grammatical sense as in כל אלמנה ויתום, meaning "none", in contrast to the usual meaning of כל "every".

לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה, “do not make for yourself a molten image or any likeness, etc.” After G’d had warned against believing (sin in thought) in any force competing with G’d as the only Divine Force, the Torah now adds the prohibition of constructing (sinning in deed) such a substitute for Him. A person might have thought in all innocence that painting or making three-dimensional replicas of phenomena which G’d had created would be acceptable to G’d as a reminder, for instance, of miracles G’d had performed for His people. These phenomena had been used by G’d as instruments to help the Jewish people, after all. A major reason why it seems reasonable for people to make such images as reminders of the miracles G’d had performed are certain ceremonial laws such as the offering and eating of the Passover lamb, the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread, all intended to ensure that the memory of that event would not be forgotten. The commandment to make and dwell in huts on Tabernacles specifically instructs us to thereby remember the fact that the Israelites dwelled in huts during their wandering in the desert. Seeing that a Jew might want to make for himself a visible memento to remind him of his faith, the Torah had to legislate that he must not do so as once he would do so he would, in due course, substitute the symbol for the real thing and begin to worship the symbol. Such idolatry would commence with relatively innocent obeisance, such as bowing down to the symbol; ultimately it would result in properly serving such symbols. This is why the psalmist (Psalms 1,1) says: “happy the man who did not walk (following) the counsel of the wicked, or did not stand still when encountering the path of the sinners, or sit in the company of the insolent.” On this verse our sages (Avodah Zarah 18) ask: “seeing he did not follow (walk with) the wicked, how would he stand? Seeing that he did not stand, how could he sit?” What David meant to warn us of is that once one walks with the sinners, one will also stand with them and eventually one will sit with the scoffers, i.e. keep regular company with them. In order to avoid this from happening one must not even go for a brief walk with them. Once a person becomes a scoffer he will qualify for what Solomon termed: “if you scoff you bear it alone” (Proverbs 9,12). People who have sunk to that level will not be welcomed by the Shechinah. In our verse the Torah also staggers the description of the danger of idolatry; first you must avoid putting faith in any phenomena besides G’d; next you must not construct something which could become an idol; third, you must watch out that you will not prostrate yourself to an idol. The Torah commences with the relatively mild sin describing how it will lead to the most serious kind of sin. This leads us to the apparent contradiction of the construction of the commandment in Exodus 25,18 to construct two golden cherubs, which sounds as if “the same mouth which prohibited making molten images permits them” (Ketuvot 22) in a different context. [G’d is the only One who knows when to allow or even order the making of symbols. Seeing He allows in one context He must have His reasons for prohibiting it in other contexts. Ed.] The expression וכל תמונה, means: “any kind of likeness.” [not “every likeness.”] It is similar to verse 10 in our chapter לא תעשה כל מלאכה, “do not perform any kind of work.” Alternatively, the word כל in the phrase לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה, could refer to the attribute כל, which would represent one of the likenesses of what is found in the celestial regions., i.e. אשר בשמים ממעל. The “כל” referred to is the likeness of some celestial phenomenon. The same applies in Deut. 4,23 where the Torah warns against ועשיתם לכם פסל תמונת כל, “from making for yourselves a molten image, a likeness of כל, concerning which the Lord your G’d has commanded you.” Here too the word כל may be understood as a reference to something specific rather than as a reference to “all” or “any.” The words אשר בשמים ממעל, “of what is in the heavens above,” refer to images of angels or other celestial beings the likeness of which we are not to reproduce. Examples would be such angels as: Ophanim, Seraphim or Chayot Hakodesh, categories of angels which we speak about in our prayers. Even though we have not seen these angels we must not portray their likeness as it corresponds to our imagination. The words ואשר בארץ מתחת, “or those that are on earth below,” refer to three-dimensional reproductions of either human beings or animals or birds which populate the earth. The words ואשר במים מתחת לארץ, “or which are in the water below the earth,” refer to all manner of fish. We must not make accurate three-dimensional reproductions of these either. Neither must one construct likenesses of the demons inhabiting the domain under the surface of the earth (Mechilta Bachodesh section 6). This verse teaches also that earth is positioned above water. This is the reason for the wording: “which is in the water beneath the earth.” We have a verse in Psalms 136,6 לרוקע הארץ על המים, “who spreads the earth above the waters” which makes this point even more directly. It is commonly assumed that the demons consist of three varieties (Chagigah 16). Some reside in the atmosphere and cause people to dream at night. Some reside within our bodies and tempt men into sinful conduct. Some reside within the bowels of the earth. If G’d had allowed these demons to surface they would be powerful enough to devastate the terrestrial universe. Our sages (Mechilta Bachodesh section 6) added that the words אשר בשמים include the sun, the moon, and the stars, as well as constellations of stars, signs of the zodiac. The word ממעל includes the angels, whereas the words ואשר בארץ include man, beast and birds. The word מתחת, includes insects, reptiles and the like. The words ואשר במים include the fish in the sea and rivers; the words מתחת לארץ include the demons. Pessikta Zutrata on our verse confirms this interpretation.

And he said: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness that is in heaven, etc.” Even though there are many types of idolatry that do not have a likeness neither in heaven nor on earth, nevertheless, he specifically mentioned these because if they were worshipping things that the world has no need for, the Holy One, Blessed be He, would destroy them. But now that they are also worshipping things that the world needs, such as the sun and moon and similar things — should He destroy His world because of the fools who corrupted it? And if He were to destroy those things that the world has no need for, all the more so would those who worship things that the world needs become even more irreverent, for they would say: “Since those [idols] were destroyed and these [celestial bodies] were preserved, surely there must be something substantial to them.” Therefore, He specifically mentioned those things in heaven and on earth that cannot be destroyed, and if people do not worship these, there is no concern about other forms of idolatry, because they can easily be destroyed like chaff driven by the wind.

You shall not bow down to them and you shall not serve them, for I am Hashem your God, a jealous God, who visits the sins of the fathers upon rebellious children to the third generation and to the fourth generation of those who hate Me, when the children persist in sinning after their fathers.

אל קנא A JEALOUS GOD — He is jealous to exact punishment, and does not pass over His rights by pardoning idolatry (Mekhilta). Wherever: the expression קנא occurs it signifies in old French emportement, English zeal, — determining to exact punishment. לשנאי OF THEM THAT HATE ME — This must be explained in the same sense as the Targum takes it: when they retain in their hands (follow the example of) the evil doings of their ancestors (Sanhedrin 27b);

POKEID’ (VISITING) THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the meaning of the term p’kidah is similar to that of z’chirah (remembrance), just as in the verse, And the Eternal ‘pakad’ Sarah, which is like: “and the Eternal remembered her.” The purport [of the verse here, according to Ibn Ezra], is that G-d will postpone [punishment] of the wicked person because perhaps he will repent and beget a righteous son. But if the son walks in his father’s ways, as also the third and fourth generations, their memories will be destroyed, for G-d will ‘remember’ [to visit punishment upon them for] what the parents have done, and He will no longer postpone their punishment. All the commentators have similarly interpreted [the above Scriptural expression]. But if this be so, the sins of the fathers will not be visited upon their children nor upon the third generation, but only on the fourth. It would have been proper then for Scripture to say that He will visit the iniquity of the fathers and their sons and of the third generation upon the fourth generation! Perhaps these commentators will say that the sense of the verse is that He remembers the iniquity of the fathers upon their sons, saying [to them], “You and your fathers have sinned.” He does thus with the third and fourth generations, and then takes vengeance upon them, and never again does He visit it upon them, for He destroys them all in their iniquity. But their explanation is not correct. Scripture mentions G-d’s remembrance of all of them equally, and it does not specify that the vengeance is exacted [only] in the end, i.e., on the fourth generation. Besides, the term p’kidah in conjunction with the word al — [as it occurs here: ‘pokeid’ avon avoth ‘al’ banim] — is not used in connection with remembrance, but rather signifies vengeance [or punishment]. Thus: And on the day ‘pokdi upakad’ti’ (that I do punish, I will punish) them for their sin; In that day ‘yiphkod hashem’ (the Eternal will punish) with his sore and great and strong sword leviathan the slant serpent, and leviathan the tortuous serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea; ‘yiphkod hashem’ (the Eternal will punish) the host of the high heaven on high. All of these are expression of vengeance and punishment. The correct interpretation thus appears to me to be that Scripture is stating that He visits the iniquity, which the father perpetrated, upon his children, and excises them on account of the iniquity of their father, something like it is said, Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers. Similarly, He visits it upon the third generation if the sin of the two generations is not yet full, something like [it is said], for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. Sometimes He visits the iniquity of all three generations upon the fourth one when their measure [of iniquity] is filled and then he e...

"You shall not bow down to them" — as the makers of forms do, thinking they can draw down the power of the upper realms below for their own benefit. "Nor shall you serve them" — by sacrificing and burning incense to them. Included within "You shall have no other gods" is also the warning, "You shall not mention the names of other gods; they shall not be heard upon your lips" (below, 23:13), and in the book of Joshua, "nor shall you swear by them" (Josh. 23:7). The meaning of "a jealous God" (El kana): it is right, since Hashem created you and sustains you, that you should not give His honor to another who can do neither good nor harm. The meaning of "El" is to inform you that He is powerful and can exact retribution from you at any moment and you cannot escape Him. Jeremiah mentioned that "the fathers eat sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Jer. 31:29), and in Ezekiel it is made explicit that Hashem swore that a son shall not bear the iniquity of the father (Ezek. 18:20). How then does the text say "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children"? The answer is that Ezekiel explained: if the father was wicked but the son did not walk in his ways, the son shall not bear his father's sin — for the "visitation" of iniquity is linked to those who hate Him, as I noted. The meaning of "visiting" is like "remembering," as in "Hashem remembered Sarah" (Gen. 21:1), which is like "Hashem called Sarah to mind." For Hashem is patient with the wicked, that perhaps he will repent of his sin; and he may beget a son who is better than him. But if the third generation and the fourth generation likewise walk in his ways — all of them haters of Hashem — Hashem will no longer be patient with the fourth generation if there have been four generations of those who hate Hashem; for in that generation He will obliterate the memory of them all, as He remembers what the father did, and what the son did, and the son's son. Therefore He does not delay His anger with the fourth. And grandchildren are called children in Scripture — hence the Torah took the brief form, for from the words "third" and "fourth" the person can understand this.

לא תשתחוה להם, to any phenomena in the universe not man-made. א-ל קנא, I cannot tolerate that someone who worships Me worships also someone beside Me. The reason is that there is absolutely no comparison between Me and any other phenomenon in the universe. I am therefore entitled to stand on My dignity by refusing to be compared. פוקד עון אבות, the reason why I sometimes wait so long before punishing some of the wicked in this life is that by waiting and noticing that their offspring, i.e. second and third generation continue in their wicked ways their measure of guilt will become so full that I will exterminate that whole family from life in this world. [this is what happened to the family of Jerobam for instance, and that of Omri, his son Achav, etc. ] This was possible only by adding the unrequited sins of the fathers to those of the sons, or even subsequent generations, so that when finally, retribution did come, it wiped out the family completely. This happened in the third generation of the original sinner such as Omri’s grandchildren. It also happened to the fourth generation after Yehu (who himself had been G’d’s instrument for wiping out the family of Omri/Achav) when his great grandson Zecharyah was murdered after reigning only 6 months. (Kings II 15,9) We know about this method G’d employs sometimes already since Genesis chapter 15 when G’d explained to Avraham that his descendants could not expect to take possession of the land of Canaan until the fourth generation, as the sins of the Emorite would not be irrevocable until then. (Genesis 15,16)

פקד עון אבות, "Who remembers the sins of the fathers, etc." Having stated that G'd is "jealous," and knowing that in our world anyone who is jealous reacts promptly against the person he is jealous of, G'd might have been expected to react similarly. We know from many thousands of years of history, that people who have given G'd ample reason to be "jealous" appear to enjoy an undisturbed life. Where then was G'd's "jealousy?" Are we, G'd forbid, to assume that G'd was either unaware of these sinners or unable to punish them? The Torah therefore states that if we observe the very opposite of jealousy in G'd's apparent relationship to these sinners, the reason is that though it is His nature to be "jealous," He is also פקד, remembers things, i.e. He does not exact retribution immediately. His patience may extend for up to the fourth generation after the sins committed by the original sinner. G'd vows that His patience does not extend beyond the fourth generation. The reason why G'd practices this patience is that if He were to punish everybody immediately mankind would cease to exist. This is the only reason that G'd appears to turn a blind eye to the sins committed by people. He waits until the sinners' children grow up hoping that these children will pursue a lifestyle more to His liking. When the children of sinners do this it has a positive effect on their parents' standing in the hereafter (Sanhedrin 104). Should the children of the sinner continue the evil ways of their fathers, G'd considers this when He punishes the second generation; or, He may wait for an improvement of the third generation before He includes the sins of the fathers when He punishes that generation for its own sins. He will not defer punishment past the third generation as by that time the family of the original sinner has become so deeply rooted in the domain of the קליפה that there is no hope for rehabilitation by their own efforts. When G'd's "jealousy" finally is displayed against such a family it is much more destructive than had it been displayed already against the original sinner. On no account must we assume that G'd makes a rule of deferring punishment until the fourth generation. As far as G'd's timetable is concerned even punishment meted out in the fourth generation is considered "immediate." Three generations are considered three hundred years, whereas a day in G'd's terms is one thousand years in our terms. This is implied in the Torah saying: על, ועל instead of merely saying that G'd's patience would extend עד דור רביעי, until the fourth generation as the Torah says concerning the reward which will be paid לאלפים "up to two thousand generations." The concept of G'd not displaying His jealousy against the sinners is something very confusing, especially so when such sinners keep piling new sins upon old ones and enjoy success (in their terms). Once one comprehends the fact that G'd may limit such success to four generations the fact that G'd sometimes app...

לא תשתחוה להם, “neither must you prostrate yourself before them even if they [are not yours and. Ed.] have been made by others.” ולא תעבדם, “and you must not serve them;” even if the mode in which they are being served represents something disgraceful and despicable in your eyes. כי אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “for I am the Lord your G-d;” seeing that you have a benign Master, you have no need to turn to idols. אל קנא, “a philosopher asked Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi since when a superior individual demeans himself by being jealous of someone way below him physically and mentally. The Rabbi answered him if he thought it appropriate that someone should call his dog by his father's name? Does it not make sense that his father should be angry of being compared to a dog? The philosopher was forced to agree. פוקד עון אבות, “who remembers the sin of the fathers, etc;” G-d explains that He must demonstrate that He cannot simply “forget” the sins of the fathers, even if He delayed punishment for good reasons. This statement does not mean that the children will be taken to task for their father’s sins, seeing that the principle of each person is executed on account of his own sins not because of the sins of his fathers. (Kings II 14,6) This attribute of G-d must be understood as follows: when a person sins, G-d is apt to delay punishment to give the sinner an opportunity to become a penitent and to therefore rehabilitate himself. G-d’s patience may extend beyond the lifetime of the sinner and even the sinner’s son and grandson. If during these years the descendants of the original sinner have not mended their ways but continue to sin, G-d has to punish the great grandson for his own sins immediately, so that He will not be viewed as “forgetting” the original sin. He does so by removing that fourth generation of sinners from the world. He does so only when these generations successively have all been unrepentant sinners. He relates to such “sinners” in this fashion only if they do not sin inadvertently but “hate” Him and His laws, לשונאי, to those who hate “Me.” Having said this we might think that G-d operates in a similar fashion in delaying rewards for those who have lived exemplary lives; He therefore assures us that on the contrary, His memory of meritorious deeds performed by the fathers will be taken into consideration of the treatment of their children and children’s children for up to two thousand generations. He adds the words: לאלף דור, “for as long as a thousand generations,” i.e. forever. (Compare Deuteronomy 7,9)

לא תשתחוה להם ולא תעבדם, “do not prostrate yourselves before them nor perform any act of obeisance.” Any form of service is included, even a form of service which does not deny the sovereignty of Hashem. This verse stipulates that any form of service, adulation, recognition of a Divine Power, is to be reserved exclusively for Hashem. The author refers to a Midrash (similar to our version of the Zohar) in which even a demeaning kind of service vis-a-vis an idol is included in the prohibition the Torah expresses here. The classic example cited in the Talmud is service to an idol known as Pe-or which consists of people excreting in front of such an image. Similarly, pelting stones at Markulin, another ancient deity is equally forbidden, though within the parameter of our culture pelting stones is an insult rather than an act of worship. Even if the form of service performed is not at all the kind prescribed for honouring that particular deity, it is still absolutely forbidden. The words: “do not bow down to them or perform obeisances” does not only refer to voluntary performance of any form of worship but it includes involuntary worship even under threat of death. This is the reason that Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah refused to transgress this commandment and chose (what they thought was) death instead. Not only does the principle of יהרג ואל יעבור, “that one must rather face death than violate this commandment,” apply to deliberate, intentional violation of this commandment, but it applies even to incidental, unintended violation, such as bending to pick up coins one had dropped in front of an idol. It is absolutely forbidden to give others the impression as if one bent down to the idol even if in fact one merely wishes to scoop up one’s coins (compare Avodah Zarah 12). כי אנכי ה' אלוה-יך, “for I am Hashem your G’d.” I alone; exclusively. it is not appropriate for you to exchange Me for someone else. If you do, אנכי אל, “I have power,” i.e. I am able to punish you. Moreover, I am קנא, jealous, I am jealous of preserving My reputation so that I will carry out retribution sometimes as long delayed as the fourth generation. In this instance the word פוקד does not mean that G’d remembers, considers benevolently as is the meaning of this word in the list of G’d’s thirteen attributes in Exodus 34,6-7. To make certain we do not misunderstand, the Torah here adds the word לשונאי, “to those who hate Me.” Remember that throughout the Torah this attribute of jealousy as one of G’d’s attributes occurs only in connection with idolatry. The reason is that once the Jewish people had accepted the Torah at Mount Sinai they became an irrevocable part of G’d’s “heritage.” They had given up the freedom to opt out. If for some reason they, or an individual, decide to abandon G’d and His commandments He is entitled to relate to such conduct like a husband who is jealous of the infidelity of his wife. You will not find a single statement by our prophets concerning other nations and their relations with their deities being described in terms of such deities being jealous of their worshippers. The Torah sums up the difference between us and other nations in Deut. 4,19-20: “and you be drawn astray and bow down to them and worship them, which Hashem your G’d has apportioned to all the peoples under the entire heaven! But Hashem has taken you and removed you from the iron crucible, from Egypt, to be a nation of heritage for Him, as this very day.”

“For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God.” The meaning is not the standard sense of jealousy, for a mighty one is only jealous of another who is as mighty as he is. Rather, “jealous” [kana] is as Rashi explained: “One who is zealous to punish, etc.” This is what clarifies the matter of jealousy when it says, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children to the third and fourth generations. The commentators explain that these are the generations that the sinner can see in his lifetime, and his eyes will witness their downfall. It seems to me that this is also the reason it states and showing kindness to thousands, because the righteous are called “living” even in their death. Therefore, even after death, one will see his reward and the fruits of his labor before him when he sees his children prospering through God’s kindness forever and ever. The reason why children are held accountable for the sins of their fathers: if they are minors, they are like a branch of a tree, and “a fetus is considered a part of its mother” — and similarly of its father. And if they are adults who continue the practices of their fathers, they remain connected to their fathers through these actions, and they are like a branch still attached to the tree. Therefore, it is just that they receive double for all their sins, as they will be consumed both by their own iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers. However, if they do not continue the practices of their fathers, they are like a branch that has been completely cut off from the tree, and they have no connection or attachment to their fathers. And why it uses the language of ‘remembering’ here and the language of ‘doing’ there. We have already explained above in Parashat Vayera on the verse and God remembered Sarah the difference between ‘remembering’ and ‘doing’ — that there is more substantiality in ‘doing’ than in ‘remembering’. And always the measure of goodness is greater, therefore when speaking of punishment it uses the language of ‘remembering’, which is merely a basic recollection, but regarding the measure of goodness it says and does kindness — actual doing in practice, because He is a God who actively brings salvation, and from the Most High evil does not actively emanate. And regarding the negative measure it says upon children and does not say to children, because “upon children” means at a time when they continue the deeds of their fathers in their hands, and in addition to the sin of the children, the sin of their fathers is also remembered against them. But regarding the measure of goodness it says to thousands and not “upon thousands,” to say that even at a time when the children have no merit of their own, nevertheless they benefit from the merit of their fathers. And this promise has stood for us in every generation, that even a generation that is entirely guilty still benefits from the merit of their ancestors.

לא תשתחוה להם ולא תעבדם, “neither prostrate yourself before them nor worship them.” Any kind of worship even if it does not involve a visible form of obeisance such as prostrating oneself. This is forbidden even if one does not mean thereby to in any way diminish one’s faith and devotion to Hashem. אל קנא, “a jealous G’d.” We never find the attribute of G’d being jealous in any connection other than with idolatry. He warns us that just as a jealous husband is likely to take revenge on his adulterous wife, so He is going to punish the Israelite who, by breaching the covenant, gives Him cause to display jealousy. פוקד עון אבות, “Who visits the sin of the fathers, etc.;” according to Ibn Ezra the meaning of the word פוקד here is the same as that of the word זוכר, i.e. “who remembers.” The word is used in that sense in Genesis 21,1 where it means that G’d remembered the fact that Sarah had not yet been blessed with child. In our verse it means that Hashem allows even the wicked time to rehabilitate themselves through repentance before imposing the punishment for the sins which they deserve. G’d hopes that during the time He holds the punishment in abeyance the sinner will sire a child who in turn will be righteous, thus retroactively making the sinner’s life worthwhile. However, if both the sinner’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continue in the sinful ways of their forbears, G’d will not continue to delay punishment in the hope that this situation will change. Nachmanides challenges this interpretation of our verse, saying that if it were correct G’d would be visiting the sins not on the third generation but on the fourth generation. This would mean that the second and third generation of the father who went unpunished would also go unpunished. If that were so, the Torah should have written: זוכר עון אבות ובנים ושלישים על רבעים, “He will visit (show remembrance) of the sin of the fathers and the sons and the grandsons on the great-grandsons.” Perhaps what Ibn Ezra had in mind was that G’d remembers the sin of the father to the offspring by saying to the sinful offspring: “you as well as your (deceased) father or/and grandfather have been guilty of such and such.” As a result, the string of generations will be punished by that line being wiped out. However, the Torah does not say that all people, i.e. the sins of all fathers will be subject to an identical consideration by G’d. There are various verses in Scripture which indicate that sometimes G’d will exact punishment from the son or the grandson, as for instance we read in Isaiah 27,1 יפקד ה' בחרבו הקשה where the prophet announces that G’d will remember to punish the nations who have subjected Israel to violence, or Isaiah 14,21 הכינו לבניו מטבח בעון אבותם, “prepare a slaughtering block for their sons in retribution of the sins of their fathers, etc.” In both of these examples G’d is not described as waiting for four generations with exacting His vengeance. Sometimes the third generation will experience G’d’s vengeance, compare Deuteronomy 5,9, other times some descendants will experience it a generation sooner than their brothers, although to the uninitiated onlooker there appears to be no difference in conduct between them. When G’d indicated to Avraham that the Emorites were indeed guilty and deserved to be uprooted, He added that their guilt was not yet complete, i.e. the guilt of some of them, until the fourth generation had been reached, hence the descendants of Avraham could not be given their land until then. (Genesis 15,16). Any fifth generation experiencing G’d’s wrath is not being punished for the sins of the first of these five generations. פוקד עון אבות על בנים, “remembering the sins of the fathers to the children.” Ibn Ezra says that the grandchildren are included in the term בנים in this verse. This is the reason why the Torah mentions both third and fourth generations in one sentence, without bothering to mention the second generation at all, seeing that the second generation was already included in the mention of בנים. Nachmanides disagrees with this reasoning, stating that what is referred to as שלשים, is in fact the third generation commencing with the fathers, i.e. the grandchildren of the sinful father. The fourth generation described as רבעים here are the great grandchildren, and the same applies to the list in Exodus 34,7, where G’d reveals to Moses thirteen of His attributes. This is also why Moses, in connection with the sin of the spies, (Numbers 14,18) refers to בנים, שלשים, רבעים. What he meant was that the grandchildren are the third generation. This is also why our sages say that G’d extends goodness to more generations than vengeance, i.e. whereas the sins of the former generations may not be forgotten for 4 generations, their good deeds are rewarded for as long as 2000 generations (verse 6). לשונאי, “to those who hate Me.” If the member of that generation is a wicked person and he hates the Lord, previous sins of former generations will also be held against him, whereas if the present generation are righteous none of the sins of former generations will be held against them.

לשונאי, if their children also hate Me.

And who shows goodness to thousands of generations, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

and He keeps (stores up) the mercy which a person does to give a reward for it to the thousand generations of that person’s descendants. It follows, therefore, that the measure of good (reward) is greater than the measure of punishment in the proportion of one to five hundred, for the former is threatened only to four generations whilst the latter is bestowed upon thousands (two thousands at least) (Tosefta Sotah 4:1; see Rashi on Exodus 34:7).

AND HE SHOWETH MERCY UNTO THE THOUSANDTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. It appears from the sense of the verse that this Divine assurance is with respect to the subject-matter of the commandments that He mentioned. He is thus saying that to those that love Him, He will show mercy to their thousandth generation. These are the ones who sacrifice their lives for Him, for they are the ones who acknowledge only the Glorious Name and His G-dship and deny all strange gods, refusing to worship them even if they are in mortal danger. They are called “the lovers [of G-d],” for this is the kind of love that we have been obligated to observe even at the sacrifice of life, just as He has said, And thou shalt love the Eternal thy G-d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, meaning that you should give your very life because of your love of Him, that you should not alter Him for another god, nor join Him together with a strange god. It is for this reason that [the prophet] said of Abraham, the seed of Abraham my friend, since he risked his life in order not to worship the idols in Ur of the Chaldees. The rest of the righteous are called those that keep My commandments. Now many scholars have explained that “His lovers” are those who worship Him without the intention of receiving a reward, just as our Sages have mentioned. But I have found in the Mechilta that it is said: “Of them that love Me. This refers to Abraham and those like him. And those that keep My commandments. This refers to the prophets and the elders. Rabbi Nathan says that the verse, of them that love Me and keep My commandments, refers to those who dwell in the Land of Israel and give their lives for the commandments. ‘Why are you being led out to be executed?’ ‘Because I have circumcised my son.’ ‘Why are you being led out to be burned?’ ‘Because I read the Torah.’ ‘Why are you being led out to be hanged?’ ‘Because I ate the unleavened bread.’ ‘Why are you being lashed with the whip?’ ‘Because I took the lulav.’ And it says, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. These are the wounds which have caused me to become beloved of My Father in heaven.” Thus Rabbi Nathan explained that the love [of G-d, which is referred to in the verse before us], meant the sacrifice of life for the sake of the commandments. Now the verse here certainly refers to idolatry, for it is with reference to it that we are obligated at all times forever to suffer death rather than transgress [the law]. But [Rabbi Nathan] broadened the matter to include all the commandments, [such as circumcision, the study of Torah, the eating of unleavened bread on Passover, the taking of the lulav on Succoth — as mentioned above] — because in the time of religious persecutions, we are obligated to suffer death for any of the commandments [rather than transgress them], as derived from the other verse, And ye shall not profane My holy Name. And it would also be inco...

It is written, "showing kindness to thousands" (v. 6), and also written, "to a thousand generations" (Deut. 7:9). People think this presents a difficulty — but it does not. For it is written: if you observe His commandments, Hashem will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers — the three patriarchs — and this is, "keeping the covenant and the kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations" (ibid.). But in this passage it says something else: "showing kindness to thousands" — meaning endlessly, forever and ever. This may be interpreted in two ways: the first, that Hashem will show kindness to those who love Him, sustaining their souls forever, for thousands upon thousands of generations; the second, that Hashem will do good to their children — who are like them — without end. So David said: "The kindness of Hashem is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children" (Ps. 103:17). There is no doubt that Hashem's kindness upon those who fear Him is eternal; and since it mentions "children's children" — in the manner of "His righteousness endures forever" (Ps. 111:3) — Scripture needed to explain that this applies if the children are likewise good, and therefore it adds: "to those who keep His covenant." In the portion of Ki Tissa I shall explain how the attribute of "visiting the iniquity of the fathers" fits within the attribute of compassion. The word "to those who love Me" refers to the devout; "to those who keep His commandments" refers to the righteous.

ועושה חסד לאלפים, on other occasions the reason why retribution is so long delayed is due to the good deeds of someone’s forbears which I have sworn to requite by extending such patience in tolerating the errors of their offspring. [some of our sages attribute the continued existence of the Ishmaelites and their enmity to the Jews to the merit their founding father acquired when voluntarily submitting to circumcision at the tender age of 13. Ed.]

ועשה חסד לאלפים, "and Who performs deeds of loving kindness even to thousands." The main point is that even when G'd pays a reward He does not pay the entire reward in one generation but chooses the installments of such a reward in such a way that it maximises enjoyment of it over many generations. In a certain sense the reward is a form of protection against harmful experiences in store for subsequent generations. Shemot Rabbah 44,3 explains that if G'd had paid all the reward that Abraham was entitled to while he was alive, how (by what merit) would his descendents have been able to secure their livelihood? [how could G'd have found sufficient merit to forgive their descendants the sin of the golden calf? Ed.] ולשומרי מצותיו, and to those who observe His commandments. According to Sotah 31 these words are not connected with the words "to thousands of generations." People who serve the Lord because they are afraid of punishment cannot expect subsequent generations to draw on their unexpired portion of reward for longer than one thousand generations, whereas the unexpired portion of the reward of people who served the Lord because of love for Him may remain valid for up to two thousand generations. The Talmud derives this from Deut. 7,9 where the Torah speaks about a reward extending for one thousand generations.

לאוהבי, “to those who love Me.” This is a reference to the category of Jews known as “chassidim” by their fellow Jews. [These are people who excel in their piety. Ed.] ולשומרי מצותי, “and to the ones who are observe My commandments;” [the Jews who are careful not to violate any of My negative commandments; the tzaddikim.” Ed.]

ועושה חסד לאלפים לאוהבי, “and who performs deeds of loving kindness for thousands of generations for those who love Me.” Our sages in Sotah 31 explain the word לאוהבי as meaning: “for those who perform My commandments from a sense of love (for Me), whereas for those who perform G’d’s commandments only out of a sense of fear, i.e. לשומרי מצותיו, He does perform such acts of loving kindness for only one thousand generations. They also say (Sotah 31) that seeing the word לאוהבי, “to those who love Me,” has been written next to the word אלפים, “thousands, or at least two thousand, it is appropriate that it applies to people who perform the commandments out of a sense of love for G’d. On the other hand, the word לאלף דור, “for one thousand generations” (Deut. 7,9), applies to the people who though they perform the commandments do so only because they are afraid of being punished Even though performance of the commandments by such people is not at its optimum level G’d rewards them with disproportionately high reward. In Pessachim 50 our sages interpret the difference between the words in Psalms 57,11 “for Your kindness is as high as heaven,” and Psalm 108,5 where G’d’s kindness is described as “extending even beyond heaven,” by applying the former to people who observe the commandments without the proper intent, and the latter statement as reflecting the reward due to people who perform the commandments with the appropriate intent, i.e. not for what they stand to gain by it but by wanting to fulfill G’d’s purpose. All of this has been explained by Rav who said on that folio that the value of performing the commandments without the proper motivation lies in the fact that eventually one will perform them with the proper motivation. How do we reconcile this statement by Rav with that of Berachot 17 that someone peforming the laws of the Torah for the wrong reasons would better not have been created at all? That latter statement is meant for people who teach Torah to show off their knowledge but who have no fear of the Lord. [It is difficult to know which of many textural emendations on this line is correct. I have assumed that the author agrees with Tosafot Pesachim 50 on the correct interpretation of the statement in Berachot. Ed.]

And what it says “to thousands,” and at the end of Parshat Va’etchanan it is written, who keeps the covenant and the kindness to those who love Him and to those who keep His commandments for a thousand generations — it seems to me that this is all one calculation. Because the extraordinary goodness is doubled twofold, as alluded to in “covenant and kindness,” which is for a thousand generations, this is the same as keeping kindness alone without covenant for thousands [of generations]. And in the Talmud (Sotah 31a), they answered that one [verse] refers to [serving God] out of love, and the other [verse] refers to [serving God] out of fear.

ועושה חסד לאלפים, to the third and fourth generation, fifth, tenth, hundredth and thousandth. The term אלפים mentioned here is equivalent to the אלף דור, 1000 generations mentioned in the parallel version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 7,9. The two verses need not be a contradiction to one another according to the simple meaning of the text. Here the Torah mentions children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. All “children” are part of the same generation. All grandchildren are the same but second generation. The children after the 1000th generation are referred to as אלפים, or “the plural mode of one thousand.” In Deuteronomy, where children and grandchildren have not even been mentioned, and no mention is made of third and fourth generations, only the final generation to whom G’d extends such love is mentioned. Hence it is natural that this “final” generation qualifying for this loving care by G’d is called אלף דור, i.e. this generation being the children of the 1000th generation. In other words, both verses speak about the same generation being the last generation enjoying this love of G’d for something their originators so long ago did which pleased G’d.

You shall not swear by the name of Hashem your God in vain, for Hashem will not acquit one who swears by His name falsely.

לשוא IN VAIN — for no valid reason, idly. What is a שבועת שוא, an oath taken for no valid reason? If one takes an oath declaring something, the nature of which is evident, to be different from what it is: e. g., swearing about a stone pillar that it is of gold (Shevuot 29a).

LO THISA’ (THOU SHALT NOT TAKE) THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL THY G-D IN VAIN. This verse has already been explained in the words of our Rabbis. He prohibits [here] swearing by the Glorious Name in vain, such as swearing that which is contrary to facts known to man, or swearing to [the truth of] a self-evident fact. For example: if one swears that a pillar of marble is of gold, or that it is of marble, and the pillar is right before them and they recognize it as such [that it is of marble].By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, the verse also prohibits the taking of the Glorious Name in vain upon one’s lips [even without an oath], the usage of the term [lo thisa] being similar to these expressions: ‘Lo thisa’ (Thou shalt not utter) a false report; Nor ‘esa’ (do I take) their names upon my lips. Speaking is called thisa, [which literally means “lifting”], because the speaker thereby lifts up his voice. Similarly: ‘masa’ (The burden) of the word of the Eternal; also, In that day ‘yisa’ (shall he swear), saying: I will not be a healer, which means that he will lift up his voice to say so. And in truth, this — [i.e., just taking G-d’s Name in vain even without an oath] — is also forbidden, and in the language of the Sages, it is called “pronouncing the Name of Heaven to no purpose.” Thus our Rabbis have already said: “Whence do we know that [in dedicating a beast for a sacrifice] a man should not say, ‘Unto the Eternal this is a whole-offering,’ or ‘Unto the Eternal this is a sin-offering,’ but instead he should say, ‘This is a whole-offering unto the Eternal,’ ‘This is a sin-offering unto the Eternal’? Scripture therefore says, an offering unto the Eternal. And must we not reason by using the method of kal vachomer? If the Torah said of him who is about to dedicate [something to Heaven], ‘Let My Name not rest on it until [he has first said] korban (sacrifice)’, is it not logical [that we must not pronounce the Name of Heaven to no purpose]!”He has placed this commandment after the prohibition of idolatry, because just as it is proper to fear the Great and Fearful Name by not giving His Glory to another, so it is fitting to give glory to His Name. He who takes it in vain profanes it, similar to that which is written, And ye shall not swear by My Name falsely, so that thou profane not the Name of thy G-d. Just as He was stringent in the case of idolatry and wrote the punishment [for transgression], i.e., that He is a jealous G-d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, so did He record here the punishment that He will not hold him guiltless. He used this expression instead of saying that He will visit his sin upon him, [as He did in the case of idolatry], because people who swear [in vain] do not consider it a real sin, and they think it is proper that He forgive them. Therefore He said that whosoever toucheth that shall not go unpunished. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has written appropriately on this verse. Now the language of this verse, t...

