EXOD841 God abhors falsehood Psalms 119:163 and King David asks that he be placed on a path far from falsehood. Psalms 119:29 One of the things God absolutely hates is a "false witness who breathes out lies." Proverbs 6:19 Falsehood is the only sin in the Torah from which a person must actively run away [this verse]. For anyone who lies, it is as if that person has worshiped idols. Sanhedrin 92a. Why is this so? Because without truth, there is no foundation of belief and there can be no true belief in God.

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EXOD877 See [[EXOD647]] Exodus 22:20 stranger AMEMEI 282

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EXOD909 By accepting a new lifestyle that gave them a moral set of laws to live by, they achieved cherut, true freedom. That is why the Mishnah says that in giving the two tablets of the Ten Commandments Exodus 32:16, the Hebrew word charut should be read freedom (cherut), and not "hewn out of stone," the simple meaning of charut. Avot 6:2. This play on words shows that there is an association between accepting the Jewish obligations, laws, and way of life and the Jewish concept of freedom.

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EXOD911 [M]any Jewish commentaries believe that it is the actions that help to formulate beliefs, and not vice versa. Maimonides Hilchot De'ot 1:7 asks how can a person train himself to internalize the proper Jewish values, ideas about God and Judaism, and he answers that through repeated actions and practice of reflecting these ideas and values, a person will come to internalize the beliefs. This order of action-mitzvot to be followed by the reasoning can be found in the Bible at the inception of the Jewish people's acceptance of the Torah from God. After the Ten Sayings (Commandments) were given, the people respond with the words "Naaseh Venishma," "we will do and then we will understand" [this verse]. Thus, the covenant of the Jewish people with God involves first the performance of mitzvot and then their understanding of the meaning of these commandments. Of course, both are significant and necessary to a Jew's full development, but the order must be performance first followed by understanding the reasons. This is also logical from a religious perspective. A person who says "I will not do any mitzvah until I understand it fully" is putting his or her judgment on a higher plane than God's judgment. One cannot truly believe in God and, at the same time, believe that man's ability is superior to His ability in judging right and wrong, in general, and what the proper specific path of action for that individual should be. A believing person must follow and perform God's commands first before understanding their meaning, since God knows what is better for man then man knows himself. Man naturally seeks to find meaning, but it should not be a condition to action. This is the intention of "we will do and then we will understand." This approach--action-mitzvot first, followed by a quest for understanding of meaning--is also a logical path in life. If a person decides to perform mitzvot only after he or she has found their true meaning, then it may take an entire lifetime of searching and maturation until he or she finally decides, late in life, that the Torah and its mitzvot have the validity and meaning searched for and should be performed in earnest. By that time, a person may have wasted his or her lifetime and will have lost years of potential action-mitzvot in that search. Therefore, Judaism encourages the Jew to continue to perform mitzvot even as he or she has doubts about life's meaning and the significance of individual commandments. Questioning while continuing to perform is a legitimate Jewish endeavor [See, Lamm, Faith and Doubt, New York: Ktav, 1971), pp. 24-27] and helps to give meaning to a person's entire life once the person has come to appreciate Torah and mitzvot.

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EXOD925 When Moses asked for elders to help him rule Numbers 11:14, Rashi commentary on Numbers 11:16 asks where were the original elders from Egypt. He explains that they had sinned by partying irreverently at Mount Sinai and should have died then. But God waited until a plague was brought to kill other sinners Numbers 11:1 and the elders then died as well, so that they would not be needlessly embarrassed publicly. ... One commentary Meiri commentary to Berachot 19b calls the quality of human dignity the most endearing and beloved quality in all of Judaism. Of all the blessings to choose, one Torah sage blessed another Mo'ed Katan 9b by saying, "May you never cause anyone else embarrassment and may you never be caused any embarrassment yourself." May all Jews follow this dictum.

