EXOD404 See [[LEV795]] Leviticus 19:34 love OXFORD 46-7

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EXOD405 See [[EXOD127]] Exodus 10:5 Mine DORFLOV 81

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EXOD406 The Torah sets forth a time-tempered rhythmic process of economic, ecological, and political action that is intended to preserve abundance and that warns of utter disaster if the balance is undone. When we look for what we might call the "eco-Judaism" of biblical Israel, one of the most notable teachings about the relationship between the human community and the earth is the teaching of Shabbat (the Sabbath), the shmitah or Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year. Every seventh day, every seventh year, and the year after every seventh cycle of seven years (the fiftieth year), the human community is to pause from work, not merely to rest from physical labor, but also to renew itself, to achieve "release" for "self-reflection" or "detachment" or "holiness."– And as the community rests, so does the earth--animals and vegetation are also released. Indeed, it is almost impossible to disentangle the implications of this whirling spiral of Shabbats for adamah, the earth, from its implications for adam, the human community. The Bible connects this rhythm both to revitalization of the earth and to human freedom and equality. As we have already seen, the Shabbat of the seventh day comes first into human ken, along with manna, just at the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. When the Torah describes the second revelation of Shabbat--the one at Sinai--it gives two different ways of understanding. One (Exod. 20:8-11) focuses on Shabbat as a reminder of God's Creation of the entire "natural" world, in which the cosmos itself needs and celebrates rest and renewal as an organic reality. In the second version (Deut 5:12-15), the main reason for the existence of Shabbat is said to be as a reminder of liberation from slavery in the Narrow Place, Mitzrayyim, Egypt. It is a way of making sure that even in a society where some become indentured servants, "Your male and female servants may rest as one-like-yourself." (By Arthur Waskow, "Jewish Environmental Ethics: Intertwining Adam with Adamah")

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EXOD407 Many traditions articulate their fundamental assertions about the nature of life in their central stories, the tales describing their founding and many of their basic convictions. Judaism's central story, for example, is Exodus- Sinai; Christianity's is the Passion-Resurrection of Jesus; and the central story of the United States is the American Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. When core commitments are described in story form, it is easy for adherents to understand the affirmations, to remember them, and to apply them to daily life. ... In the beginning of the Bible, there is Genesis, in which we hear about Creation and meet the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. The central Jewish story, though, comes later: It is the Exodus from Egypt to meet God at Sinai and to continue to the Promised Land. The last four of the five books of the Torah all revolve around the Exodus from Egypt, the trek to Sinai, the Revelation the forty years in the wilderness, and the anticipated end of reaching the Promised Land, together with the laws and theological concepts that are announced along the way. Like the Torah, much of the later Jewish tradition also concentrates on these events. Thus the Exodus from Egypt is the paradigm that is repeatedly invoked when the authors of traditional Jewish prayers wanted to demonstrate that God acts in history and that God has been, and will be, our Redeemer. Passover, of course, focuses on the Exodus story, and, at least in rabbinic tradition, Shavuot does as well, marking the time when the revelation at Sinai occurred. The Torah also connects Sukkot, the harvest festival, to this story, asserting that the festival should remind us of the huts in which the Israelites lived as they wandered through the wilderness on their way to Israel. (Leviticus 23:42-43). Even the Sabbath, first announced in the Torah as a reminder of Creation, shifts in focus in the book of Deuteronomy from slavery in Egypt. (Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:11 tie to Sabbath to Creation, whereas Deuteronomy 5:15 ties it to the Exodus). Thus the story is not only a prime feature of Jewish sacred scripture but also permeates Jewish liturgy and holidays.

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EXOD408 The most difficult of all the commandments of the Torah to fulfill completely, according to the second-century sage Simeon bar Yohai, is the obligation of a child to honor and to revere his or her mother and father. Midrash Tanhuma, Solomon Buber, ed. (Vilna, 1885), "Ekev," no. 3.p. 9a. In this regard, the following story is told of Rabbi Tarfon: "Rabbi Tarfon had a mother. When she wished to mount into bed, he would bend down to let her ascend [by stepping on him, and when she wished to descend, she would do so by stepping on him]. He went to the Academy and boasted of his observance of filial piety. [Whereupon] his colleague said to him: You have not even reached half the honor [due her]. Kiddushin 31b. See also P. Peah 1:1. As it is stated in the Ten Commandments, the obligation of a child toward his or her parents seems clear enough [this verse, Deuteronomy 5:16]. This commandment differs from the other nine, because only in the case of this commandment is a reason given, i.e., "That you may long endure...." In other words, the reason for observance is the promise of longevity and the threat of a curtailed life for nonobservance.

