Kommentar zu Dewarim 10:12

That is that He commanded us to imitate Him, may He be exalted, according to our ability. And that is His saying, "and you shall go in His ways" (Deuteronomy 28:9). And this command has already been repeated, [when] He said, "and to go in all of His ways" (Deuteronomy 11:22). And in the explanation, it appears (Sifrei Devarim 49:1), "Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called merciful; you too, be merciful. Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called pious; you too, be pious." And this matter was already repeated in different words: He said, "Go in the ways of the Lord." And in the explanation, it appears (Sotah 14a) that He meant to say to imitate His good deeds and glorious traits by which God, may He be exalted, is described, by way of analogy - He is exalted over everything with great exaltation. (See Parashat Ki Tavo; Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions.)

ועתה ישראל AND NOW, O ISRAEL, [WHAT DOTH THE LORD THY GOD ASK OF THEE] — Although you did all this, yet His mercy and His love are extended over you, and in spite of all that you sinned against Him, He asks nothing of you EXCEPT TO FEAR [THE LORD YOUR GOD, etc.].

WHAT DOTH THE ETERNAL THY G-D REQUIRE OF THEE. This is connected with the expression [in the following verse] for thy good. He is stating: “He does not require anything of you for His sake, only for your sake,” similar in meaning to the verse, If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him?²⁴³Job 35:7. Rather, it is all for your good. And he stated the reason for it, because unto the Eternal thy G-d belongeth the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that therein is,²⁴⁴Verse 14. all giving glory to His Name and He is not in need of you. Only the Eternal delighted in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you, above all peoples,²⁴⁵Verse 15. for you are the chosen of their seed, not Ishmael nor Esau.

ועתה ישראל, seeing that this is the situation as of now, it is up to you to try and repair the damage caused by your iniquities from here on in. First and foremost, try and be clear about what it is that the Lord asks of you, expects of you: מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך, He does not ask these things because He is in need of them, seeing the whole earth and all of the celestial regions are all His. כי אם ליראה, you can do this by simply realising His greatness;

ועתה ישראל…כי אם ליראה, And now, Israel, …except to revere the Lord, etc." The thrust of this verse has to be understood along the following lines. We know that there are two different levels of serving G'd, 1) to serve Him out of fear, 2) to serve Him out of love. Moses tells the people that what G'd asks is only that they serve Him out of fear. The reason that G'd is satisfied with this level of service is because fear is an all-embracing emotion. When a person is afraid of the consequences of doing wrong he will make certain that he does not do anything wrong. Moreover, fear, i.e. reverence for G'd is a forerunner of love for G'd. Moses hints at this when he prefaces the verse with the word ועתה, "and now." He means that whereas for now, initially, all that G'd asks for is for you to fear Him, there will come a time when you will do more than that, i.e. to love Him. Once we approach this verse from this angle we can also understand the rhetorical "what is it that G'd asks…only that you fear Him." To the question that fearing the Lord is surely not such an easy thing, Moses implies that once you will have advanced to serving the Lord out of love you will realise that serving Him out of fear was really something minor by comparison. In absolute terms, serving the Lord out of fear is something very great indeed; in relative terms, i.e. after graduating to serving Him out of love, it is only a minor accomplishment. This is the best way to understand what we have been taught in this connection in Megillah 25: "is then serving G'd out of fear something so minor?