"You shall not bear the name of Hashem your God" — "name" (shem) is like "remembrance" (zekher) and serves as a sign designating the one named. The word zekher in the Holy Tongue sometimes refers to the heart and sometimes to the mouth; but shem is borne by the mouth. As David said, "nor shall I bear their names upon my lips" (Ps. 16:4). The meaning of invoking the name is: just as Hashem's name is true, so must His word be true — and one who does not keep his word is as though he denies Hashem. It is the practice in Egypt to this day that if a person swears by the head of the king and does not fulfill his word, he is liable to death; even if he were to offer a ransom equal to his weight in gold he would not be spared, because he has publicly disgraced the king. How many thousands of times more, then, must a person guard himself lest his tongue cause him to stumble by speaking the Name in vain. We see that because Israel swore publicly in the matter of the concubine at Gibeah — with Phinehas the priest present — those who violated the oath were killed, as were the men, women, and children of Jabesh-gilead. Saul sought to kill Jonathan his son, who had not heard the oath. And Hashem brought a famine upon the land because Saul and his house had violated the oath of the princes who had sworn to the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:15) — and when the bloodguilt was atoned for, "Hashem was moved by prayer for the land" (2 Sam. 21:14). Solomon said to Shimei, "Did I not make you swear by Hashem?" (1 Kgs. 2:42). In sum: in the Ten Commandments, explicit reward is mentioned only for the honor of father and mother, and explicit punishment is mentioned only for idolatry and taking the Name in vain. Many think that bearing the Name in vain is not a great sin — but I will show them that it is graver than all the prohibitions that follow it. The murderer and the adulterer, though their sins are grave, cannot murder or commit adultery at every moment, for they fear [discovery]. But one who has habituated himself to swearing in vain can swear countless times in a single day — and he is so accustomed to this sin that he does not even know he has sworn; if you rebuke him and say, "Why did you just swear?" he will swear again that he did not swear, out of sheer habit. Before every utterance they preface an oath — it has become for them an idiom of eloquence. This sin alone, were it the only one in Israel, would suffice to prolong the exile and add blow upon blow to our afflictions. And I shall demonstrate their folly: the murderer who killed his enemy fulfilled his desire for vengeance; the adulterer likewise satisfied his impulse for the moment; the thief found benefit for his need; the false witness [acted] to ingratiate himself or take revenge. But the one who swears falsely at every moment when there is no oath upon him — he desecrates the Name of Heaven publicly, with no benefit to himself.

לא תשא, invoking the name of G’d when swearing an oath. The word נשא is used in this sense in Kings I 8,31 ונשא בו אלה לאלותו, “when someone utters a curse against another in retaliation, using the curse to make his adversary swear an oath,” לשוא, committing perjury thereby; without doubt this oath will backfire on the one uttering it; כי לא ינקה ה' את אשר ישא את שמו לשוא, for having used His holy name to utterly no purpose. Even if the person swearing such an oath had spoken the truth he will not be free from this sin, how much more so if someone used G’d’s name to swear falsely. It is not compatible with G’d’s honour and dignity that man use His Holy name for his own ends. The only time such an oath is permissible, or in some instances even mandatory, is when it is impossible to arrive at the truth by any other means there being no witnesses to the matter under dispute. As far as swearing a false oath, i.e. perjuring oneself is concerned, the Torah has a separate commandment in Leviticus 19,12 spelling this out. ולא תשבעו בשמי לשקר, “and you must not swear an oath in My name when that oath is a lie.”

לא תשא את שם ה׳ אלוקיך לשוא. "Do not utter the name of the Lord your G'd in vain." There is a tendency for people to believe that if they include the name of G'd in an unnecessary oath no harm is done as the very mention of G'd's name is proof that they revere the Lord's name and this adds to His glory. Besides, they argue that as long as the one to whom such an oath is sworn is unaware that the oath is false, how could G'd's name have been desecrated? All the second party knows is that the G'd mentioned in the oath is the G'd of the person swearing it. So what harm is done? G'd replies to such thoughts by saying: לא תשא "do not (even) elevate the name of the Lord your G'd, etc. Even if you have the intention of conferring honour upon My name, do not do it; G'd will not let anyone get away with such use of His name." The reason is that His name was used falsely or needlessly. Another reason why using G'd's name to make a lie believable is out of the question is because by doing so the person swearing the oath loses his צלם אלוקים, the image of G'd he has been created with and is known by. Such a person will become known instead as שוא, vain, false, worthless. G'd's name is "truth." Anyone associating that name with a lie, makes the name of G'd "fly away," seeing the person doing so has chosen something vain. An apt translation of this verse would be: "do not remove from yourself the name of the Lord your G'd on account of the pursuit of something that is vain, worthless." There is also an allusion here that a Jew should not bandy about the name of G'd giving the impression to all and sundry that he is a true servant of the Lord whereas in reality in his heart he does not serve the Lord. This is why the Torah chose the expression לשוא, i.e. creating a false impression. It is a warning not to pretend to be G'd-fearing. G'd will not allow such people to go unpunished.

לא תשא את שם, “do not utter the sacred name, etc.” Seeing that you have not ever seen a visual image of G-d, you can utter an oath only by invoking His name. Even so, you must not even swear an oath in His name unless there is an absolute necessity to do so, as G-d does not allow His sacred name to be used for profane reasons, or for secular purposes. This is one sin which will not be subject to being wiped out even by repentance, i.e. כי לא ינקה, “He will not consider such a person as being free from guilt.” לשוא, “in vain.” Do not make a habit of prefacing any parts of your speech by invoking the name of G-d (unless as a pseudonym), even if what you say is the truth. The very habit of uttering G-d’s name on too many occasions will lead you to do so when it is a blasphemy, or an outright lie. If that were to happen it would result in an unforgivable sin, i.e. כי לא ינקה.

לא תשא את שם ה' אלו-היך לשוא, “do not take the name of the Lord your G’d in vain.” Why is this injunction phrased as if spoken by some outsider? Why does G’d not say: “do not take My name in vain?” Up until this point G’d had spoken in the first person! Nachmanides uses this switch to the third person to prove his point that the people heard only the first two commandments directly from the mouth of G‘d, hence they heard the “I.” From this point on all they heard was what Moses told them in the name of G’d. The Israelites had to hear the first two commandments from G’d Himself in order to rise to the level of prophecy concerning their belief in G’d and concerning the unthinkability of becoming guilty of idolatry. This is also why G’d employed His Holy Name without such a preface as שם ה', whereas from now on we find the word שם which itself is like erecting a barrier between G’d’s essence and His intermediary to the people. The reason the commandment of not taking the name of G’d in vain follows immediately after the prohibition of idolatry is to teach that just as it is imperative to accord honour, etc., to G’d exclusively and not to negate this by treating any other phenomenon as a lesser divinity, so it is imperative to relate with equal reverence to “the name of the Lord, not only to His essence. Anyone failing to do so is guilty of desecrating G’d’s name. The essence of this commandment is not to swear an unnecessary oath, similar to Leviticus 19,12: “do not swear a false oath in My name and desecrate the name of your G’d thereby.” In this verse the Torah goes further by prohibiting an oath which is pointless, such as someone declaring on oath that the sun rose this morning. Such a declaration does not add to our knowledge and constitutes the use of G’d’s name in a frivolous manner. An oath which is meant to pervert the truth, such as that a pillar of marble is in reality a pillar of gold, also comes under the heading of שבועת שוא, a vain oath. The reason the Torah uses the expression לא תשא instead of לא תשבע, “do not swear an oath,” is because this prohibition includes even mentioning G’d’s name unnecessarily without the context of an oath. It is as if the Torah had said: “do not bring this name over your lips.” The word לשוא equals לחינם, “without valid reason.” We have a different nuance of this word תשא in Exodus 23,1: לא תשא שמע שוא, “do not carry false reports.” The reason that conveying something by one’s lips or mouth is referred to as תשא, “you raise,” is that one has to “raise” one’s voice in order to convey the utterance. We have another example of this usage of the word תשא in Psalms 16,4: ובל אשא את שמותם על-שפתי, “their names will not pass my lips.” The entire legislation has been described by our sages (Temurah 3) as מוציא שם שמים לבטלה, “uttering the name of the Lord in vain.” The Talmud Nedarim 10 asks: “whence do we know that if someone who is about to declare a certain animal as a sacrificial animal, he must not say לה' עולה or לה' חטאת, “for G’d a burnt-offering,” or “for G’d a sin-offering,” but must say instead עולה לה' or חטאת לה', “a burnt-offering for G’d,” or “a sin-offering for G’d?” Answer: because he may not be able to complete the sentence and would have said only the word: “for G’d,” which would be pointless. If a person who is about to utter G’d’s name when he has to must be so careful not to use it in a way that might result in it going to waste, how much more so must we be careful not to utter the name of G’d to deny the truth or make some other frivolous declaration by involving G’d’s name! Thus far Nachmanides. The reason that it is forbidden to swear falsely is that by doing so one negates a basic truth as well as one’s belief in G’d; [If one ignores warnings such as “G’d will not absolve someone who takes His name in vain,” one obviously does not believe that one will be punished severely. Ed.] It is immaterial for the severity of the sin whether one held some object in one’s hand at the time one uttered the oath or if not. In either event such an oath makes the person swearing it guilty of heresy, denying the Torah and the Lord who gave it. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra in his commentary on our verse similarly condemns people guilty of this offense and describes them as perverting the purpose of every oath. The purpose behind swearing an oath is to assure the person to whom it is sworn that “just as G’d is true, so my words are true.” If that person fails to honour his oath he is as good as accusing G’d of lying. It is the custom in Egypt (in the time of Ibn Ezra) that if one swore by the life of the king and it was found that one had perjured oneself, the person guilty of this was executed. Even if that person was willing to atone by paying his own weight in gold his life would not be spared as he had shown his contempt for the king in public by using his name in vain. If this is the penalty administered to someone who showed contempt for a mortal ruler, how much more severe is the same sin when committed against Eternal G’d? We have observed an example of the punishment which accrued to the Jewish people who had sworn an oath in public in the matter of פלגש בגבעה, (Judges 20,9) not to go home until they had punished the men of Givah for their vicious rape. This oath was a public declaration in the presence of Pinchas the High Priest (20,28). We find there that the people of Yavesh Gilead who had not participated in the punitive expedition against the people of Benjamin were killed, men, women and children because they had dishonoured their publicly given oath (Judges 21,10). This was a harsher punishment than is applied to people who desecrate the Sabbath. Another instance where the severity of not complying with a public oath is demonstrated was the edict of King Saul that no one was to taste any food until after the battle against the Philistines (Samuel I 14,24). Yonatan, King Saul’s eldest son, who had been unaware of his father’s decree and the public oath accepting it, had tasted a little honey in all innocence. In spite of Yonatan’s not having heard the prohibition the King was going to execute him had not the people intervened. (verses 44-45). At any rate, we learn from there that when someone deliberately violates his oath, (or an oath that he had agreed to though not initiated, he is subject to the death penalty. I can show you that the Torah has compared the severity of violating an oath to the sin of adultery The Torah writes here in connection with swearing a false or unnecessary oath that G’d will never totally forgive a person guilty of this. You will also find the expression לא ינקה in Proverbs 6,29 where Solomon applies it to someone who indulges in sexual intercourse with someone else’s wife. We find that G’d punished the entire nation by a famine because King Saul had failed to honor an oath sworn to the Gibeonites by the leaders of the Jewish people under the rule of Joshua. G’d told David in Samuel II 21,1 that the famine was the punishment for Saul having killed some Gibeonites in contravention of an holy oath sworn to them at the time of Joshua. Only after this gross injustice had been wiped out by David handing over seven descendants of Saul did G’d again turn to His people with goodwill. (Samuel II 21,14). Another tragedy involving non-compliance with an oath was the killing of Shimi ben Geyrah who had been sworn by Solomon on pain of death not to leave Jerusalem where he had been under house arrest since the death of David. Kings I 2,42 makes it clear that Solomon executed him for violating this oath. It is noteworthy that in all the Ten Commandments we find a specific reward promised for compliance only in connection with the commandment to honour father and mother, whereas a specific punishment is reserved for violation of the commandment not to worship idols and not to swear an unnecessary oath. Many people think that the sin of murder and adultery are far worse than the sin of swearing a needless oath and they wonder why the Torah has reserved its condemnation for the sin of swearing an unnecessary oath rather than for committing murder or adultery. The answer is simple. Murder and adultery are the kinds of sins which cannot be committed all the time. One needs a special opportunity in order not to be caught; in the case of adultery one also needs a willing partner. Not only that; having murdered one person whom one hates is unlikely to lead to the same person again murdering other people against whom he harbors no ill will. Similarly, it is unlikely that someone wants to commit adultery again and again with different women as his libido may not have been aroused by them. Committing the sin of swearing unnecessary oaths, however, does not satisfy one’s evil urge and is not subject to special opportunities but is likely to become a way of life with a person who has indulged in that sin without being caught. The very fact that he who commits this sin generally does not even get a feeling of special satisfaction from doing it makes it such a dangerous sin, one which is liable to become a norm rather than the exception. This is why the Torah reserved the warning that G’d will never completely forgive someone who knowingly commits this sin. If Israel were guilty of no other sin than indulging in such oaths this would be enough to add years to our collective exile. Thus far the words of Ibn Ezra on this subject. We find that the prophet Isaiah admonishes Israel concerning this sin in chapter 48,1-2 where he writes as follows: “Listen to this O House of Yaakov, who bear the name of Israel and have come forth from the waters of Yehudah, who swear by the name of the Lord and invoke the G’d of Israel- though not in truth and sincerity- for you are called after the Holy City and you do lean on the G’d of Israel whose name is the Lord of Hosts.” What Isaiah was trying to explain to the people was that they had no reason to be surprised that the pagans did not honour their oaths seeing that they had not been given the Torah. The Jewish people failed to honour their oaths in spite of having been given the Torah and being perfectly aware of how G’d hated the swearing of false oaths. Isaiah referred to the Jewish people as the House of Yaakov to remind them of the introductory words of the Decalogue where Moses was told to address the “House of Yaakov” (Exodus 19,3). It was the very presence at the revelation and their acceptance of the Torah that entitled the Jewish people to bear the name Children of “Israel” and “Yeshurun,” both distinctions conferred on people who are loyal to G’d and His ethical teachings. They had observed the Majesty of G’d by a visual demonstration, i.e. His שררה, as a memento of this they were accorded the name Yeshurun. (compare Deut. 32,15 “Yeshurun” waxed fat, etc.) The words ממי יהודה יצאו, “they came forth from the waters of Yehudah” were a reference to the זרע יהודה, the “seed of Yehudah.” The reason Isaiah singled out Yehudah was because his first prophetic message had been addressed to the tribe of Yehudah, compare אשר חזה על יהודה וירושלים, “who prophesied concerning Yehudah and Jerusalem (Isaiah 1,1). When you look at the verses we quoted above you will realise that the prophet reflects on the almost unbelievable fact that a people who had enjoyed such advantages could have become guilty of such disloyalty, could still bear the name Israel. How could a people with such illustrious antecedents as Yehudah, the founder of the Kingdom of David, people at home in a Holy City such a Jerusalem have become guilty of such depravity as had the people of Israel? They were the people who should have demonstrated holiness and the characteristics of priests as had been their official purpose bestowed upon them by G’d when He said: “you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation!” (Exodus 19,6). The words “and they leaned on the G’d of Israel” mean that they paid lip-service to the G’d of Israel but their heart was not in their words. Jeremiah 12,2 criticises the same phony attitude of the people when he says: “You are present in their mouths, but far from their thoughts.” Isaiah had concluded his critique with the words: “the Lord of Hosts is His name.” He meant that G’d is the Supreme commander of both the armies of the celestial regions as well as those on earth. This knowledge should have been enough to inspire fear of the Lord in the people. A Midrashic approach to the severity of violating oaths (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 38): violation of an oath is equivalent to violation of a חרם (matters forbidden by the Torah such as the property of inhabitants of a city in Israel the majority of whose inhabitants had worshipped idols). We know this from the example of Achan Hacarmi who had appropriated to himself gold and other property from the city of Jericho which G’d had put in חרם, had placed out of bounds to any Israelite (Joshua 7,1-26). Achan’s sin became the cause of 36 righteous Israelites losing their lives in the first battle against Ai. When Joshua was dismayed at this G’d told him “Israel has sinned;” in other words the sin of one individual violating the terms of the חרם was attributed by G’d to the entire nation. Joshua thereupon looked at the names of the tribes on the breastplate of the High Priest and found that the guilty party was a member of the tribe Yehudah, seeing that the gemstone on which Yehudah’s name was engraved had lost its lustre. After that he drew lots to find out to which family of the tribe of Yehudah the sinner belonged. When it became clear that he belonged to the family Zevach, the individual responsible by the name of Achan ben Carmi was isolated and he admitted his guilt. He was executed. We have another incident involving violating a חרם, when King Saul expressed a curse against anyone who would taste food until the evening (Samuel I 14,24). We have already mentioned that Yonatan had not heard about this חרם i.e. about the curse Saul had placed on violators of this oath. (the Book of Samuel calls this חרם oath.) We read there (Samuel I 14,27) that when Yonatan put the honey to his lips his eyes “lit up”. (the word used for “lit up,” ותאור, are the same as “he was struck by the curse.” At any rate, when the battle against the Philistines started to go badly, Saul wondered if someone had violated the oath (and thus brought a curse on the soldiers). He looked at the stones of the breastplate of the High Priest and found that the gemstone with the name Binyamin had lost its lustre. This caused him to draw lots until he found that the culprit was a member of his own family (verse 41). He condemned Yonatan to death in accordance with the terms of the חרם. It was then found that Yonatan had eaten because he had not been aware of the חרם, and the people prevailed on the King to spare him (verse 45). We find another example of the severity of violating oaths and the comparison with violating a חרם in connection with Joseph’s brothers. They had made such a חרם amongst themselves that none of them would reveal to Yaakov what had happened during their encounter with Joseph. They had said: “we are only nine” (seeing that Reuven had been absent when Joseph was sold). A חרם is legally binding only when it involves a minimum of ten people. They had therefore made G’d Himself a partner to their חרם in order to give it legal force. This meant that G’d Himself was constrained from revealing to Yaakov what had happened to Joseph. Reuven respected the חרם and never told his father what he knew. G’d also respected the חרם as we know from Psalms 147,19 that He מגיד דבריו ליעקב, “reveals His words to Yaakov.” Clearly, He had not revealed this matter to Yaakov. The reason was that He had become partner to this חרם. Thus far Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer. A kabbalistic approach to our verse: The word שם in the verse לא תשא את שם ה' אלוה-יך לשוא refers to the Shechinah. The verse tells us that Hashem the attribute י-ה-ו-ה will not exonerate anyone who trifles with the name of the Shechinah, uses it in vain. We have a similar verse in Leviticus 19,12: ולא תשבעו לשמי לשקר, “and you shall nor swear an oath in My name which is a lie;” here too the word לשמי is a reference to the attribute known as Shechinah. The verse concludes with וחללת את שם אלו-היך, “and you would (thereby) desecrate the name of your G’d.” The clear message is that even swearing in the name of any of the lesser attributes of G’d is as severe a sin as uttering the tetragram itself to confirm one’s statement on oath . The severity of the sin of dishonouring one’s oath is tied to the fact that the word שבועה, “oath,” is based on the word שבעה, “seven.” This is a reference to the seven קולות, different nuances of G’d’s voice, whose meaning Moses learned to understand during the revelation at Mount Sinai. Anyone who violates an oath based on these seven קולות, i.e. on the Sinaitic experience, is as if testifying that he is not entitled to life in the hereafter. By doing what he did he excluded himself from the community of people who have embraced these seven קולות as yardsticks by which to guide their lives. Our sages (Sifri Mattot item 153), when trying to illustrate the difference between שבועות ונדרים, “oaths and vows,” explain that an oath may be considered as using the “king as he manifests himself” to buttress his statement, whereas when someone formulates his oath as a vow he buttresses it by the “life of the king,” i.e. the king’s “essence.” You will appreciate this when you reflect on a verse in Kings II 2,2 where Elisha swears that he will not leave Elijah and let Elijah go to Beit El by himself. He phrases it thus: חי-י-ה-ו-ה, וחי נפשך אם אעזבך, “as the Lord lives and as you live I will not depart from you.” The expression חי ה' refers to the “king” Himself and constitutes an oath. The expression חי נפשך refers to the “life of the king” and constitutes a נדר, a vow. It is an accepted fact that a person swearing an oath and vowing a vow simultaneously does not mention the more severe aspect of his undertaking before he mentions the aspect which is relatively easier, simpler to fulfill. This is why Elisha first mentioned חי ה', meaning that he considered this as a less demanding undertaking. Subsequently he also vowed a vow when he said: “by your life.” He considered this as the more demanding undertaking. Having appreciated the above we can understand why inadvertent violation of an oath can be atoned for by a sin-offering, whereas inadvertent violation of a vow may not be atoned for by a sin-offering. This will also help you understand that the essence of the “soul” called נפש is in the lower seven emanations, whereas the essence of the soul called נשמה is within the realm of the three highest emanations. When the Torah writes in Genesis 2,7 ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים, “He blew into his nostrils the soul of life,” this is evidence that seeing G’d blew into man’s nostrils, he received something directly from G’d’s spirit. The meaning of that verse is that some of the nobility of “G’d’s life” was infused into man. He imparted to man part of His own essence so that seeing this part emanated in the emanation בינה which is the source of the concept תשובה, return or repentance, we can understand what Solomon had in mind when he spoke about man’s רוח, “spirit” “returning to G’d who had provided it when his body dies” (Kohelet 12,7). The reason Solomon mentions the attribute האלו-הים in that verse is that the Torah commences with the words בראשית ברא אלו-הים, “at the beginning He created Elohim” i.e. the concept of Teshuvah, (without which the universe could not have endured). You should realize that from that emanation בינה the souls of the Israelites are channeled to them via the emanation תפארת, (the next lower one). They travel via what we have repeatedly referred to as the קו האמצעי, the “central” line, route. This line is symbolic of the “east of the world” when Israel perform the will of G’d. We have a verse confirming this idea in Isaiah 43,5 where the prophet says: “I will bring your folk from the East.” If Israel are wicked, then the souls arrive from a westerly direction, i.e. from seed which already existed on earth in the form of previous life (transmigration of souls) as explained in Sefer Habahir. [Transmigration of souls is based on a sinful person being given a chance in another body to achieve the moral and ethical objectives he failed to achieve in his first round of life on earth. The person on earth who is here as a re-incarnation therefore “inherits” an impure soul, the one described here as coming from the West instead of from the East. Souls coming from the East originate in G’d’s reservoir of “unused” souls in heaven, souls which had not had a chance to become tainted. Ed.]. The author dealt with this concept in his commentary on Genesis 2,8. This entire concept is one which is applicable only to the Jewish people seeing that all the souls of the other nations originate in the “left” side of the table of emanations. This “left” side is the attribute גבורה also known as האש הגדולה, “the great fire.” This is the reason behind the halachic rule that if a Gentile slaughters an animal (which is fit for consumption by a Jew as it corresponds to the requirements, such as having cleft hooves and chewing the cud), such slaughter converts said animal into an animal equivalent to one that died by natural causes or disease, an animal whose carcass confers ritual impurity on the person touching or carrying it. All of this is due to their failure (the Gentile nations) to accept the Torah which has been described by Moses (Deut. 33,2) as מימינו אש דת למו, “On G’d’s right- law became like fire for them.” The Gentiles will be judged by the fires of Gehinom. This is the advantage of Jewish souls over those of the Gentiles. This is also what Ezekiel 23,37 referred to when he said: וגם את בניהן אשר ילדו לי, “and also their sons whom they bore for Me.” The prophet explains in that paragraph that all Israelites when born are born “to Me,” i.e. to G’d, as their souls emanated in the “right” regions.” If anyone of the Gentiles converts to Judaism his soul will be spared from having to undergo the fires of Gehinom, purgatory, seeing he has entered the קו האמצעי, “the middle line,” from which he may return to his roots on the right side of the emanations. Let us return now to the subject matter under discussion, i.e. oaths and vows. Anyone who swore an oath and keeps it, honors it, will receive his reward in the regions governed by the seven lower emanations as by keeping his oath he has as good as testified that he believes what these seven emanations resp. seven קולות, symbolize. Such a person has demonstrated a longing for G’d’s closeness to man as represented by these emanations. The reverse is the case with people who violate their oaths. Instead of being rewarded by what these seven emanations represent they will be punished by seven different degrees of fire in purgatory. Our sages in the Midrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2,18) have alluded to this mystical dimension when they interpreted Song of Songs 2,7 השבעתי אתכם בנות ירושלים בצבאות, “O daughters who are destined to ascend to Jerusalem I have adjured you by gazelles or hinds, etc.” Solomon means that if you will heed the warning you will ultimately wind up as illustrious as the Hosts of G’d in heaven; if you fail to heed the warning you will be like the army on earth. Thus far the Midrash. The meaning of that Midrash is that the word השבעתי is to be understood as “I give you a choice” to become attached to the seven emanations or seven kinds of fire in purgatory. The choice is up to you. Either way you will wind up as part of an army, i.e. צבאות. If you will merit it you will enjoy the seven heavens (Chagigah 12), become part of the army described as attached to the צרור החיים, “the bundle of eternal life” promised by Avigail to King David (Samuel I 25,29). If not, you will join the army undergoing seven kinds of fire in purgatory. The Lord can save people from having to endure punishment and hide them under His protective wings. May He make our share to be with the righteous who put their faith in Him.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Our Sages said (Shevuot 39) that the entire world trembled when the Holy One, blessed be He, said You shall not take, etc. The reason for this is because it is written (Hosea 4:2–3), Because of swearing, lying, murder, and theft, the land will mourn. From this verse, our Sages learned (ibid. 39a) that for all transgressions, only the transgressor is punished, but for a vain oath, both the transgressor and the entire world are punished. Therefore, it was appropriate that the whole world trembled when He said You shall not take, for everyone is affected by the punishment. The reason for this is made clear in the wording Lo tisa [do not take], which is an expression of lifting up. This is similar to someone who lifts up a tree and raises it — certainly all the branches shake along with the tree. Similarly, one who swears by God’s name, since all created beings depend on His blessed name, when one “lifts” His blessed name, it’s as if he has lifted and raised all the branches that are carried with it and attached to it, meaning all the creations above and below. Therefore, it is just that they all tremble and that the punishment affects them all. That is why it says here, For the Lord will not hold guiltless. The word for [ki] functions as giving a reason, as if to say it is an absolute fact that He cannot clear him, because this sin cannot be forgiven at all. This is what we have said in God’s name: that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives only matters between Him and His creatures, but not matters between man and his fellow. Therefore, one who has touched the holy tree itself and caused punishment to all its branches, both the dwellers above and below, how could the Holy One, blessed be He, forgive him? And where are all the beings who received punishment because of him, that he might appease them? Can he go from one end of the heavens to the other, and from the depths of the earth to the height of the firmament to appease all the beings in the upper and lower realms that he has affected? Therefore it says, For the Lord will not hold guiltless — it is not in the Holy One’s power to forgive this sin, for it simply cannot be forgiven. There is no need to elaborate further on the severity of an oath, and on the severity of mentioning God’s name in vain, for this is well-known and renowned, and the length of this exile will prove that this sin alone is sufficient for the prolonged nature of this ongoing exile due to the common habit on our tongues, as God’s name is fluent on the lips of every person from Israel who does not tremble and does not fear when mentioning it. And for all sins between man and his fellow, there is judgment below, but for this grave offense, there is neither judge nor judgment. And so said the prophet Isaiah (48:1–2) Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came forth from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is His name. He means that they should have been careful with mentioning His great name, blessed be He, because their name is like the name of their Master, since they are the house of Jacob who was called by the name of Israel, which includes the name “El” [God] in it [“Yisra-El” = straight with God], and they came forth from Judah, which includes all the letters of the special Name [the Tetragrammaton]. Thus, the name of God and the special Name are included within them. Nevertheless, they swear by these two names — by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel — but not in truth, etc. For regarding these two names it was said, You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. And if you would say that the reason they are not careful with these two names is because they are not treasured and important in their eyes, to this he responds: For they call themselves of the holy city — for they identify themselves with the holy city that is called by God’s name, as it is written and the name of the city from that day shall be, “The Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35). And they stay themselves upon the God of Israel saying, The Lord of hosts is His name — that He is Lord over all the hosts of Israel. If so, they identify themselves everywhere with His blessed name, and all these names are treasured and important in their eyes, yet nevertheless they are not careful with them and mention the Name not in truth, nor in righteousness. This corresponds to the two times that in vain is mentioned here [in our verse] — one meaning “for no purpose” and one meaning “falsely.” Now, truth is the opposite of falsehood, and when it says not in righteousness, this means “for no purpose,” because one who swears in court intends to justify his claims, and regarding this it is said and by His name shall you swear (Deuteronomy 10:20). But one who mentions the Name for no purpose does not intend to justify his claims, but rather to justify his vain utterances, and this is called not in righteousness.

לא תשא את שם ה' אלוקיך לשוא, “Do not mention the name of the Lord your G’d in vain;” according to our sages what is meant is to swear an unnecessary oath, confirming the truth of something universally known as true, by using the name of the Lord According to the plain meaning of the text what is also included is that the holy name of the Lord must not be mentioned in vain even if it is not part of an oath. The use of one’s mouth or lips for speaking is referred to on occasion as נשיאות קול, raising one’s voice. The reason why this commandment follows on the heels of the prohibition to engage in anything related to idolatry is to remind us that just as it is forbidden to accord any part of the reverence, respect, etc., due to the Lord, the Creator to any other phenomenon, so we must not bandy about His name for our own purposes, thereby demeaning it, and making use of Him instead of serving Him. Using G’d’s name in order to confirm one’s own words as true, is as if saying that just as He is truth incarnate, so our words are truth incarnate, a real desecration of His Holy Name. Because this is considered such a serious offense, the Torah warns that this sin is beyond G’d’s willingness ever to forgive completely. Punishment for committing this offense deliberately, just like that of idolatry, may drag out through four generations.

לא תשא, both this commandment, as well as the two following deal with the honour due to G’d. We know that the commandment to honour parents is also almost on the same par as honouring G’d, as in Proverbs 3,9 the verse to honour G’d is introduced with the same word כבד as is the Torah’s instructions to honour one’s parents.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

זכור — This word REMEMBER which opens this commandment here and שמור “observe” which opens it in Deuteronomy (5:12) were spoken in one utterance. Similar is, (Exodus 31:14) “Everyone that profaneth it (the Sabbath) shall surely be put to death”, which apparently is in contradiction with (Numbers 28:9) “And on the Sabbath day [ye shall offer] two lambs”, a command necessitating actions which, if done for any other purposes on the Sabbath, would involve a profanation of that day. Similar is, (Deuteronomy 22:11) “Thou shalt not wear a garment of two kinds, [as of woollen and linen together]” and (Deuteronomy 22:12) “Thou shalt make thee tassels”, for the performance of which command wool and linen may be employed in combination. Similar is, (Leviticus 18:16) “The nakedness of thy brother’s wife” (the prohibition of marriage with her), and (Deuteronomy 25:5) “her husband’s brother shall come unto her” (he shall marry her). — This is the meaning of what is said (Psalms 62:12) “One thing did God speak, these two things did we hear” (Mekhilta). זכור — This word expresses the verbal action without any reference to a particular time (the infinitive), similar to, (Isaiah 22:13) אכול ושתו “to eat and to drink”; (II Samuel 3:16) הלוך ובכה “to go and to weep”; and the following is its meaning: take care to remember always the Sabbath day — that if, for example, you come across a nice article of food during the week, put it by for the Sabbath (Beitzah 16a).

REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY. After He commanded that we believe in the Proper Name of G-d, blessed be He — i.e., that He exists, that He is the Creator, that He understands [and watches over all that happens to man], and that He is the All-powerful — and [after commanding] that we should direct both our faith in all these matters and all honor towards Him alone, and He further commanded that the remembrance of His Name be done in a manner of respect, He now commanded that we make in this matter a sign and perpetual remembrance to let it be known that He created everything. This is in the commandment of the Sabbath, which is a remembrance of the creation. Now He said here, ‘Remember’ the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy; and in the Book of Deuteronomy it is written, ‘Observe’ the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Our Rabbis have said with respect to these verses: “Remember and Observe were both spoken with one utterance.” Now the Rabbis were not so particular as to comment on the other changes of language [between the Ten Commandments written here and those in the Book of Deuteronomy. They commented only on the above-mentioned change] because their intent is to point out that zachor (remember) constitutes a positive commandment, i.e., that He commanded that we remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy and that we do not forget it, [as will be explained further on]. [They considered] shamor (observe), on the other hand, as a negative commandment, just as they have said, “Wherever Scripture says take heed (‘hishamer’), or lest (‘pen’), or do not (‘al’), there is a negative commandment.” It warns us that we should watch it [i.e., the Sabbath] to keep it holy and that we should not profane it, [thus clearly implying both a positive commandment and a negative one with respect to the Sabbath]. It would not have been proper for Moses to change G-d’s words from a positive commandment to a negative commandment. [Therefore the Rabbis were careful to point out that both remember and observe were spoken by G-d in one utterance.] However, the change in the second commandment from ‘and’ any manner of likeness to any manner of likeness, omitting the vav (and), and then adding it [to the expression al shileishim (unto the third generation), which is found here in Verse 5, rendering it there in Deuteronomy], v’al shileishim (‘and’ unto the third generation), and all such similar changes in the rest of the Ten Commandments, do not matter, for it is all one. This explanation [of why the Rabbis were particular to comment only on the change from remember to observe] will not be entertained by one who is not used to the ways of the Talmud. And the Rabbis have expressly said: “Women are obligated by law of the Torah to proclaim the sanctity of the Sabbath, because it is said, remember and observe, thus equating them so that all those who are obligated to observe the Sabbath are obligated also to remember it. And since women are obligated in the observance [of th...