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EXOD409 It was taught: "Honor your father and your mother": "eth avicha" [lit. with your father"] -- to include your father's wife [i.e., your stepmother]; "ve'eth imecha" [lit., "and with your mother"] -- to include your mother's husband [i.e., your stepfather]; the extra vav ["ve'eth"] - to include your older brother (Kethuvoth 103a)

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EXOD429 Respecting one's parents is a bedrock of Judaism. Not only is it one of the Ten Commandments, [this verse], but, according to the Jerusalem Talmud, Pe'ah 3b it is even more important than respecting the Almighty Himself. This is demonstrated from the verse Proverbs 3:9 that commands of man to respect God "from your substance," which means from what one owns. Thus, when it comes to God, one need honor Him only if one has possessions, but if one has no possessions, he need not honor God (through donations to charity, buying ritual objects, and so forth). However in regard to honoring parents, the demand by [this verse] for honor is unconditional and unqualified. The Midrash Tanchuma, Kedoshim 15 also demonstrates how important and unique this particular mitzvah is. In regard to the observance of all other commitments, God will sometimes deny reward for a mitzvah to a wicked person if his overall conduct is unworthy. However, a very wicked person who honors his parents will always receive his reward. Thus Esau, who, despite his wickedness, dutifully honored his father Isaac, was generously rewarded.

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EXOD430 The classic text defining the specific requirements to fulfill "Honor your father and your mother" and "You shall fear your mother and your father" Leviticus 19:3 can be found in the Talmud Kiddushin 31b. "Fear" is defined as not sitting or standing in the parent's designated place not contradicting a parent, while "honor" is defined as feeding parents, clothing parents, and helping them come in and out. On the face of it, it does not seem that a person is being honored by making sure they are fed or clothed. These are acts of charity usually reserved for homeless or poor people. How can this be called honor? The Hebrew word in the Torah in the verse regarding parents, kavod, does not really mean honor, which is a poor English translation. In another talmudic statement, Berachot 19b, this same word is used to say that human dignity is extremely important. Therefore, that the true meaning of the word kavod is dignity. Thus, the mitzvah is to dignify one's father and mother, to keep their dignity. We can now understand the specifics mentioned in the Talmud. Keeping parents closed and fed when they can no longer do so for themselves indeed retains their dignity. Similarly, helping them in and out of the house preserves their dignity. Thus, the first mitzvah is to preserve a parent's dignity at all costs. The other term, morah, does not really mean fear or awe as usually translated, but this is the real word for honor and respect. We show respect and honor by not interrupting or by not sitting in someone's seat. The idea of keeping a parent's dignity as the essence of the mitzvah is borne out by passage in the Jerusalem Talmud Pe'ah 3b which says that it is possible to feed one's parent succulent hens and still inherit hell, while a person can make his parent work on a grindstone and still inherit paradise.

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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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EXOD417 Honor of parents is honor of God; dishonor or parents is dishonor of God. "Rabbi [Judy HaNasi, 2nd cent.] said: 'Honor of father and mother is dear to him who created the world [God] for he equated honor and reverence for them with honor and reverence for him, and cursing of parents is like cursing him'" (this verse, Mechilta). The exalted status of parents is inherent in their biological kinship to their children. Philo the Alexandrian (1st cent.) expressed this view in the following passage: "Parents are human, they are born and die, but they are also divine because they created life" (On the Ten Commandments). Philo's words are not to be taken literally as an attribution of divinity to the personage of a parent, a belief prevalent in some ancient cults. He is merely stating that parents possess divine qualities. The ability to create life is a divine power which they share with God, the creator of all life. By honoring the divine qualities of parenthood one also honors God, who bestows these powers upon them. By the same token, if one dishonors his parents he also dishonors God. In the words of Ben Sera (2nd century B.C.E.) "He that forsakes his father is a blasphemer" (Ecclus. 3:16). The traditional link between parenthood and God helped create the father-image of God in a spiritual and physical sense. According to tradition, it is God who implants the soul in the body. He is therefore the spiritual father of the human race. Beyond that, it is God's established law of nature which makes it possible for the human embryo to grow and develop. In the words of the Psalmist: "For thou hast made my reigns, thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalms 139:13). This concept provided the basis for the Talmudic statement that "there are three partners in the creation of man, God and father and mother" (Kiddushin 30b).

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