This portion is puzzling. Everything possible to ask within the power of man is expressed in this request. What else further could be asked? In fact, the Midrash (Midrash Tehillim 27:5) relates that when David said “One thing I ask from Hashem, this I beseech, let me sit in house of Hashem all the days of my life…” G-d said to David, “You said ‘One thing I ask from Hashem…’, but you asked for many things?” [David] answered, “You too said ‘What does Hashem ask of you…’ and then asked for many things.” Even though it is only a light-hearted exchange, still it is certain that both Hashem and David would not have asked for more than what they said initially. Adding to the difficulty, [on this verse] the Talmud (Megillah 25a:10) comments, ‘Is fear [of Heaven] a minor thing?’ and it answers, ‘Yes, to Moshe it is a minor thing.’ What makes this passage surprising is that fear [of Heaven] is not the only item to consider, so why did the Talmud ask on it more than love or service with all one's soul? Another aspect that’s hard to understand: since it started with asking to love Him, why did it immediately contradict the request by saying it is “for your own good”? Rashi (Rashi on Deuteronomy 10:13) explains that phrase to mean ‘in order that it shall be good for you’, which is the opposite of love. But all this notwithstanding, we need to understand to whom is this verse speaking. If it is speaking to all of Israel equally, how is it possible [to expect] this spiritual level of fear [of Hashem] and love [of Hashem] from the least of Israel, who are not capable of reaching them at all? Love can only be reached by means of Torah or service in the Temple, which are the bread that joins Israel to their Father in Heaven, as it writes in the book of Numbers 28:2 in the verse “my sacrifice, my bread…”, and in many other places. How could Hashem come with complaints against His creations to ask of them something which is impossible to achieve in a natural way? And if you will suggest that it speaks only to those fit to achieve these things, see the verse did not specify who it was speaking to. Rather it must be that you can contemplate and deduce from this verse itself that Hashem is not asking from Israel [as a whole], but from each person according to their ability. For behold it writes “to walk in all of His ways”, but it doesn't write “ *and* to walk in all of His ways”, like it writes [next] “and to love Him and to serve…” So too in verse 13, “to guard the commandments of Hashem”, but not “ *and* to guard…” It is clear that it is like the start of a separate expression, and from this we can understand the matter. It is appropriate to know that there are four spiritual levels in Israel, as we explained in the portion of Balak “How goodly are your tents…” They are (1) heads and leaders of Israel, (2) scholars, also called the elders of Israel, (3) laymen occupied with earning a living, and (4) women, servants and children. Each one of these groups differs from the other in terms of what Hashem asks of them. That is why it writes in the portion “You are standing today, all of you, your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers. Every man of Israel, your infants, your women... to cross over into the covenant of Hashem…” On the face of it, why did the text need to include these [groups]? It writes “You are standing today, all of you... to cross over into the covenant of Hashem.” Everyone is included! Rather, it is because each one has a separate covenant, and what Hashem asks of this group He does not ask of that group, almost as if [these expectations] are forbidden to a second group, as we will explain. Proceeding in the order used in the verse: “Your heads, your tribes.” These are the heads and directors of that generation, who can be described as ‘working for the needs of the community’. They are not permitted to stop this work, not even to toil in love [of Hashem] or closeness [to Him], because that would not be in keeping with the diligence required of them in their unadulterated service of the community. It states in Tractate Shabbat: ‘Hosting guests is even greater than receiving the Divine Presence, as it says “Please do not pass from upon your servant.”’ The explanation is not that someone who merits to receive the Divine Presence cannot be compared to someone who is a host to guests, but simply that this particular mitzvah is greater than the other one and pushes it aside, like our father Avraham did even at the very moment he stood before Hashem, as it writes “And Hashem appeared to him,” but when he saw guests he begged leave from Hashem to depart from Him but without leaving completely, rather He should wait for him until he had treated the guests in a manner fitting for them. From this we can understand [the priority of] taking care of communal needs, for they embody a commandment even greater than hosting guests. Behold, someone involved in taking care of communal needs is exempt from the commandment to read Shema, as related in a Tosefta in Brachot: ‘This is the reason that Rabi Yishmael thought Rabi Akiva and Rabi Elazar ben Azariya did not read the Shema: because they were taking care of communal needs.’ How much more so is this commandment so great as to push aside the commandments of love [of Hashem] and closeness [to Him], which themselves are pushed aside before practical, active obligations, as is written in the portion of tzitzit. If so, then what does Hashem ask of the leaders of Israel? Not love [of Hashem] and closeness [to Him], nor guarding the performance of good deeds, but fear [of Him], meaning he should be steeped constantly in fear of Hashem. This is because someone in a leadership position who is taking care of the needs of the public, could be drawn to seek his own benefit or honour through his deeds. He might grant advantage to those who flatter him or alternatively, to someone who encroaches on his honour he might hide his eyes from seeing his suffering or even find opportunity to cause him evil. That is why it writes about him “What does Hashem ask of you, only to fear [Him].” At all times he needs to know “above even a high official is a higher authority...” There is a further reason for him to fear Hashem more than anyone else – because transgressions between man and his fellow are not easily atoned for. It states “man is considered forewarned [for damages] whether by accident or on purpose,” which is not the case regarding sins between a man and Heaven. King David says: “I hate those who hate You... examine me Hashem and know my heart... see if I have vexatious ways, and guide me on a path of eternity.” The explanation is: if I err in my evaluation of someone as one of those who hate You and as a result pursue him and hate him, but in fact I am not in line with the truth, then it would be better for me to die, that You should “guide me on a path of eternity.” For the mistake cannot be fixed and repentance will not help. This specific expectation applies to the heads and leaders of Israel and no others.

ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה, “And now, what is it that the Lord tour G’d asks of you, except to be reverent?” Nachmanides writes that the word ועתה, “and now,” is a continuation of what is written at the end of verse 13 לטוב לך “for your benefit.” In other words, Moses wants the people to understand that any demands made by Hashem on His people are never motivated by what is “good for Him,” but by what is good for His people. The route may be a little circuitous, i.e. when the Jew, by obedience to G’d, demonstrates a degree of reverence for Him, then all the commandments he performs will turn out to be for his benefit. As proof that performance by the Jewish people of these commandments cannot be designed to benefit the Creator, Moses reminds the people

All things are in the hands of Heaven, etc. I.e., this verse is not connected to the previous verses. Rather it begins a new topic to teach us that all things are in the hands of Heaven aside from, etc. Therefore He only asks of you to fear Him — which consists of similar activities that a person may choose to do or he may choose not to do, and it includes the fear of Heaven (Re”m).