"Remember." The meaning of "to sanctify it" is that which is written: "Six days you shall work" (v. 9). And this is what "He sanctified it" means — that Hashem rested on it from all His labor, and the day's purpose is to be joined with "Hashem blessed it" as written in the portion of Va-ykhullu, for Hashem sanctified this day and designated it for souls to receive an additional measure of wisdom beyond all other days. Therefore it is written, "Hashem blessed it." I have already explained this in the Psalm for the Sabbath day. We see that the Sabbatical year is like the Sabbath — it too is a seventh, counting in years. Hashem commanded that the Torah be read at the beginning of that year before the men and women and children, and stated the reason: "So that they may hear and so that they may learn...and observe" (Deut. 31:12). Thus the Sabbath was given to understand the works of Hashem and to meditate on His Torah, as it is written: "For You have gladdened me, Hashem, by Your work" (Ps. 92:5). All the days of the week a person is occupied with his needs — this day is therefore fit for seclusion and rest for the sake of Hashem's honor, without occupying oneself even with past concerns or future plans. Thus the prophet said: "From attending to your affairs and speaking idle words" (Isa. 58:13). The custom of Israel was to go near the Sabbath to the prophets, as in: "Why are you going to him today? It is neither New Moon nor Sabbath" (2 Kgs. 4:23). I have already noted that the meaning of one who performs labor on the Sabbath is that he denies the act of creation — though he does not deny the revered Name. There is no doubt that the word "you" encompasses every one who is subject to commandments. Therefore "your son and your daughter" — the minors whose resting is your responsibility — you are obligated to safeguard, so that they not do anything that you are forbidden to do. Likewise "your slave and your maidservant" — who are under your authority — you are obligated to guard them and not allow them to work for others; for if you do, you transgress a negative commandment, as Moses our master explained: "so that your slave and your maidservant may rest as you do" (Deut. 5:14), as I mentioned. And on this condition does the sojourner dwell in your gates — that he not perform labor on the Sabbath or on Yom Kippur, which is why in the second version the sojourner is written. Similarly with the forbidden sexual relations — and on this condition he may dwell, that he observe them. Similarly with consuming blood. We see that Jeremiah emphasized the commandment of the Sabbath, stating explicitly that even though a decree had been issued that Jerusalem would be destroyed — if Israel would return to observe the Sabbath as commanded, they would not be exiled from their place, and the thrones of the Davidic dynasty would remain established in Jerusalem.

זכור את יום השבת, the infinitive mode tells us that we are to be aware of the Sabbath every day of the week, even while involved in our daily routines. This is also the same mode chosen by the Torah for demanding that we be forever mindful of what Amalek our arch enemy did to our forefathers after they had crossed the Sea on dry land. (Deuteronomy 25,17) The same is true of the infinitive mode chosen by the Torah when urging us to remember the legislation pertaining to the “month of spring,” i.e. the month of the redemption from Egypt. Compare Deuteronomy 16,1 שמור את חודש האביב ועשית פסח. לקדשו, the reminder to remember the Sabbath constantly was intended to ensure that you observe all the commandments associated with the day. Even the order to work six days is intended to ensure that by concentrating on the need to make a living during those days, this will enable such people to take their minds off such mundane matters on the Sabbath.

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The meaning is that one should remember the Sabbath from the first day of the week. The Torah mentioned the seventh day before it mentioned the six days previous to the Sabbath in order to drive home the point that the Sabbath must be uppermost in our thoughts already prior to the six days preceding it. Were this not so the Torah would have written: "perform your work during six days and remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The expression לקדשו also implies making preparation such as the sages explained in Beytzah 16 that one should prepare for the Sabbath from the first day of the week onwards. An additional reason why the Torah tells us to remember the Sabbath day is mentioned in Midrash Tehilim 92. Adam was created on the sixth day and sinned on that day. Along came the Sabbath and acted as advocate for Adam in front of G'd. He pleaded with G'd saying: "no human being has ever been killed; why should it fall to my lot to be the first day on which a human being is killed?" As a result of the Sabbath's plea Adam was saved from death at that time. When Adam realised this he composed this Psalm, singing the praises of the Sabbath. The Torah asks us to remember the Sabbath as the day which saved Adam's life because this fact also insured our own existence and that of all of mankind. It behooves us therefore to accord special honour to the Sabbath. The Sabbath proved to be our very life-saver. When someone experiences a miraculous escape on a certain day he will forever treat that day as special year after year on the anniversay of that event. In this instance the miracle did not only occur on the Sabbath day, but the Sabbath itself was the life-saver. It is appropriate therefore that we remember this every week. The Torah wishes us to remember that the Sabbath day is to be in a totally different category from all the other six days of the week. The Torah says: זכור את יום השבת, that we must remember the day by name. We sanctify the Sabbath by remembering it by name. You may appropriately translate this verse as follows: "Remember the day; what are you to remember? Sabbath." The reason that we are to sanctify it is because G'd's name is also Sabbath. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai states in his Zohar volume 2 page 88 that the name of G'd is Sabbath. Afterwards the Torah amplifies which of the seven days of the week is called Sabbath by writing: "during six days you shall perform all your work and on the seventh day is Sabbath;" this teaches that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. [You will note that the word "Sabbath" did not occur in the Torah's description of the creation. Ed.]

זכור את יום השבת, “remember the Sabbath day;” this commandment begins with an infinitive, “to remember;” the reason is because it is a day which should dominate your thinking throughout the week, seeing it is the most important day of the week. Also, the other six days of the week during which you are preoccupied with matters concerning your livelihood are not likely to be “forgotten,” as opposed to the Sabbath, the day of rest. Seeing that it is the spiritual highlight of your week and has been sanctified by G-d, it deserves special attention. The expression: ”to remember,” as opposed to the ”planning” of the six days to follow, is always something that is concerned with the past, one remembers things that have already passed, not things that are to come. [as opposed to the way we use the word in our daily language. Ed] In the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, the word in the written text is replaced by the word: שמור, as there it is connected to the purpose of the day, to provide constructive rest, למען ינוח, both for yourselves and for your servants and beasts. An alternate explanation: the line זכור את יום השבת “remembering the Sabbath day” is aimed at reminding you of the first time you heard about the concept of the Sabbath at Marah (Exodus 15,25). This is why the word: “remember” is appropriate. Still another exegesis of the infinitive used here is that this day must be remembered every day of the week, and that is why when describing each day of the week, i.e. naming it, we always do so in relation to the previousSabbath, i.e. “the first day after the Sabbath, the second day after the Sabbath, etc. Another approach: the words: זכור את יום השבת in the infinitive mean that you are to be mindful of the Sabbath day at all times, i.e. you should remember each day when the last Sabbath occurred and when therefore the next Sabbath occurs. The reason that you have to do this is so that when the next Sabbath occurs you will not forget it, not fail to observe its commandments. When you understand the line of זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “keep on remembering the Sabbath day to observe it as a holy day,” it is practically the same as when it says in the second version of the Ten Commandments: “make sure you observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, i.e. שמור את יום השבת לקדשו. This is what the rabbis meant when they said that the two words were spoken by G-d simultaneously, although we human beings cannot duplicate this exactly. This is what Rashi meant to tell us in his commentary. In our portion the commandment is phrased as a positive commandment, while in the Book of Deuteronomy it is phrased as a negative commandment, warning us not to violate the prohibitions applicable on that day. Our sages spelled this out in the Talmud tractate Eyruvin 96. It is a rule in the written Torah that whenever the expression השמר פן, or אל, occurs in the Torah, this introduces a negative commandment to be careful not to do something, It also includes women as being included in that prohibition. In other words, anyone to whom the warning of שמור is addressed, is automatically included in a commandment which is elsewhere expressed by the positive aspect of that commandment described by the word זכור.

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” After G’d had commanded us to believe wholeheartedly in His overriding attribute Hashem, and not to exchange Him for any other deity, and He also commanded us to “honor” His name by not using it in vain, He now commanded us to make a visible symbol of His holy name by sanctifying the seventh day, the Sabbath, by proclaiming His holy name on that day. The purpose of it is to proclaim publicly that He has created the universe as something absolutely new, out of nothing. An approach based strictly on the literal meaning of the text: The words זכור את יום השבת “to remember the Sabbath day,” with the word זכור as an infinitive as distinct from an imperative, mean that we should remember this thought that G’d created the world out of previously non-existent materials all Sabbath long. Not only must we not exchange Him for any other force claiming divinity status on the Sabbath, the day we spiritualise more than any other, but we must not act on the weekdays as if there were some other divinity, some other ideal that we devote ourselves to. The best way not to deviate from our basic faith is by not forgetting G’d during the week either. When we think of Him constantly, we will also remember the whole process of creation; once we do this we will remember that He supervises His handiwork and rewards those who are loyal to Him and punishes those who are disloyal. When G’d says לקדשו, “to sanctify it,” this means that we should remember to sanctify it. We should realise that our resting on the Sabbath is an expression of the holiness of that day and we should turn away from secular concerns such as preoccupation with our bodies and devote ourselves on that day to matters of concern to G’d, by studying His ways and methods of doing things. On that day we are under an obligation to visit prophets or sages and scholars in order to receive instructions in the ways of the Lord. It recalls Kings II 4,23 when the husband of the Shunamite woman asks her: “why are you on the way to the prophet today? It is neither Sabbath nor New Moon?” This question shows that it was customary to visit the prophet on the Sabbath to receive spiritual uplift from him (compare Rosh Hashanah 16). David is on record in Psalms 119,97 where he said כל היום היא שיחתי, “it is my meditation all day long.” We would have expected him to say: “I have meditated every day.” Clearly, David refers to a special day devoted to meditations, i.e. the Sabbath. Isaiah 58,13 calls the Sabbath עונג, “a delight,” meaning it is a delight for the soul. The reason is that intelligent people and G’d-fearing people use that day to derive spiritual delight from it. Man’s soul thirsts for G’d on that day, a thought expressed poetically in Psalms 42,3: “my soul thirsts for the living G’d.” A Midrashic approach based on Shabbat 118. Anyone observing the Sabbath laws meticulously has all his sins forgiven to him. Even if he had indulged in idol worship of the type practiced by the generation of Enosh, this too is forgiven him. This is based on Isaiah 56,2 אשרי אנוש יעשה זאת...שומר שבת מחללו, “hail to the man who does this.....who keeps the Sabbath and does not desecrate it.” A story is told of the Roman governor Turnusrufus (the wicked) who encountered Rabbi Akiva on a Sabbath (compare Tanchuma Ki Tissa 33). He asked Rabbi Akiva sarcastically: “what is so special about this day compared to other days?” Rabbi Akiva replied: “how is one man superior to other men?” (that he arrogates to himself special powers and status) Turnusrufus answered: “The King of Kings evidently wanted to honour me!” Rabbi Akiva replied that the King of Kings also wanted to honour the Sabbath. Turnusrufus replied: “if so why does He Himself perform work on the Sabbath?” Rabbi Akiva: “what work does G’d do on the Sabbath?” Turnusrufus: “just as He performs work on the weekdays, He performs the same activities on the Sabbath!” [he meant that we do not observe a change in nature on the Sabbath. Ed.] Rabbi Akiva: “I know you are familiar with Jewish law and our Torah. You therefore are aware that when two people who live in adjoining houses and share the same courtyard they are allowed to carry in the courtyard if they first established a partnership called Eyruv. This means that each of them abandons his exclusive claim to his property for the benefit of the second party. If, however, a single individual lives in a house surrounded by a very large courtyard without a neighbour sharing it he may carry inside it without the need of an Eyruv. The reason is that he does not thereby infringe on the property rights of anyone else. G’d owns heaven and earth; He has no partners to whom He has to cede part of His exclusive rights. Hence He is free to let the sun rise, make the wind blow, the rain fall etc. without infringing on the Sabbath legislation. This is not all. The Jews who wandered in the desert and who were being supplied by G’d with manna testify to the truth of what I have just told you. The manna descended every day of the week but not on the Sabbath. This shows clearly that the Sabbath was a special day. Not only that but the river Sambatyon which is full of flame daring people to cross it, is silent and still on the Sabbath.” Turnusrufus: “as to the manna, this happened a long time ago and we cannot bring proof from there that the Sabbath is special nowadays. As to the Sambatyon river, I simply do not believe you. Who has seen the river or how it works?” Rabbi Akiva: “go to necromancers and you will find that they practice their art in consulting the dead or making them appear every day of the week. On the Sabbath they are unable to perform their tricks. Go to the grave of your own father and you will observe smoke rising from it every day except on the Sabbath. This should teach you that even the dead are aware when it is Sabbath and that the day is special. You expect the living to ignore a day which even the dead are aware of?” Turnusrufus: “maybe my father’s judgment has been completed so that is the reason no more smoke rises from his grave.” Rabbi Akiva: “Tomorrow you will have proof.” On the following day Turnusrufus again observed smoke rising from his father’s grave. He went to a necromancer and ordered his father to appear. When he did, he asked his father: “while you were alive you did not observe the Sabbath; why do you observe it now that you are dead? Since when have you become a Jew?” His father answered him: “listen my son; anyone who does not observe the Sabbath amongst you on earth is forced to observe it against his will in the hereafter.” Thereupon Turnusrufus asked his father: “what are you doing in the hereafter during the weekdays?” He answered him that on every weekday they were being judged (punished). On the Sabbath they were left alone to rest. A heavenly voice is heard in those regions at the onset of the Sabbath instructing their tormentors to let the victim rest on the Sabbath. An angel known as דומה is in charge of administering the punishments during the week. As soon as the Sabbath is over this angel shouts to the wicked to return to purgatory, explaining that the Israelites have already concluded their various Sabbath observances.” Thus far the Midrash. Keeping this in mind, the Jews have adopted the custom to recite the paragraphs ויהי נועם, and ואתה קדוש at the conclusion of the Sabbath services very slowly in order to afford the souls being judged in purgatory a little extra time before they have to return to that place. This may also be the reason that it is forbidden for us to drink some water at dusk before the onset of the Sabbath, as according to the Midrash this would be an act of stealing (time) from the souls in purgatory. By decreeing this prohibition the sages wanted to instill in us the belief that the souls of the sinful Israelites enjoy rest on the Sabbath even though they have been consigned to purgatory. When they are released from that place before the onset of the Sabbath they wash and dress in honour of the Sabbath. If the living drink water at that time it is considered as robbing the souls leaving Gehinom for a better place on the Sabbath of some of the water they need to prepare themselves for the Sabbath. The Rabbis have categorized a person drinking water at dusk on Fridays as robbers, and as people lacking in faith. This is also the reason that we do not recite the verse והוא רחום at the beginning of the Friday night service, as mention is made of three destructive angels in that verse, אף-חמה-משחית, angels who have been appointed to be in charge of the wicked and their sufferings in purgatory. These angels do not enjoy any authority over their charges on the Sabbath. Furthermore, the purpose of this custom is in order to instill in our hearts the awareness that even the wicked enjoy rest on the Sabbath plus the fact that these angels do not enjoy authority on the Sabbath. I have found the source of this in a book called Masechet Gan Eden, a book which is similar to פרקי היכלות, פרקי מרכבות and פרקי דרך ארץ. I have found the gist of this in another version: “anyone drinking water on the Sabbath between the Minchah service and the Maariv service during the year he has lost a close relative is in effect robbing the deceased. In that book the reason given for this is that the souls leave purgatory on the Sabbath and drink from the waters of a river emanating in Gan Eden. By the bereaved drinking water during those hours one would diminish the supply available to these souls. Once the year has passed there is no need for all this as the soul’s judgment and possible period of punishment has already been completed. A more rational approach to the Sabbath legislation. It is well known that this physical/material world is conducted on the basis of light and darkness. Its anchors are day and night. The reason for the alternating periods of light and darkness, day and night, is so as not to subject people to unceasing labor but to give them an opportunity to rest and recover their energy through sleep, etc. Rest, i.e. sleep, is an absolute necessity for all living creatures. Even flies are in need of sleep. If light were to prevail on earth constantly the creatures on earth would not be able to endure, i.e. the world would not be able to continue functioning as all its creatures would collapse from lack of rest. The commandment of the Sabbath therefore is also a natural law ensuring the continued functioning of the world and its inhabitants by providing regulated rest periods at regular intervals. By observing the Sabbath laws, man spends one seventh of his life in constructive מנוחה, relaxation. The reason this day occurs on the seventh day of the week is that it represents a happy medium between the lunar cycle and the solar cycle. [The author describes four “cycles”, i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. The Sabbath is middle ground between the daily cycle and the monthly cycle. Elsewhere he described the centrality of the day as being that we count towards it and away from it thus declaring it in effect as the “middle” of the week, not as the “week-end.” Ed.] Many of the Torah’s laws revolve around this number seven. Although the Sabbath has been handed down as legislation from Heaven and has not been made part of natural law, and most of our beliefs are directly or indirectly connected to it (and therefore not applicable to all of mankind), this does not contradict the fact that it has world-wide significance as natural therapy relieving the tedium of life on earth. [If it had not been legislated, man would have had to invent it. Ed.] A Kabbalistic approach: The words זכור את יום השבת are a reminder that the Sabbath is the last emanation seeing that it completes the whole cycle of creation. It has been named כנסת ישראל. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 11,8) have illustrated this by saying that the Sabbath is the natural partner of the Jewish people (much as a woman is the natural partner of man). This is the reason we find the Sabbath referred to in much of aggadic literature as Matrona, “a lady of stature.” We find the following in Vayikra Rabbah 27,10: “The reason the Torah legislates that no animal may be offered up as a sacrifice until it is at least seven days old (Leviticus 22,27) is because it must first have seen the face of the Matrona. The Midrash means that an animal which has not experienced at least one Sabbath on earth must not be slaughtered as an offering. Even the life of an animal would not have been worth living unless it had experienced at least one Sabbath. The Sabbath is also known as ברית, covenant. Just as the circumcision and the rainbow are described by the Torah as ברית, so is the Sabbath (compare Genesis 9,12--Genesis 17,10--Exodus 31,16). The reason the Torah writes here זכור, “to remember” is a reference to a specific Sabbath, i.e. the Sabbath known as שבת הגדול, the emanation יסוד, from which all the 248 positive commandments emanate. The numerical value of the letters in the word זכור plus the acrostic formed by the first letters in the words יום השבת total 248. When the Torah writes שמור את יום השבת in the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deut. 5,12, the word שמור is a reference to the מקדש, Sanctuary, aspect of the Sabbath. This is the emanation כבוד from which the 365 negative commandments are derived. They are the ones that also all women are obligated to fulfill. This is the mystical dimension of the verse את שבתותי תשמורו ומקדשי תיראו, “you shall observe My Sabbath days and My Sanctuary you shall revere” (Leviticus 26,2) [the plural My Sabbaths refers to the שבת הגדול and to the Sabbath called מקדש.] This is why the prophet warns (Jeremiah 17,24) “not to perform any kind of work on it.” The word בה “on it,” in that verse is read one way and spelled another, i.e. it is both בו and בה, i.e. masculine and feminine. When the Torah writes in verse 10 of our chapter ויום השביעי שבת לה' אלו-היך, “and the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your G’d,” the meaning is that “the Sabbath is on the seventh day because the seventh day is the foundation (יסוד) of the universe the seventh emanation the one wherein the Sabbath (the concept of the Sabbath) is located.” Our sages referred to this as הכל בכל, “for that which comprises everything (כל) is contained within the emanation known as כל, respectively יסוד. The two emanations יסוד and מלכות are inseparably linked to one another. [The seventh day represents יסוד, which is described here as the seventh emanation. Since the concept of Sabbath (associated with מלכות) is contained in יסוד, it follows that the two are linked together. Ed] We find verses which confirm this in Exodus 31,15: וביום השביעי שבת שבתון קודש לה', “and on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, the Sabbath of Sabbaths, it is holy to Hashem.” The verse following the above states לעשות את יום השבת ברית עולם, “to make the Sabbath-day into an eternal covenant.” The verse refers to the seventh day which is the foundation of the universe שבת שבתון קודש לה'. At the same time the Sabbath which receives its input from that שבת שבתון is called ברית. Having appreciated all this there is no longer any reason to wonder why the sages called the benediction we recite over the wine on the Sabbath by day קדושא רבא, “the great sanctification,” (Pesachim 106) a description which has not been applied to the Kiddush we recite on the evening after the Sabbath has commenced. The Kiddush recited by day corresponds to the זכור element of the Sabbath whereas the Kiddush we recite at night corresponds to the שמור element of the Sabbath. Day is usually associated with זכור something denoting activity, whereas night is associated with שמור, something denoting passivity. Considering all we have said above it is clear why the prophet considers the Sabbath a delight and called it such (Isaiah 58,13) “and you shall call the Sabbath a delight.” It is a delight for the souls. David confirmed this in Psalms 42,3 when he exclaimed צמאה נפשי לאלו-הים א-ל חי, “my soul thirsted after the living G’d.” Every creature thirst (yearns) after its origin, its roots, the place it will eventually return to. The place in question is the river which irrigates Gan Eden, the foundation of the Sabbath and its root. The word ענג, delight, is an acrostic formed by the words עדן, נהר, גן. We base all this on Genesis 2,10 ונהר יוצא מעדן להשקות את הגן “and a river emerges from Eden to irrigate the garden.” This is why the Sabbath is called ענג, as it is a delight both for the celestial beings as well as for the terrestrial people on earth.

Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Since He warned about accepting the yoke of His blessed kingship, that one should not have other gods, and adjoined to it the matter of the prohibition of oaths, for all of this concerns the sanctification of His blessed name, He adjoined to them the remembrance of the Sabbath day, that throughout all the days of the week one should remember the Sabbath day. For this reason they said in the Mekhilta that one should not count as other nations count, but rather count for the sake of the Sabbath: the first day of the Sabbath [Sunday], the second day of the Sabbath [Monday], and through this you will remember the Sabbath day. And this remembrance helps to sanctify the Holy One, blessed be He. This is the meaning of to sanctify it, for it does not say “sanctify the Sabbath day,” since it is already sanctified and established, but rather to sanctify it refers back to the Holy One, blessed be He, who was mentioned above in You shall not take [the name of the Lord your God in vain]. For through swearing, one profanes the Name, as it is written And you shall not swear by My name falsely, thereby profaning the name of the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:12). And in contrast to this, remembering the Sabbath day helps you to sanctify the Holy One, blessed be He, by remembering that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth with His blessed name, as it is written For in Yah, the Lord is the Rock of worlds (Isaiah 26:4). And through this remembrance you will know to conduct yourself with holiness regarding His blessed name, by remembering that with His blessed name all the worlds were created, and if so, certainly they all depend on His blessed name. Know and understand what the kabbalists have written, that the word “oath” [shevuah] is derived from the word “seven” [sheva], as Rabbeinu Bachya wrote in this portion and in the portion of Vayera on the verse Therefore he called that place Beer-sheva, because there they both swore (Genesis 21:31). This is because the Holy One, blessed be He, created all existence and bounded them within six directions, and the great Name, blessed be He, is the seventh that rides over all of them. One who takes an oath touches the seventh, meaning His blessed Name. And the Sabbath sanctifies the seventh [day], therefore it is fitting that the Holy One, blessed be He, the Seventh, be sanctified on the seventh day. Those who understand will comprehend this matter, for it is clear. And just as one does not use any of the holy Names that are alluded to in the number seven, so too one should not engage in work on the seventh day. Therefore, every seventh is holy to God, whether in days, in the Sabbatical year, or in the Jubilee.

זכור את יום השבת, “to remember the day of the Sabbath.” Having first commanded us to believe with absolute faith in the uniqueness of Hashem, His power, etc., and the fact that He alone is the Creator, and that He knows what is going on in any part of the universe, including what goes on in our hearts, the outward symbol of this belief of ours is to be demonstrated in our observance of the Sabbath as the day which bears the stamp of G’d’s creative power. Now G’d commands that we observe the Sabbath day as a weekly reminder of His stature, by emulating certain of the attributes He demonstrated when He created the universe. In the first version of the Tablets the formula chosen to refer to this reminder is the word זכור, a positive act of remembering, whereas in the second version of the Tablets, as recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy, the word is שמור, “guard, observe, by not violating,” the negative aspect of emulating G’d’s “repose,” abstention from creative activity on that day. Our sages say that when pronounced by G’d on Mount Sinai, both words were said by Him simultaneously. Although the sages could have made this point about a number of changes between the wording of the Decalogue in the Book of Exodus, as opposed to the one in Deuteronomy, which was formulated by Moses himself, they did not bother to draw attention to this, as only in this instance might Moses be perceived as having changed what sounded like a positive commandment to something which sounds like a negative commandment. They were anxious not to portray Moses as having taken liberties with G’d’s revealed word. When G’d commanded the observance of the Sabbath to Moses, having in mind Moses’ exceptional stature, He formulated the commandment primarily as a positive commandment, i.e.זכור לקדשו. When Moses relayed the same commandment to the next generation who had not stood at Sinai, He warned him to present first and foremost the negative aspects of this commandment, i.e. the work prohibitions, etc. Actually, the observance of the Sabbath, i.e. worshipping the Lord by observing the Sabbath, includes service of the Lord from overriding feelings of love, אהבה, the positive aspect of the commandment, as well as the observance of the law out of considerations governed by awe, by reverence, i.e. by יראה. The latter is expressed by not violating the prohibitions associated with observing the Sabbath. This is also the reason why, in halachah when observance of a positive commandment conflicts with the simultaneous observance of a negative commandment, as a rule, the observance of the positive commandment takes precedence and even displaces the observance of the negative commandment. The word זכור was written in the first version of the Ten Commandments in the written Torah, as it refers primarily to the Sabbath as a remembrance of the מעשה בראשית, G’d’s having created the universe, something concerning which the Torah writes elsewhere זכור ימות עולם, “remember the history of the universe,” (Deut. 32,7) whereas the word שמור was the one written in the second version of the Ten Commandments, as the second aspect of the Sabbath is its commemoration as an historical event experienced by the Israelites with both their bodies and their souls. Nachmanides writes that he is not sure if the word שמור in Deuteronomy was spoken by G’d Himself at all, seeing that it was not written on the Tablets [after all the Book of Deuteronomy, according to tradition was composed by Moses, the text being approved by G’d afterwards. Ed.] He concludes that it is even possible that the word שמור appeared on the original set of Tablets, the word זכור being substituted on the second set of Tablets. It was Moses who told the people that the word שמור had been said to him simultaneously, when he was told what was written on the first set of Tablets, the ones he had smashed. This, in Nachmanides’ view is what the sages had in mind when they said זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו, “the words zachor and shamor were said as a single utterance.” זכור, “to remember.” Rashi, in commenting on the infinitive mode of the word זכור used here instead of the imperative mode zechor!, as in Deuteronomy 32,7, comments that the commandment means that the memory of the Sabbath day must be foremost in the mind of Israelites not only on the Sabbath day itself, but must be something that we also think of during the six days of the work week. The practical way in which we are to do this is illustrated when the Talmud tells of Rabbis, who, whenever they came across some delicious food item during the week, bought it immediately, with a view to serving it on the Sabbath. Nachmanides, in commenting on that paragraph in the Talmud, (Beytzah 16) in which Shammai and Hillel respectively are described as fulfilling this requirement in slightly different ways, says that the plain meaning of the Torah’s text is that the reason why we must remember the Sabbath day everyday is to ensure that we do not observe the wrong day of the week as the Sabbath. [after all, in nature there is no visible difference between the Sabbath and the other days. It is not distinguishable by seasonal factors nor by the position of the moon in the sky, for instance. Ed.] By thinking of the importance of the Sabbath on an ongoing basis, we will not forget the debt of gratitude we owe the Creator, Who has given us this sign as a gift, reminding us of the dignity of being a creature instead of the product of a mindless act of natural forces. [my choice of words. Ed.] It is a most potent symbol strengthening our faith in Hashem. The meaning of the word לקדשו in our verse, i.e. “to sanctify it,” is that the existence of this special day be constantly present in our minds, that we think of the day as a sacred day, meaning that on that day we refrain from our mundane concerns which preoccupy us during the other six days of the week. We are to devote this day to enhance the spiritual concerns which we are capable of enjoying, and which we are bidden to devote our attention to. Included in this meaning of לקדשו are such activities as visiting our Rabbis, our spiritual mentors, and listening to their words of enlightenment and cheer, by means of which they improve our capacity to enjoy a day of “rest.” The farmer who asked his wife –not knowing that their son had died-why she was visiting the prophet on a day that was neither the Sabbath nor the New Moon, shows clearly that the Sabbath was used as a day on which the ordinary Israelite recharged his spiritual batteries by interacting with the spiritual elite of the nation (compare Kings II 4,23) The reason why the sages declared that observance of the commandment to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy, and not to violate the work prohibitions on that day is equivalent to all the other commandments in the Torah, is precisely this function of the Sabbath to renew our spiritual batteries. We are taught in the Mechilta that part of the sanctity of the Sabbath is that we do not count the days of the week as do the gentiles, but we relate each day to its position vis a vis the Sabbath, as for instance “today is the first day after the Sabbath, today is the second day after the Sabbath, etc.” Our sages, taking a cue from the word לקדשו, “to sanctify it,” tell us that this is why we must recite the sanctification of the day over a cup of wine before both the evening meal and the main meal on the Sabbath day. This ”sanctification” is known as kiddush. (compare Maimonides hilchot Shabbat chapter 29) Whereas the sanctification of the Jubilee year every fifty years requires a court of sages to declare it holy, the Sabbath is sanctified by every individual Jew every week. Remembering the Sabbath and sanctifying it are two separate aspects of Sabbath observance.

זכור את יום השבת, remembering something always refers to past events. We have numerous such verses as in Deuteronomy 32,7-8 “remember past history, etc.” Exodus 13,3, as well as Deuteronomy 9,7-8 plus numerous other verses exhort the Jewish people to remember events in the past. Usually, the command to do so is phrased as an imperative. In the Ten Commandments, the expressions zachor here and shamor in the parallel legislation in Deuteronomy are in the infinitive mode. Seeing that both are followed immediately by the command לקדשו “to sanctify it,” (the Sabbath) this makes an imperative of the whole paragraph. The Torah, in a way, commands us to “commemorate” something which G’d had done long before there was a legislation to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest. Already when creating the “day” He had blessed it, i.e. made provisions for those who would observe it not to be deprived by their observance but to find that G’d in His generosity had provided the needs for the people in question. Observing, emulating something G’d had done, is a way of honouring Him. He “ worked” for 6 days before “resting,” so do we as a way of honouring Him.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

ועשית כל מלאכתך [SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOUR] AND DO ALL THY WORK — When the Sabbath comes it should be in thy eyes as though all thy work were done (completed), so that thou shouldst not think at all about work (Mekhilta).

SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOR, AND DO ALL THY WORK. The term “labor” applies to work which is not for the needs of the body, such as cooking and the like, something like it is said: and in all manner of labor in the field; when thou tillest the ground; and ye shall be tilled and sown, and as I will yet explain with the help of G-d. It is for this reason that He said: “Six days you shall work the ground and do all thy work which is for your physical needs and your benefit, something like, bake that which you will bake. But on the Sabbath, you shall not do any kind of work, thou, thy son, nor thy daughter — i.e., the minors.” Thus He has warned us against our minor children doing work on the Sabbath with our knowledge and consent. Nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant means the servants who have undergone circumcision and immersion, who are obligated to observe all laws of the Sabbath just as Israelites, even as He said in the Book of Deuteronomy, that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. In all [other] commandments of the Torah, observance is incumbent upon them as it is upon women, as is explained in the words of our Rabbis. Now it would have been proper that He warn them directly, for they themselves are duty-bound to observe the Sabbath. Scripture, however, speaks to us because the servants are in our possession, thus telling us that their resting is incumbent upon us and that if they are not hindered from doing work, we will be punished on account of them. Besides, it is with Israel that G-d speaks in all of the Ten Commandments, [and for this reason, the command is not given directly to the servants].

ששת ימים תעבוד, during those days you will give attention predominantly to mundane matters, most of which involve difficulties and frustrations seeing that such mundane matters concentrate on events in a world which is not ours. ועשית כל מלאכתך, the type of activities essential for earning one’s livelihood.

ששת ימים תעבוד, "During six days you shall labour, etc." Seeing that the Torah also speaks about "and you shall do all your work," what exactly did G'd mean when He said: "you shall labour during six days?" We may have to understand this in terms of Leviticus 25,20-21. The Torah quotes the Jewish farmer who has been asked to observe the Shmittah year as asking in the seventh year: "what shall we eat?" The Torah there answers that G'd will command the earth to supply sufficient harvests during the sixth year to last for three years. This is exactly what G'd alludes to here. When the Torah commanded us to keep the Sabbath holy this means that no profane matters are to be performed on the Sabbath. If so, seeing that most people perform enough work on one day to feed themselves on that day, what are they to eat on the Sabbath? G'd answers: "you shall labour for six days and do all your work." The clear implication is that the amount of work you perform on the six days will produce your needs also for the Sabbath. G'd assures those who keep His commandments that they will not suffer any hardship as a result. Another aspect of the phrase ששת ימים is that once the Sabbath arrives you are to feel that the work week is over; you are not to think about work you have not been able to complete last week and have to continue next week, etc. The domain called ששת ימים and the domain called שבת are mutually exclusive. The author refers the reader to a story related in Shabbat 150 of someone who imposed a penalty on himself for having contemplated repairing a fence which had collapsed on the Sabbath. As a result of his decision not to repair the fence and thereby to expose himself to serious financial loss, a miracle happened and in the place where the break had occurred a caper bush grew which provided him and his family with an adequate income forthwith so that he did not need to restore the breach in the fence.

ועשית כל מלאכתך, “and you may (or must) go about all your weekday activities;” our author does not understand the word: כל in our verse as literally “all” or “every,” but as a euphemism for “part of all your activities,” as for instance in the expression: כל מגפותי, “usually translated as “all My plagues,” which we all know was not meant to mean: “all the plagues at G-d’s disposal.” (Compare Exodus 9,14,) and numerous similar occasions when such an expression is used.

ששת ימים תעבור ועשית כל מלאכתך “during six days you shall work and perform all your activities.” The meaning of this line is: “during all the six preceding days you will be preoccupied with serving the Lord while you perform your work, just as the patriarchs who served the Lord by the work they performed with herding sheep and cattle and other physical activities. But the seventh day is Sabbath; this day will be devoted to G’d exclusively. You must not perform any labour on it at all.” This is the interpretation of this verse which I have heard attributed to Maimonides.

