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 — 15:11 open

DEUT807 [This verse]. The biblical prediction that poverty will never be wholly eradicated has been fully substantiated by history. Even the wealthiest of nations has its share of needy and deprived people.… To give or not to give is a question no one is permitted to dodge. The answer depends upon the individual and his innate disposition. Some give indiscriminately, others are selective, and still others dismiss all requests on the grounds that "they are all phony" or that "charity begins at home." In all honesty, one must admit that not all appeals are a fraud and that charity does not begin at home but in the home.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 16:14 son

DEUT839 A child's happiness is essential to his sense of security and development of character. Parental love expressed by the giving of gifts is an important contributor to each child's stability. The biblical injunction "And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter" [this verse] mandates, according to rabbinic interpretation, the giving of gifts to children on festive occasions (Pesachim 109a).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 16:20 justice

DEUT849 (Continued from [[LEV692]] Leviticus 19:18 love BLOCH 68). "Fearful and faint-hearted" men were among those who were exempted from serving in the army. In the opinion of one rabbi, the "fearfulness" was not based on cowardice but rather on an awareness of one's sinful life. (Deuteronomy, Sifre 112). This insightful comment reflects a true appreciation of the real intent of the Pentateuch, the exclusion of the rowdy element which is likely to lower the moral standard of an army. This aim was clearly spelled out in [this verse].

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 17:19 read

DEUT909 Arrogance supported by power can pose a serious threat to the welfare of mankind. An ordinary arrogant individual can be isolated by society and thus neutralized. Such treatment is ineffective in the case of arrogant kings and tyrants. The Bible enjoined the kings of Israel to place a copy of the Pentateuch in their libraries. It was hoped that its precepts would exercise a moderating influence upon them. The king was to study the Bible to the end "so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law… that his heart may not be moved by arrogance to lift him up above his brethren" [this and following verses].

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUTERONOMY — 19:13 pity

DEUT943 (Continued from [[NUM392]] Numbers 33:52 destroy BLOCH 63-4). The same admonitory phrase was also used in the second area of concern, the protection of human life (Deuteronomy 19:13, 21). The sanction of the death penalty as a deterrent against murder and other crimes did not violate biblical standards of morality. Indeed, no nation prior to the twentieth century expressed any misgivings about the propriety of capital punishment. Yet as far back as the sixth century B.C.E. the prophet Ezekiel alleged that God is averse to the death penalty. "Have I any pleasure at all the wicked should die?, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should return from his ways and live?" (18:23).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

RSS
123456789101112131415161718
Back To Top