EXOD345 The need for circumspection in one's manner of dressing is inherent in the Bible. A preliminary period before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai was set aside to allow the people to launder their clothes so that they would be properly dressed for the occasion [this verse]. Ecclesiasticus admonished: "Let thy garment be always white, and let thy head lack no oil" (Ecclus. 9:8). Warnings against the wearing of improper clothes abound in the Talmud (see "Appearance and Attire"). This includes provocative clothes (Yevamot 63b) and soiled garments (Shabbat 114a).

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EXOD346 Let us analyze this. It is written (34:3): "Also the sheep and the cattle shall not feed opposite that mountain" [Where the Shechinah abides]. Why, then, is it stated: "With the sounding of the shofar they shall ascend the mountain"? [i.e., Why should the departure of the Shechinah not suffice?] To teach that anything [prohibited] by consensus requires another consensus to permit it [though the reason for the original prohibition no longer applies] (Beitzah 5b)

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EXOD347 See [[EXOD1051]] Exodus 34:27 covenant HIRSH 50-1

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EXOD348 To the Jew, his Torah has no peer as a source of instruction in the art of right living. For him, it combines the loftiest teaching with abundant illustrations to show how its ideals can be lived. The Bible will always be the divine Book because it is, at the same time, so intensely human. Its uniqueness consists in that while it contains not a little which is within the understanding of an intelligent child, it is also so profound that the studies of two thousand years have not exhausted its significance for scholars and philosophers. "And the voice of the Shophar waxed louder and louder" [this verse]. Unlike the human voice which gets weaker after much use, the "Voice of God" assumes more force with time. The Bible by no means exhausts the sources of Jewish faith. The Jew has preserved, in addition, a treasury of doctrines and sayings transmitted from father to son. This traditional literature, the Oral Law (Torah she'be'al Peh) constitutes the largest part of Judaism. Many Halachic doctrines not mentioned in the Torah have been, explicitly or implicitly, traced to the forty days Moses spent with God prior to communicating them orally to Israel [these traditional observances are described in the Talmud as halachah l'moshe mi'Sinai]. So have many well-known haggadic illustrations been connected with Sinaitic teachings. This Oral Law comprises all the interpretations and conclusions which our scribes have deduced from the written Torah, together with the regulations instituted by them. These are to be found in the Mishnah, Gemara, Tosefta, and Halachic Midrashim, all of which were originally not committed to writing but transmitted and taught orally. In these sources, the claim is often repeated that a complete body of Rabbinical doctrines had been revealed unto Moses on Sinai, together with the hermeneutical rules according to which they might be developed. An example of such exegetical principles is the thirteen rules of R. Ishmael [See Singer's Prayer Book, pp. 13-14. These are included in the Siddur, in order to enable the Jew to study, as well as pray, each day.] These rules are indispensable, in view of the terse utterances of the Torah. May not the very brevity of the Scriptures be a further proof that, side-by-side with the Bible, there existed a vigorous body of tradition? Let one illustration suffice. In Deut. xii.21, the commandment of slaughtering the sacrifice is given with the addition "as I have commanded thee". We will search in vain for a command in the Torah advising us how to slaughter the animal in the prescribed way. It is when we turn to the Talmudic Tractate Hullin that we find the laws of Shechitah enumerated in detail. These are invested with Divine authority because they are believed to form part of the instruction given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. We can understand the opinions expressed in the Talmud that customs and ceremonies observed by the rank and file of the people are to be regarded as sacrosanct as the Torah itself [minhag Yisrael Torah hee].

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EXOD349 Lest a man should say, “Since some scholars declare a thing impure and others declare it pure, some pronounce a thing to be forbidden and others pronounce it to be permitted, some disqualify an object while others uphold its fitness, how can I study Torah under such circumstances?” Scripture states, “They are given from one shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:11): One God has given them, one leader [Moses] has uttered them at the command of the Lord of all creation, blessed be He, as it says, “And God spoke all these words” (Exodus 20:1). You, then, should, on your part, make your ear like a grain receiver and acquire a heart that can understand the words of the scholars who declare a thing impure as well as those who declare it pure, the words of those who declare a thing forbidden as well as those who pronounce it permitted, and the words of those who disqualify an object as well as those who uphold its fitness. Although one scholar offers his view and another offers his, the words of both are all derived from what Moses, the shepherd, received from the One Lord of the Universe. Midrash, Numbers Rabbah 14:4

