EXOD319 "The Law" is first cultic (the so-called apodictic laws), and what will become the casuistic are originally the jurisprudence of the community. Through their narrativization, however, they both accede to the category of the prescriptive. And the intertextual relation of the narrative framework with the prescriptive content shores up the covenantal nature of the whole. Thus, for example, the Decalogue's "introduction" is its indispensable characterization: "I am the Lord your God who took you out of Egypt…" Within the consciousness of herself as being in intimate relationship with God, Israel integrates the prescriptive. It is second to a primordial situation that creates the raison d'être and the conditions for the law, namely, the berit. The import of this is immeasurable.

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EXOD322 The Purpose of Israel is to teach mankind the oneness of God: [this verse]. Though the entire human race is doubtless precious to me, constituting the goal of creation, you will be more precious to me than all others. "But you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests." Your being a "treasure" consists in the task you assume, to be a "kingdom of priests"-dedicated to comprehend and then teach the entire human race to worship the Name of the Lord and to serve Him in serried ranks. This purpose will be fulfilled by Israel in time to come. [Seforno commentary on this verse].

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EXOD323 There is a misconception among many Jews and non-Jews that because Jewish people are a "chosen people," this implies that Jews must be superior to non-Jews and that non-Jews are inferior. The sources will reveal that nothing could be further from the truth. What, then, does the word "chosenness" mean? It implies that the Jewish people have a role in the world that is different from that of every other nation. While the Jews have 613 commandments to observe Makkot 23b non-Jews were given only seven Commandments to observe Sanhedrin 56b. The Seven Commandments of Noah are prohibitions against murder, adultery, stealing, eating a limb from a live animal, cursing God, idol worship, and the obligation to establish a system of laws and courts. A non-Jew who observes these, according to Jewish law and philosophy, is given a complete share in the world to come and is called by Maimonides a "righteous Gentile." Hilchot Melachim 8:11 There is no other organized religion besides Judaism that grants complete "salvation" to people who do not believe and do not practice that religion.

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EXOD320 … the Torah does not portray the Israelites themselves as all that pious or moral. On the contrary, it makes clear that God's choice of Israel for this task is not based on any rational grounds. It is not because of Israel’s greatness that God chose Israel for this task, for Israel is among the smallest of peoples. It is also not because of the people Israel’s goodness, for they stubbornly persist in their evil ways. (Deuteronomy 7:7). Indeed, shortly after entering into the covenant at Mount Sinai, that people abandoned God for the Golden Calf, and they sinned again in not trusting God to take them into the Promised Land after ten of the twelve spies report the difficulty of the task ahead. (Exodus 32-34 and Numbers 13-14. See also Deuteronomy 9:5). In both cases, God seriously considers destroying the people forthwith and starting over again with Moses leading some other people; But Moses, using a series of lawyerly arguments, prevails on God to retain His ties with the people Israel. Thus Israel’s size, piety, and goodness are not the reasons that God chose it as His people; it is rather because of God's love for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; His promises to them; and His need for a model people that He agrees to continue His relationship with their descendants, no matter what. The Jewish people, though, are to be what the Moabite seer Balaam described as “a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations.” (Numbers 23:9; Deuteronomy 32:12, 33:28, Jeremiah 49:31, Micah 7:14).

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EXOD321 See [[EXOD912]] Exodus 24:7 do DORFFDRAG 62-3

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EXOD327 The priestly hero–image was included in the Bible, but it was also transcended. Moses announces his intention of founding a "Kingdom of priests and a holy nation" [this verse]. Every Jew is to share in the glory of priesthood, shunning "the unclean" and periodically cleansing himself from "all their defilements." While the priestly prophet Ezekiel seems to say that the priest alone must not eat unclean and improperly slaughtered meat (nevelah uterefah) [Ezekiel 44:31], the Torah ordains this law for all Jews.

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EXOD329 What is it that a Jew may not do on Shabbat? The Torah simply says that melachah is prohibited. This word is often mistranslated to mean work. It cannot be the intention that work, manual labor, is prohibited since the Hebrew word for manual labor or work is avodah and not melachah. What, then, is melachah that is prohibited and what does it symbolize? The word melachah is found in the Torah in only two contexts besides Shabbat. One is at the end of the creation story. Genesis 2:1-3 God finished all the melachah and rested from His melachah. This, it is clear that melachah is that activity that God did during the first six days of the world, that is, creation or creative activity. This, then, is what is prohibited on Shabbat, and not work. ... The only other Torah reference to melachah is the building of the Tabernacle. Exodus 31:3-4. This, too, is related to creative and purposeful activity, and the building of the Tabernacle has been compared to a microcosm of the original creation itself. Thus, the thirty-nine categories of forbidden creative activity are derived from those activities performed in building and maintaining the Tabernacle. Shabbat 49b

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EXOD328 The right to privacy is at the core of human dignity. The more our privacy is invaded, the more we lose two central components of our dignity--namely, our individuality and respect we command from others. When our innermost selves become the subject for the knowledge and criticism of others, the resulting social pressure will quickly wear away our individuality... The community does have a right and, indeed, a duty to establish and enforce some norms, but if the community can know and scrutinize absolutely every one of our thoughts and actions, we will inevitably displease the majority in some ways and lose their esteem in the process. Conversely, the very requirement to honor and protect a person's privacy both stems from, and engenders, an inherent regard for that person. Thus by preserving human individuality and honor, privacy contributes to human dignity. Privacy is at the heart of mutual trust and friendship. If you reveal things I tell you in confidence, I will think twice before entrusting you as a business partner, a colleague, or a friend. Privacy also enables creativity to flourish, for it protects nonconformist people from interference by others. Along the same lines, privacy is a prerequisite for a free and tolerant society, for each person has secrets that concern weaknesses that we dare not reveal to a competitive world, dreams that others may ridicule, past deeds that bear no relevance to present conduct, or desires that a judgmental and hypocritical public may condemn. These moral concerns justify the protection of privacy in any society, but a religious tradition like Judaism adds yet other rationales for safeguarding an individual’s privacy. First... the Jewish tradition teaches us that when we reveal a person's secrets we not only defame that person, but we dishonor the image of God within that person and thus God Himself. Moreover, God intends that the Israelites be “a kingdom of priests and a holy people” (Exodus 19:6). Among other things that the Torah requires of Jews so that they might become a holy people... [is that they] protect a person's home, reputation, and communication by forbidding both intrusion and disclosure

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EXOD326 See [[EXOD912]] Exodus 24:7 do DORFFDRAG 62-3

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EXOD324 Among other things that the Torah requires of Jews so that they might become a holy people, it states that a lender may not intrude on a borrower's home to collect on a loan and people may not be tailbearers within the community. [Deuteronomy 24:10-13 and Leviticus 19:16]. Thus a holy people must protect a person's home, reputation, and communication by forbidding both intrusion and disclosure.

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