Excerpt Browser

This page displays the full text of excerpts.  When viewing a single excerpt, its “Share,” “Switch Article,” and “Comment” functions are accessible.

DEUTERONOMY — 5:15 remember

DEUT163 Israel's historical experience as slaves and strangers is used to inspire ethical treatment of the landless underclass of Israelites society. On the basis of their collective memory of slavery in the land of Egypt, they are exhorted to be generous to the indentured Israelite who is freed after six years (Deut 15:13-15). Israel is warned against oppressing the stranger, "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exod 22:20, 23:9). In Deuteronomy's version of the Decalogue, the rationale for the Sabbath rest is "so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in a land of Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from there" [this verse]. God forbids Israelites to hold their brethren as slaves, because He released them from Egyptian bondage: therefore they are to be slaves to God alone (Lev 25:42, 55) (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 5:15 slave

DEUT166 In the repetition of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, the explanation for keeping Shabbat is to remember that you were a slave in Egypt [this verse]. This means that the Jew, through Shabbat, should appreciate that now he is no longer a slave and has freedom. Thus, Shabbat is a day of freedom. But how can this be so? One has only to look at the hundreds of restrictive laws of Shabbat to realize that this is a day when a Jew usually feels freedom denied. How can a person feel more free when he or she is not permitted to perform so many everyday activities? To understand this concept, one must recall the famous conditioning experiment of Pavlov and his dogs. After Pavlov rang the bell a few times while the dogs salivated and received meat, the dogs then were conditioned to salivate whenever the belt was rung, even when the meat was no longer present. When alone in one's house and in the midst of a shower (with no answering machine connected), most people hastily will run out of the shower sopping wet to answer the ringing phone (it is usually a wrong number or the person has already hung up). Like Pavlov's dogs, man is also conditioned to respond to a bell without thinking. Those who observe Shabbat, however, have trained themselves not to answer the phone even if it rings and rings. The observant Jew who does not answer the phone is demonstrating a sense of freedom--freedom from society and all its pressures making daily demands on people. By stopping one's daily routine and "shutting out the world" and its pressures one day a week, the Jew is saying, I am truly free and not psychologically addicted to those everyday habits we routinely are conditioned to. There are numerous other examples displaying this type of freedom on Shabbat. The person "addicted" to television and specifically to one type of television, such as soap operas or sporting events, is saying that he or she is in control of life by refraining from watching one day a week, even if a terrific show or event is on the tube. That sense of control over one's life is true freedom. Thus, by submitting to the demands of all the Jewish laws on Shabbat, one gains a sense of freedom and control over one's destiny.… This can be applied to any psychological addiction that one "needs" each day. By stopping the activity, this "addiction," one day a week, a person shows that he or she is not really addicted and has the freedom to choose to stop.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 5:16 honor

DEUT169 [Continued from [[EXOD429]] Exodus 20:12 honor AMEMEI 200]. In addition to its importance, Judaism recognizes how difficult it is to honor one's parents and to perform this mitzvah [Midrash Tanchuma, Eikev 2), calling it the most difficult mitzvah of all. Perhaps that is why this is only one of two places where the Torah promises a specific reward for its performance--a long and good life [this verse]. The Mishnah expands the Torah's words (Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 22b) and states that for the performance of this one mitzvah, a person will not only have his or her life lengthened, but will also inherit the land of Israel. Unlike other Commandments, the code of Jewish law (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 240:1) uses the phrase "be very careful and diligent" in fulfilling this commandment of honoring one's parents, echoing the words of Rabbi Judah in the Talmud (Ketuvot 103a). The Midrash (Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni, Yayigash 153) states that a person's father is like his king, implying that the respect for a parent should be no less than the respect for a king. God goes out of his way to praise the sons of Yonadav for listening to his words (Jeremiah 35:5-14). It is quite clear, then, that observance of this mitzvah stands out in its importance.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 5:16 honor

DEUT171 You know, my son, that the Creator did not specify a recompense for any of the Ten Commandments except for honoring parents. Length of days and happiness were the appointed reward of obedience. For the Torah says (this verse) and in the Prophecies, God asks of Israel: "If I then be a father, where is My honor?" (Malachi 1:6). ... Judah ibn Tibbon "Ethical Will"

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

RSS
First34567891011131516171819202122Last
Back To Top