“And it says ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work.’” This entire verse seems superfluous. Furthermore, it begins with labor and concludes with work. Additionally, the term labor requires explanation, because one is only a servant in relation to a master, and for one who works for oneself, who is his master? In our commentary “Ollelot Ephraim,” discourse 269, we explained that you shall labor refers to serving God. It is saying that for all six days, you should first serve God and afterward also do all your work, for Torah is good when accompanied by work. But the seventh day is entirely for the Lord your God — you shall not do any work of your own, but you should still serve God on the Sabbath as well. The verse says sheshet and not “shishah” to indicate that you should not do your work for the full six days, because you need to add from the secular to the sacred. The word sheshet is like sheloshet days, which means “three of days” [indicating the addition of part of the day before it and part of the day after it]. And what is said in the first commandments, For in six days the Lord made etc. and in the second [version] it is written (Deuteronomy 5:15) And you shall remember that you were a slave etc. They are all one reason according to the commentators who say that the reason for all the plagues of Egypt was to publicize the belief in the creation of the world, as the Abarbanel of blessed memory wrote, and as we wrote above in Parashat Va’era, because through those miracles they would also believe in the creation of the world. Therefore, these two reasons are all one, and soon this will be explained in another way. Furthermore, the commentators have spoken about resolving this question — seek it from its neighbor and you will find it. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. We have observed and seek to provide a good explanation and understanding for the differences found between the first and second versions of the Ten Commandments: 1. In the first version, it is written Remember the Sabbath day whereas in the second version, it is written Observe the Sabbath day. 2. In the first version, the phrase as the Lord your God commanded you is not written, whereas in the second version, it is written regarding the Sabbath and honoring father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. 3. In the first version, the reason given for keeping the Sabbath is for in six days the Lord made… etc., whereas in the second version, a different reason is given: and you shall remember that you were a slave… etc. 4. In the first version, there is no mention of ox and donkey regarding the Sabbath, whereas in the second version it says and your ox and your donkey and all your animals. 5. In the first version, it is written that your days may be prolonged, whereas in the second version, it adds that it may be good with you. 6. In the first version, it is written do not covet, whereas in the second version, it adds do not desire. 7. In the first version, there is no mention of “his field,” whereas in the second version, his field is added. 8. In the first version, your neighbor’s house precedes your neighbor’s wife, whereas in the second version, your neighbor’s wife precedes your neighbor’s house. 9. In the first version, it is written false witness, whereas in the second version, it says vain witness. 10. In the first version, do not commit adultery, do not steal, etc., all appear without the conjunction “and” [vav], whereas in the second version, they all appear with the conjunction “and” [vav]. As the commentators of the Torah have already gone out to gather scattered explanations, and they did not find a single approach that would suffice for all the aforementioned questions, it is reasonable to hear one brief proposal taken from the words of our Sages (Yalkut Devarim 33:951) that the Holy One, blessed be He, approached all the nations to see if they would accept the Torah, and Esau did not want to accept it because of You shall not murder. And with this, all these changes will be resolved. In the first [tablets], it says “Remember the Sabbath day.” He did not want to say “Guard the Sabbath day” in order not to give an opening for the nations to say, “How can He command us to refrain from all work? Hasn’t it already been said to the descendants of Noah, day and night shall not rest (Genesis 8:22)?” And our Sages of blessed memory (Sanhedrin 58b) learned from here that a Gentile who observes the Sabbath is liable for the death penalty. Therefore, it says Remember the Sabbath day, suggesting that even one who is not obligated in guarding [the Sabbath] is at least obligated in remembering it, because all nations are obligated to remember the Sabbath day in order to establish in their hearts the belief in the world’s creation, which gives faithful testimony to the existence of the Blessed Holy One. For included in the seven Noahide laws is the prohibition against idol worship. And even though the nations cannot accept the command you shall not do any work, nevertheless they can accept upon themselves the commandment of remembering, which they too are obligated in, to keep the creation of the world before their eyes as a remembrance. For this reason, it was necessary to give a reason in the first set of commandments: For in six days the Lord made [heaven and earth…] because this is the reason to remember the creation of the world. And if He had given the reason and you shall remember that you were a slave [in Egypt…], the nations would say, “We were not slaves in Egypt, therefore we do not need to accept the Sabbath.” Therefore, He gave them the reason For in six days the Lord made [heaven and earth…], because this reason is sufficient for both Israel and the nations. And do not challenge me from what is said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt — perhaps the nations would say, “He did not bring us out of Egypt, and therefore we are not obligated to accept Him as God.” The answer to this is that the meaning is not that because of that exodus they are obligated to accept Him, for even without this they are obligated to accept Him because He created heaven and earth and all that is in them. And why did He connect the matter to this exodus? To say that even this exodus alone would be sufficient to subjugate you to Me. And this is what Rashi explained: “The exodus is sufficient reason for you to be subservient to Me.” From the fact that he said “the exodus is sufficient reason,” we can deduce that this is not the main reason. But the second commandments that were spoken to Israel alone were said in the language of “shamor” [guard/keep]. For they are obligated in both remembering and guarding from all work, therefore the reason given is and you shall remember that you were a slave, etc., for this is the reason for resting from work. And there are those who say, that what is hidden in the word remember [zakhor] when you write the letters zayin, kaf, reish [which spell “zkr”] — the final letters [of these three letters] spell “nefesh” [soul]. And what is hidden in the word guard [shamor] when you write shin, mem, reish [which spell “shmr”] — the final letters [of these three letters] spell “neshamah” [breath], alluding to the additional soul that every person from Israel has on the Sabbath day. And according to our approach, this alludes to the extra soul specifically in that commandment that comes to Israel alone, but the nations only have the nefesh [basic soul] alone, in the secret of ruach, nefesh, neshamah [spirit, soul, higher soul] as is known to those knowledgeable in this wisdom. Therefore, the hint of the word “nefesh” comes in the word remember [zakhor] which is shared by both [Israel and the nations]. In the latter [tablets], it is said “as the Lord your God commanded you” regarding Shabbat and honoring father and mother. Because at Marah, the Israelites were commanded about these [commandments] but not the [other] nations. And if He had said this in the first set of tablets, He would have given an opening to the [other] nations to say: “Why did He not command us as well regarding these two commandments before the giving of the Torah?” And they would say, “Just as He began commanding Israel and not us, now too we have no desire to accept [the commandments], and let Him finish with whom He started.” In the first [commandments] it did not say “that it may be good with you.” For Ibn Ezra explained that “that it may be good with you” refers to the World to Come, which is entirely good, and that your days may be lengthened refers to this world. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not want to promise in the first set of commandments to the nations of the world anything but the reward of this world, which can be seen with the eye, with its reward being immediate and its recompense before them. But if He had promised them the reward of the World to Come, which no eye has seen, they certainly would not listen, for they would say, “One who wishes to lie makes his witnesses distant,” and they would say, “Since one is not true, the other is also not true,” and they would doubt even the reward of this world. But the second set of commandments, which were said to Israel alone, promised the reward of the World to Come, for they are believers, the children of believers, and they do not question God, and they believe in all His promises, both in this world and in the next. In the first commandments, “your ox and your donkey” were not mentioned because they are included in “your cattle,” but in the latter commandments, your ox and your donkey are specified to derive a gezeirah shavah [textual analogy]: “ox-ox” for the prohibition against muzzling, “donkey-donkey” for the obligation to unload (Bava Kamma 54b). This is because Israel had already accepted all the commandments, including the mitzvot of unloading and not muzzling which were given after the giving of the Torah. However, with the nations, before they heard the Ten Commandments, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to test them first to see if they would accept these commandments, and if they had accepted the commandments, He would have commanded them afterward regarding the other mitzvot, including the laws of not muzzling and unloading as well. Therefore, there was no need to write “your ox and your donkey” here for the purpose of a gezeirah shavah, because all the commandments were still in doubt as to whether they would accept them. But Israel said, All that God has spoken we will do and we will hear, meaning whatever He would command us further. In the first [Ten Commandments] it says “false witness,” and in the second [version] it adds “vain witness.” The Ramban explains that one should not testify even about a matter that would not cause any liability, such as testifying that so-and-so said he would give this person a maneh [a monetary unit] but did not make a formal acquisition. This is called “vain” and an empty matter, and this is an additional restriction. This commandment is only appropriate for Israel, because the remnant of Israel will not commit injustice nor speak falsehood, even though that falsehood does not harm their fellow in any way. Perhaps the [other] nations would not be able to abide by this additional restriction; therefore in the first [version] it says false witness. And regarding why it says witness in the singular form, it seems to me [the author] that one should not testify even individually, because even though a single witness cannot obligate payment of money, nevertheless he can cause an oath [to be required]. But when testifying about something vain and empty, it does not even cause an oath. In the latter [version of the Ten Commandments], it says “you shall not desire” instead of “you shall not covet.” Know that Ibn Ezra wrote that coveting [chamdah] also refers to the theft of the coveted object, as it is written They covet fields and seize them (Micah 2:2). And it is written I coveted them and took them (Joshua 7:21). And Maimonides agreed with him, saying that one does not transgress the commandment of you shall not covet until one takes the object which he coveted. But desire [ta’avah] is only in the heart alone. Ibn Ezra endeavored to explain that a person has the power, through habit, to control the prohibitions against coveting and desiring, even in the heart. This happens when a person accustoms himself to the trait of being content with what he has. According to his words, it makes perfect sense why you shall not desire was specifically stated in the latter version of the Ten Commandments, which pertains only to Israel, because they had become accustomed to the trait of contentment during the poverty of Egypt, and they were capable of accepting and fulfilling this commandment. However, the nations that were not accustomed to the trait of contentment — how could they accept the commandment of you shall not desire? For this matter is not within a person’s power to fulfill, as one’s heart is not under one’s control, and the wicked are under the control of their hearts. Therefore, He only mentioned the coveting that leads to theft. For this reason, the first version of the Ten Commandments did not mention “his field,” because land generally cannot be stolen and always remains in the possession of its owner. But regarding the desire in the heart, it also mentioned his field. And regarding why [the Torah] warned in the latter [version of the Ten Commandments] using the language of “coveting” for a neighbor’s wife and the language of “desiring” for his property, all of this is an extension [of the prohibition], for regarding property, even the desire in one’s heart is forbidden, and certainly the coveting that leads to theft. But regarding a woman, our Sages said (Yoma 29a) that thoughts of sin are more difficult than the sin itself. According to this, [in the latter version] it states do not covet to emphasize the extent [of the prohibition], and certainly [it includes] the thoughts of the heart. And the matter of coveting that leads to taking a woman means that because he covets her, he arranges circumstances and events so that her husband will divorce her and he will take her, and this is certainly not as evil as constant lustful thoughts. In the first [version of the Ten Commandments], house precedes wife because coveting a house means to eventually take it through theft, which involves a physical action. But coveting a wife does not mean desiring to steal her while she is still married to another man [as that would be adultery, already covered by do not commit adultery], rather it means not causing one’s fellow to divorce her so that one can take her himself, which does not involve as much action. Therefore it states in a manner of “not only this, but even that” — meaning, not only is coveting a house and wealth to steal them obviously forbidden, but even coveting a neighbor’s wife to take her after she is divorced is also forbidden, even though it does not involve as much action. But in the latter [version], which uses do not desire to emphasize that even desire in the heart is forbidden regarding property, and for a wife it mentions do not covet there is no gradation of “not only this, but even that” because coveting and desiring are two distinct matters and they are equally weighted. And what is said in the latter commandments is “You shall not murder and you shall not commit adultery.” The vav [meaning, ‘and’] adds to the first matter to prohibit to Israel even adultery with the hand, that is, to emit seed in vain, because this adultery has an aspect of murder, namely the blood of his seed. As it concludes in the tractate (Niddah 13b) Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: Your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15)? This refers to those who commit adultery with the hand. And they interpreted this verse similarly: Those who slaughter children in the valleys (Isaiah 57:5). Although they interpreted (there, 13a) “do not read it as slaughter [shochatei] but as ‘squeeze’ [sochatei],” nevertheless, also actually read it as slaughter, as it says, your hands are full of blood. And this warning is specifically for Israel because they are holy from the days of their forefathers and they can withstand this, but the first commandments which were also said to the nations — He did not want to be so strict with them, because perhaps they would not be able to withstand this. “And you shall not steal.” The [additional] letter vav [at the beginning of the commandment] hints that not only is adultery with a married woman forbidden, but even sexual relations with an unmarried woman is prohibited, as it is called “stolen waters,” as it is written Stolen waters are sweet (Proverbs 9:17), and this verse speaks about sexual relations with an unmarried woman. “And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The letter vav [meaning “and”] adds to the first matter, saying that not only is the stealing of persons or property forbidden, but even the stealing of one’s thoughts [deception] is forbidden. For example, one should not offer many gifts to another person knowing that he will not accept them, and similar things. This falls under the category of false and idle speech, done in vain, and is included in the commandment You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And you shall not covet. The [Hebrew letter] vav [in this commandment] adds to the previous matter, because anyone who deceives others typically flatters them because he covets what belongs to his fellow and hopes to receive some benefit in return. If one does not covet, why would he flatter someone for nothing? All these are additional restrictions that the nations [of the world] were unable to uphold. Therefore, God did not want to be so strict with them, [thinking] perhaps they would listen. And when the nations refused to accept anything, even the lenient [commandments], He returned and gave them to Israel with all these stringencies, because He knew that their [Israel’s] material nature was pure and clean, and they would be able to uphold them. With this, all the questions and differences are resolved.

ששת ימים תעבוד, For six days you will work (for your livelihood).” The word עבודה refers to activities not performed because of bodily needs, such as tilling the soil. The Torah says that such activities as tilling the earth, or similar type of activities should be performed for six days during the week. On the other hand, the words:ועשית כל מלאכתך, refer to activities which are needed to maintain the body in healthy condition, and activities designed to make life more comfortable and enjoyable. The Sabbath is a day on which neither of these two kinds of activities is to be performed. The prohibition extends to male and female adults as well as their children even while they are minors. It includes even the slaves in a Jewish household who have been circumcised and have undergone the ritual immersion and have thus become subject to the prohibitions applicable to the Sabbath. This is spelled out specifically in the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy Actually, it could be argued that such people deserved to be addressed by G’d directly, just as the Israelites, in order to commit them more deeply to this commandment. However, seeing that the slaves are subject to constant directives by their masters, their employers, the Torah preferred to inform them of their duties via their masters who are in the habit of giving them instructions as to what to do and when, all the time. Furthermore, seeing that at the time when G’d addressed the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people they did not have any slaves, it would have been impractical to orchestrate a special revelation for such slaves at a later time in history.

But the seventh day is a Sabbath before Hashem your God; you shall do no work — you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your cattle, or your sojourner who is within your towns.

אתה ובנך ובתך THOU AND THY SON AND THY DAUGHTER — these latter mean the young children. Or perhaps this is not so, but it means your adult children? But you must admit that these have already been placed under this prohibition (by the word “Thou”, because the performance of this command is obligatory upon all adults to whom it was addressed). Therefore these words must be intended only to admonish the adults (implied in the term “Thou”) about the Sabbath rest of their young children (to impose upon the parents the obligation of enforcing the Sabbath rest upon them) (Mekhilta). This is the meaning of what we have learnt in a Mishna, (Shabbat 16:6) “A minor who is about to extinguish a fire — we do not listen to him (do not permit him to do this), because his observance of the Sabbath is a duty imposed upon you”.

NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, “the stranger of the gate” is always the geir toshav, who came to dwell in “the gates of our cities” and has taken upon himself the Seven Laws of the Noachides. It is he who is called “the stranger who eats the unlawfully-slaughtered animal,” of whom Scripture says, thou mayest give it to the stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eat it. Therefore, the commandment [prohibiting work on the Sabbath] was not directed to him so that Scripture would be saying: “Do not do any work on it, the home-born or the stranger.” Instead, it is we who are commanded that he do no work for our benefit, just as [we are commanded about] our minors and the cattle, but this commandment is not incumbent upon him and he may do work for himself on the Sabbath. The verse which states, so that the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may rest, speaks of the righteous proselyte who has become Jewish and embraced our Torah, which has commanded him concerning the Sabbath and all the rest of the commandments as well, as He has said, One law and one ordinance shall be both for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you; both for the stranger, and for him that is born in the land. However, we have found in the words of our Rabbis that they have interpreted it in the opposite manner. Thus they have said that by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, thy stranger that is within thy gates means the righteous proselyte, and ceasing from work [on the Sabbath] is incumbent upon him as it is upon us. The verse, so that the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may rest, includes the uncircumcised geir toshav. The Rabbis’ intent in so explaining the verses is that first, [i.e., right here in the Ten Commandments], “the stranger” warned is the proselyte who has been circumcised, who is obligated in the observance of the Sabbath as we are. The second verse — [further, 23:12] — includes the uncircumcised [geir toshav]. Therefore, he is likened there to the cattle, as the verse says, that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may rest. Thus He commanded us concerning the resting of all of them alike that they should not work for us, but they may do [work] for themselves if they so wish. Similarly, the servant and the stranger mentioned in the Ten Commandments are alike, being obligated in the observance of all laws of the Sabbath as we are, even as He has said, that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

שבת לה' אלוקיך, the entire day is to be devoted to spiritual matters. This involves studying Torah, teaching it, performing the commandments associated with it, and enjoying the very nature of such a day on which instead of “serving” the needs of one’s survival in a hostile environment one can concentrate on serving the Master, the provider of life and spiritual inspiration. The Talmud Yuma 76 paraphrases this, saying: “wine and pleasant fragrances have made me intelligently perceptive.” אתה ובנך ובתך, the children who are minors observe the Sabbath at the instructions of their fathers.

ויום השביעי שבת, "and the seventh day is Sabbath, etc." The verse means that "by observing the seventh day as Sabbath you confirm that the Lord is your G'd." This is why Shemot Rabbah 25 describes the Sabbath as equal to the entire Torah in importance. Perhaps there is another allusion in the very word שבת which suggests that it is equal to the entire Torah. We know that the commandments which the Israelites heard from the mouth of Moses totalled 611. The other two commandments i.e. the first two of the Ten Commandments they heard directly from the mouth of G'd. The first of these was a positive commandment, the second a negative one. We know that the positive commandments are perceived as originating with the attribute of Mercy seeing it is these for which we receive a reward. The negative commandments are perceived as originating with the attribute of Justice, seeing violation results in punishment. When you look at the numerical value of the tetragram י־ה־ו־ה plus the name א־ד־נ־י you obtain a total of 91. When you add 611, i.e. the commandments Israel received through an intermediary you get the numerical value of the word שבת, =702. We also have a statement in Shabbat 118 that if someone observes the Sabbath meticulously his sins will be forgiven even if they included idolatry of the type Enosh was guilty of. When the Torah writes: "and the seventh day will be Sabbath for the Lord your G'd," the word "your G'd" must be understood as "the G'd who is your exclusive G'd," i.e. you have thereby indicated that you have accepted Him as your only G'd. This is derived from reading the words: ויום השביעי שבת לשם אלוקיך, "and on the seventh day you demonstrate by keeping the Sabbath that you are committed only to the Lord your G'd." The words שבת לשם are to teach us that if one observes the Sabbath as a day on which one recharges one's physical batteries, this is not what the Sabbath is all about. Unless one demonstrates that the Sabbath is the day of the Lord, one has not observed it in the true meaning of the word. The conjunctive letter ו which connects the words תעבוד ויום השביעי suggests that far from not having any work to perform on the Sabbath, you are to perform work of a different nature. On that day the work you perform is for G'd instead of for yourself. Only מלאכתך, your work, is not to be done on that day.

שבת לה׳ אלוקיך, “as a Sabbath for the Lord your G-d;” and not for you; in other words, during the preceding six days you pursue your own agenda; on the Sabbath, seeing that you are relieved of having to pursue your own agenda, I expect you to pursue My agenda. לא תעשה כל מלאכה, “do not perform any work of a purely secular nature. The meaning of the word כל in this verse is the same as in the expression לא תעשה כל תמונה, in verse 4, or as in Exodus 22,21: כל אלמנה ויתום, i.e. “any widow or orphan.” ועבדך ואמתך, “nor your male or female slave.” Seeing that the Torah here does not spell out here the reason or purpose for this prohibition, this has been spelled out in Deuteronomy 5,15 where the Ten Commandments have been repeated, i.e. in order to contrast this day with your status in Egypt when you were slaves and never had a day of rest from menial work. It is the lawgiver of this commandment who redeemed you from that status.

וגרך אשר בשעריך, “and the proselyte within your midst.” According to the plain meaning of the text, whenever mention is made of a גר, literally “a stranger,” in connection with the word שער the gate to your cities, it is assumed that the reference is to a גר תושב, a resident gentile, who has obligated himself to observe the seven Noachide commandments. Seeing that this is so, he is not included in the category of people to whom certain activities known as melachah in halachic terms are prohibited. After all, he is not part of a Jewish household described as applying to האזרח והגר, “the natural born Jew or the stranger who underwent basic conversion.” He is allowed to do for himself what he is not allowed to do on behalf of a Jew. As to the verse which speaks of וינפש בן אמתך והגר, “and the son of your maidservant as well as the stranger, shall recuperate, catch his breath as it were,” (Exodus 23,12) this refers to the fully converted gentile, who is subject to all the laws of the Torah from the moment he has converted. However, our sages in the Mechilta, understand the meaning of the word גר on each of these occasions, exactly in the reverse order. They understand the words וגרך אשר בשעריך as applying to a one time gentile who has fully converted, whereas the word וגר in Exodus 23,12 they understand as referring to a גר תושב, a resident stranger, i.e. one who has embraced the seven Noachide laws. Seeing that this latter stranger is an uncircumcised person, he has been compared by the Torah to the beast mentioned in the same verse as entitled to physical rest, וינפש on that day, and just as beasts must not perform work for Jews on the Sabbath, neither must resident strangers. The resident stranger is free to pursue his own agenda on what is the Sabbath for Israelites.

For in six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Hashem blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

וינח ביום השביעי AND HE RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY — If one may say so, He recorded rest about Himself (recorded that He rested) to teach from this an inference à fortiori as regards a human being whose work is performed only by labour and toil — that he should rest on the Sabbath day (Mekhilta). ברך… ויקדשהו HE BLESSED … AND SANCTIFIED IT — He blessed it through the Manna by giving a double portion on the sixth day — “double bread”; and He sanctified it through the Manna in that on it none fell (Mekhilta; cf. Rashi on Genesis 2:3).

THE ETERNAL BLESSED THE SABBATH-DAY, AND SANCTIFIED IT. The verse is stating that the Sabbath-day will be blessed and hallowed because He has commanded to bless it and glorify it by remembering it. Therefore, He commanded us to rest thereon so that the day will be sacred to us, and that we should not do any work on it. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that G-d blessed this day and sanctified it by endowing it with a greater capacity to enable the soul to receive additional wisdom than on all of the other days. I have already written concerning this matter by way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], on the verse in Vayechulu. From there, you will succeed in understanding that the expression ki sheisheth yamim asa hashem — [literally: “for six days the Eternal made”] — is not missing the letter beth, [which would make the verse read: “for in six days the Eternal made”]. Rather, the sense of the verse is that G-d made six days and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.

'כי ששת ימים עשה ה, the reason why the Torah repeats this theme on several occasions is to remind man to emulate his Maker, to model his own conduct according to what G’d has revealed about Himself. This can be done by intensive voluntary study of disciplines which we know G’d is fond of. וינח ביום השביעי, seeing that all the ingredients of the physical world had already been put in place. When something is complete מנוחה, a state of productive rest, a period devoid of conflicting demands, tensions, this becomes possible. על כן ברך ה' את יום השבת, a reference to the “additional” soul G’d has provided for every Jew on this day. This serves as spiritual preparation for the proper enjoyment of such a holy day. ויקדשהו, He sanctified it entirely, so that the entire day be devoted to matters spiritual.

וינח ביום השביעי, He rested on the seventh day, etc. The Torah cleverly forbids among the 39 categories of forbidden work also such activities which do not involve something causing fatigue. Moving an object from a private domain to a public domain or vice versa does not represent any "work" in the regular sense of the word. There are other such activities (writing two letters of the alphabet for instance) all of which are nonetheless prohibited on pain of death. A person may say to himself that since such acitivities do not involve physical effort why should there be a death penalty for performing such activities on the Sabbath? The Torah answers that the work prohibition is not related to the amount of effort involved. If G'd rested on the seventh day it was certainly not because He had become tired of creating the universe and needed a rest. Isaiah 40,28 puts it succinctly: "He never grows faint or weary." The word מנוחה in the sense of rest as we use it, i.e. rest in order to recover from exhaustion, is quite inappropriate when applied to G'd. Any activity to which the term מלאכה is applicable is prohibited regardless of the physical or mental effort involved. The words כי ששת ימים עשה also mean that G'd created the world in order for it to endure for six days. It follows that He has to "renew" creation i.e. to issue a directive for the universe's continued existence every single day. The means He uses is the soul of the day called Sabbath which He created by "resting." The fact that G'd desisted from creative activity after the sixth day resulted in the Sabbath coming into existence. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 10,9 indicate that prior to the Sabbath the world was in a constant state of turmoil. When the Sabbath came the world calmed down. Compare also what I have written on Genesis 2,2.

כי ששת ימים עשה, “during the six days of creation preceding the Sabbath of creation, G-d had created the six directions of the spatial universe, i.e. north, south, east, west, up and down. What had He left for you to complete, seeing that He had done it all? This verse is a reminder that there had been nothing left for the Creator to do on that day and that we are to emulate Him as a reminder of this. Just as He had looked at His completed universe, so we are to look at having completed our secular tasks during the preceding six days, before turning to the six days following and the tasks awaiting us then.

כי ששת ימים עשה ה', “for during six days the Lord made, etc.” The plain meaning of the text is the same as if the Torah had written בששת ימים, “during the course of six days, etc.” we find a similar construction in Genesis 14,4 where the words ושלש עשרה שנה מרדו do not mean that “they rebelled for 13 years,” but that “they rebelled during the course of the 13th year,” i.e. בשנה השלוש עשרה. A more rational approach to the wording in this verse: G’d “made” these six days, i.e. they were part of His creative activity. Basically, the verse teaches that the concept of “time” was created during these days. Had the Torah written the words בששת ימים this would have taught that “time” preceded creation of the universe. A Kabbalistic approach: the words כי ששת ימים are a reference to the period of time the universe will continue to function according to the rules established for it by G’d. During this period there will be interaction and reciprocal input by celestial forces on earth and man’s conduct will have its impact on the celestial regions (compare more about this on Numbers 10,35).

כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ, “for Hashem made heaven and earth during six days, etc.” Here the whole concept of the Sabbath is linked to the creation, as opposed to the version in Deuteronomy where it is linked to the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt. In other words, seeing that the slave does not enjoy a day of rest during the week, the Torah underlines that a by-product of the redemption from Egyptian bondage was the entitlement to a weekly day of rest, a day free from the claims on our time and skill by human masters. It is also possible that the reason that the wording of the Decalogue in Deuteronomy is so materially different, when it comes to providing the rationale, is to caution us not to treat our own servants in a manner comparable to the way we have been treated while in bondage in Egypt, but to ensure that our servants enjoy a day of rest per week just as we do.. ברך ה' את יום השבת ויקדשהו, “Hashem blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.” To make it a blessed day and a sacred day by means of mentioning its holiness and by pronouncing it holy and abstaining from all the activities which have been categorized as מלאכה. Ibn Ezra writes that it is G’d Who blessed the day and sanctified it as He conditioned it so that man’s body can host an additional soul on that day, a soul that enhances his spiritual capacity.

על כן ברך ה' את יום השבת, as I explained in Genesis. G’d’s “blessing” consisted in His making provisions to make the Sabbath a viable day when the time would come for Israel to observe it. Having provided manna for the people on the Sabbath eve was a reminder of how He had blessed the Sabbath even before it came into existence. ויקדשהו, the “rest” observed on that day by the Israelites is testimony of the holiness of the day which G’d bestowed on it already at the time of the creation.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged upon the land that Hashem your God is giving you.

למען יארכון ימיך THAT THY DAYS MAY BE LONG — If thou honourest them they will be long, and if not, they will be shortened — for the words of the Torah may be explained as concise statements: from what is included in a positive statement we may infer the negative and from what is included in a negative statement we may infer the positive (Mekhilta).

HONOR THY FATHER. Having finished all that we are obligated towards the Creator Himself and His glory, He turns now to command us about those matters which concern created beings. He begins with the father, for in relation to his offspring, he is akin to a creator, being partner with Him in the forming of the child. G-d is our first Father, and he who begets it [i.e., the child] is our last male parent. This is why He said in the Book of Deuteronomy, [Honor thy father… as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee]. That is, “just as I have commanded you concerning My honor, so do I command you concerning the honor of those who have joined Me in your formation.” Now Scripture has not explained [the nature of the honor we are to give our parents], for it may be derived from the honor mentioned above that we owe to our first Father, blessed be He. Thus, one is to acknowledge [his male parent] as his father and not deny him, saying of another man that he is his father. Nor should he serve him because of his estate or any other benefit he hopes to derive from him. Nor should he take his father’s name and swear “by the life of my father” in vain or falsely. There are other matters which are included within the term “honor,” for we are commanded in every aspect thereof, and they are explained in the words of our Rabbis. The Sages have already said that honoring parents has been likened to honoring G-d. Now since this commandment refers to creatures on the earth, He has designated its reward to be prolongation of life on earth which He will give us. But in the opinion of our Rabbis, the purport of the verse is “that thy days may be long and upon the Land.” [It thus expresses two declarations]: He promises that our lives will be prolonged by observing this commandment — i.e., that G-d will fulfill our days in this world and they will be prolonged in the World to Come, which is unending — and that our dwelling will forever be on the good earth which He will give us. And in the Book of Deuteronomy, He expressly stated it: that thy day may be long, and that it may go well with thee, upon the Land which the Eternal thy G-d giveth thee. Thus they are two promises.

"Honor your father." I have already noted that in the first five commandments, Hashem is mentioned, and the Name "Hashem your God" appears together with all of them. The word "yaarkhun" ["they shall be lengthened"] is a transitive verb, for the parents are the cause — the proof being, "so that you may lengthen your days" (Deut. 11:9) and "you have lengthened your days" (ibid. 22:7). Through the commandment you perform, you yourself lengthen your days. It says "upon the land" because when Israel observes this commandment, they will not be exiled from it. And it is written, "father and mother they have treated lightly in you" (Ezek. 22:7). Within the commandment to honor father is included not doing the opposite — not cursing or disgracing them. One is liable to death for cursing, because those present hear the curse come from his lips; but not equally so for disgracing, since disgracing can also be done in secret. Therefore Scripture commanded that the curse be subject to the language of "cursed be he" — as written in all those passages that speak of things done in secret.

למען יאריכון ימיך, these are the five Commandments which by their observance contribute to your enjoying a life of a single dimension, i.e. length without breadth, another way of stating what the Talmud called in Kidushin 39 “in a world which consists entirely of “length,” [unlimited duration. Ed.]. By performing these five Commandments one renders honour to G’d, as a result of which the one rendering this honour to G’d will himself become part of G’d’s eternal life. Doing this involves knowing that G’d created the universe out of “nothing,” no physical substance. It also involves accepting G’d as the exclusive Divinity in the universe and therefore not worshipping anyone else or anything else. It also involves not only not rebelling against Him in deed, but not contemplating rebellion even in one’s thoughts or speech It involves actively honouring Him, after all, He is our father, our maker. Are we not commanded to even honour our mortal parents? על האדמה, by observing the above-mentioned five Commandments you will merit to enjoy life without being exiled from your ancestral land. Observance of the other five Commandments are designed to protect you against falling victim to harm befalling your body, or your property, or your dignity, your standing in the eyes of your peers. Here too, observance includes not only abstaining from violating these Commandments by deed, but also not violating them by word of mouth or even contemplating violation in your mind. Basically, the last five Commandments are addressed to your life on this earth, whereas the former are addressed to ensuring your life beyond the transient life on earth.

למען יאריכון ימיך, "so that your days will be long, etc." The expression יאריכון implies that this will be a natural consequence; it is not a reward by G'd. Had it been intended as a reward, The Torah would have had to write something like: "I will lengthen your life, etc." The Torah may have taught us that the miraculous feature which attends performance of honouring father and mother is that persons doing so will enjoy long life. There are several commandments which are associated with miraculous phenomena; in all such cases this is not part of the reward for performing them.

כבד את אביך, “Honour your father;” elsewhere we have a more detailed formulation of what is meant by “honouring” our parents, i.e. when Solomon spelled this out in Proverbs 3,9 saying: כבד את ה׳ מהונך, “honour the Lord with (part) of your wealth; all G-d asks of us is a small part of the wealth He has granted us, not all of it. We are to emulate Him in our relations with our parents, our progenitors on this earth. In Leviticus, another aspect of our relationship with our parents has been legislated when the Torah writes in Leviticus 19,3 as the first commandment after bidding us to try and become holy ourselves, that we are to revere our parents. When the Torah there continues with repeating the requirement to observe the negative commandments of His Sabbath, it hints at the definition of “reverence” being not to disregard our parents’ instructions. The Torah decrees the death penalty for anyone who curses father or mother (Exodus 21,17) a penalty similar to that decreed for cursing G-d, (using a euphemism, which is difficult to warn him not to use in this fashion) (Leviticus 24,15) (which because not carried out by human tribunal makes that sin practically unforgivable so that the penalty will be karet, posthumous disbarment as member of the Jewish people.) The death penalty for cursing parents is completely natural, as when cursing one’s parents one automatically curses G-d also, as He is one third partner in any human being, having supplied the soul. (Talmud Kidushin folio 30) אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נותן לך, which the Lord your G-d is giving you (the soil).[The following Midrash appears in the Pessikta de Rav Kahane chapter 21 on the Ten Commandments, but there the Roman is not Turnusrufus, but the Emperor Hadrianus. In my edition, (Mandelbaum) I have not found it. Ed.] The wicked Roman governor Turnusrufus asked Rabbi Akiva why the name of the Lord is mentioned seven times in the first five of the Ten Commandments, while His name does not appear even a single time in the last five of these Commandments? Thereupon Rabbi Akiva went to the palace of Turnusrufus and showed him where he kept his lance. The next time he went to the dining room of the palace and showed him where he kept his shield. The next time he went to his study and showed him where he kept his armour and his various weapons. When he visited him again and came to his toilet, he found that there was no weapon or defensive shield. Upon asking why this was so, he was told that the Emperor considered it as disgraceful to bring his weapons, etc. to such a place. Thereupon Rabbi Akiva answered him that in the first five of the Ten Commandments the subjects are all sacred or at least honorable. In the second half of the Ten Commandments where the subjects are murder, theft, adultery, perjury, and man’s basic carnal urges, it would not be appropriate that the name of G-d would appear there as if He associated Himself with people guilty of such crimes. An alternate explanation regarding the presence of G-d’s name in the last five of the Ten Commandments. Violation of any of the first five Commandments means sinning against a Being that is infinite, eternal, is permanent, When someone violated one or more of the last five Commandments he only sinned against transient creatures. G-d’s name therefore did not need to be mentioned.