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EXOD350 [Continued from [[934]] Deuteronomy 18:22 prophet DORFFDRAG 40-1]. This practical problem of distinguishing a true prophet from a false one, coupled with the conviction of several prophets that God's punishment of the people for disobedience would include not only the destruction of the Temple but also the cessation of prophecy, (Amos 8:11-12; Micah 3;4,6,7; Jeremiah 18:18, 23:29-40; and Ezekiel 7:26) together meant that by the end of the biblical period prophecy was no longer seen as the vehicle for knowing God's will. Indeed, the prophet Zachariah already foresees a time when “every ‘prophet’ will be ashamed of the ‘visions’ [he had] when he ‘prophesized,’” and the prophet's own mother and father will say to the prophet, “You shall die, for you have lied in the name of the Lord” and they themselves “will put him to death when he ‘prophesizes.’ (Zekhariah 13:3-4). This, however, did not remove the statements of God as the objective criterion that would determine the true and the good. The way that we would know God's will, however, changed: It would now be through the interpretation and application of the Torah, the one text that all Jews accepted as true Revelation from God. Study, in other words, became the post biblical form of God's revelation, (B. Bava Batra 12a) making it a religious experience as well as an educational and legal one. It is for this reason that Jewish law obligates Jews to study the Torah throughout their lives, even if they are poor and even if such study involves them in debates with their teachers or parents, for nothing less than knowing God's will is at stake. Rabbis, who gain their authority at least in part from their expertise in the texts and traditions of Judaism, would often differ with each other in discerning the will of God, and that might be frustrating at times; but one must learn to live with that indeterminacy and open one's mind to the multiplicity of meanings inherent in both the law and lore of the Torah: Lest a person say, “Since some scholars declare a thing impure and others declare it pure, some pronounce it to be permitted while others declare it forbidden, some disqualify an object [as ritually fit] while others uphold its fitness, how can I study Torah under such circumstances?” Scripture states, “They are given from one Shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:11): one God has given them, one leader [Moses] has uttered them at the command of the Lord of all creation, blessed be He, as it says, “And God spoke all these words” (Exodus 20:1). You, then, should make your ear like a grain receiver and acquire a heart that can understand the words of the scholars who declare a thing impure as well as those who declare it pure, the words of those who declare thing forbidden as well as those who pronounce it permitted, and the words of those who disqualify an object [as ritually fit] as well as those who uphold its fitness. ... Although one scholar offers his view and another scholar offers his, the words of both are all derived from what Moses, the Shepherd, received from the One Lord of the universe. Avot d-Rabbi Natan 18:3; T. Sotah 7:7; B. Hagigah 3b; and Numbers Rabbah 14:4.

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EXOD351 Perhaps the Torah's most consequential statement of Judaism's ethical essence is the Ten Commandments Exodus 20:2 – 14, the biblical document that is the bedrock of Jewish and Western morality. The Ten Commandments obligate Jews to affirm God (who brought them out of slavery), to observe the Sabbath (on which day they must make sure that even their animals are not put to work), and ban idolatry. The Ten Commandments also prohibit murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, taking God's Name in vain and covetousness. "Where are all the sacrifices? why no mention of Passover or of circumcision?" asks Rabbi Schubert Spero."The testimony of the Decalogue seems overwhelming: Moral rules regulating relations between human beings are primary. Morality is the essence of Judaism."

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EXOD353 It is a positive commandment to believe that there is a God in existence as Scripture states [this verse]; and He--be He blessed and exalted--brought all existing entities into being, and all the world, by His power and blessed wish. It is He who watches over everything. This is the foundation of our faith, and whoever does not believe this denies the very main principle [the one and only God], and he has no share or right among the Jewish people. We are duty-bound to be ready to give our life and our might and main for this belief. The main thing, though, is to fix firmly in one's heart and soul that this is the truth, and nothing other than this is possible.

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EXOD352 Belief in Hashem's existence. One must believe that the universe has only one God, that everything that exists, existed and will exist in all of Creation is His doing and results from His will. This one God took our nation out of Egypt and gave us His Torah. Do not let your heart entice you into thinking that our liberation from Egyptian enslavement and the plagues suffered by Egypt occurred by chance. One must know that Hashem redeemed us from Egypt. It was His Will and His doing, and every detail of it was under His supervision. He brought it about, as He had promised to our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. It is obvious to all that this principle is the focal point of the Jewish faith. Anyone who denies this principle denies all of Judaism and is not considered a part of the Jewish People. Every Jew must enter these basic beliefs into his or her consciousness, and there must be no doubt about these principles at all. When a Jew is asked about his/her religious beliefs, he/she must immediately respond that these are his/her beliefs. Never would he/she exchange these beliefs for any others, even if threatened with death. We fulfill this mitzvah in the optimal fashion when we understand in our hearts and see with our eyes that these beliefs are indisputably true and it is impossible to believe otherwise. This mitzvah is one of the six constant mitzvos, for we must be conscious of this basic belief at all times, every minute of the day and for all of our lives (See Introduction to Sefer HaChinuch, cited in the Mishnah Berurah, Siman 1, in the Biur Halachah, s.v. Hu Klal).

