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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD393 The idea that man creates new creations in the world seems to be a fundamentally Jewish idea.… The fact that man is supposed to create in the world seems to give him carte blanche to develop any and all technologies that will advance mankind, including cloning. King David may have been referring to this concept when he wrote that the realm above, the heavens, belong to God, while the realm below, the earth, was given by God to man. Psalms 116:27

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD394 This idea of man's obligation to create in the world is not just a good idea or an extrapolation. The word in the Torah usually mistranslated as "work" is "Melacha" (i.e., the activities that are forbidden on Shabbat). But this word is used in only three in contexts in the entire Torah-regarding Creation by God, what is forbidden for man to do on Shabbat, and the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. (Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:10, Exodus 36:4-5). Thus, what God did to create the world is Melacha. But right before the Torah forbids Jews to do Melacha on Shabbat, it says that man must to do Melacha during the other six days.[This verse] (According to many commentaries, this is a command rather than only a dispensation of allowing men to do this kind of activity.) If so, man is commanded to create, to invent, and to come up with new ideas and new inventions in the world, just like God.

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EXODUS — 20:12 honor

EXOD426 Normally, when we speak about showing a person honor, the dictionary defines that concept as "high respect, as that shown for special merit." But in Judaism, Kavod also signifies a basic human dignity. Berachot 19b. Thus, when the Torah commands children to honor their parents, most people normally understand this to signify giving parents respect and treating them with reverence or esteem. But the Talmud defines honoring one's parents as giving them enough food and drink to survive, making sure they are dressed, and helping infirm parents in and out of the house. Kiddushin 31b

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EXODUS — 20:12 long

EXOD437 Another reason to be good is to achieve another kind of reward. In general the Torah never states a specific reward for a specific Jewish act or Mitzvah. The exception to that rule is found in only three places, which promise long life as a reward for doing these actions (either long life in this world, the next world, or both). [This verse, Deuteronomy 22:6-7, 25:15; Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed 3:48]. What are the three actions and what do they have in common? The first is honoring one's parents. The second is sending away the mother bird before taking her eggs, which Maimonides explains, trains a person to have mercy on all animals and human beings as well. The third is being honest in business. All three require acts of goodness between men that involve justice, kindness, and doing the right thing. Therefore, to attain long life, a person should be a good person who does good acts on a daily basis. The idea of long life (be it in this world or the Next World) is not only about years. Everyone naturally wants immortality, to continue to live beyond life, even though everyone dies. But by doing good acts, people can attain immortality. How? Rashi explains that the Torah mentions the death of the evil Terach, Abraham's father, long before he actually died in order to teach us that an evil person who contributes nothing to this world is considered dead even when he is physically still alive. But Rashi continues and explains that the opposite is also true. If we are good parents, our ideas, ideals, and values live on after us through our children. Rashi commentary on Genesis 11:32 .... [I]mmortality can indeed be achieved by doing righteous acts that affect people. The impact of these acts continues long after the person dies physically, which helps immortalize a person and continues his or her influence forever. Chofetz Chaim enhances this concept when he says that one strong act of kindness can impact not only one person, but can continue to have impact from generation to generation until the end of time. Shemirat HaLashon 1:7 Therefore, by being good, a person has the potential to affect thousands or even tens of thousands of individuals for the better and change the world positively forever.

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EXODUS — 20:20 silver

EXOD500 Some have interpreted the verse about not making idols out of gold or silver in a literal sense-do not make money into an Idol, something other than God that a person believes has ultimate power. In fact, some commentaries have shown that the Hebrew word for money or silver, "Kesef," actually means an insatiable desire. Thus, Ecclesiastes is really teaching that when a Jew's desire for Torah is the same as a greedy person's desire for money, then he has achieved God's true will. Ecclesiastes 10:19 with Chomat Anach (Chida) commentary. The word "Kesef" - "desire," is even use by King David to describe his desire and a longing to be close to God. Psalms 84:3 with Rashi and Ibn Ezra commentaries.

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EXODUS — 20:21 tool

EXOD503 (Continued from [[EXOD189]] 13:18 armed AMJV 120-1).  And yet, Judaism makes a clear distinction between “religion and state” when it comes to weapons.  Weapons are indeed necessary, but they remain an “evil” and must never be used in any realm considered “religious” or holy. Thus, already in the Torah, God forbids the building of the Holy Altar using any metal implement (it was built miraculously with a special Shamir worm that cut stone). Why? Rashi explains that the symbol of the Holy Altar is to extend human life, while metal, representing weapons, diminishes life. One cannot be used to build the other. Bechor Shor similarly states that since metal and weapons represent hurting man, the opposite of holiness, the Altar, the symbol of holiness, could not be built with metal.  It is clear, then, that while Judaism recognizes the need for weapons in the context of war, they are only a necessary tool for engaging in battle and not something to be proud of or admired. The ultimate goal for weapons, in the famous verse in Isaiah, is to make them totally unnecessary and hope for the time when the metal from weapons will be melted down to be used for farm tools. Isaiah 2:4

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EXODUS — 21:12 death

EXOD541 In addition to murder, the death penalty is listed [in Torah] for striking one's parents, kidnapping, bestiality, violating Shabbat, idol worship, adultery, homosexual behavior, and cursing God. (This verse, 21:15-17, 31:14, Leviticus 20:2, 10, 13, 24:16). All the sins are heinous from a Jewish perspective, and the seriousness of their punishment attests to that. However it would be foolish to form the Jewish view of capital punishment based on these verses alone. Why is this so? According to Jewish tradition, the corpus of Oral Law was given along with the Written Torah at the very same time, in order to render the bare bones legal system of Torah verses into a working Jewish society of law for every day living. Therefore, if we examine the details of capital punishment along with the details of its oral laws, we will discover that it was almost impossible to actually punish a perpetrator for any of these crimes or sins with the death penalty.

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EXODUS — 21:19 cure

EXOD567 Needless to say, the normative Jewish view today is that a Jew turns to a doctor to heal every illness, even though Jewish thought still believes that all healing ultimately comes from God. … Rabbi Moses Feinstein of the 20th century clearly states the normative Jewish viewpoint explained above regarding how doctors work in tandem with God: God is fully aware of man's most modern capabilities to heal when He brings the sickness to an individual, and God wants man to use the full range of cutting-edge medical knowledge in order to heal each sickness as quickly as possible. Responsa Igrot Oshe, Orach Chaim 3:90

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