כבד את אביך ואת אמך, “honor your father and your mother.” Up until now G’d had instructed the people to honor the original father in heaven, i.e. Himself; now He wanted to sign this side of the Tablets with the command to honor progenitors in the lower world, here on earth. In effect, what G’d says here is “just as I commanded you to treat Me with honor and respect, so I command you this day to treat your father and mother who are My partners in creating you with respect and honor. Just as one of the most important aspects of honoring G’d is to acknowledge Him as such, so one of the most important aspects of honoring one’s parents is to acknowledge them as such. Just as an important aspect of belief and faith in the Lord is the second commandment לא יהיה לך, that you must not exchange Him for another deity, so an integral part of the commandment to honor one’s father and mother is not to deny the fact that they are in fact your father and mother. Just as it is forbidden to swear a false or vain oath in the name of the Lord, so it is forbidden to use the reference to the life of one’s father or mother as a way of reinforcing one’s credibility when swearing a false or vain oath. Furthermore, it is forbidden to serve one’s father because one expects to inherit his wealth or even because one hopes to receive the honor and title one’s father enjoyed during his own life time. There are numerous details pertaining to the observance of this commandment which our sages have taught us in this regard. To mention but a few: the son is obligated to provide for his father with food, drink, clothing, etc., both as a financial contribution as well as being a physical support for him in case of illness, frailty in his father’s old age, etc. (Kiddushin 31). In Proverbs 3,8 Solomon instructs us כבד את ה' מהונך, “demonstrate your honoring the Lord by using your wealth.” The way one honors the Lord with one’s wealth [seeing He has neither need of it nor use for it, Ed.] is to distribute some of one’s wealth to the poor. One must set aside the various tithes the Torah has instructed us to give to the priest, the Levite, or the poor. Seeing the Torah has set aside tithes and gifts for these people who are not your next of kin, one must certainly provide for one’ parents if the need arises. As to the reward promised here that he who observes this commandment will enjoy long life in the land of Israel, Rav Saadyah Gaon has explained that seeing that on occasion father and son share many years together on this earth, i.e. the father enjoys in inordinately long life, and as a result the son may feel that the obligation to look after his father in addition to his obligation to look after his own wife and children has become very burdensome, this is the reason why the Torah went out of its way in this instance to promise long life to the son who observes this commandment meticulously. This is not as much a promise of reward as it is a warning not to neglect fulfillment of this commandment as failing to observe it is equivalent to playing with one’s own life. If you are interested in long life yourself, make sure that your father and mother’s lives are enjoyable. This concludes the first five of the Ten Commandments. They all appear on the same tablet, and, as we have demonstrated, there is conceptual linkage between all of them. To sum this up once more: the first commandment is to believe in the Lord, His existence, His exclusivity. In order that one should not think that it suffices to believe in the Lord and at the same time to believe that He has partners, the second commandment spells out that belief in any partner of G’d is intolerable. In order that someone should not say that seeing that G’d has no partner it does not matter if we bandy His name about needlessly, the Torah had to go on record that this is the very reverse of honoring Him, that one must on no account treat His name as if it were something common or ordinary. Having begun to tell us what is an act of dishonoring G’d, i.e. using His name in vain, the Torah then instructed us in an example of how to honor His name, i.e. observing His Sabbath. If we really want to show that we honor Him and His name we will be meticulous in our Sabbath observance. Having instructed us in how to honor Him by honoring the Sabbath, the Torah then proceeded to instruct us to honor those who have begotten us, i.e. our parents. This concludes my commentary on the first five of the Ten Commandments and how they are related to each other.

Honor your father and your mother. With this commandment, He concludes the first five commandments that speak of honoring God, blessed be He, because for this reason it says in all of them the Lord your God, and He does not mention the Name in any of the latter five commandments which deal with matters between man and his fellow. And the commandment to honor father and mother, although it is between man and his fellow, nevertheless this commandment also relates to honoring God, blessed be He, because there are three partners in [the creation of] a person: the Holy One, blessed be He, his father, and his mother. And if you honor father and mother because from them was formed the material and the body which perishes and decays, how much more so [a fortiori] should you honor your Father in heaven who gave you the soul, the superior part that exists eternally. And in the tractate Kiddushin (30b), our Rabbis taught: “There are three partners in [the creation of] a person, etc.” And it concludes there: “When a person honors his father and mother, I [God] consider it as though I dwelt among you and you honored Me.”And it is difficult [to understand]: Who mentioned “dwelling”? From where did they learn to say “as though I dwelt among you”? Certainly, they learned this from what we find that in all five latter commandments, the Name is not mentioned because they speak of matters between man and his fellow. If so, why did He mention the Lord your God regarding honoring father and mother? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, made a dwelling for His great Name, may He be blessed, alongside [the mention of] father and mother, to say that one who honors father and mother, it is “as though I dwelt among you and you honored Me.”And therefore his reward is length of days, because attachment to God, the source of life, gives long life to a person. And if he honors father and mother because from them was formed the material [body], then certainly the soul, which is a portion of God from above, will give honor to its Father in heaven, and through its attachment to Him, it will merit length of days, as it is written But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, today (Deuteronomy 4:4).

כבד את אביך ואת אמך, “Honour your father and your mother.” After G’d had completed the list of duties we have vis a vis Him, He begins a list of primary obligations we have concerning our fellow man. He begins the list with an obligation to honour one’s biological father, as the father is G’d’s partner in the creation of any new human life. Whereas Hashem is mankind’s original father, the biological father is his final, most recent father. It follows that just as G’d commanded us in His capacity as our Creator, our father is entitled to a commensurate degree of honour and respect, as he fulfilled this role on earth. [It goes without saying that man’s mother is the third partner in the creation of every human being after the first pair of humans. Ed.] The Torah does not go into specifics of how such respect is to be shown to one’s parents. A major component of such honour accorded to one’s father is to publicly acknowledge him as such, just as the basic honour we accord G’d is that we publicly acknowledge Him as the Creator. We must not accord similar honour to other males in order to be recognized as the heirs of another male, for instance, for the sake of reaping some other benefit by such recognition of someone who is not our biological father as such. If one swears by the life of one’s father, one must not portray someone else as one’s father, for instance. Our sages have furnished us with a list of other activities the performance of which is considered proof of our observing this commandment. Our sages, in stressing the importance of this commandment, have compared the parents’ claim to be honoured by their children to G’d’s claim to be honoured by His creatures. They derive this, for instance, from the use of the attribute Hashem in this commandment, an attribute which does not occur during any of the last five Commandments, the reason being that those concern inter-personal relations, not man’s relations with his Creator. Seeing that in essence, the performance of the commandment to honour one’s parents concerns itself with issues of relevance in our lives on this earth, the Torah, in its promise of reward also describes this reward in terms of advantages to be enjoyed in our life on this earth, i.e. long life in the land of our forefathers. Our sages say that the promise of the reward is to be divided into two separate promises. 1) Long life; 1a) life in the land of Israel. These two aspects of the reward speak about the terrestrial world, whereas 2) the word יאריכון in itself speaks of a domain in which time is unlimited, the world to come in the celestial regions in the words of the sages: בעולם שכולו ארוך, a world which is not bound by time. Moses elaborates on this further in Deuteronomy 5,16 by adding the words ולמען ייטב לך, “and in order that it will be good for you.” Seeing that there was no obvious need to append the letter ן in the word יאריכו, our commentators see in this a hint that the mother is included in all that is written here.

You shall not murder a person. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false testimony against your fellow.

לא תנאף THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY — The term ניאוף, “adultery”, is technically only applicable to the case of a married woman, as it is said, (Leviticus 20:10) […the wife of his neighbour], the נואף and the נואפת shall surely be put to death”, and it further states, (Ezekiel 16:32) “The woman that comitteth adultery, that taketh strangers instead of her husband”. לא תגנוב THOU SHALT NOT STEAL — Scripture here is speaking about a case of one who steals human beings, whilst the command (Leviticus 19:11) “Ye shall not steal” speaks about a case of one who steals money (another person’s property in general). Or perhaps this is not so, but this speaks about the case of one who money and the other about the case of one who steals human beings! You must, however, admit that the rule applies: a statement must be explained from its context. How is it in regard to, “Thou shalt not murder” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery”? Each, speaks of a matter for which one becomes liable to death by sentence of the court; similarly, “Thou shalt not steal”, must speak of a matter for which one becomes liable to death by sentence of the court, and this is not so in the case of theft of money but only in that of kidnapping (Sanhedrin 86a; cf.Mekhilta).

THOU SHALT NOT MURDER. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. He is stating: “Now I have commanded you to acknowledge in thought and in deed that I am the Creator of all, and to honor parents because they joined [Me] in your formation. If so, guard against destroying the work of My hands and spilling the blood of man, whom I have created to honor Me and acknowledge Me in all these matters. And do not commit adultery with your fellow-man’s wife, because you will thereby destroy the principle of honoring parents, [causing the children] to deny the truth and acknowledge falsehood. They will not know their fathers and will thus give their honor to another, just as the idol-worshippers do, who say to a block of wood, ‘thou art my father,’ and they do not know their Father who created them out of nothing.” After that, He warned against stealing a human being, for that too brings about a similar [disintegration of values].With respect to their stringency and penalties, the order of the commandments is as follows: after idolatry comes bloodshed, and after that adultery, and then stealing of a human being and false testimony and robbery; and he who does not covet, will never harm his neighbor. Thus, He completed all obligations that a person owes towards his neighbor. After that, [in the Seder of Mishpatim which follows], He will explain the ordinances in detail, for he who has been found guilty in any suit to pay his neighbor will pay the amount he is so obligated if he does not covet or desire that which is not his. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote [of the commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house… thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, etc.], that Scripture adopted a normal course of life. First, it mentioned the neighbor’s house, for an enlightened person will first acquire a house, and then marry a woman to bring her to his house, and only afterwards will he acquire a manservant or a maidservant. But in the Book of Deuteronomy, it mentions the wife first, because young men desire to marry first [before they acquire a house]. It may be that because the coveting of a neighbor’s wife is the greatest sin of all things mentioned in that verse, [it is listed first].Thus, of the Ten Commandments, there are five which refer to the glory of the Creator and five are for the welfare of man, for [the fifth commandment], Honor thy father, is for the glory of G-d, since it is for the glory of the Creator that He commanded that one honor one’s father who is a partner in the formation of the child. Five commandments thus remain for the needs and welfare of man. In some commandments, He mentioned their recompense, and in others He did not. Thus, in the second commandment, He mentioned a jealous G-d; in the third, for the Eternal will not hold him guiltless; in the fifth, that thy days may be long. But in the others, He mentioned neither punishment [for transgression], nor reward [for fulfillment]. The reason for this ...

"You shall not murder" — with your hand, or with your tongue, by testifying falsely against him to bring about his death; or by being a tale-bearer; or by deliberately giving wicked advice knowing it will result in his death; or if someone's secret was revealed to you and you could save him from death by disclosing it — if you did not disclose it, you are as a murderer. "You shall not commit adultery." Many have thought that adultery can only be with a married woman, because they found, "who commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor" (Lev. 20:10), reasoning: what need was there to say this after already saying "one who commits adultery with the wife of a man" (ibid.)? But that interpretation is incorrect. Earlier it is written: "one who curses his father and his mother shall be put to death; he has cursed his father and his mother, his blood is upon him" (ibid. v. 9) — meaning he committed a great transgression by cursing his parents who gave birth to him. Similarly, "one who commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor" — to indicate what a great abomination it is to commit adultery with his neighbor's wife, for he is obligated to love his neighbor as himself. The word niaph (adultery) is like znut (fornication), as it is written, "you have committed adultery with stone and wood" (Jer. 3:9). It is not fitting to make this abomination explicit. R. Saadiah the Gaon said that sexual transgression has many gradations: the least grave is lying with a virgin or a widow; above that, lying with his own wife while she is in her menstrual impurity, for after a few days she will be permitted to him; above that, lying with another man's wife, for the husband may die and she could then be permitted to him; above that, a Canaanite woman who is not under the law of Israel — if he has not given her offspring, for she may convert and he may marry her; but if he has given her offspring, he is himself worshipping idolatry. Above that, lying with a male, which has no time of permissibility ever; above that, what is beyond the category of species — such as lying with an animal. The Gaon knew how to make the distinction, for all the forbidden relations incur karet in the portion of Acharei Mot — but he omitted from this gradation the mother, the sister, and the daughter. "You shall not steal" — the plain meaning refers to taking property in secret. There is a thief who is liable to death — one who kidnaps a person from Israel, whether a young lad or one of halting speech. And theft of property applies both when one steals from his presence and when not from his presence; or if he deceived him in an accounting, or in measure, or in weight. This word also encompasses one who steals the heart of another, as Absalom did. "You shall not testify" — for many years I searched in my mind for the reason this says "a false witness" rather than "false testimony." In my current view, it is speaking to the false witness himself — as if it were written, "You shall not answer if you are a false witness." The meaning of this word is like "you shall not deceive and you shall not lie" (Lev. 19:11). We find the word anah with the preposition bet: "he answered falsely against his brother" (Deut. 19:18); and without bet: "God hears and answers them" (Ps. 55:20) — meaning "He answers about them" — and like it, "as we have not touched you" (Gen. 26:29), meaning "we have not touched you." There is a false witness who is liable to death — the one about whom it is written, "you shall do to him as he schemed to do to his brother" (Deut. 19:19).

לא תנאף, this commandment is phrased as applying to sexual intercourse with someone else’s legal wife because this is the most likely scenario; it applies to all forbidden sexual intercourse. לא תגנוב, the term “stealing” also includes the “stealing,” i.e. kidnapping of human beings. Even deceiving your fellow man deliberately is called “stealing” גנבת דעת הבריות, “stealing people’s minds, misleading them to believe that lies are truth. (compare Sanhedrin 86) לא תענה ברעך עד שקר, this includes spreading slander about people surreptitiously, something generally known as מוציא שם רע, “defaming someone, ruining his reputation.” The principal meaning in our verse is perjuring oneself when testifying against a fellow man.

לא תרצח, “do not murder!” The absence of any qualifying adjectives or adverbs means that murder by hand, by speech, or even by silence is equally forbidden. Example: you have obtained information that someone is about to be murdered and you fail to warn the prospective victim. The expression רצח is not applicable unless applied to death caused by illegal means. The expressions מיתה, or הריגה can be applied to death by other means whether legal or illegal. לא תנאף, “do not commit adultery!” Do not argue that whereas it is forbidden to reduce the number of living human beings through murder, there is nothing wrong with increasing the human population even through sleeping with a woman who is someone else’s wife. The same prohibition also applies to all other prohibited sexual relations.

לא תרצח, “do not murder!” The five commandments on the second Tablet are all negative commandments, and I will explain to you the reason for the order they appear in and how they relate to one another. Seeing that the commandment not to worship idols was expressed as a negative commandment, G’d continues here with a list of negative commandments commencing with the commandment not to murder. This commandment and the one following it, i.e. not to commit adultery, share the death penalty for deliberate violation, but seeing the kind of death penalty applicable to these three commandments is not identical the Torah lists the sins according to the severity of the death penalty applicable in descending order. Idolatry is punishable by stoning, (the most severe kind of death penalty); murder is punishable with death by the sword, decapitation, whereas adultery is punishable by death through strangulation. Our sages always mention the following three sins in one breath, i.e. idolatry, sexual licentiousness, incest and murder. [In order to avoid committing any of these in a context of religious coercion and in public, one must choose death rather than violate either of them. Ed.] The seventh commandment i.e. “not to steal,” speaks of stealing people, kidnapping, not inert objects or animals (Mechilta bachodesh section 8). This kind of theft too is punishable by death through strangulation (compare 21,17). The last three commandments which all deal with different forms of theft, robbery, i.e. greed, are listed in descending order of their severity. לא תענה ברעך עד שקר, “do not bear false witness against your fellow.” Please note that the Torah does not write “against your brother,” as it does when forbidding charging interest, (Deut. 23,20) or when it commands you to return found property (Deut. 22,3), or in similar legislation. In all those instances our sages explain the word אחיך as excluding non-Jews. In other words, while it is forbidden to charge (or pay) interest to a Jew, it is not forbidden to charge interest to a Gentile. While one must go out of one’s way to restore lost property owned by a Jew, there is no legal obligation to spend time, energy, and even money to restore lost property to a Gentile. Here the reason the Torah fails to limit the legislation to אחיך, “your brother.” It is clear that one must not bear false testimony against a Gentile, i.e. against Egyptians. Moreover, we find in Exodus 11,20 וישאלו איש מאת רעהו, “they asked each person from his fellow;” it is clear that the word רעהו refers to the Egyptians as the verse would not make any sense otherwise. Not bearing false testimony therefore is a commandment of universal application. Furthermore, if the Torah had written the word אחיך in our verse we might have concluded that it is in order to testify against (or on behalf of) other relatives, whereas generally speaking a whole list of relatives are unfit to testify together (as a team), on behalf of each other or against each other. Not only is false testimony illegal in such instances but even true testimony is unacceptable. Were this not so the Torah should have written לא תענה ברעך עדות שקר, “do not lie in your testimony against your fellow.” Such wording would have been very misleading as it would have meant that only the actual false testimony is prohibited but that someone who is in collusion with people arranging false testimony would be exonerated by the legal process. The Torah therefore uses ambiguous wording to cover as much ground as possible, i.e. in order to include as many people as possible in the parameters of guilt governing the subject of false testimony. The very word תענה means to “assist,” or “invite.”

“You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery,” etc. After completing the five commandments between man and God, blessed be He, He mentioned corresponding to them five commandments between man and his fellow, as they are mentioned in the Mekhilta, how they were parallel to each other and the similarities, like that which they said “You shall not murder corresponds to I am [the Lord your God],” because whoever sheds blood is as if diminishing the image and likeness [of God], as it is said: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). And there is no need for this reason except for one who says “Please kill me” and forgives the killing, yet nevertheless his blood shall be shed because it [life] is not given to be forgiven, since there is a portion of God above in him, and who can permit [the taking of] the heavenly portion? This is also the reason for one who kills himself. The concept of the image and likeness is: that in all visions, it is God’s way to appear in the likeness of a human form, even though without doubt there is no actual image or likeness [to God], as it is written To whom will you compare Me that I should be equal? says the Holy One (Isaiah 40:25). And it is written: What likeness will you arrange for Him? (Isaiah 40:18). Nevertheless, when He appears, He shows the likeness of a human to His creatures, and because of the importance of humans, He appears in this likeness, as it is written And on the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a human (Ezekiel 1:26). Behold, you see that in truth there was no actual human appearance there, but rather a likeness with the appearance of a human. Similarly, He appeared at the sea as a warrior and at Mount Sinai as an elder. Therefore, it is proper to show respect to this likeness, and one who murders diminishes this likeness, because he causes God to no longer desire to appear in this likeness, since it has become despised among the creatures. And one who sees a murdered person [is reminded of the verse] for a hanging person is a curse of God, and there is no need to elaborate further on this. It seems to me that the commandment “You shall not murder” corresponds to “I am [the Lord your God],” because Jacob and Esau made a division between them, as Jacob chose God as his portion, and The Lord is his inheritance, while Esau chose the profession of By your sword you shall live. Therefore, Esau denied the fundamental principle [of faith], as concluded in (Bava Batra 16b) that he denied the fundamental principle, as it is written Why do I need this? and it is written This is my God, etc. Therefore, the commandment I am [the Lord] came to the house of Jacob, and correspondingly they were warned not to adopt the profession of Esau, because this profession led him to denial [of God]. For this reason, the children of Esau did not accept the Torah, because murder leads to denial of I am the Lord your God, and if so, the entire Torah is nullified. If there is no Commander, there is no place for any commandment. Therefore, he [Esau] refused to accept even the other commandments, because the matter of murder contradicts everything, as the murderer thinks he is doing the will of the planet Mars through the power of the celestial minister, and by this he denies God’s divinity. And these are ancient matters. “You shall have no other gods,” corresponding to “do not commit adultery.” As it is written regarding idolaters, The adulterous woman, etc. (Ezekiel 16:32) and many similar verses. And it seems reasonable to say that adultery also causes one to worship idols, as proven by the incident with Baal Peor in Shittim. And as it is written regarding intermarriage with the seven nations, For he will turn your son away from following Me (Deuteronomy 7:4), because there is nothing that leads to idolatry like the seduction of a foreign woman, who with her smooth talk will lead him away from God. This matter is well-known and famous, and famous things do not require proof. “Do not take [God’s name in vain]” corresponds to Do not steal. For one who steals will ultimately swear falsely, as it is said You shall not steal… and you shall not swear… (Leviticus 19:11-12), because one sin leads to the other. Therefore it is written It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of one who swears falsely by My name and it shall consume it… (Zechariah 5:4). The verse equates these two transgressions because one leads to the other, and their essence is the same: the thief acts as if the Eye Above does not see, as it were, and similarly, one who swears falsely in order to validate his lies before people also acts as if the Eye Above does not see, as it were. Therefore, whoever commits one sin falls into the other, even if he swears about something unrelated to theft. This is my understanding, in addition to what is mentioned in the Mechilta. “Remember the Sabbath day,” corresponds to “You shall not bear false witness.” For anyone who desecrates the Sabbath testifies that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not create His world in six days and rest on the seventh. And it seems to me, since it is said regarding the Sabbath from pursuing your affairs and speaking words (Isaiah 58:13), and our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbat 113b) that your speech on Sabbath should not be like your speech on weekdays, the reason for this is because all of man’s actions are performed through his instruments of action, but the action of the Holy One, blessed be He, is through speech alone, as by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and He spoke, and it came to be (Psalms 33:6–9). Accordingly, when a person rests on the Sabbath and does not perform work with his instruments of action, this rest does not resemble the rest of the Holy One, blessed be He, because the Holy One, blessed be He, rested even from the speech of His mouth, whereas man only rests from the action of his instruments of work. Therefore, it is said and speaking words, that your speech on Sabbath should not be like your speech on weekdays, to remember the rest of the Holy One, blessed be He, who rested from speech. From Him you shall see and likewise do, not to speak on Sabbath about your personal matters, but only about heavenly matters. And by remembering the Sabbath day, which one is obligated to sanctify the utterances of his lips by not speaking about weekday matters, then at least during the rest of the week, even though an instrument used for holy purposes on Sabbath is used for mundane purposes during the weekdays, one should at least sanctify the words of his lips by not uttering falsehood from his mouth and not bearing false witness against his fellow. Honor your father, etc., corresponding to do not covet. The Mekhilta concludes that anyone who covets will ultimately have a son who curses him. This matter requires explanation, for what connection do these things have to each other? It seems appropriate to explain that anyone who covets his neighbor’s wife certainly thinks about her during intercourse, and it is as if the son is born to him from another woman whom he coveted and thought about. Therefore, the son does not honor his mother properly because his father was thinking about another woman. And he will not honor his father properly either, because one who covets women does not intend to have children but rather to fulfill his desire, and he did not intend to beget this son. Therefore, it is as if the son is not his son, and consequently he will not honor him, for everything follows intention. The coveting of property is also related to honoring father and mother, because one who covets others’ property does not honor them properly due to being consumed by the ravenous hunger of property lust, since honoring means providing for them from one’s wealth — feeding them, giving them drink, and clothing them. So without doubt, this covetous person’s eye is stingy even with his father and mother, withholding from them what they need.

לא תרצח, “Do not commit murder.” The order in which the Torah lists the following prohibitions needs to be understood as follows: The Torah, implies that the listener (reader) has appreciated that first and foremost G’d had insisted that He be recognized as THE Creator of the universe and all that there is in it. Next, He had commanded that the parents be accorded honour and respect seeing they are partners in the creation of new human life. It follows that you, human being, must not do things which directly result in your undoing what I had done. First and foremost do not shed the blood of a human being who was created in order to honour Me. You would deprive Me of the honour due to Me by My creatures. The prohibition against committing adultery is similarly motivated, as violating the wife of your fellow man not only is a serious injury, affront to the contractual bond between that wife and her husband, but it undermines the whole principle of enabling children to know who these parents are to whom they are duty-bound to show respect. It introduces lies as something normative into this world, whereas G’d stands for truth, and we are to emulate Him if we claim to be His partners. Stealing, i.e. kidnapping, preventing human beings to live the kind of life G’d wishes them to live, similarly deprives G’d of the worship of Him by the kidnapped person held prisoner. Similar considerations are at the core of the laws not to testify falsely nor to plan to deprive others of their rightful possessions. Such actions proclaim the lie as an acceptable means to achieve one’s ends, the opposite of G’d’s outstanding attribute of אמת, “truth,” the attribute we are to emulate if we really want to be His partners. The first three negative commandments refer to actions performed with one’s body, i.e. with one’s external organs, such as stealing, followed by sins committed with one’s mouth (testimony) and with one’s heart (coveting). In the next portion the Torah deals with a long list of משפטים, violations of the norms of inter-personal relations which need to be judged by a court. As long as one violates only the commandment not to covet without taking action to illegally or even legally acquire the desired object no judges will be involved. In commenting on the sequence of items coveted, described in the Tenth Commandment, Ibn Ezra says that the reason that the house of your fellow man is mentioned first, even before the taking of your fellow man’s wife, is that any intelligent person makes certain that he has suitable accommodation to offer a woman before he asks her to marry him. Only after he has acquired a wife does he acquire man and woman servants to assist in the household chores. The reason why this order is reversed in the version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy is that there the Torah addresses young men, who, in their urge to find a mate to marry, do not have the patience to wait until they are economically well established. It is also possible that there Moses talks about someone, who because he lusts after a woman forbidden to him, makes her the focus of all his desires. Nachmanides writes that the first 5 Commandments are designed to honour the Lord, the Creator, the fifth doing so indirectly seeing that in honouring parents one does so as they are the nearest link to the Creator that we have. In honouring them, we indirectly honour Him. All the remaining 5 Commandments are designed to enhance the dignity of the individual person. In some of the Commandments the consequences of observing it or not are spelled out, such as that G’d is jealous and will demand an accounting from those who slight Him, or that He will not easily forgive someone who uses His name in vain, or that the reward for honouring father and mother, though almost a natural in most instances, will be extremely worthwhile. On the other hand, most of the Commandments are not accompanied by promises of reward if observed or threats of retaliation if ignored. This may be explained in that acceptance of the first Commandment and non violation of the second Commandment are really two sides of the same coin, i.e. he who does refrain from all that is forbidden in the second commandment has in fact observed the first Commandment without lifting a finger. The absence of a warning of specific penalties for violations, or the mention of any reward, is also because Sabbath observance, i.e. recognition of G’d as the Creator both by sanctifying the day and by abstaining from work performed as a duty on the six days of the week is actually a way of fulfilling both the first and the second Commandment. The first 5 Commandments appear on the first of the Tablets, whereas the second five appear on the second Tablet [although if the numbers of words or letters were to be matched evenly the arrangement would have at least the fifth Commandment on the second Tablet, Ed.] This is to remind us that the Commandments on each of the Tablets correspond to one another. The Commandment not to commit murder parallels the Commandment of believing in the Lord the Creator, as murdering G’d’s creature undoes some of His work, diminishes His stature. The Commandment not to be disloyal to one’s wife or husband is parallel to the Commandment not to make or serve other deities. We are under oath to the One and Only Creator. The commandment not to use the name of the Lord in vain is parallel to the Commandment not to steal. Eventually, every thief will commit false testimony when he denies the accusation of having stolen. The Commandment to honour father and mother parallels the Commandment not to covet one’s neighbour’s wife, for if he does so successfully and illegitimate children are born from such a union, these children will eventually curse their parents instead of honouring them.

לא תרצח. Wherever the term רציחה appears it refers to killing without adequate justification. A deliberate murderer is to be executed as we know from Numbers 35,16-16. Similar verses in Kings I 21,19 when King Achav had framed someone resulting in judicial murder is also included in this definition of לא תרצח, [though he could have claimed that Naval, the victim, could have been found innocent by the judges. Ed.] When the terms הריגה, or מיתה are used to describe killing this means that there was no excuse for the killer to commit his act. (compare Kayin slaying his brother in Genesis 4,8) On the other hand, in Leviticus 20,16 where the Torah decrees והרגת את האשה, this refers to judicial killing for cause. Concerning the use of the word רוצח, murderer, in Deuteronomy 4,42 as applicable to someone who killed inadvertently, the reason why the Torah used this term there was only because in the same context deliberate murder was also discussed. This is my answer to the heretics who have admitted to me that the Latin translation of the Bible describing רציחה “killing,” without distinction as to the reason for the killing, is sloppy, most inaccurate. They were so careless in spit of the fact that in their “own” books such as Deuteronomy 32,39 we have the line אני אמית ואחיה, “it is I Who kill and resurrect,” showing that the Torah uses different expressions describing different kinds of killing.

You shall not covet your fellow's house. You shall not covet your fellow's wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your fellow.

"You shall not covet." Many people wonder about this commandment — how can there be a person who does not covet something beautiful in his heart, whatever is desirable in his eyes? Let me give you a parable. Know that a villager of sound understanding who saw a king's daughter who was beautiful — he would not covet her in his heart to lie with her, for he knows this is impossible. And do not think this villager is like one of the fools who would desire wings to fly in the sky — something that cannot be. Just as no man desires to lie with his own mother, even if she is beautiful, because they trained him from his youth to know that she is forbidden to him — so every intelligent person must know that a beautiful woman or wealth cannot be obtained through cleverness and knowledge alone, but only as Hashem has apportioned to him. And Kohelet said: "to one who has not labored for it He gives his portion" (Eccl. 2:21). And our Sages said: children, life, and sustenance do not depend on merit but on the constellation. Therefore the wise man will not desire and will not covet. And since he knows that his neighbor's wife has been forbidden to him by Hashem, she is more beyond his reach in his eyes than the king's daughter in the eyes of the villager — therefore he rejoices in his portion and does not set his heart on coveting or desiring what is not his, for he knows that Hashem did not wish to give it to him, and that he cannot take it by force or thought or scheme. He therefore trusts in his Creator to sustain him and to do what is good in His eyes. Herewith the commentary on the Ten Commandments is complete. One of the sages of this generation said: we know that the nine celestial spheres correspond to the nine digits which are the basis of all number. So too these nine commandments. And the first commandment — which is not among the nine, and which corresponds to the honor of the revered Name who speaks — is like the number one among the ten digits. The second commandment, "You shall have no other gods," corresponds to the outermost sphere, which drives all the spheres in a direction contrary to its own — from east to west in twenty-four hours; and against it stands "other gods," to inform us that by Hashem's power the spheres revolve, and many have thought it is the Creator because it has no body. The third commandment, "You shall not bear [the Name in vain]," corresponds to the sphere of the zodiac, where all the host of heaven resides except for the seven attendant [planets]; this body encompasses all other bodies, and its forty-eight forms are visible to the eye. Hashem's power is apparent there, but there are places in that sphere where many stars appear and places with no star at all — no person has the power to know this secret, and many who lack wisdom have thought these forms were created in vain. The fourth commandment — the Sabbath — corresponds to the sphere of Saturn. For the masters of practical astronomy say that each of the seven attendants has a designated day of the week in which its power is manifest, being the ruler of the first hour of that day, and similarly of the first hour of the night. And they say that Saturn and Mars are malefic stars, and one who begins a labor or sets out on a journey on either of them comes to harm — hence our ancestors of blessed memory said that harmful spirits have license on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights. And you will not find in any day of the week a day followed by a night in which both these harmful ones hold sway, except on this day [Saturday] alone. Therefore it is not fitting on this day to engage in worldly matters, only in the fear of Hashem alone. The fifth commandment — "Honor" — corresponds to the sphere of Jupiter, which signifies peace, justice, kindness, the giving of reward, and honoring whoever deserves honor. The sixth commandment, "You shall not murder," corresponds to the sphere of Mars, which signifies the shedding of blood and inflicting wounds. There is a dispute among astronomers whether Venus is above the sun or below it, and the Indian sages brought proofs that Venus is above it. The seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery," corresponds to the sphere of Venus, whose nature signifies all manner of lying and fornication. The eighth commandment, "You shall not steal," corresponds to the sphere of the Sun, which signifies coercion and stripping away the power of every attendant that conjoins with it so that its light cannot be seen. The ninth commandment, "You shall not testify [falsely]," corresponds to the sphere of Mercury, which signifies speech. The tenth commandment, "You shall not covet," corresponds to the sphere of the Moon, the lowest of all the spheres — and it signifies coveting.

לא תחמוד, the object you covet should be considered by you as so utterly unattainable that you will not even begin to hatch schemes of how to acquire it. This is the promise made by G’d in Exodus 34,24 that none of our neighbours will covet our land while we are engaged in making the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Once you begin to covet something belonging to someone else it is only a short step to committing robbery. (compare Joshua 7,21 where Achan ben Carmi who had become guilty of such robbery admitted that it all began with his coveting the items which he stole and hid.)

לא תחמוד אשת רעך, “Do not lust after your fellow man’s wife!” Do not scheme to how bring about her divorce so that you can marry her. The translation of lo tachmod cannot be that you shall not kidnap her or otherwise force her to sleep with you. This prohibition was already included in the prohibition to commit adultery. The first five commandments were all in the category of לא מבעיא, there being no question of their being necessary. The need to accept G-d as Israel’s Master hardly had to be spelled out. Neither did the commandment not to worship competing deities or the need not to swear an oath by any other deity, or to observe the Sabbath, seeing that G-d Himself had observed a Sabbath; nor was there a need to decree to honour one’s parents. Every gentile does so without having been ordered to do so by G-d. Even the last five of the Ten Commandments did not need to be legislated as universal disregard of either of these commandments results in complete anarchy and the destruction of the human race by itself. In most of the Ten Commandments we find two cantillation marks per word (as opposed to only one on a word.). The symbolism that is represented by that fact is a reminder that we have two versions of the Ten Commandments in the written Torah. When the Torah is read in public on the festival of Shavuot, which is the anniversary of the revelation on Mount Sinai, we read the second commandment לא יהיה לך as well as the whole commandment commencing with the word: זכור using the major cantillation marks in order that each one of them be understood as a single verse. The 6th - 9th commandments are read on that occasion by using the minor cantillation marks, in order to understand them as separate verses. The reason is that although we never find a verse that has only two words, in this instance the Rabbis decided to remind us that we are dealing here with separate commandments. When the Torah is read on an ordinary Sabbath in the month of Sh’vat, however, and the Ten Commandments are read as part of the portion known as Yitro, we read the entire Ten Commandments using the minor cantillation marks as a result of which we make four verses of each one of them. The reason why on Shavuot we read the first and second commandment with the major cantillation marks is to remind us that they were uttered by G-d as a single continuous verse. [The author had explained there that these two Commandments were heard by all of the people from G-d’s mouth without Moses acting as an interpreter. Ed.] [In the second version of the Ten Commandments where the 7th - 10th commandments are linked to one another by the prefix letter ו, it is clear that they are to be treated as separate commandments each. Ed.][The author proceeds to spell this out in greater detail. Readers familiar with the significance of each cantillation mark will be able to check this themselves. Ed.]