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EXOD928 In Judaism, we will see that not only must a person withhold information that was specifically told in confidence, but even information that was not told "confidentially" must also not be revealed. Why, in the Talmud Yoma 4b after calling Moses, does God use the expression "saying" followed by the phrase "Speak to the children of Israel"? Leviticus 1:1-2 It is obvious that if God calls Moses to speak to him and uses the phrase leimor, "saying," that this is intended for the people. Why then add the extra words, "Speak to the people"? The answer is that without that last phrase telling Moses to tell it over to the people, Moses would be prohibited from telling the Jewish people what God had said. Only when there is specific permission to tell information, may it then be repeated to another. Without that permission, even if not spoken in confidence, it would be forbidden to tell the facts of the conversation. Thus, in Judaism, all information is, in its essence, considered confidential. One need not say "Keep this confidential" to indicate secrecy. This concept is also discussed in detail by the Or Hachaim Commentary Exodus 25:1-2 on the first occasion (of the hundreds of occasions) where this double phraseology of "saying" and "Tell the People of Israel" is mentioned in the Torah [this verse]. Rashi commentary on Yoma 4b then reinterprets the word leimor, "saying," to mean two other Hebrew words, lo amar, you shall not reveal. Therefore, this word tells us that no information may be revealed to another unless explicit consent to do so is granted.

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EXOD947 Judaism does demand that society and all individuals still give respect to senile people, as recorded in the Talmud Berachot 8b. Why is this so…? The same talmudic passage explains, implying that we respect someone for what he or she once was and not for what he or she is today. The talmudic imagery is given as that of the first Tablets, shattered by Moses when he witnessed the people worshiping the Golden Calf. Exodus 32:19 Later, God asks Moses to write a second set of Tablets for the people Exodus 34:1, which were stored in the Holy Ark [this verse]. What happened to the fragments from the first Tablets after they were broken? Were they simply discarded and thrown away? No. They were stored in the Holy Ark as well, along with the second set of Tablets. Berachot 8b. Why were these bits of broken stone placed inside the Holy Ark--they certainly were no longer functioning and would have been no use to anyone? We learn from this an important Jewish concept: even something that no longer has any function today, but that did once have use and was once worthy of respect, must still be respected and is considered special. Thus, the original fragments were saved and stored in the Holy Ark for what they once were and not because of their present value to Jews. For the same reason, an individual who is senile must still be respected. While that individual may no longer function in society and may no longer be the object of respect for current wisdom, the person must still be respected for the wisdom he or she had in the past. In a similar manner, a Torah scroll that was once usable and holy must be treated with respect, even if it is now invalid. It must be given the same respect a human body is accorded upon death, when it loses its soul. The invalid Torah scroll is not thrown away, but must be buried in the ground next to a scholar Maimonides, Hilchot Tefillin 10:3. Thus, Judaism treats anything in Judaism that once had value and holiness with respect, even though its condition has now deteriorated.

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EXOD973 The first mention of the concept of holiness in the Torah is related to the concept of time, the Shabbat. Genesis 2:3. Thus, very early in the Torah, Judaism establishes and demonstrates that holiness in time is very significant in Judaism and is holier than another concept, the holiness of place. Most other religions do have a concept of holiness of place, as does Judaism, which designates many physical areas as holy Mishnah, Keilim 1:6-9, the land of Israel, the City of Jerusalem, and the area of the Holy Temple. And yet, time is holier than all of these. That is why the holiest Jewish place, the Temple or Tabernacle, could not be constructed on the Sabbath [this verse], based on the juxtaposition of Shabbat laws in the middle of laws about the Tabernacle's construction and its mention again later on Exodus 35:1-3, as well as their connection and a reference in one verse Leviticus 19:32 to both types of holiness. This demonstrates the superiority of holy time to holy place in Judaism. Why is this so? What makes holiness of time a "higher" holiness then holiness of space? Holiness of place is limited to a specific area. Once a person leaves that holy area, it no longer engulfs the person. The holiness of time, like the Shabbat and Festivals, is all around an individual, and he or she cannot escape it. That is, holiness of time totally envelops an individual. In addition, holiness of time is a more spiritual concept than holiness of place. Time is less tangible than place and cannot be seen (only the effects of time can be seen). Therefore, time is closer to the unseen spirituality of God than any physical hallowed site. There is a further advantage of holy time for the Jew. While different places separate Jews all over the earth, the holiness of time, such as on Shabbat, unites and unifies the entire Jewish people on the planet, as all Jews, though unseen to each other, are able to celebrate Shabbat together (for most of the day), despite all other separations.

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EXOD986 See [[EXOD909]] Exodus 24:7 all AMEMEI 35

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EXOD987 See [[EXOD947]] Exodus 25:16 deposit AMEMEI 257

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