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DEUTERONOMY — 4:9 watch

DEUT88 (Continued from [[DEUT1633]] Deuteronomy 30:19 life BLOCH 241-2) Every effort must therefore be made to preserve and prolong it. The rabbis cited several biblical injunctions as the source of the obligation to safeguard one's health. The commands "Only take heed to thyself, and watch thy soul carefully" [this verse] and "You should be very careful of your souls" (Deuteronomy 4:15) were regarded as warnings against endangering one's life (Berachot 32b). Another source is [Genesis 2:7]: "And man became a living soul." "The Bible thereby implies, 'keep alive the soul which I gave you'" (Taanit 22b). Maimonides (12th-cent.) addressed a warning to those who allege that their state of health should be of no concern to other people. "There are many things which the rabbis have prohibited because they endanger of human life. He who says: 'I am only endangering myself, and no others have a right to interfere,' the rabbis may administer to them disciplinary flogging" (Hilchot Rotzeach 11:5). Man has a right to put himself to shame, if he is indifferent to public opinion, but no one may lawfully injure himself (Baba Kama 91b).

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DEUTERONOMY — 5:16 well

DEUT176 Honor of parents brings many rewards. The biblical command to honor one's parents is coupled with the promise "that thy days may be long and that it may go well with thee" [this verse]. A similar comprehensive reward was promised to those who observe all of God's statutes and Commandments (Deuteronomy 4:40). The reward for parental honor was thus equated with the reward in store for those who observe the Torah in its entirety. Ben Sira (second cent. B.C.E.) listed several other rewards granted to those who honor their parents. "Whosoever honors his father makes an atonement for his sins" (Ecclus. 3:3). This doctrine is not repeated in rabbinic sources. Nevertheless, it might have served as an added incentive for the strict observance of the fifth commandment. Ben Sara listed an additional reward for parental honor. "Whosoever honors his father shall have joy of his own children, and when he makes his prayers, he shall be heard" (Ecclus. 3:5). This particular reward is not grounded in theology but is, rather, based on an educational principle. The example set by a son who honors his parents will be dutifully followed by his own children, who will honor him in turn. Thus they will bring him much joy.

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DEUTERONOMY — 5:18 slave

DEUT190 The practice of separating sexual lust from other types of lust is reflected in the Bible. The original version of the Decalogue outlawed covetousness of sex and property in a single prohibition [this verse]. The Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue prohibits the two types of lust in two separate injunctions (this verse). Despite the strictness of the Jewish moral code, the ancient rabbis evinced a sympathetic understanding of the inordinate effort frequently entailed in man's resistance to sexual temptation. They were impressed by the fact that even the Bible made a concession to man's powerful sex drive in a situation where an absolute prohibition would only provoke defiance. The law regarding a heathen female captive of war, offering a psychological outlet for the sake of preserving the virtue of all parties involved, is a concession to human weakness (Deuteronomy 21:10-14, Kiddushin 21b).

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DEUTERONOMY — 7:3 intermarry

DEUT330 Parental educational duties extend beyond the narrow limits of religious instruction. Parents of the biblical era were expected to continue the supervision of their children for the duration of their lives in the parental home. Parents were charged with the duty of marrying off their children and seeing to it that they took proper mates. The Bible warned against the giving of a child in marriage to a heathen [this verse]. When Sampson sought parental consent for his marriage to a Philistine girl, he was administered a stern rebuke, "Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" (Judges 14:3). The fact that Sampson's parents eventually surrendered to his persistence illustrates a common parental weakness in permitting love to overcome their sense of responsibility. Parental control over the marriage of their children had as its primary aim the safeguarding of religious continuity. However, it was also intended to be used as a restraint on hasty marriages to individuals of improper character. Ecclesiasticus declared: "Marry they daughter, and so shalt thou have performed a weighty matter, but give her to a man of understanding" (7:25).

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