לא תחמוד, “do not covet.” It is known that coveting something is a matter for the heart. The principal warning contained in this commandment is that one must train oneself to absolutely renounce all hope of ever acquiring things belonging (legally) to another person, be it real estate, livestock, inert objects, etc. One must not even think of these and wish for them in one’s heart. Were one to covet them one would ultimately commit murder in order to own them oneself. A classic case in point was Achan. When he confessed to having taken from the loot of the city of Jericho, this is how he worded his confession (Joshua 7,21): “I saw among the spoils a fine Shinar mantle, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, and I coveted them and took them. They are buried in the ground in my tent, with the silver under it.” This act of coveting resulted in Achan being stoned to death.(ibid verse 29). Another example of the extremes to which allowing oneself to covet someone else’s property may lead was King Achav (Kings I 21, 1-24). His uncontrollable desire to own the vineyard of Navot ultimately resulted in his being slain in battle. Concerning this the Talmud Sotah 9 comments that “if someone covets something that is not appropriate for him to have, he will wind up losing even what was appropriate for him to own.” He becomes cursed. This is what happened to the serpent who seduced Chavah. It wanted to replace Adam as Chavah’s husband and instead it wound up having to crawl on its belly and to eat dust. Thus far the Midrash. Had it not been for the fact that robbery is an integral aspect of coveting and on account of this it deserved to be included in the Ten Commandments, the outright prohibition of robbery would have had to be included in the Ten Commandments, seeing that robbery is such a wide-spread a sin and so severe an infraction of G’d’s laws. Furthermore, robbery is a sophisticated sin similar to murder, adultery, theft, and false testimony. However, seeing that coveting conceptually includes robbery as a person does not commit robbery until he has first coveted the object he robs, it was not included specifically in the Decalogue. The proof for the close linkage between coveting and committing robbery is found in Micah 2,2 where the prophet places the two sins side by side when he writes: “they covet fields and seize them, houses and take them away.” A further reason why the Torah preferred to include the prohibition of coveting in the Ten Commandments over the alternative of including “do not commit robbery,” is that the prohibition to covet is more all embracing and the Torah wanted to make plain that it views a person eyeing other people’s property with an eye to acquiring it as being guilty of such a severe sin that it was included in the Ten Commandments and inscribed by G’d Himself on the stone tablets. The Torah wanted man to use a little logic and to realise that if G’d took such a dim view of someone who only eyes other people’s property as something he wants for himself, how much more so would G’d react to someone who actually made a move to commit robbery to possess the property in question! Still, there are occasions when coveting is a character trait which is permitted. Coveting the opportunity to perform certain commandments of the Torah is not only permissible but is praiseworthy. This is what our sages had in mind (Baba Batra 21) when they said קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה, “the envy displayed by scholars of the knowledge of other scholars who are their superiors leads to an all-round increase in wisdom.” This kind of jealousy and coveting such knowledge possessed by another is not only permissible but is rewarded by G’d. Included in this type of permissible desire is the desire for one’s friend’s (unmarried) daughter to be married to one’s son. When the Torah writes first: “do not covet the house of your fellow,” this is a general prohibition; when it continues with detailing: “his wife, his field, his house, his servant or maidservant,” these are details. Just as these details are matters which cannot possibly become yours unless their present owner so agrees, so the same rule applies to what is described in the כלל, i.e. in the introduction to this legislation, coveting a house. This, however, excludes one’s fellow’s daughter (if she has reached the age of puberty, 12 and a half years of age) to become the wife of your son or vice versa as neither requires the permission of a second party to become married to the other party seeing they are not presently “owned” by anyone. This concludes my commentary on the last five of the Ten Commandments. I have demonstrated that they are all conceptually linked to one another commencing with the warning not to murder. One must not decrease the world’s population even if one thinks the world is overpopulated. Having understood this a person might say to himself that it must be G’d’s will to increase the human population on earth even at the cost of engaging in illicit sexual relations, [even if well meant, such as impregnating a married woman with her sterile husband’s consent in order for them to have a child. Ed.] The Torah therefore warns you that any form of adulterous relationship is taboo; so much so that the penalty is death. A person may then reason that if increasing the world’s population by adulterous means is forbidden, he might at least effect a population exchange by acquiring an existing human being (through stealing it). All he would be doing is to transplant that human being from one city or country to another. He would then sell such a person in a different location. He would reason that at worst he had committed a minor offense involving financial damage to the first owner. The Torah therefore included this sin in the Ten Commandments to make clear that it views such conduct as a capital offense, not merely a commercial misdemeanor. Having appreciated the seriousness of the sin of kidnapping, one might still think that an offense such as uttering false testimony is minor, seeing that it involves only words, not deeds. To prevent us from thinking along these lines the Torah had to include the legislation that one must not be involved in false testimony as part of the Ten Commandments. Finally, even if one had understood that causing damage to a second party by deceitful use of one’s mouth, one’s words, is serious indeed, one might think that harboring only evil thoughts such as contemplating property belonging to someone else would certainly not be considered criminal, so the Torah disabuses us of such thoughts by legislating the law of לא תחמוד as so important that it is included in the Ten Commandments. The reason why there are precisely Ten Commandments which were deemed fit to be engraved on these Tablets: according to the plain meaning the number 10 is a number which symbolises a closed circle, i.e. something complete. There is not a single number which does not somehow derive from the י the number represented by the number 10. [Even when we count beyond the number 10 we have to begin again with the number 1, etc. i.e. we repeat ourselves to some extent.] A Midrashic approach: the reason that Ten Commandments were inscribed on the Tablets was that prior to the revelation mankind had known seven basic G’d-given laws which were the guidelines for man’s conduct on earth. This original number had already been increased to nine prior to the revelation. At this point G’d wanted to enable the people of Israel to earn credit for performing additional commandments; this is why He decided to reveal all the commandments starting now (Makkot 23). The matter is explained in Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1,4 by means of a parable: A king had a large cellar wherein he stored many barrels of good wine. One of the king’s friends came to visit and the king presented him with a barrel of wine. A second friend came to visit the king, and and the king presented him also with a barrel of wine. A third friend came to visit and the king presented him with yet another barrel of wine. Eventually, the king’s son came to visit and the king was so overjoyed that he gave him the entire stock of wine in the cellar. The parable mirrors the sequence in which G’d handed out His commandments to man. When Adam had been created he had been given six commandments. They were designed to ensure the ability of the universe to endure, i.e. each commandment symbolised one of the six points of the globe known in aggadic terms as קצוות העולם (the extreme ends of the world). Fulfillment of each commandment would prevent those ends of the universe from disintegrating [due to their distance from the center. Ed.]. With the appearance of Noach on earth and his having survived the deluge due to meticulous observance of these six commandments, G’d rewarded him with a seventh commandment, not to consume tissue of a living animal. Avraham, who led the life of a model human being, was rewarded with an eighth commandment, that of circumcision. Yaakov, another “friend of the king,” was rewarded with a ninth commandment, that of גיד הנשה, not to eat the sinew of the femoral vein. When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai in their multitudes, G’d decided to reward them with the Ten Commandments which contained within them the gist of all the 613 commandments of the Torah. In order to allude to this concept the Torah writes in connection with the offerings of the princes on the occasion of the consecration of the Holy Tabernacle (Numbers 7,14) כף אחת, עשרה זהב, מלאה קטרת, “one (gold) ladle of ten (shekel weight) filled with incense.” In an allegorical sense, the verse speaks of the Ten Commandments which are represented by the golden ladle and which are filled with the balance of the 613 commandments described as “incense.” Actually, the letter ק in the word קטרת is interchangeable with the letter ד, so that the numerical value of the letter in the word קטרת would amount to a total of 613. (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 13,16. It is pointed out there also that the number of letters in the Ten Commandments commencing with the word אנכי, excluding the last two words אשר לרעך total 613. The seven letters in the last two words would represent the seven Noachide laws to which all of mankind was obligated after the deluge. (All of this reinforces the idea that the Ten Commandments are the gist of all the commandments in the Torah.) A rational approach: The reason that there are Ten Commandments is that they correspond to ten celestial גלגלים, “planets,” i.e. celestial spheres influencing events on earth. [This number for the major stars in the planetary system (and what they represent in theological terms) is a departure from the number seven with which astrologers and astronomers of the middle ages used to operate. The idea of nine such planets is mentioned in Ibn Ezra’s commentary on his verse, attributed to an unnamed scholar. Expanding the number to nine involves assuming the existence of a “super-planet” which is responsible for the orbits of the other planets. Our author has his own method of explaining the number. Ed] The first commandment, אנכי, corresponds to the גלגל השכל, the sphere of intelligence, the highest sphere beneath the throne of G’d’s glory [described in the essay called כתר מלכות by Rabbi Sholomo Ibn Gabirol printed in the Yom Kippur Machzor of Heidenheim (and recited privately in many German synagogues at the conclusion of the Kol Nidrei service still in my youth. Ed.] This celestial sphere is especially effective in alerting our thinking to thoughts of the Unity of G’d, His exclusivity as the only deity, etc. The commandment לא יהיה לך, corresponds to the celestial sphere called גלגל המקיף by Ibn Gabirol. This commandment refers to אלהים אחרים, other deities. G’d had to take a stand against such erroneous thinking caused by people believing that though He is the Creator, seeing He is not physical, there were yet other divine forces which had a body. The third commandment, לא תשא, corresponds to the planet sun; the גלגל חמה, the fourth, זכור, to the planet moon, גלגל לבנה. The fifth commandment, כבד corresponds to the celestial sphere Jupiter צדק גלגל. The sixth commandment, לא תרצח, corresponds to the גלגל מאדים, the planet Mars. The seventh commandment לא תנאף corresponds to the גלגל שבתאי, the celestial sphere of Saturn, whereas the eighth commandment לא תגנוב, corresponds to the גלגל נוגה, the celestial sphere of Venus. The ninth commandment לא תענה corresponds to the celestial sphere regulating the signs of the zodiac, the various constellations, whereas the tenth commandment לא תחמוד corresponds to the celestial sphere כוכב, Mercury. There is great התעוררות, excitement, awakening of spiritual forces, connected with each of these commandments and how they interact with these celestial spheres. If you will study the subject in depth you will find that the wonders of G’d and the wisdom expressed by His creations becomes very manifest. There is another reason for the number of these commandments being 10. Man possesses 10 basic organs which constitute the essence of his body without which he cannot function as a proper human being. We have mentioned repeatedly that the composition of man of 248 limbs and 365 sinews closely parallels the structure of the Torah which consists of 248 positive and 365 negative commandments. Just as the Torah considers the Ten Commandments as the irreducible minimum of man’s obligations vis-a-vis His Creator, so the ten organs which we mentioned as essential to man will be found to correspond to the messages addressed to man in the Ten Commandments. The ten organs in question are: 1) the heart, 2) the ear, 3) the mouth, 4) the brain, 5) the hands, 6) the liver, 7) the male organ, 8) the legs, 9) the eyes, 10) the kidneys. According to Rabbi Chavell, the heart corresponds to the first commandment seeing it has to be fulfilled by the heart. The ear corresponds to the second commandment as the ear must not listen to a false prophet inviting obeisance to another deity. The mouth corresponds to the third commandment not to utter false oaths. The brain corresponds to the fourth commandment as appreciation of the meaning of the Sabbath requires a brain. The hands correspond to the fifth commandment to honor parents by performing services for them with one’s hands. The liver corresponds to the sixth commandment seeing it is all blood and murder deals with blood. The male organ corresponds to the seventh commandment as one cannot engage in adultery without that organ. The legs correspond to the eighth commandment as in order to steal one employs one’s legs. The eyes correspond to the ninth commandment as testimony is based on what has been seen. The kidneys correspond to the tenth commandment seeing they are the seat of עצה, they advise how to translate the wish into reality, how to acquire what one has coveted. A kabbalistic approach. The Ten Commandments correspond to the ten emanations. You will find in them 613 letters corresponding to the 613 commandments which emanate from the Ten Commandments. The extra seven letters (which we discussed already) are an allusion to the seven קולות Moses heard, i.e. that he acquired an understanding of the meaning of the seven lower emanations while he experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai. When you add these seven letters to the other 613 letters the total numerical value will be 620, the numerical value of the tenth and highest emanation כתר. The seven emanations which Moses had learned to understand were all derived from that highest emanation כתר. I will use this opportunity to acquaint you with some aspects of the emanations by explaining how each one relates or is relevant to one of the Ten Commandments. The first commandment, אנכי, corresponds to the emanation כתר, the highest emanation. The second commandment לא יהיה לך corresponds to the emanation חכמה. The third commandment לא תשא corresponds to the emanation תפארת; the fourth commandment, זכור corresponds to the emanation עטרה, i.e. כנסת ישראל. The fifth commandment כבד corresponds to the emanation חסד, whereas the sixth commandment לא תרצח, corresponds to the emanation פחד. The seventh commandment לא תנאף corresponds to the emanation יסוד. The eighth commandment לא תגנוב corresponds to the emanation נצח, whereas the ninth commandment לא תענה corresponds to the emanation תשובה. The tenth commandment לא תחמוד, corresponds to the emanation הוד. You will have to consider this very carefully. Although the Commandments are not listed in their usual order, i.e. parallel to the sequence of the ten emanations, you will realise the reason why the commandment אנכי had to be the first one. This is because seeing that G’d is first and we have to believe in that fact, the second commandment, which ensures that we do not dilute our belief in the supremacy of G’d as the first and only מציאות at that time, had to be commandment number two although the angels were created before man and it might seem odd to command man who did not exist yet how not to relate to G’d. This might seem especially peculiar when we consider that it was commanded in a framework when seeing there had not been any angels or other agents of G’d, man could not have become guilty of idolatry even if he had tried. The angels represent second rank in the order of creation, immediately below G’d Himself. This is why they were created on the second day (see author’s comment on Genesis 1,21 under “a kabbalistic approach). This is the reason why the angels are called שנאנים based on Psalms 68,18 אלפי שנאן (from the word שני “second”). The third commandment לא תשא is the third as anyone who uses G’d’s name in vain destroys the world which is built on three pillars, i.e. Torah, service of the Lord, and the performance of deeds of loving kindness for fellow human beings (Avot 1,2). The penalty for contravening that commandment also is threefold: Such a person destroys “his bones, his timber, and his stones.” Compare Zecharyah 5,4 who describes what G’d will do to people who swear false oaths as: “it (the curse) shall lodge in the inside of their houses and shall consume them to the last timber and stone.” The Torah repeats the sin, concluding the commandment with the words: “who will use His name in vain,” to emphasize how severely G’d views violation of this commandment. Treating G’d’s honour as of little consequence is equivalent to shaking off the whole range of the commandments as an intolerable burden. The prophet Malachi 1,6 phrased it thus: “If I am a father, where is the honour due Me? If I am a master, where is the reverence due Me?” The reason the commandment זכור was chosen to be the fourth commandment is because the Sabbath is the fourth day following the fourth day, the day on which sun, moon, and all the celestial phenomena were placed in their respective orbits. The sun is the fourth of the seven (or nine) such celestial orbits revolving around the earth. [The author as well as the Kabbalists whose views he mentions lived long before Copernicus, Ed.] The moon is in a fourth orbit relative to the sun, based on the sequence שצ'ם חנכ'ל, the seven “fixed stars” which we have mentioned on repeated occasions. The luminaries are considered מרובעים, “divided into four,” seeing the day is divided into four parts. You will also note that שבתאי, Saturn, the planet corresponding to the Sabbath is the fourth from (inside) the orbit of the גלגל השכל, the sphere of intelligence. Immediately above (outside) that sphere is the eighth sphere that of the כוכבים, the stars. Beyond that sphere is the ninth sphere, the one called ערבות, beyond which is the גלגל השכל the sphere of intelligence. Everything connected with the Sabbath is divided into “four.” There are four separate prayers on the Sabbath none of which is a repetition of any other. The prophet (Isaiah 58,13) when describing the outstanding features of the Sabbath and how we are to behave on it, makes his points in sentences of four words each, such as 1) אם תשיב משבת רגליך, “if you refrain from trampling the Sabbath; 2) עשות חפציך ביום קדשי, “from pursuing your affairs on My holy day.” The fifth commandment כבד is the fifth in number as there are five contributing components which result in offspring being born, in parents becoming parents. They are father, mother, fundamentals of nature, i.e. יסודות, time, and G’d. The father contributes the sinews, the bones and everything in the human being that is coloured white; the mother contributes all the red-coloured parts, such as the blood, the flesh, the hair and the black in the pupil of the eyes (compare Niddah 31). This black-looking colour is in reality a form of red, it has been impaired (Niddah 19). The יסודות are the four basic raw materials our physical universe is composed of. These four basic components function in various combinations, i.e. they are to a human body what a mixture of metals is in an alloy. Time is a factor as a baby’s development inside the womb is determined by the passage of a certain amount of time. Development of the embryo is not complete unless a certain amount of time has elapsed. G’d contributes the soul which is the principal contribution to man’s intelligence. Without G’d’s contribution man would not amount to anything worthwhile although there had been input from 4 other sources. You will find that there are 5 different categories of living creatures in nature: man, mammals, birds, fish, and creeping creatures. When formulating the fifth commandment, the Torah referred to life on האדמה, “on the earth,” i.e. the part of nature yielding some sort of harvest. This part of the earth is divided into 5 categories, i.e. fields yielding a grain harvest; vineyards; vegetable gardens, orchards, forests growing trees for making furniture, heating, etc. There are also five basic kinds of metals that the earth yields for man: gold, silver, copper, iron and lead. The sixth commandment לא תרצח, was placed in sixth position as 6 different character traits may be responsible for a human being murdering another human being. They are: jealousy, greed, hatred, anger, irresponsibility, and drunkenness. The first murder was committed against a human being who had been created on the sixth day (of the week and of creation). The seventh commandment, לא תנאף, is appropriately number seven as there are seven forbidden sexual relationships. 1) sleeping with a woman married to someone else; 2) sleeping with any woman including one’s own when she is in a state of menstruation. 3) A High Priest must not marry a widow. 4) An ordinary priest must not marry a divorcee. 5) sexual relations with animals. 6) homosexual relations. 7) sexual relations with non-Jews. There are seven prohibitions (6 are Rabbinic) that might lead to such forbidden sexual relations. 1) visual, i.e. a situation which may cause arousal because one has viewed what is forbidden. 2) Aural arousal, i.e. listening to the seductive voice of a woman with whom relations are forbidden. 3) secreting oneself with such a woman; 4) conversation with her. 5) touching her; 6) kissing; 7) the actual deed. The eight commandment לא תגנב, is in eighth place as there are eight varieties of violating this commandment. 1) wrong numbering; 2) wrong measuring; 3) wrong weights; 4) withholding found property. 5) kidnapping a Jew or Jewess. 6) stealing money. 7) גנבת דעת, deliberately misleading, i.e. “stealing somebody’s mind.” 8) “stealing for oneself,” i.e. embezzling funds entrusted to one by using them for one’s own needs in a legally permissible way such as if one is a trustee of funds of an orphan using these funds or part of them to pay for a wedding or even to become the dowry of the trustee’s son marrying such a female orphan. Concerning this way of taking advantage of one’s position as a trustee the Torah wrote (Leviticus 19,13) “You shall not defraud your fellow; You shall not commit robbery.” The ninth commandment, לא תענה, was placed ninth because it is well known that the ninth (highest) celestial sphere ערבות contains the throne of G’d’s glory where He stored the souls prior to assigning them to bodies; deserving souls return to that region after death. Anyone who testifies falsely denies the existence and significance of that region and as a result his soul will never return to its sacred origin. Finally, the tenth commandment לא תחמוד was placed in tenth position as anyone who covets other people’s possessions and money will not be likely not give up a tenth of the money he already has; he will not set aside his tithes, etc. By placing this commandment in tenth position, the Torah found an elegant way of warning people that the positive commandment of paying one’s tithes is conceptually linked to the negative commandment not to covet. This commandment concludes the list of the Ten Commandments which correspond to the ten celestial spheres The fact that they have not been listed in the order corresponding to the sequence of the ten emanations is testimony to the deep wisdom of our sages who have said that the Torah is under no obligation to write matters in a chronological sequence of events These sages have displayed deep insight into how all of the 613 commandments are represented in the Ten Commandments and the 613 letters that the list comprises. They have even revealed to us the reason for the absence of the letter ט in this version, i.e. the absence of the words למען ייטב לך, a promise written in the second set of Tablets in the Book of Deuteronomy. Kabbalists suggest that the reason may have been that G’d knew that this set of Tablets was going to be smashed and He did not want the letter ט which symbolises טוב to be smashed (compare Baba Kama 55). Personally, I can think of another reason why the letter ט is absent in the Decalogue (first version). The letter used to represent an allusion to killing or the death penalty in olden days. When the Jews died (80% of them during the ninth plague) which was itself a forerunner to the tenth plague, the wholesale dying of the first born, the letter ט, meaning “killing” was far more closely associated with death than with טוב, and the Torah wanted to avoid such allusions. at this time. [When the Israelites were given the second set of Tablets they were not standing at the mountain in mortal fear of expiring from the impact of G’d’s voice. Ed.] The eating of leavened bread on Passover may have been prohibited because we left Egypt walking from deep spiritual darkness into great spiritual light, i.e. an Exodus orchestrated by the great name of Hashem, not just the “strong hand” which was involved in killing the Egyptian firstborn. At Mount Sinai the great name of Hashem was again in evidence and gave us the Torah. The sages of the Midrash had this in mind when they suggested that the letter ט is a veiled hint of the attribute of Justice. Seeing that the text of the second Tablets has the word שמור instead of the word זכור as the operative word describing Sabbath observance, there has already been a reference to the attribute of Justice, i.e. the negative aspect of the Sabbath observance. It is therefore not surprising that the Torah saw no need to omit the letter ט in that version when writing למען ייטב לך as part of the reward for observing the commandment to honour father and mother. The Ten Commandments may be viewed as completing the circle with the tenth commandment, i.e. just as the first commandment addresses itself primarily to our heart, so the tenth commandment again addresses itself to our heart. The author concludes by citing Avraham (reportedly) the author of the most ancient kabbalistic text, the ספר היצירה which concludes by acknowledging the insights into the emanations granted Avraham by G’d and how he learned to understand by means of the covenant of circumcision the deeper significance of the seven celestial spheres and the 12 signs of the zodiac. Understanding the ten emanations and how they were the prelude to G’d commencing the creation of a physical universe has been paraphrased by Daniel 12,3: “and the wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament and those who make the many righteous (Avraham’s missionary activities on behalf of monotheism) like the stars forever and ever.” Just as the flame is connected to the glowing coal from which it has risen, (i.e. the tangible produced the intangible) this is true in reverse for our world of the apparently tangible, physical, substantive having had its origin in the utterly intangible. [I have paraphrased the words of the author according to my understanding of them. Ed.]

And all the people were seeing the thunderclaps and the flames and the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and they trembled and stood at a distance.

וכל העם ראים AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAW — This statement teaches us that there was not a blind person amongst them. And whence may we learn that there was not a dumb person amongst them? Because it states (Exodus 19:8) “And all the people answered”. And whence may we learn that there was not a deaf person amongst them? Because it states (Exodus 24:7) “We will do and we will hear” (Mekhilta). ראים את הקולת [THEY] SAW THE SOUNDS — they saw that which should be heard (Mekhilta) — something which is impossible to see on any other occasion. את הקולת THE SOUNDS which issued from the mouth of the Almighty. וינעו THEY MOVED — The root נוע denotes trembling (Mekhilta). ויעמדו מרחק AND THEY STOOD AFAR OFF — they moved back startled twelve miles, a distance equal to the length of their camp, and ministering angels came and assisted them — to bring them back, as it is said, (Psalms 68:13) “The angels of the God of Hosts made them move on, move on” (Shabbat 88b).

AND ALL THE PEOPLE PERCEIVED THE THUNDERINGS… 16. AND THEY SAID UNTO MOSES. In the opinion of the commentators, this happened after the Giving of the Torah. It is with reference to this that Scripture says, And ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and ye said: Behold, the Eternal our G-d hath shown us His Glory, etc. If we hear the Voice of the Eternal our G-d any more, then we shall die. But such is not my opinion, for it says here, but let not G-d speak with us, and it does not say “any more.” Besides, Moses said here to the people, Fear not, and there it is said, They have well said all that they have spoken. Moreover, here it is told that they feared only the thunderings, the lightnings, and the smoking mountain, and there it is said that they feared the speaking of the Divine Presence, for they said, For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the Voice of the living G-d, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Again, here it is said, And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness, but it does not say that “he entered into it.” [If the events narrated in this section of the Torah happened after the Revelation, it should have said that he came “into the midst of the cloud,” as it says further on in 24:18.]The correct interpretation regarding this section of the Torah and the [entire] order of events pertaining to the Revelation appears to me to be as follows: And all the people perceived… And they said unto Moses — all this happened before the Revelation. Now at first, [in Chapter 19], Scripture mentioned in sequence all the words of G-d that were commanded to Moses regarding the setting of a boundary to Mount Sinai and the admonition given to the people. This is followed [at the beginning of Chapter 20] by the Ten Commandments, and now Scripture refers back and mentions the words of the people to Moses, relating that from the moment they had perceived the thunderings and the lightnings, they moved backwards and stood afar off, further away from the boundary of the mountain that Moses had set for them. The order of events [on the day of the Revelation] was thus as follows: In the morning, there were thunderings and lightnings and the loud voice of the horn, but the Divine Presence had not yet come down on the mountain, something like it is written, And a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Eternal; but the Eternal was not in the wind. And the people that were in the camp — i.e., in their place of encampment — trembled. But Moses encouraged them and brought them forth towards G-d… and they stood at the nether part of the mount. While they were standing there at the nether part of the mount in anticipation, the Eternal descended upon the mount in fire and the smoke thereof ascended unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. The mountain itself trembled and quivered as mountains do in an earthquake called zalzalah...

"And all the people saw the thunderings." I have already explained the meaning of "seeing thunderings" — for all the senses converge at one place. The meaning is: when they saw the thunderings and the lightnings, which by their nature cause people to tremble with fear, and the sound of the shofar such as had never been heard, and the mountain alone smoking — when they beheld these wonders, they "wavered" (va-yanu'u), as in "a fugitive and wanderer" (Gen. 4:12) — each person moved from where he was standing and drew back. Similarly, "the doorposts moved" (Isa. 6:4) — the meaning is that the thresholds shifted from their place by several cubits, a distance the prophet could not measure in his prophetic vision. One who interprets it as merely meaning "they trembled" is incorrect — for if they did not move from their place, why does it then say "they stood at a distance"?

רואים את, the word רואים as “seeing” is to be understood as like the same word in Kohelet 1,16 ולבי ראה, “and my heart ‘saw.’” Just as the heart cannot see, so people cannot “see” sounds. The meaning is that they understood the meaning of these sounds. They could not continue to endure the volume or nature of thee sounds. The same is explained in greater detail by Moses in Deuteronomy 18,16. They were afraid they would die. וירא העם, they understood what they should do. וינועו, a word describing involuntary movements of one’s body, trembling. One is unable to arrest one’s motion i.e. that which is known as נע. The word appears transitively in Numbers 32,13 ויניעם במדבר, “He made them wander in the desert.” It occurs intransitively also in Isaiah 24,20 תנוע ארץ כשכור, “the earth is swaying like a drunkard.” The Israelites’ trembling was inspired by the fright they experienced at hearing G’d’s voice.

וכל העם, “And all the people;” from here on as far as verse 23, לא תגלה ערותך עליו, “you must not reveal your nakedness while on it (the altar),” the sequence of the way in which the Torah has been written is unusual, as the words: ולשומרי מצותיו, “and to those who observe His Commandments,” should have appeared at the end of verse 6. The reason why they do not appear at that point is in order not to interrupt the sequence of the Ten Commandments. רואים את הקולות, “were seeing a visual image of the thunder.” The plain meaning of the verse is that even phenomena normally not subject to being seen, had become visible during the revelation. [In our time: “sound waves had become visible to the naked eye.” Ed.] Kohelet 7,27 already used the verb ראה “to see,” when he said: “see this is what I have found;” he referred to something that no one else before him had been able to find, (with his eyes). Or, compare Exodus 32,1 וירא העם כי בושש משה, “the people saw that Moses was tarrying.”

וכל העם רואים את הקולות, “And all the people saw the sounds (thunder), etc.” The word “saw” in this context is to be understood as “understood, comprehended,” similar to when Yitzchak spoke of ראה ריח בני “look at the fragrance of my son” (Genesis 27,27). He was well aware that fragrance just as sound cannot be seen by the eye. He meant that just as the eye is used to understand something clearly, so he experienced a clear understanding of what his son’s fragrance represented. Similarly, here; the Torah describes that the aural perceptions of the people were as convincing to them as if they had experienced the same thing with their eyes, a normally superior tool for clear perceptions. An alternative meaning could be that the Torah employed the word “saw” because these thunders were invariably accompanied by fire, something very visible to the eye. We have examples of such expressions and meanings in Psalms 29,7: “the voice of the Lord kindles flames of fire.” The people then saw the fire not the thunder. The words of the text may then be understood literally without the Torah telling us of an additional miracle.

And all the people saw the voices, etc. There is a need to be precise about this matter — how did they see what is [normally] heard? And what is meant by the statement that follows, And the people saw and they trembled and stood at a distance, after it had already been stated And all the people saw, etc.? If so, why do I need And they saw? Similarly, regarding what was said, Speak with us and we will hear — the word we will hear seems superfluous. And indeed it is reasonable to understand that each and every utterance that came from the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately became materialized, and that utterance had so much substance that they saw all the letters flying in the air as if everything was written before them. And proof for this is from what is written: By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made (Psalms 33:6). This shows that every utterance that comes from the Holy One, blessed be He, creates a new creation. And similarly, after the creation, they said (Chagigah 14a) that from every utterance that comes from the Holy One, blessed be He, an angel is created. And so all these utterances, after they came from the mouth of the Almighty, had substance to them. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said (Pesachim 87b) that when Moses broke the tablets, the letters were flying, and if there was no substance to the letters, how could they fly? And greater evidence than this is that regarding the second tablets, it is written: And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets (Exodus 34:1). It does not say “like the words that were,” but rather the words that were, teaching that those same letters that were flying from the first tablets were fixed in the second ones. And if so, certainly there was substance to those letters. Therefore it says, And all the people saw the voices, meaning the voice of God speaking to them — those voices they saw with their eyes. And you should understand and know that the sense of sight is more refined in humans than the sense of hearing, for a person can see from many miles away, but cannot hear from so far because the sense of hearing does not operate from such a distance as does the sense of sight. The Israelites were afraid, in any case, of the voice of God because it was awesome. Therefore, when Israel saw that they could see the voice of His word, blessed be He, they thought that even if they stood at a distance and did not hear the voice speaking to them, it would still be sufficient for them to see before them the form of the letters in the air. Thus it says And the people saw and they trembled and stood at a distance (Exodus 20:15), meaning that because the people saw — they saw the form of the letters — therefore they stood at a distance, saying, “Seeing alone is sufficient for us, even without hearing.”Afterwards, the Israelites regretted [their decision] and said, “Why should God stand at a distance? Is it not better for us to draw near to His holy place?” And in order to be saved from the fear of the voice, they said to Moses, You speak with us and we will hear (Exodus 20:16), for even though hearing is not comparable to seeing, it is still sufficient for us to hear, even if we do not see the form of all the letters. And our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbat 88b): When the Israelites retreated, the ministering angels were nudging them to bring them closer to the Divine Presence, etc. And concerning that time, the verse You speak with us and we will hear was stated. Even though it is not explicitly mentioned in this verse that they were being nudged, David came and explained it, saying Kings of armies did flee, did flee [understood here as meaning, nudged, nudged] (Psalms 68:13).

וכל העם רואים את הקולות, “The whole nation was able to see the sounds, etc.” This is not the only time that the term “seeing” is used instead of “hearing.” Another such instance is found in Genesis 42,1 where Yaakov is described as “seeing” that there was food for sale in Egypt, a distance of hundreds of kilometers from where he was at the time. What was meant is that he had heard about it, from returning travelers. Our sages understand the verse literally, i.e. that during these exalted moments the people actually saw the sounds, the words. Nachmanides writes that our verse does not describe what the Israelites had seen during the revelation, but what occurred later, and that this is what Moses referred to in Deut.5,20 ותקרבון אלי וגו', “you approached me, etc.” They told Moses at that time that they could no longer endure the voice of G’d and were afraid to die unless Moses from then on would act as their interpreter. Personally, Nachmanides’ opinion is not acceptable to me, considering the fact that the Torah quotes the Israelites as saying words of a similar nature already in our paragraph immediately after the conclusion of the Decalogue. At that point nothing was said about the Israelites being afraid to die as a result of the overwhelming impact of what they had experienced. Furthermore, Moses is already telling the people: “אל תיראו, “do not be afraid (that you will die).” G’d had already commented that the people had done well in requesting that Moses be their interpreter of G’d’s words. (Deut. 5,25) I believe that the chronological sequence of what is reported in these paragraphs is as follows: the paragraph commencing with the words וכל העם (20,15) reports something which had preceded the actual giving of the Ten Commandments. As an introductory preamble, the Torah, i.e. Moses relates all the instructions he had received concerning the fencing off of the Mountain, followed by the proclamation of the Ten Commandments. Now Moses reviews what the Israelites had been saying to him in the course of this whole procedure, reminding them that from the moment they saw thunder and lightning they had trembled, retreated backwards, and taken up a position quite some distance from the bottom of the Mountain, way beyond the security fence Moses had erected. The secret to understanding all this lies in the fact that from early morning on the day of the revelation there were continuous explosion-like sounds of thunder, tremendous flashes of lightning, all of which preceded the manifestation of G’d’s presence. The people reasoned, understandably, that the intensity of these phenomena was likely to increase still further once the Shechinah began to manifest itself. Moses, in order to demonstrate to them that they had nothing to fear, led them closer to the bottom of the Mountain, a location from which the descent of the Shechinah to the top of the Mountain could be observed as a spectacle resembling the smoke arising from a crucible (19,18) all the way to heaven. The very Mountain started trembling, as if they were experiencing a major earthquake. David, in Psalms 114,4 describes the mountains of the Sinai range as dancing like rams. Seeing that, as reported, the sound of the shofar instead of receding, continued to become ever louder, the people reacted accordingly. The description by David in Psalms is not allegorical, just as the description of the sea fleeing from G’d at the time He split the Sea of Reeds, (Psalms 114,3) is not allegorical, but is a factual description of what had occurred. At that point, the people turned to Moses in awe, begging him to become their interpreter. They were willing or even eager to skip the experience of hearing the Lord address them directly. They had not even wanted to respond to Moses’ encouraging overtures to approach the Mountain somewhat closer to the edge of the fence. They observed Moses approach the thick cloud within which the presence of the Shechinah was concealed. He did however, not enter it. At that point, G’d began to recite the Decalogue. The Torah, at this juncture does not report at all what the elders had been saying to Moses, i.e. the recollection of events as presented in Deuteronomy to the new generation, shortly before he himself was to die. At this juncture the Torah’s major concern was to begin to elaborate on all the commandments, primarily the ones dealing with inter-personal relations that are set out in the portion called משפטים in chapters 21-23. In the Book of Deuteronomy, however, Moses does relate that all the leaders of the people after the revelation approached him, expressing their profound fear that if they were to be exposed to more mind-boggling experiences like these they would not be able to endure this. The reason they approached Moses at that time was that they thought G’d would address all the Commandments to them in the manner experienced at the Mountain. They therefore gave Moses their leader carte blanche to accept all these Commandments on their behalf committing themselves to observe any and all of these Commandments they had not been informed of as yet. G’d agreed with the feelings the Israelites had expressed. It had been His intent all along that the people would only hear the Decalogue from His mouth directly. וינועו, “they trembled.” Our sages (compare Rashi quoting Mechilta)) understand the word as related to זיע, It appears in a similar sense in Isaiah 24,20 נוע תנוע ארץ כשכור, “the earth wobbles like a drunk.” People retreated from that spectacle out of fear.[the word poses many problems even in the Mechilta de Rabbi Yishmael, compare Torah Shleymah, Rabbi Menachem Kasher Ed.] According to the followers of the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, the word is related to תנועה, motion, i.e. the people moved away from this spectacle.

רואים, the author translates this as literally “seeing” with one’s eyes.

And they said to Moses: You speak with us, and we will listen; but let there not be speech with us from before Hashem, lest we die.