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EXOD354 When I searched for the most essential principle, the cornerstone of our religion, I found the wholehearted acknowledgement of God's unity to be its root and foundation. It is the very first of the Torah’s gates, and it is the acknowledgement of God's unity that separates the believer from the nonbeliever. It is the central truth of the religion; Whoever deviates from it will be unable to practice [his religious duties] properly or hold on to any belief. For this reason, the first words of God directed to us on Mount Sinai were: “I am Hashem your God.... Do not have any other gods” (Shemos 20:2-3), and later on He exhorted us through His prophet, saying: “Listen [Shema], Israel: Hashem is our God, Hashem is one” (Devarim 6:4). You must understand this section (the “Shema”) until its end, and see how its words proceed from subject to subject, covering ten subjects, corresponding to [the number of] the Ten Commandments. First, we are commanded to believe in the Creator, as it says: “Listen, Israel: Hashem.” The word “listen” [shema] is used here not in the sense of listening with the ear, but in the sense of believing in the heart, as in the verses: “We will do and we will listen” (Shemos 24:7); “Listen, Israel, and be careful to do it” (Devarim 6:3). Whenever the word “listen” is used in this way, the intended meaning is none other than to believe and accept. After being commanded to believe in the reality of Hashem's existence, we are then commanded to believe that He is our God, as it says: “... is our God.” Then we are commanded to believe that He is truly one, as it says: “Hashem is one.” After commanding us to believe in and accept the three fundamentals just mentioned, Scripture then moves on to what we must add to them, namely, the wholehearted love of God, in the inner life and the outer life, with our souls and with our might, as it says: “Love Hashem, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (ibid. 6:5). I will explain this, with the Almighty's help, in the Gate of Love of God. Scripture then goes on to caution us about the duties of the heart, saying: “These words which I command you this day must be on your heart” (ibid. 6:6), meaning that one should keep them always in one's heart and believe in them in the depth of one's being. Then Scripture proceeds to those duties of the limbs which require both knowledge and action, as it says: “Teach them to your children and [if you have no children] speak of them” (ibid. 6:7); to educate a child is not the only reason why an adult should study. Scripture then continues: “…when you are at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up” (ibid.), for there is never anything to keep the heart and tongue from fulfilling their duties, as may happen to the other limbs. We have already discussed, in the Introduction, how the duties of the heart are perpetually binding. All this serves to reinforce what was stated in the previous verse (“These words which I command you this day must be on your heart”): By keeping these words on one’s lips continually, they are ever in one's consciousness, and one’s thoughts are never empty of God. This is like what was said by King David: “I have placed God always before me” (Tehillim 16:8), and by Scripture: “It is a thing very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you can do” (Devarim 30:14). Scripture then proceeds from duties of the limbs [which require both knowledge and deed] to those which consist of action alone, and gives three examples: “[1] Bind them as a sign on your hand and [2] let them be a frontlet in the center of your head. [3] Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates” (ibid. 6:8-9). The references here are to the tefillin, worn on the hand and head, and to the mezuzah, which bring one to remember the Creator, to love Him wholeheartedly, and to long for Him, just as lovers keep their love in mind. ... Scripture gives three [ways of remembering God], so that they be stronger and more lasting [in effect], as the Wise One [King Solomon] said: “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Koheles 4:12). This section thus covers ten subjects; five of them are spiritual, and five of them physical. The spiritual ones are: (1) Hashem exists; (2) He is our God; (3) He is one; (4) We should love him with all our hearts; (5) We should serve him wholeheartedly. The five physical ones are: (1) “teach them to your children”; (2) “speak of them”; (3) “bind them as a sign on your hand”; (4) “let them be a frontlet in the center of your head”; (5) “write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.” Our Masters come of blessed memory, have said “Why is [the section of] ‘Shema’ placed before [the section] ‘if, then, you carefully obey [my commandments]’ (Devarim 11:13-21)? So that one first except accept upon oneself the yoke of God's kingship, and then accept upon oneself the yoke of the commandments.” (Yerushalmi, Berachos 2:2). It is for this reason that I have placed the Gate of the Unity of God before any other of the book’s gates.

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