BUT LET NOT G-D SPEAK WITH US. The Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] noted in the Moreh Nebuchim that Onkelos translated but let not G-d speak with us as, “Let not aught be spoken to us from before G-d.” However, he did not paraphrase in [a similar manner] in other such places, for he translated literally, And G-d spoke all these words, and so also in all places where it says, And the Eternal spoke unto Moses! Now the reason for Onkelos’ paraphrasing it here, [according to Maimonides], was that even though all Israel heard the first commandment, their capacity for comprehending it was unlike that of Moses our teacher. But if [Maimonides’ opinion is correct], why did Onkelos translate literally, For I have talked with you from heaven, when he should have rendered it, “It was spoken to you from before Me!” Similarly in the Book of Deuteronomy, he translated literally: These words the Eternal spoke unto all your assembly, [and he did not paraphrase it]! So also he translated literally their words, and we have heard His Voice, which he rendered as follows: “we have heard the voice of His word; this day we have seen that G-d speaks with man!” Likewise he translated literally, The Eternal spoke with you face to face. Moreover, [with reference to Moses] he translated, And G-d answered him by a voice as “and from before G-d he was answered by a voice!” [Here Onkelos paraphrased it with regard to Moses himself, which according to Maimonides he should have translated literally!] In fact, such usage already occurs in the Torah with reference to Moses himself! Thus: And he heard the Voice speaking unto him, which Onkelos translated as “being spoken.” So also in the verse, The pillar of the cloud descended, and stood at the door of the Tent, and He spoke with Moses, which Onkelos translated, “and it was spoken!”But the reason for Onkelos’ translating here, [“Let not aught be spoken to us from before G-d”], is clear. In the entire Revelation, we find Israel hearing G-d’s word only out of the midst of the fire, and this is what they comprehended. Similarly, that I have talked with you from heaven means, by way of the Truth, “from out of the midst of heaven,” and it is identical with out of the midst of the fire. The purport thereof has already been explained. Now when Onkelos saw here the expression, but let not G-d speak with us, [which indicates direct revelation], and no “partition” is mentioned, he did not deem it fit to translate literally. [That would have implied that in their comprehension of the Revelation, they were equal to Moses], and since in his language [i.e., Aramaic] there is no epithet for the word Elokim, he therefore negated here any direct communication to them, [and translated, “Let not aught be spoken to us from before G-d”].Now the amazing thing in Onkelos’ wisdom is that in the Revelation on Mount Sinai, he did not mention “the Glory of G-d,” or “the word of G-d,” but instead translated: “Behold, I will reveal Myself to you;” “G-d will reveal...

"And they said." The priests and the tribal heads who were close to him — they spoke with him after the Ten Commandments were complete, for they were so terrified that they feared Hashem would continue to speak with them and they would die. It was because of this that Moses said to them, "Do not fear."

דבר אתה עמנו, "Speak you with us, etc." The people meant that if acceptance of G'd's commandments was dependent on our listening to Him speak to us directly, this was no longer necessary. They said: "it is good enough for us to listen to His commandments as they come out of your mouth; we will consider this binding upon us. We do not wish to endanger our lives by being exposed to G'd's voice any longer." They said to Moses: "if you speak to us ונשמעה, we will be able to hear it (without dying). If G'd were to continue to speak to us we could not hear because we would die."

דבר אתה עמנו ונשמעה, “you speak with us and we will listen (obey)” They said this as they were afraid of the thunder and lightning.

ויאמרו אל משה, after they had heard the Ten Commandments. דבר אתה עמנו, if the Torah had not reported this we would have thought that the people had heard all of the commandments directly from G’d’s mouth.

And Moses said to the people: Do not fear, for it is in order to test you that the Glory of Hashem has revealed itself to you, and in order that the awe of Him may be upon your faces, so that you do not sin.

לבעבור נסות אתכם signifies, in order to exalt you in the world (Mekhilta) — that you may obtain a great name amongst the nations because He has revealed Himself to you in His Glory. נסות has the sense of exalting and greatness, of similar meaning and root to, (Isaiah 62:10) “Lift up an ensign (נס)”; (Isaiah 49:22) “I will lift up my standard (נסי)”; (Isaiah 30:17) “as an ensign (כנס) on a hill” — and an ensign is called נס because it is something raised on high. ובעבור תהיה יראתו AND THAT HIS FEAR MAY BE [BEFORE YOUR FACES] — Through the fact that you see that He is feared and dreaded you will know that there is none beside Him and you will therefore fear Him and not sin.

FOR G-D IS COME IN ORDER TO ‘NASOTH’ YOU. “I.e., to make you ‘great’ in the world, [to ensure] that you obtain a name amongst the nations [because of the fact] that He in His Glory revealed Himself to you. Nasoth is a term for ‘exalting’ and ‘greatness,’ just as in the verses: Lift up a ‘neis’ (an ensign); ‘k’neis’ (as an ensign) on a hill, which is so called because it is high.” Thus Rashi’s language. But this is not correct. Instead, it is possible that Moses is saying that “it is in order to get you ‘accustomed’ to have faith in Him that G-d is come. Since He has shown you the Revelation of the Divine Presence, your faith in Him has entered your hearts to cleave to Him, and your souls will never be separated from it forever. And that His fear may be before you when you see that He alone is G-d in heaven and upon the earth, you will have great fear of Him.” It may be that Moses is saying that “the fear of this great fire will be before you, and you will not sin because of your fear of it.” And the word nasoth is similar in expression to the verses: And he [David] assayed to go, but could not, for he had ‘nisah’ (tried) it. And David said unto Saul: I cannot go with these; for I have not ‘nisithi’ (tried) them, something like “accustomed.”The Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] has said in the Moreh Nebuchim that Moses said to the people, “Fear not, because the purpose of that which you have seen is that when the Eternal G-d, in order to demonstrate your faithfulness to Him, will test you by sending you a false prophet who will aim to reverse that which you have heard, your steps will never slide from the way of the truth, for you have seen the truth with your own eyes.” But if so, the sense of the verse, [according to Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon], is that “in order to be able to prove you in the future, G-d came now so that you should remain faithful to Him in all trials.”In my opinion, the real “trial” is now, [and not as Rambam has it that “He now came in order to be able to prove you in the future”]. Moses is saying: “Now G-d wanted to try you whether you will keep His commandments, since He has now removed all doubt from your hearts. From now on, He will see whether ye do love Him, and whether you want Him and His commandments.” So also does every expression of nisayon mean “test,” such as: I cannot go with these; for I have not ‘nisithi’ them, which means “I have never tried to walk with them.”It is possible that this “trial” is for the good [of the one who is being tried], for the master will sometimes try his servant with hard work in order to know whether he will endure it out of his love for him. Sometimes he will do him good in order to know whether he will requite him with additional service and honor for the good he has done him. This is similar to what the Sages have said: “Happy is the person who stands through his trials, for there is no man whom the Holy One, blessed be He, does not try. He tries the rich to see if his hand will be open for ...

"And [Moses] said." The lamed in le-va'avur is an added preposition — like the lamed in "le-mavre'shonah" (1 Chron. 15:13) and the lamed in "le-Avshalom ben Maakhah" (ibid. 3:2). The meaning of "to test you" — like "and to test you, to benefit you in the end" (Deut. 8:16). And "so that His fear be upon your faces" — as it is written, "the day when you stood before Hashem your God at Horeb" (Deut. 4:10).

לבעבור נסות אתכם, in order that you become used to prophetic insights which this time were of the highest caliber, i.e. what is known as פנים אל פנים, “face to face.” The people’s experience paralleled that of the prophet Elijah at the same mountain where the fire and the overpowering sound were only an introduction to the קול דממה דקה, to the barely audible voice which heralded the arrival of the Shechinah. On that occasion (Kings I 19,13) Elijah had wrapped his mantle around his face as he was so afraid. Elijah’s prophetic vision at the time was on a very high level, as he was able to freely make use of all his physical faculties. It presumably was only slightly inferior to the level of prophecy achieved by Moses. בא האלוקים, G’d’s entourage of angels. We encountered a similar expression meaning the same in 19, 17. ובעבור תהיה יראתו, this corresponds to what Rabbi Yehoshua answered the Roman Emperor who had asked him when he asked to be shown G’d, that the Emperor first look at the sun. The Emperor, of course, proved unable to do so fearing to be blinded. Rabbi Yehoshua then asked him that if he could not even look at one of G’d’s creations how he could expect to be able to look at G’d Himself?

אל תיראו, "do not fear, etc." Moses reassured the people that even if the Lord were to continue speaking to them directly they would not die, as G'd had already accomplished His purpose in testing the Jewish people by inspiring awe of Him in them. He had already removed the residue of pollutants that they had still contained within themselves, pollutants dating back to Adam. There was also a second reason G'd had spoken to Israel directly. Once their pollutants had been removed, G'd's presence was able to occupy a permanent presence amongst them and the image of the Lord which original man had been created in had now been fully restored to all of the Israelites. The combination of these two elements was a great barrier to the Israelites sinning again in the future. Anyone who possesses shame, i.e. another word for "fear of the Lord," will not easily be tempted to commit a sin. Another meaning contained in the words לבעבור נסות אתכם, is that in the event you would complain in the future why not every Jew has been selected to have prophetic stature, the reason is that you have now indicated you would find the burden to be G'd's prophet, i.e. receive His communications directly, as too awesome. G'd has just tried to elevate all of you to the status of prophet but you have failed this test.

ובעבור תהיה יראתו על פניכם, “and so that the fear of Him shall remain on your faces, etc.” Mechilta (bachodesh section 8) understands this “fear” as a “sense of shame.” The reason is that fear or reverence are parameters of the heart, whereas shame is something one recognizes in one’s face. This is the reason the Torah refers to it as being על פניכם, “on your faces.” The Torah adds לבלתי תחטאו “in order that you will not sin,” to teach us the psychological lesson that shame inhibits the commission of sin (Mechilta bachodesh section 9).

“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid.’” [Do not be afraid] of hearing the voice of God, for God has come to test you, and so that His fear will be upon your faces. He said that it is good for you to receive the commandments through both seeing and hearing together, because from each one individually comes a specific purpose. Regarding hearing, he gave the reason for God has come to test you. The word test [nisot] is related to the raising of a banner [nes], because God wanted to elevate you with greater excellence above all nations. Therefore, He wants you to hear His voice, for nothing like this has ever been heard among any nation that could boast that they heard the voice of God and lived, as it is written: For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire as we have, and lived? (Deuteronomy 5:23). From here is sound and good proof that hearing the voice of God is for Israel a raising of a banner above every nation and tongue. And regarding the seeing of the letters before them in the air, he gave a second reason, saying so that His fear will be upon your faces, that you may not sin. For the Torah is called “the pure fear of the Lord,” and God wanted this image to be upon your faces always, so that it would always appear to you as if the Torah were written before you, so that you would never come to sin, for it will not be forgotten from your mouths because the impressions of these letters will remain before your faces always. And this is a very precious interpretation.

לבעבור נסות, “in order to test, etc.” Rashi, basing himself on the word נס, a banner, something one looks up to, understands the meaning of the line as “in order to elevate you, to grant you greater stature.” Nachmanides understands the meaning to be: “to get you used to supernatural manifestations in order to strengthen your faith.” People who have been granted such revelations will have their belief transformed into knowledge. As a result, they will cling more closely to their Creator. ובעבור תהיה יראתו על פניכם, “and in order that the awe of Him shall be on your faces.” When you realize that He alone is G’d in heaven and on earth, you will be appropriately respectful. This would recall their fiery vision on that occasion. Alternately, the meaning could be related to נסיון, familiarity, being used to something from experience. Compare: לא נסיתי ללכת באלה, “I am not used to wear these.” (David declining King Saul’s armour or uniform before battling Goliath Samuel I 17,39). Maimondes explains the words בעבור נסות אתכם, to mean that “when I want to test you by sending you a false prophet, I steeled you against being misled by allowing you to witness the revelation as a safeguard against any claims by false prophets in the future.” The experience you had at the revelation at Mount Sinai will enable you in all future to be able to resist the lure of the promises that a false prophet is liable to make to you. In addition to this Nachmanides writes that the word refers to a real test, in the constructive manner of the term, and when David declined Shaul’s armour, he meant by saying לא נסיתי ללכת באלה, that seeing he had not had the proper training in handling such garments, he would not want to risk his life by wearing it without first having tested it. When a master assigns a difficult task to a servant in order to see if the servant is equal to the task, the intent may be to bolster the servant’s self-confidence, when he sees that the master expects him to be able to carry out such an assignment. The revelation at Sinai, in a manner of speaking was a compliment by our Master, Hashem Who demon-strated His faith in our being able to endure such a test.

נסות, to warn you, to admonish you.

And the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick cloud where the Glory of Hashem was.

נגש אל הערפל [AND MOSES] STEPPED NEAR TO THE THICK CLOUD — within the three divisions — darkness, cloud and thick cloud (Mekhilta), as it is said, (Deuteronomy 4:11) “And the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of the heaven, with darkness, clouds and dark clouds”. The ערפל is the עב הענן of which God spoke to him when He said, (19:9) “Behold I come unto thee in a thick cloud (עב הענן)” (cf. Rashi on that verse).

"And [Moses] stood." He mentions this again because Moses did the opposite of what they did: they stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness.

ויעמוד העם מרחוק ומשה נגש, “The people stood from a distance, whereas Moses went close.” Why did the Torah have to write this, seeing it had already written (in verse 15) that “the people saw and trembled and stood from afar?” We may have to understand that verse 15 describes the people as standing even further distant from the area where the mountain had been fenced off. Now the Torah wanted to tell us that although in the meantime the people had been elevated to the level of being prophets, they were still not comparable to the level of Moses who could approach much closer. The word הערפל with which the Torah describes the place which Moses approached always appears as meaning “a thick darkness” as mentioned by all the commentators such as Rashi, Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, etc. Examples are: Psalms 97,2 ענן וערפל סביביו. The meaning of all this is that the attribute כבוד is not visually accessible even to the angels. This is why David writes in Psalms 18,11: “He made darkness His screen, dark thunderheads, dense clouds of the sky were His pavilion round about Him.” I believe that the meaning of the word ערפל is a very clear and brilliant form of light, the word being a composite of ערוי אפל, i.e. that the darkness was transfused, emptied out of that place. The word describes a light so brilliant that it blinds so that the viewer sees it no better than he sees darkness. It (this brilliant light) hides matters just as effectively as does ordinary darkness. In other words, the attribute of G’d called כבוד is so brilliant that it remains hidden from the eye. [Just as the human ear can hear only up to a certain number of decibels and anything beyond that number, though sound, cannot be heard by the human ear, so we have something parallel here with the intensity of light. Ed.] Proof that the word ערפל describes a form of light is that the Torah adds אשר שם האלו-הים, “where G’d was.” Daniel 2,22 states that “light is where G’d is,” or (vice-versa). We refer to this fact in the Mussaph prayer on Rosh Hashanah in the paragraph which commences with the words אתה נגלית, “You have become revealed.” The author of that liturgical poem continues with the words ונגלית עליהם בערפלי טוהר, “You revealed Yourself to them in clouds of brilliance.” Moses did not enter the cloud but merely approached it, much like a man approaching the entrance gate of a palace. This is the meaning of the word נגש in our verse. Onkelos translates it as קרב לצד אמיטתא, “he approached the edge of the dense cloud.” In other words, Moses did not cross the boundary of where cloud ended. The Torah adds the words “where G’d was” to explain why Moses did not go any further. At that point the report of the Torah in verse one of our chapter begins, i.e. וידבר אלו-הים את כל הדברים האלה, and all of Israel heard His voice. This was the fulfillment of what G’d had announced previously in 19,,9: “Here I will come to you in the thickness of the cloud in order that the people will hear that I am speaking with you.” The subject matter of these verses here is to make clear that the people had “seen” the voices before the giving of the Torah. This is quite clear from the wording both in chapter 19 and in chapter 24,17 where the people standing at the bottom of the mountain are again described as having seen the glory of G’d in the form of consuming fire at the top of the mountain.

ויעמוד העם מרחוק, “The people stood at a distance.” Even though we have read this statement before (19,15), the Torah repeats it to tell us that due to the overwhelming impact of the spectacle they had seen and heard, they had retreated even further from their original position and taken up a new position still further away from the base of the Mountain. Moses meanwhile performed what they had initially been supposed to do themselves.

And Hashem said to Moses: Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: You yourselves have seen that from the heavens I have spoken with you.

כה תאמר THUS THOU SHALT SAY — in this (the Holy) language (Mekhilta). אתם ראיתם YE HAVE SEEN — There is a difference between what a person himself sees and what others relate to him, for what others relate to him sometimes his heart is divided in its opinion so that he does not believe (Mekhilta). כי מן השמים דברתי THAT I HAVE SPOKEN [TO YOU] FROM HEAVEN — But another verse states, (Exodus 19:20) “And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai”, and thus the two verses appear to be contradictory! There now comes a third verse and harmonises them: (Deuteronomy 4:36) “Out of heaven He made thee hear His voice that He might instruct thee; and upon the earth He showed thee His great fire” — His glory was in the heavens but His fire and His power were upon the earth. Another explanation: He bent down the heavens and the heavens of heavens, and spread them out upon the mountain; similarly it states, (Psalms 18:10) “He bowed the heavens and came down” (Mekhilta) .

YE YOURSELVES HAVE SEEN THAT I HAVE TALKED WITH YOU FROM HEAVEN. He commanded that Moses tell them: “Since you yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven and that I am Master in heaven and upon the earth, do not combine gods of silver or gods of gold with Me, for you have no need of another aid with Me.” The purport of the verse is: Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, and ye shall not make unto you gods of gold. In my opinion, the explanation of the verse is as follows: “Do not make gods of silver or gods of gold to be to you for gods with Him; and ye shall not make them altogether.” Thus He warned against believing in them, and again warned against merely making them, similar to the verse, Neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the meaning of the word iti (with Me) is like the Expression al panai (before My face), and I have already alluded to its explanation. Rashi wrote: “That I have talked with you from heaven. But another verse states, And the Eternal came down upon Sinai! There comes a third verse to harmonize them: Out of heaven He made thee to hear His Voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire. His Glory was in heaven, and His might was [manifest] upon the earth.” Thus Rashi’s language. But it is not precise. The harmonizing of the verses is indeed a Midrash of the Sages, and it is true that G-d was in heaven, and His Glory was upon Mount Sinai, for G-d was in the fire, and it is written, Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven. All the verses in their various expressions are thus clear to all who know [the mystic teachings of the Cabala]. I have already explained it all above. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that he who has a discerning heart will understand the meaning thereof in the section of Ki Thisa. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.

"And Hashem said." Many have been confused because they find, "From within the fire you heard His words" (Deut. 4:36) — which was at Mount Sinai — for it is written, "Hashem came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain" (above, 19:20); yet here it says, "from the heavens I spoke with you." One who has understanding will grasp the meaning from the portion of Ki Tissa. But now I will give you a parable, so that even one who lacks understanding may understand: picture something like a man whose head is in the heavens and whose feet are on Mount Sinai — that is the meaning of "He came down"; and He speaks "from the heavens," as in "His feet shall stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives" (Zech. 14:4). For we know that the heavens and the earth are filled with His glory.

אתם ראיתם כי מן השמים דברתי עמכם, we need to understand this in terms of Psalms 113, 5-6 המגביהי לשבת המשפילי לראות, “enthroned on high, sees what is below, in heaven and on earth.” [The psalmist does not perceive of heaven and earth as being two totally separate domains being separated by some sort of impenetrable barrier making it necessary for G’d to come to earth to see what is going on down here. Seeing that the whole universe is full of His glory at all times, this would be impossible. Rather, He perceives of a gradual transition between the two domains, without any visible void or barrier between them. G’d’s raising men or “lowering” Himself, is a figure of speech, describing merely that when He so wants it both domains can merge. At the revelation of Mount Sinai, such a merging of these domains had taken place. Ed.]

אתם ראיתם כי מן השמים דברתי עמכם, “You have seen that I spoke with you from the heavens. G-d points out that although He spoke to them from the heavens they still did not see any image of His glory. Moses makes that same point again in Deuteronomy 4,15, where he relates what transpired at Mount Sinai to the new generation. Seeing that this is so, you are also not to make an image symbolising Me, as you never saw an original that you could have made a copy of. Even if you were to use precious metals such as silver and gold, this would not do justice to Me.

אתם ראיתם כי מן השמים דברתי עמכם, “you have seen that I spoke with you from the heaven.” Seeing that all the Israelites had witnessed with their own eyes all the miracles G’d had performed beginning with the ten plagues in Egypt and now culminating in the giving of the Torah, G’d repeated both at the beginning (19,4) of the Decalogue and at its end the words: “you have seen.” At this point G’d wanted to clarify that though His attribute כבוד had been at Mount Sinai, the voice they heard had not emanated from Mount Sinai but from heaven, as I have already explained previously.

You have seen that I spoke with you from the heavens, etc. Our Sages said (Mekhilta Yitro, Ch. 5) that the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to Israel at the sea as a mighty warrior waging war, and at Mount Sinai as an elder sitting in session. Now, the mighty warrior in battle indicates a red appearance, as it is written Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like his who treads in the wine vat? I have trodden the winepress alone, etc., and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, etc. (Isaiah 63:2-3). And an elder sitting in session indicates a white appearance, His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool (Daniel 7:9). And perhaps in remembrance of this, you might want to make white forms from silver and red forms from gold, in order to draw upon yourselves through these forms an outpouring of favor from the First Cause, blessed be He. Therefore, He said, You have seen that I spoke with you from the heavens — as an elder sitting in session, and you have already seen at the sea the likeness of redness. Therefore, I need to warn you not to make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold, do not make for yourselves. And He said, “with Me,” and “for you,” because the white forms made of silver are meant to be with Me, for I am the Lord who teaches you for your benefit, and you want through this image to bring the student closer to the teacher. But the red form made of gold you shall make for yourselves so that you will be saved from the one who makes war, that he will not fight against you as well. However, since He immediately said afterward, an altar of earth you shall make for Me, it seems that this is connected to the beginning of the matter, because God wanted them to build an altar of earth and not of silver and gold. For one who does so, it is as if they made gods of silver and gold, since God has no desire for an abundance of gifts and offerings of silver and gold, but rather an altar of earth you shall make for Me, which indicates the quality of humility, for in these I delight, says the Lord. And from Me they shall see and so shall they do, because wherever you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, there you find His humility (Megillah 31a). And this indicates His great Name, blessed be He, which is composed of letters whose numerical value is the lowest of all the letters of the alphabet, when you write Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh in the way we explained above (Parashat Miketz 41:1). And similarly in this section, after completing the 10 Commandments, which contain words numbering the same as [the numerical value of] the word “ekev” [heel], and so explained Rabbi Yaakov Baal HaTurim, who gave several interpretations for the word “ekev.” And I say that this is a reference to what is said The result of humility is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 22:4). For anyone who is haughty, the wisdom of his Torah departs from him, and humility is what God has commanded, and it is the foundation of the entire Torah. Therefore He said, You have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. For the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly. And even though My Presence is in heaven, nevertheless, from My dwelling place I have spoken with you, and this is proof that God has no desire for the haughty. Therefore, you shall not make with Me gods of silver, etc. This is a command regarding the altar, that it should not be made of silver and gold, but rather an altar of earth you shall make for Me, which indicates the quality of humility. And he said in every place where I will mention My name. Which is composed of letters whose numerical value is small, as it is said Then I will come to you, to the crushed and lowly people like you, as it concludes in the Tractate Sotah (5), I dwell with the crushed and lowly of spirit (Isaiah 57:15). Rav Huna and Rav Chisda [disagreed], one said “I [come] to the crushed” — Rashi explains: I elevate him until he dwells beside Me. And one said “I am with the crushed,” meaning, I bring My Divine Presence to rest beside him. And it makes more sense according to the one who says “I am with the crushed,” for behold, the Holy One, Blessed be He, passed over all mountains and hills and caused His Divine Presence to rest on Mount Sinai. End quote. And this is what is meant by I will come to you and bless you, namely, “I am with the crushed.”

You shall not make before Me idols of silver, and idols of gold you shall not make for yourselves.

לא תעשון אתי YE SHALL NOT MAKE WITH ME — Ye shall not make an image of My ministers that minister before Me in the heights (Mekhilta). אלהי כסף GODS OF SILVER — This statement is intended to lay down a prohibition regarding the Cherubim which you will make to stand with Me — that they shall not be made of silver, for if you make any alteration in them by making them of silver and not of gold they will be before me (regarded by Me) as idols. ואלהי זהב AND GODS OF GOLD — This statement is intended to lay down a prohibition that one may not add to the number of two Cherubim which are prescribed: for if you make four they will be regarded by Me as gods of gold (Mekhilta). לא תעשו לכם YE SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELVES — Ye shall not say: Behold I will make Cherubim in the Synagogues and the Houses of Study of the same kind as I make in the House of Eternity (a term for the Temple at Jerusalem); on this account it states: “ye shall not make for yourselves” (Mekhilta).

"You shall not make." The meaning is: I dwell in the heavens, and I spoke with you not through an intermediary — as it is written, "face to face Hashem spoke with you" (Deut. 5:4). And do not be troubled because "you shall not make" (lo ta'asun) is written in the plural, for such is the stylistic practice of the Holy Tongue — like "you shall not covet" (lo tachmod), since the meaning is the same. So too, "You shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold" — this is like, "You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness" (v. 4). The meaning is: you should not make forms in order to draw down the power of higher realms [upon them], thinking you are doing this for My honor — as if they would serve as intermediaries between Me and you — like the calf that Israel made, for Aaron made it for the honor of Hashem, as I shall explain in its place. And because Hashem knew that Israel would do this, He warned them at the outset not to make gods of gold. The meaning of "with Me" (iti): that I have no need of intermediaries with Me — therefore immediately after it says, "I will come to you and bless you," meaning: I Myself in My glory will come to you.

לר תעשון אתי אלוהי כסף, seeing that you have experienced with your own senses that you do not need to resort to intermediaries in order to communicate with G’d do not construct for yourselves such intermediaries even for communicating with Me.

לא חעשון אתי אלוהי כסף, "Do not make with Me silver deities, etc." Why did the Torah have to add the word אתי, "with Me?" Our sages in the Mechilta understood this word as referring to the cherubs on the Holy Ark, seeing the voice of the Lord was supposed to speak to Moses from between these cherubs. The meaning of ואלוהי זהב is that you should not elevate the importance of such silver deities to the level of something made of gold. The repetition of "do not make" entitles us to understand the verse thus: "Do not make silver deities; if you did so at least do not consider them as something valuable such as gold." Even if the item you have constructed does not have a face, or likeness of anything in heaven or on earth that one could bow down to, do not make it for yourselves. The Torah stresses לכם, i.e. it is not only forbidden to make something like that אתי "with Me," but even if it has meaning only for yourself. The Torah refers to two different kinds of worship of another deity. One kind of worship is that by a person who really believes that such a deity is real and he yearns to worship it. Concerning such a person the Torah says: "do not make with Me אלוהי כסף, a deity you yearn to worship. Inasmuch as the soul of the Israelite is rooted in the celestial spheres and as such is part of G'd, if a person worships another deity also in his heart, he is so to speak attaching some of that deity to G'd Himself. The author bases all this on both Deut. 32,9 and on the mystical aspect of a statement in Eycha Rabbah 1,31 according to which the original serpent is holed up in a tower and the question is how to dislodge it without destroying the tower in the process. The answer suggested is that one calls on the services of a snake charmer so as to lure the snake out of its lair. When a person serves idols with all his heart he allows Satan to lodge within the very root of his being (like in the Tower in the story in the Midrash). This root of a person, i.e. his soul, is a sacred place, however. Solomon refers to such a tragic situation when he speaks of the slave turned master in Proverbs 30,22. When the Torah speaks of לא תעשון אתי אלוהי כסף, it refers to deities one serves because of a genuine conviction, longing. The second category of idol worshiper is the person who is well aware in his heart that such deities are worthless and ineffective but they perform such service in order to reap some immediate and indirect benefit therefrom for themselves. For instance, such a person may ask a third person to pay him a sum of money in order to go through the motions of consulting such deity on the third person's behalf. The person who performs such sham service says to himself that inasmuch as G'd wants to be served by the heart, and he himself believes in the One and only G'd with all his heart, he has not really done anything wrong seeing in his heart he despises any kind of idolatry. Concerning such form of pro forma idolatry the Torah writes ואלוהי ז...

לא תעשון אתי, “you are not to make in addition to Me.” (some kind of symbol out of either silver or gold)” in verse 4 the pronoun לך, “for yourself,” had followed this commandment, whereas here the pronoun אתי is used. If you were to ask how you could possibly serve Me in practice when all these restrictions apply, the answer is that I require only a simple earthen altar upon which you can present your offerings to Me. Slaughtering the appropriate animals on such a structure is all that is required.

לא תעשון אתי, “Do not make with Me.” The plain meaning of this verse is that ‘you must not make as partner with Me any reproduction in gold or silver which is supposed to represent a deity.’ G’d then repeats: “do not make it for yourselves.” This latter statement includes a prohibition to make such reproductions even if not intended as a form of religious symbol [but merely as a form of art. Ed.] One may also interpret the words לא תעשון אתי וגו' to mean that “while you are engaged in prayer to Me, do not think of your gold, your silver, etc.; in other words, when you address Me I expect to have your full attention, do not share Me in your thoughts with anything else at such a time. If you were to do that, I would consider it as equivalent to your having made competing deities.” Rashi writes as follows on the words אלוהי כסף: “this is a warning not to construct the cherubs which were to be part of the lid of the Holy Ark in the Tabernacle to be made of silver (instead of gold). If you were to do that I would consider this as a form of idolatry, as if you had constructed them as a divine image.” He goes on: “the words לא תעשון לכם, mean that you must not construct such cherubs in your synagogues reasoning that just as the cherubs graced the Holy Temple they are appropriate symbols in the synagogues and houses of study.” The Talmud Avodah Zarah 42 understands the words לא תעשון אתי to mean that that “you must not make anything which is with Me, i.e. in My universe.” This is a prohibition not to construct likenesses of what one perceives to be celestial beings i.e. different kinds of angels, אתי, “with Me, in My domain,” neither must you make such likenesses of things in the lower domain, such as the sun and the stars. Seeing that the Torah prohibited the making of images of angels which are perceived as humans with wings attached, I would have thought it would be in order to make reproductions of human heads by themselves; this is why the Torah had to add לא תעשון אתי as if it had been spelled לא תעשון אותי “do not make a reproduction of Me as the head of a human being.” The likenesses (three-dimensional, sculpture) of humans as humans or as superhumans is equally prohibited. Sanhedrin 7 adds further that the words also mean that one should not appoint a judge because he is financially independent but because he possesses the wisdom to know truth from falsehood. According to this interpretation the words אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב mean that ownership of silver or gold in substantial quantities does not constitute a reason to deify the owner and to elevate him to a high position. Remember that the Torah often employs the term אלוהים when speaking of judges of flesh and blood. A Midrashic approach: (Mechilta bachodesh 10) the entire line is a warning not to apply human yardsticks to the way one relates to G’d. Humans revere people who have done them favors, i.e. they only worship and show respect to their deities if these deities treated them in the way they expected or demanded to be treated. If the deity in question did not fulfill their expectations they do no longer show honor and respect to it. An example are the Philistines who did acknowledge their deity when they had captured Samson and gave credit for their success to their deity (Judges 16,24). When idolaters experienced disaster such as described in Isaiah 8,21: “and when he is hungry, he shall rage and revolt against his king and his divine beings,” he takes out his rage on his gods. The Torah’s message to us here is that we have to thank the Lord both for the good and for the unpleasant (which we are foolishly assuming is evil). This is what David said in Psalms 116,13: “I raise the cup of deliverance and invoke the name of the Lord.” In the same psalm verses 3-4 he said: “when the torments of She-ol overtook me, I came upon trouble and sorrow; and I invoked the name of the Lord.” David invoked the same G’d, rain or shine, We find similar sentiments expressed by Job 1,21 who exclaimed after suffering painful reverses: “the Lord has given and the Lord has taken; may the name of the Lord be praised.” A Kabbalistic approach: I have already explained on 20,2 that the word אתי has a similar meaning to the expression על פני “in addition to Me.” I have to add to what I wrote then that one must imagine the word אתי as derived from את with the vowel tzeyre under the letter aleph. It is similar to ואראה את ה' in Isaiah 6,1: “and I saw the Lord.” Clearly it does not mean that a prophet of the calibre of Isaiah saw the Lord, when G’d had told Moses that no living human being including himself could see the Lord (Exodus 33,20). Isaiah described that he saw something “with” “beside” the Lord. The wicked King Menasheh (prior to his repentance) erred when he read these words of Isaiah taking them at face value, not paying heed to the meaning of the word את. This is why he accused Isaiah of being a false prophet and executed him. (compare discussion in Yevamot 49). The Talmud explains that the reason Isaiah did not defend himself by explaining what I have explained to you was that he knew that Menashe would not accept his explanation and this would make him into a murderer instead of merely a king exercising his authority. According to the Talmud, Isaiah (after uttering the holy name of G’d) hid in the hollow trunk of a cedar. Menashe sawed off the cedar killing Isaiah in the process. Isaiah had been guilty of slandering the Jewish people when he had described himself as living amongst a nation of impure lips (Isaiah 6,5). This is why he was killed when the saw cut through his mouth. The word את or אות mean the same thing. Example Numbers 16,39 וראיתם אותו, “when you see it,” etc. (the blue thread on the fringes). The word אותו in that verse is a derivative of the word את. This is what enabled the sages in the Mechilta which we quoted to interpret the word אתי as if it had been spelled אותי.

לא תעשון אתי, “Do not make (images) of what is with Me;” our sages understand this to mean that we must not reproduce images of phenomena we see in the skies, i.e G’d’s primary domicile. אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב לא תעשון לכם, “gods of silver and gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.” Nachmanides writes that after the Israelites had seen that Hashem spoke to them from the heavens and that He is Overlord in the heavens, do not assign anything to Him as a partner, i.e. such as silver or gold. The message of our verse is that the Jewish people have no need for additional external help such as is provided by material wealth represented by silver and gold. The reason why the expression לא תעשון, “do not make, construct,” is repeated twice in the same verse, is because the first time it refers to the faith people have in such values, whereas the second time the warning is not to make visible symbols of such faith in material goods. The Torah also separately forbade the making of a hewn deity which represents an abstract belief. (Verse 4) Ibn Ezra explains that G’d uses the fact that He spoke to the people directly, without intermediary at Mount Sinai as proof that the people have no need to revert to intermediaries, neither astrology nor material goods in this terrestrial world to assure their well being and to deify such values as the source of their good fortune. Idolaters are foolish enough to expect such images representing what they perceive to be independent values to intercede on their behalf with the Creator.

אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב, even in order to remind you of the G’d in heaven. לא תעשו, because there are people who err who would believe that there is some substance to such “deities.” Although G’d commanded the Jewish people when legislating the building of the Tabernacle, that two golden cherubs were to be part of lid of the Holy Ark, those were not constructed as deities, but as symbols of the cherubs surrounding the throne of G’d in the heaven. They were not made to be objects of worship.

An altar of earth you shall make before Me, and upon it you shall sacrifice your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, from your flock and from your herd; in every place where I cause My Shechinah to dwell, there I will send My blessing to you and bless you.

מזבח אדמה AN ALTAR OF EARTH [SHALT THOU MAKE] — i. e. an altar attached to the earth, meaning, that they should not build an altar upon columnes or upon a base but it must rest upon the actual ground. Another explanation is, that one should fill the hollow interior of the copper altar (Exodus 27:8) with earth at the time when they encamp, and then erect it for the purpose of sacrifice (Mekhilta). תעשה לי THOU SHALT MAKE FOR ME — this implies that from its very beginning it shall be made for My Name (i. e. for the service of Me). וזבחת עליו AND THOU SHALT SACRIFICE (slaughter) עליו — i. e. near it, in the same sense as, (Numbers 2:20) “and by him (ועליו) the tribe of Manasseh”. Or perhaps this is not the meaning, but it means “[thou shalt slaughter] upon it”, in its literal sense? This cannot be so, because it states, (Deuteronomy 12:27) “[And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings] as regards the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy God”, but the slaughtering shall not be on the top of the altar (Mekhilta). את עלתיך ואת שלמיך THY BURNT OFFERINGS AND THY FEAST OFFERINGS which are from (belong to) thy flocks and thy herds. [את צאנך ואת בקרך are thus a further explanation of the words את עלתיך ואת שלמיך]. בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי IN ALL PLACES WHERE I MENTION MY NAME — This means: where I will give you permission to mention My Proper Name, there אבא אליך וברכתיך I WILL COME TO THEE AND I WILL BLESS THEE — I will make My Shechina rest upon thee. From this you may learn that He did not give any permission to mention (pronounce) His Proper Name except in the place where the Shechina would come — and this is the Chosen House (another term for the Temple at Jerusalem). He gave permission to the priests to pronounce His Proper Name there whilst lifting up their hands to bless the people (cf. Mekhilta; Sotah 38a; and Rashi on Numbers 6:27).

AN ALTAR OF EARTH THOU SHALT MAKE UNTO ME. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that He is saying: “Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, or gods of gold to receive power from heavenly creatures through them, that they be intermediaries between Me and you, for in every place where I cause My Name to be mentioned I — I in My Glory — will come unto thee and bless thee. You have no need at all for an intermediary.” And according to the opinion of the Rabbis concerning [the verses here, i.e., that they speak of] the altars that were made in the Tabernacle and in the Sanctuary, He mentioned the commandment of the altars of earth and of stones in order to say that they also make the altars for G-d alone and that there they shall sacrifice the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, and not to the demons in the open field. In every place where they will mention His Name, He will come upon them in His Glory to make His Divine Presence dwell among them and to bless them.

"An altar of earth." Some say the meaning is that they should not make engravings on the altar — and therefore He commanded an altar of stones so they be whole [unhewn]. But these interpreters would perhaps also explain for us why the entire Tabernacle was [adorned with] cherubim, and golden cherubim on the kapporet, and the house that Solomon built was entirely covered with cherubim, figures, and open flower-work (1 Kgs. 6:32) — which are far more sacred places than the altar. I shall address this in the portion of Ki Tissa. Others say that "an altar of earth" means it should not be built on an elevated place — but this does not follow from the plain meaning of the text, as is evidenced by what follows: "an altar of stones." Our ancestors said the meaning is to place earth within the bronze altar — and they spoke truly, for that is what was done. But this verse is an allusion and support for it (asmakhta), not its plain meaning, because the earth placed inside is incidental [not intrinsic], and the altar is called only the bronze altar — for it is made of bronze; just as the incense altar is called the golden altar because it is overlaid with gold. Furthermore, if that were the plain meaning, then "an altar of earth" should be interpreted as: "and if an altar of stones" you build, [you shall] place stones in it — yet we cannot say the altar was not made of stones, for it is explicitly stated, and it is what was built at Mount Eival. Now I shall explain. The Gaon said there is a dispute about the altar that Moses built under Mount Sinai: some say it was before the giving of the Torah, and others say it was after. The Gaon agreed with those who say it was before. He said that the verse in this portion, "All that Hashem has spoken we will do" (above, 19:8), corresponds in the second version to "All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear" (below, 24:7). But I will give you conclusive proof that it was after the giving of the Torah. It is written in this portion that Hashem said to Moses when he ascended the mountain of God before the giving of the Torah: "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and now if you will truly listen to My voice" (above, 19:4–5). He told them first: "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob" (ibid. v. 3) — and He did not tell them at that point any commandments or statutes or laws, only [to ascertain] whether they wished to listen to the voice of Hashem in whatever He would command them; and they answered and said, "We will do" — and it is written there, "Moses brought back the words of the people to Hashem" (ibid. v. 8). Then He sanctified them to hear the word of Hashem — which was the Ten Commandments. And when Moses drew near the thick darkness, He told him this passage: "You shall not make [with Me]," and the entire portion of "These are the ordinances" through "lest it become a snare for you" (below, 23:33). Afterward it is written: "Moses came" (ibid. 24:3) — that he descended from the mountain — and there it says, "He recounted to the people all the words of Hashem and all the ordinances" (ibid.). "The words of Hashem" are the positive commandments and negative commandments beginning with "You shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold," the words about the altar, and all the positive and negative commandments in the portion of "These are the ordinances" — such as: "you shall return it to him," "until the sun sets you shall return it to him" (ibid. 22:25), "You shall not curse judges" (ibid. v. 27). "The ordinances" are the laws concerning slaves, those who strike, those who quarrel, goring, fire, theft, and oath. Of these it says there, "and all the ordinances." It is for this reason that our ancestors said, "We will do and we will hear" (below, 24:7) — "we will do" referring to the positive and negative commandments, "we will hear" referring to the ordinances. Therefore after the giving of the Torah they added "and we will hear," which they had not said at the outset. Thus the meaning of "an altar of earth" is literal — an altar made of earth — and this is what is written there: "He built an altar under the mountain" (below, 24:4). And here it is written, "you shall sacrifice upon it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings," and there it is written, "they offered up burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings" (ibid. v. 5). Without doubt, this is the portion about the earthen altar — and "You shall not make with Me" refers to it as well, because of the blood of the covenant that was sprinkled on the altar and on the people, who had accepted upon themselves that Hashem alone would be their God and that they would keep His commandments and ordinances. And it mentions "your sheep and your cattle," for both are types of burnt offerings and peace offerings. I saw one heretic — may his bones be ground to dust — who challenged the Sages because they said, "Where is the proper place for sacrifices?" (Zevahim 47a), arguing that he found in all the Torah no instance of zevicha (slaughtering) except in the context of shelamim, as in, "they offered burnt offerings and slaughtered peace offerings to Hashem — bulls" (below, 24:5), and that similarly everywhere, with olah as one thing and zevahim as shelamim. But I showed him he had not spoken correctly, for it is written here, "you shall sacrifice upon it your burnt offerings (olotekha) and your peace offerings (shelamekha)" — and then he admitted his error for having challenged men more distinguished than all the generations that followed them. The meaning of "in every place where I cause My name to be remembered" — in every place where I set a remembrance of My name, where My glory dwells, such as Shiloh and Nob where the Ark stood — if you come to the place designated for My name to seek Me, I too will come to you and bless you. The meaning of "I will come" follows human idiom — meaning: you will find Me there in the place where I cause My name to be remembered, the place of the [divine] Presence, as though I came to you — for I knew you were coming, and on your account I came; and because you came for My honor, I will come to you and bless you, so that you will have no need of any other, for you will find Me there at all times when My glory is present.

מזבח אדמה תעשה לי, you do not need to build elaborate temples for Me either, using precious materials. It suffices if you will erect an earthen altar. I am available to be prayed to and to respond. בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי, at any lace which at one time or another I select to serve as such a place for communing with My servant. Compare Isaiah 12,4 הזכירו כי נשגב שמי, “declare that His name is exalted. אבא אליך וברכתיך, you do not need to employ artificial means made from silver or gold to attract My benevolent providence, for I can come to you anywhere and bless you when you but mention My name in prayer.

מזבח אדמה, “an altar of earth which does not lend itself to carve images upon, is what you should erect for Me; וזבחת עליו, “you will slaughter upon it;” not literally upon it, but “thereby;” את עולותיך ואת שלומיך, “your burnt offerings and your peaceofferings;” the burnt offering must be presented on the northern section of the altar and the peaceofferings on its southern section. Whence do I know that only the northern half of the altar is suitable for the performance of these presentations? We derive this from Leviticus 14,13: ושחט את הכבש במקום אשר ישחט את החטאת ואת העולה, “he is to slaughter the sheep on the place where he will slaughter the burnt offering and the sinoffering.” (Compare Mechilta “bachodesh” chapter 11) What precisely did the Torah mean when writing: במקום הקדש, “on the place that is sanctified?” These words are to teach that any part of the altar‘s surface that is in the northern section of it is acceptable. וזבחת עליו, “you are to slaughter upon it” Why are these words necessary? To teach that even an ordinary Israelite, not only a priest, may perform that part of the service, as we accept the principle that the act of slaughtering an animal sacrifice is acceptable even when performed_by a non priest. (Talmud tractate B’rachot, folio 31.) Any step commencing with the placing of the animal’s blood into a special receptacle is reserved for the priests, According to the Talmud in Yuma folio 27, non priests were allowed on the area immediately surrounding the altar. [We are speaking of the copper altar situated outside the Temple building. Ed.] In the Talmud Sukkah, 45, it is stated specifically that on the festival of Sukkot, the people at large walked around that altar carrying their aravot, willow branches. בכל המקום, “on any place,” seeing that the Tabernacle, after the Israelites had crossed the river Jordan was to stand at different periods in Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov and Giveon, before being moved to Jerusalem, we know that the presence of G-d’s glory was not limited to a single area in the Holy Land. From the above words the sages derived this principle, as the Torah did not bother to spell out the names of any specific place.

בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי, “in any location where I allow My name to be mentioned.” The Torah really should have written תזכיר, i.e. “you mention.” After all, it appears that the message is that wherever man prays to G’d, i.e. mentions His holy name, He would respond. A kabbalistic approach. The reason the Torah writes אזכיר rather than תזכיר is that the verse provides an opening to help us understand the value of animal sacrifices. These verses (19-23) were spoken by G’d in His capacity as the tetragrammaton. This is also why in verse 22 the Torah does not write ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לו, “and if you will build an altar of stone for Him,” but it writes ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לי “if you will construct an altar of stone for Me, any altar must be exclusively for Me in My capacity as the tetragrammaton.” Once you offer sacrifices on such an altar I will cause My goodwill to be drawn toward you, and as a response to these offerings I will bless you. The Torah’s message by writing אזכיר instead of תזכיר is that the blessings will already commence now, they will not await your building the altar that is mentioned in verse 22. The fact that the tetragrammaton, the source of all blessings had begun to dispense it at Mount Sinai means that the whole world will benefit by it. The word אזכיר is associated with expressions such as אזכרתה, i.e. “a memorial portion,” something designed to channel the ריח ניחוח, the pleasant fragrance (allegorical) in the direction of the Almighty bringing to His attention the pure thoughts of the one offering the sacrifice. Expressions such as מזכיר לבונה, (Isaiah 66,3) “using incense to be remembered through it,” or Jeremiah 17,2 כזכור בניהם מזבחותם, “as their children remember their altars,” or Song of Songs 1,4 נזכירה דודיך מיין, ”let us savor it (your love) more than wine,” all refer to spiritual pleasures. The meaning of אזכיר את שמי then is similar to אריח את שמי, “I will allow My name to exude a pleasant fragrance.” Or, “I will let My goodwill follow to where My name has been mentioned in a positive context.” The reason the Torah wrote the letter ה at the beginning of the word מקום, i.e המקום instead of simply כל מקום, is a hint at a site which already existed and was known, i.e. the site of the Holy Temple in the future. It was the site where Yaakov had spent the night where he had the dream with the ladder. It was the site where Solomon built the Temple of which he said: והבית אשר בניתי לשמך. Had the Torah not written the letter ה in front of the word מקום we would have concluded that it would be in order to build the Temple wherever we saw fit to do so. We have been warned against offering sacrifices wherever we want to in Deut. 12,13-14: “be on guard not to offer your burnt-offerings in any place which you see, except in the place that the Lord your G’d will choose; there you may offer your burnt-offerings.”

מזבח אדמה תעשה לי, “an earthen altar you shall make for Me.” Some commentators see in this verse a message not to decorate the altar with any artwork on its walls, etc., and this is why the verse is followed by the injunction that if the altar is made of stones these stones are to be smooth, without engravings of any kind, either recessed into the stone or protruding from the stone. Other commentators understand the whole verse as G’d telling us that He does not expect us to erect fancy buildings for Him, buildings made of gold or silver, but to erect the most simple structure for Him which He will be happy to take up residence in on earth, the only condition being that we will offer our sacrifices to Him, exclusively. Nachmanides writes that Ibn Ezra means that the entire verse is to be understood in conjunction with the report in Parshat Mishpatim (chapter 24) where Moses is described as erecting an altar (central) and 12 smaller altars, one for each tribe, called מצבה, on which the priests, i.e. the firstborn offered meat-offerings to Hashem, most of these animals being consumed by their owners. These offerings represented the sealing of the covenant entered into by the people with G’d at the revelation. Assuming that the Torah reports the events surrounding the revelation in chronological order, the sequence is as follows: G’d tells Moses to remind the people (20,20) that they have seen visual evidence that Hashem spoke to them from the heaven in His capacity, as the attribute י-ה-ו-ה. On the one hand, you must not make beside Me silver or golden gods (material values which you revere as if they were gods), but I do permit you to erect altars made of earth, or of smooth stones in order to offer sacrifices to My attribute of Hashem, be they burnt offerings or meat-offerings, and these may be offered without restriction of location. I will bless you at these sites wherever they are. These blessings will be both of spiritual and material dimensions. The Torah writes: ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לי which creates the impression as if the building of an altar is a voluntary thing, entirely up to you, although it is, of course, a precondition to the offering of sacrifices. The meaning of the line is: “if and when the time comes when you will inherit the land and a Temple is to be built, when the altar will be a solid structure, it must not be decorated with pictures, etc., but the stones must be perfectly smooth. There must not be any steps by which to ascend it. Seeing that the subject of the altar came up, mention is made here already of details of the altar, although we would have expected to hear about it much later, either when the Tabernacle’s furnishings are discussed, or in the Book of Kings when Solomon constructs his Temple and all of these details are recorded for posterity. בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי, “wherever I permit My name to be mentioned.” According to Ibn Ezra the line means “at any site where there is some memory of My presence to be recorded.” When, in the future, you will have occasion to visit such a site, I will make a point to also bestow My blessings on you there.

מזבח אדמה תעשה לי, seeing that the nations of the world construct around their places of worship, אשרות surrounding their altars with those, as we know from Judges 6,25 where G’d commands Gideon to destroy both, G’d tells the Jewish people that “even if you do construct an altar for Me do not construct it from materials other than earth.” A Jewish altar, according to our author, is to have a smooth surface only. [According to the verses mentioning אשרה, i.e. Deuteronomy 16,21 where the planting of such is prohibited, or Jeremiah 17,2 where such places of worship are associated with child offerings, it seems clear that an אשרה contains trees, which is the reason that in the Temple courtyard no trees were allowed. Ed.] ואם מזבח אבנים, even if you want to construct a more durable altar, one made of stones, as directed in Deuteronomy 26,5

And if you make an altar of stones before Me, you shall not build them as hewn stones; do not lift your sword over it, lest you profane it.

ואם מזבח אבנים AND IF (according to Rashi, AND WHEN) [THOU WILT MAKE ME] AN ALTAR OF STONES — Rabbi Ishmael said: Every time the word אם it used in the Torah it refer to some action the doing of which is optional, except in three instances. Here: ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לי — you see that this אם is used in the sense of כאשר, “when”, the meaning being: “And when thou makest me an altar of stone, לא תבנה אתהן גזית THOU SHALT NOT BUILD IT OF HEWN STONE, for, as a matter of fact, it is obligatory upon thee to build an altar of stone, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 27:6) “of whole stones thou shalt build [the altar of the Lord thy God]”. Similarly, (Exodus 22:24) אם כסף תלוה את עמי is obligatory and signifies: “when (אם) thou lendest My people money”, and not, “if thou lendest”, because it is said, (Deuteronomy 15:8) “And thou shalt surely lend him”; consequently this אם also is used in the sense of כאשר “when”. Similarly, (Leviticus 2:14) ואם תקריב מנחת בכורים, for this refers to the meal-offering of the Omer which is obligatory and therefore the trantlation is, “And when (ואם) thou offerest the meal-offering of first-fruits”, and not, “if thou offerest”. You must therefore admit that these instances of אם are not conditional, meaning “if”, but they are absolute, and that they are used in the sense of כאשר, “when” (Mekhilta; Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 306; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 2:14). גזית — This has the meaning of cutting (גזיזה), the stones being thus called because one hews them and cuts them with an iron tool (Mekhilta). כי חרבך הנפת עליה — This word כי is used here in the sense of פן, which signifies “perhaps it may be” (and it does not mean “because”) — “perhaps it may happen that thou liftest up thy iron tool above it”. ותחללה THEN THOU HAST PROFANED IT — Thus you may learn that if thou liftest up thy iron tool above it thou profanest it. The reason of this is, because the altar is created (its purpose is) to lengthen man’s days and iron has been created (one of its purposes is) to shorten man’s days, it is not right that an object which shortens man’s life should be lifted up above that which lengthens it (Mekhilta, Middoth 3:4). And a further reason is: because the altar makes peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven, and therefore there should not come upon it anything that cuts and destroys. Now, the following statement follows logically, à fortiori: How is it in the case of stones which cannot see nor hear nor speak? Because that they promote peace Scripture ordains, “Thou shalt not lift up against them any iron tool!” Then in the case of one who makes peace between a man and his wife, between family and family, between a man and his fellow, how much more certain is it that punishment will not come upon him (Mekhilta).

AND IF THOU MAKE ME AN ALTAR OF STONE. The meaning of the word v’im (and if) in an obligatory commandment is: If the time comes that you will be worthy to inherit the Land and to build Me an altar of stone, beware that thou shalt not build it of hewn stones, for you may think to make it so to enhance the beauty of the structure. In his commentaries, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s opinion is that [the verse here refers] to the altar of the covenant [mentioned] in the section of V’eileh Hamishpatim. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the verses are in methodical arrangement: “Ye yourselves have seen that from heaven I have talked with you with My Great Name, and ye shall not make before My face gods of silver, or of gold. But I permit you to make an altar to Me alone and to sacrifice thereon burnt-offerings, and also peace-offerings, in every place where I cause My Name to be mentioned for I will come unto thee and bless thee — with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath.” The word azkir (I will cause it to be mentioned) is associated with the expression: He hath been mindful of us, He will bless. FOR IF THOU LIFTETH UP ‘CHARB’CHA’ (THY IRON TOOL) UPON IT THOU HAST PROFANED IT. This is to prohibit the touching of the stones of the altar with an iron tool, just as He said, Thou shalt build the altar of the Eternal thy G-d of unhewn stones; thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them. He mentioned iron here by the term cherev (sword), because all iron tools that have sharp edges are called cherev. Thus it is said of a sword, And Ehud made him ‘cherev’ (a sword) which had two edges; and of a blade it is said, Take thee a sharp ‘cherev’ (sword). Of hatchet and hammers with which a building is demolished it is said, And he shall break down thy towers ‘b’charbothav’ (with his axes). Similarly, an iron tool with which stones are cut is called cherev. According to our Rabbis, the reason for the commandment [against building an altar of stones which have been touched by iron] is the glorification of the altar: [It is not right] that that which shortens life [i.e., iron] is to be lifted up against that which prolongs life. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that this is in order that the chips of the stones should not remain in the dunghills, while part of them [i.e., the stones] is built into G-d’s altar, or that the chips should not be taken to make an altar for the idols, since their worshippers might do so, hoping that perhaps this will bring them success. And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] wrote in Moreh Nebuchim that this prohibition is an extraordinary precaution against making stones into certain shapes, thus being hewn stones, for such was the custom of the heathens [to build their altars with hewn stones].But I say that the reason for the commandment is that a sword is made out of iron and is the destroyer of the world. In fact, this is why it is called cherev (sword) [which is of the same root as churban (destr...

"And if an altar of stones." This refers to the altar that Moses built to establish the covenant with Israel through the blood of the covenant. And Hashem commanded that they build an altar of stones across the Jordan before they take possession of the land, and write upon the stones all of the Torah — for many commandments are dependent upon the land, just as there was need for their children when entering the land on account of the commandments tied to the land. And there they were to sacrifice peace offerings and eat, as their ancestors had done. Thus the meaning of "and if an altar of stones" is as one who says: make now an altar of earth, and if you merit to enter the land, then you shall build an altar of stones. "Them" (otahen) — these are the stones. "Cut stone" (gazit): the meaning is like, "and his attendant Joshua son of Nun, a young man" (below, 33:11) — meaning you shall not build them with a structure of cut stone. Gazit derives from "the shearers of his flock" (Gen. 38:12), "it has swiftly passed" (Ps. 90:10), and "they are cut down and pass away" (Nah. 1:12) — the meaning is cutting; only whole stones as they were created. "For your sword" (ki charvekha): the noun cherev applies to any iron implement made for cutting; perhaps the sword (cherev) is so called because it devastates (mahrevet). Elsewhere it is written, "you shall not wield iron upon them" (Deut. 27:5) — about the stone altar they built. We should not search for the reasons of the commandments; but reasoning suggests it may be related to the concept of pigul: since [the iron implement] comes near the altar, it would not be fitting for what remains of it to become pigul — for it would desecrate what one has sanctified, remaining until it becomes pigul. And similarly here: if the stones were cut to build the altar, what was cut away from them might be used for idolatry or for an unclean place — and that would not be honoring [the altar]. And we see that the priest must perform atonement for the altar.

לא תבנה אתהן גזית, in order to make it look more impressive.

ואם מזבח אבנים, “And if an altar made of stones, etc.” Rashi comments on these words, (quoting Rabbi Yishmael of the Mechilta) that everywhere in the Torah where the word: אם appears, what follows is something voluntary, as opposed to mandatory, with the exception of three times, our verse being one of these three. Our author warns us that if someone were to raise the question that the line in Exodus 21,30: אם כופר יושת עליו, “if ransom is laid upon him,” this is not something voluntary, this is not something mandatory, as the Torah in that paragraph does not describe events that are bound to occur, and the verse only deals with the consequences of such events after they have occurred. The meaning of our verse is that if it is your desire to build an altar out of stones, (instead of only earth) you are free to do so provide that these stones have not been touched with metal tools when being shaped. [The Torah considers “stones” as included in the definition of “earth.” Ed.] You must use whole stones to build an altar. The reason follows, i.e. כי חרבך, “for your sword, etc.;” the word כי, here is used as an alternate proposition for the word אם. “if.” The altar is meant to promote peace and life, whereas the sword is used to shorten life. Something that had been shaped by the same material as that used to shorten life, could not serve as a symbol of peace and life, (Talmud Midot chapter 3 Mishnah 4)ותחלליה, “and you have profaned it.“ We have been told about the penalty for violating this commandment without having previously been informed of the prohibition. The Torah rectifies this by spelling out the prohibition not to use metal tools in hewing the stoned for such an altar in Deuteronomy 27,5: לא תניף עליהם ברזל, “do not wield an iron tool over them.

לא תבנה אתהן גזית, “do not build them hewn.” The reason for this prohibition of hewn stones to be used on G’d’s altar is to avoid stones meant to serve as an altar to be partially discarded. This would not be appropriate, would not honour G’d. This is Ibn Ezra’s reason for this commandment. Maimonides (Moreh Nevuchim 3,45) writes a reason for this in his essay dealing with underlying reasons for the command- ments which seems rather remote. He suggests that this was forbidden so that people would not make some kind of image of the parts of the stones that had been discarded and make them part of their flooring, their mosaic floors. Nachmanides supplies a much better sounding reason claiming that using instruments that are instruments of war to fashion the stones for an altar which symbolises peace would seem a contradiction in terms. Esau’s power derives from his father’s blessing ועל חרבך תחיה, “and you will survive by the sword” (Genesis 27,40). At the same time, G’d is on record repeatedly as saying that He hates Esau and what Esau stands for (Malachi 1,3). Esau is the very antithesis of the altar. Actually, the principal prohibition is not that the stones are hewn but the fact that in order to be hewn iron instruments, instruments used to wage war have to be used. This is made plain in the words at the end of the verse: “for your sword has been raised over it.” You have a similar verse in Deut. 27,5: לא תניף עליהם ברזל, “do not raise iron above them.” If a stone which is hewn is made by use of chemicals such as the secretion of the Shamir worm or a silver hammer, the Torah would actually not object to an altar so constructed. The main purpose of the prohibition is to ensure that iron is not used in construction of or use on the altar. The reason that in our verse the word “iron” is paraphrased as “your sword,” is that the sword is a destructive agent bringing death to the world. The altar’s purpose is to ensure that peace reigns on earth. It is therefore conceptually difficult to reconcile the use of iron in building the altar. When you peruse the gifts the people brought for construction of the Tabernacle you will not find that any iron was contributed. None was used in its construction. Kings I 6,7 makes a point of mentioning that during the seven years it took to build Solomon’s Temple “the sound of a hammer, ax, or iron tool was never heard in the House while it was being built.” There is a commentary which views the words “in the House” as meaning that only inside the Temple were iron tools not heard, but they were used outside of it without restriction. This means that items requiring iron tools were constructed outside and not brought into the Temple until they had been completed. A Midrashic approach: (Mechilta bachodesh 11) The words “for you will have raised your sword over it,” teaches that whereas the altar’s function is to prolong man’s life, the sword’s function is to shorten it. It would therefore be incongruous if a tool designed to shorten man’s life were to be employed in building a structure whose function is to prolong man’s life on earth. This teaches that every single commandment of the Torah has many different facets, that in fact the words of the Torah are reminiscent of someone striking and smashing a rock. Splinters will fly in all directions (Jeremiah 23,29). In other words, when one studies Torah intently, many different reasons for each commandment will suddenly surface. Every one of these reasons will be of value both to our bodies and to our souls. They enrich the lives of the people who discover these reasons. This is what Solomon had in mind when he said (Proverbs 4,22) “for they are life for those who find them and healing for all his flesh.”

“And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for by wielding your sword upon it you have profaned it.” This teaches that God wanted to demonstrate humility through this altar, while the sword represents pride, as it is written and who is the sword of your pride (Deuteronomy 33:29). Therefore, wielding the sword profanes it. And He concludes the boundary of humility with the statement, You shall not ascend My altar by steps, etc. Because ascending by steps is going from one level to another, and in this ascent there is a path of pride and arrogance, and it is not appropriate for there to be a path of haughtiness in the place where the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. He gives a reason for this: that your nakedness may not be exposed upon it. Although the verse is to be understood literally, it also contains an allusion that every path of pride and arrogance has an aspect of exposing nakedness, as our Rabbis said (Sotah 4b), “Anyone who is arrogant is as if he has been intimate with all forbidden relationships, etc.” They further stated there that anyone who is arrogant will eventually stumble with a married woman. The reason for this will be explained, God willing, in Parashat Korach on the verse And Moses heard and fell on his face. Our Rabbis said (Sanhedrin 110a) that they suspected him of adultery, and this was because they said that all his actions were for the sake of self-exaltation, as it is said Why do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? (Numbers 16:3) And Moses heard, etc. He understood this from their words when they said, For all the congregation, all of them are holy, and why do you exalt yourselves? Because wherever there is holiness, there is a boundary against sexual immorality. If so, why do you exalt yourselves to desecrate their holiness through sexual immorality? Therefore, Moses heard, and there the entire matter and its reason are explained. And in the adjacent Parashat Mishpatim (21:1), it will be explained that this is why the seat of the Sanhedrin was near the altar, so that they would resemble each other, and whoever is disqualified from the altar is also disqualified from being a judge. For this reason, our Rabbis interpreted (Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 3:3) the verse You shall not make with Me gods of silver as referring to unsuitable judges who were appointed because they possess silver and gold while having no spirit within them. Therefore, we have found a place to explain the entire passage regarding the appointment of proper judges.

חרבך הנפת עליה, “you have raised your sword over it.” This verse forbids contact of iron tools with the altar. Elsewhere this is spelled out as:אבנים שלמות תבנה, לא הניף עליהם ברזל, “you shall construct it of whole stones, stones which have not been worked on with iron.” (Joshua 18,4) The Torah uses the word ברזל and חרב interchangeably, as the sword is made of iron. A sword is an instrument meant to kill, an altar is a means to foster peaceful relations between man and G’d, and between man and man. Ibn Ezra offers another reason for this legislation, i.e. the Torah is concerned that part of the holy altar (the parts of the stone chiseled off when making smooth surfaces), should not wind up in the garbage container, whereas the other part of the same stone has become sanctified. Alternately, the Torah does not want people to scoop up these stone chips and to make out of these remains an altar for idolatrous practices. Nachmanides queries both the aforementioned commentaries, pointing out that the Torah did not forbid the altar to be made of hewn stones, it only opposes the use of iron when hewing these stones. This point is made explicitly not only here, but also in Deut. [not quite. Ed.] Accordingly, not only the legendary shamir’s glandular secretions are acceptable as tools to shape the stones for the Temple, but so are tools made of silver of copper. Our sages (Mechilta) see the reason for this injunction in the desire of the Torah to fulfill the positive commandment of building an altar in the most perfect manner, bearing in mind that the task of the altar is to become an instrument to lengthen our lives on this earth. How does it look when we use as tools to achieve this objective instruments that are designed to shorten man’s life? My personal feeling (Nachmanides writing) about this commandment is that the reason that a חרב is called by that name, i.e. something that is מחריב, destructive by nature, and something that was Esau’s primary tool, he being a destroyer, so much so that in blessing him his father Yitzchok expressed the hope that he would at least use the word to lengthen his own life and not die in fruitless battles. The sword’s power extends beyond the terrestrial spheres to the celestial regions for during the ascendancy of the planet Mars, the red planet, the planet that alludes to blood, warriors are notoriously successful. In consideration of all this, neither the Tabernacle nor the Temple built by Solomon contained anything made of iron, the material swords are made of. The only things made of iron that had any function in either the Tabernacle or the Temple were the knives used to slaughter the sacrificial animals. [even these were not used inside the structure itself but in the courtyard where the altar for meat offerings was situated, and where the slaughtering of such animals took place. Ed.] The Mechilta draws attention to the fact that the Torah writes concerning the use of stones hewn with iron tools, that they must not be used in building the altar, i.e. they were permitted to be used in building the Sanctuary and the Holies of Holies. However, Solomon applied a more stringent interpretation of the underlying concept, and did not use such tools in the construction of the Temple itself either. לא תעלה במעות, “you must not ascend by means of steps, etc;” this legislation was for the honour of the altar itself. Seeing that the altar is the means by which the sins of the Jewish people are atoned for, it is appropriate to treat it not only with courtesy but to accord it honour. [If I understand the thoughts of the author correctly, the emphasis is on the fact that the altar stands “only” in the courtyard. Whereas it does not need special legislation to demand a dress mode inside the Temple which does not reveal any flesh not engaged in the actual performance of the Temple service, one might have thought that the rules pertaining to the altar which was outside the building, would be less stringent. Therefore the Torah wrote a special verse telling us that the sanctity of the altar is equivalent to that of the furnishings inside the structure, the היכל and the קדשי קדשים. Ed.]

ולא תבנה אתהן, for if you were to construct it from hewn stone, i.e. involving metal tools, the artisans are in the habit of engraving pictures, symbols, etc. on these surfaces to commemorate themselves or their favourite deities. In order to forestall this, I command you not to use metal tools which could make such engravings. (compare Isaiah 44,12-13)

And you shall not ascend by steps upon My altar, so that your nakedness not be exposed upon it.

ולא תעלה במעלות AND THOU SHALT NOT GO UP BY STEPS [TO MY ALTAR] — When thou buildest an ascent to the altar thou shalt not construct it of steps, échelons in old French, but it shall be even (i. e. the surface shall be unbroken) and sloping (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:5). אשר לא תגלה ערותך THAT THY NAKEDNESS BE NOT UNCOVERED — because on account of these steps you will have to take large paces and so spread the legs. Now, although this would not be an actual uncovering of one’s nakedness (of the parts usually kept covered), since it is written, (Exodus 28:42) “And thou shalt make for them (the priests) linen breeches [to cover the flesh of their nakedness]”, still the taking of large paces is near enough to uncovering one’s nakedness that it may be described as such, and you would then be treating them (the stones of the altar) in a manner that implies disrespect. Now the following statement follows logically à fortiori: How is it in the case of stones which have no sense (feeling) to be particular about any disrespect shown to them? Scripture ordains that since they serve some useful purpose you should not treat them in a manner that implies disrespect! Then in the case of your fellow-man who is made in the image of your Creator and who is particular about any disrespect shown to him, how much more certain is it that you should not treat him disrespectfully! (Mekhilta)

NEITHER SHALT THOU GO UP BY STEPS UNTO MINE ALTAR. Because He began the commandment of the altar, He therefore completed it and did not postpone it until He would command about the subject of the sacrifices in Torath Kohanim This is proof to the words of the Sages, which are not really in need of defense. The reason for [the prohibition against ascending the altar with] steps is that the fear of the altar and its enhancement is for the glory of G-d. Each of G-d’s commandments has many reasons, there being many benefits in each for body and soul. Mishpatim.

"You shall go up." Ben Zuta said that ma'alot (steps) derives from the root ma'al (trespass/above) — he failed to open his eyes to see that the mem of ma'al is part of the root, as evidenced by: "when he trespasses a trespass" (Num. 5:12). And ma'al has the pattern of na'al (sandal), whose plural in the unbound form is na'alot, as in "worn-out and patched sandals" (Josh. 9:5). The word bi-ma'alot therefore should have a hiriq under the bet and a kamatz under the ayin — but its meaning is like, "its stairway had seven steps" (Ezek. 40:26). Ben Zuta thought he could ascend the ladder of wisdom by his nonsense, but his nakedness was exposed upon him. So it happens to every heretic who does not believe in the words of our ancestors. This commandment about steps (ma'alot) applies to every altar — of earth, stone, or bronze — every altar made for His name, as it is written: "My altar" (mizbchi).

ולא תעלה במעלות, even though I do not bother you to undertake all kinds of architecturally attractive structures in order for you to qualify for My making My residence among you, you must be extremely careful not to be disrespectful when approaching the top of My altar. [exposing of one’s flesh is considered a sign of disrespect. Ed.]

ולא תעלה במעלות על מזבחי, “and do not ascend My altar by steps.” The word עליו restricts this prohibition to taking big steps to the altar, not including the manner in which you can walk in the Temple itself. (Mechilta בחדש, section 11)

ולא תעלה במעלות, this is why the ramp leading to the altar in the Temple was so long, i.e. it was 32 cubits long in order to achieve a height of only ten cubits. They also used to sprinkle salt on the surface of this ramp in order to prevent the priests from slipping on the surface when ascending same.