V. 12. ועתה ישראל, und nun, nachdem durch alles Bisherige dir klar geworden sein muss, dass jedes Heil deiner Zukunft nur von der treuen Erfüllung dessen abhängt, was dein Gott von dir fordert, was ist es denn, was dein Gott von dir fordert? שואל מעמך (siehe zu 2. B. M. 3, 22). מה — כי אם: was anderes als. — Nach den Akzenten sind ללכת ,ליראה und לאהבה nicht drei getrennte Anforderungen, sondern ללכת und לאהבה sind Konsequenzen von ליראה: so Gott zu fürchten, dass diese Gottesfurcht uns zum Gehen in allen Gotteswegen und dieses zur Gottesliebe führt. ׳ירא את ד heißt ja: Gott in seiner Größe und Erhabenheit sich stets gegenwärtig halten (siehe Bereschit S. 58 und Schmot S. 387). ללכת בכל דרכיו: und dadurch veranlasst zu werden, alle die Ziele anzustreben, zu denen Er uns die Wege gelehrt; und dies Entfalten aller Kräfte in Gottes Gegenwart zu den Zielen, die Er uns gesteckt, in den Wegen, die Er uns gelehrt, ist ein beglückendes, diese Ziele und diese Wege sind so unserem ganzen Wesen entsprechend, das Er für diese Ziele und diese Wege geschaffen, — דרכיה דרכי נועם — und das Gefühl zu sein und seines Daseins Bestimmung unter Gottes Augen zu lösen, ist ein so beglückendes Hochgefühl, dass dieser Gottesfürchtige Wandel vor Gott selbst die Gottesliebe erzeugt, ׳אהבת ד, die keine größere Seligkeit kennt, als א הב ד׳, als sich Gott hinzugeben und sich Gott nahe zu wissen, ולעבד את ד׳ und aus dieser Liebe heraus alle Gedanken und Gefühle des Herzens und alle geistigen und leiblichen Kräfte der Seele in den Dienst Gottes aufgehen zu lassen, Seine Zwecke auf Erden zu vollbringen.

ועתה ישראל, מה ה' אלוקיך שאל ממך, “and now, Israel, what is it the Lord your G–d asks of you, etc.;” the list that follows comprises all aspects of life, so that it is hard to understand Moses as portraying G–d’s demands upon us as something trivial. According to one view, this question refers only to the last item in the list, i.e. “G–d asks us to do only what is clearly of benefit for us and is good for us and the observance of which will result in our earning a great reward.” However, our sages in the Talmud tractate B’rachot, folio 33 are clearly disturbed by such an interpretation. This is why they distinguish between ordinary folks like ourselves, and Moses, and state that what appeared as relatively easy in Moses’ eyes concerning himself, is a great deal more difficult for the ordinary Jew. Different sages dealing with the same problem arrive at a different conclusion by saying that the opportunity that G–d gave us by our earning merits through the recital of 100 benedictions on each day is what makes it so easy to accumulate all those merits. They arrive at this by not understanding the word מה in our verse as meaning: “what,” but as מאה, “one hundred,” the Torah alluding to how easy it is to accumulate one hundred merit points daily. (Compare Talmud, tractate Menachot, folio 43.) Our author tries to reinforce this daring interpretation by reminding us that whereas the numerical value of the word מה when we read the aleph bet from right to left, adds up to 45, when we read it from left to right these two letters appear as יץ in the matching (corresponding) sequence, and then add up to 100. Some, much later commentaries, such as Tur, Or Hachayim, chapter 46, state that King David, 500 years earlier than Ezra, who had introduced public Torah reading on Mondays and Thursdays, decreed the need to recite one hundred benedictions daily; he bases himself on Samuel II chapter 23,1 according to which 100 men in David’s army died daily and he did not know why, so that he introduced the rule to recite these benedictions to ward off the cause for these mysterious deaths. The numerical value of the word על which follows the word הוקם in that word is 100. and it is reported that the plague that killed one hundred people every day ceased forthwith, i.e. as soon as the people started reciting 100 benedictions daily. There is another interesting source for the benefit of the recital of 100 benedictions daily, which is derived from a verse in Psalms 128,4: הנה כי כן יבורך גבר, “so shall the man who fears the Lord be blessed,” the last four words of this line, seeing that the word has been spelled defectively, i.e. יברך, have a numerical value of 100, were the reason for the inclusion of the benediction מודים אנחנו לך, “we give thanks to You,” in the daily amidah prayer which we recite three times daily at least. We bow down while reciting this benediction. The source of bowing down when reciting these words is found in Samuel I 15,30 where King Sha-ul, after having been rebuked by the prophet Samuel for failing to have killed Agag, the King of the Amalekites, confesses to having sinned and bows down, והשתחויתי לה' אלוקיך, “I prostrated myself bowed down to the Lord your G–d; .Targum Yonathan translates the word והשתחויתי there as meaning: “I have given thanks.” The fact is that we do not prostrate ourselves during the daily amidah prayer when reciting the prayer beginning with the word מודים. The reason may be because the numerical value of the letters in that word is 100. This is another allusion to the fact that reciting 100 benedictions daily is appropriate or mandatory for each one of us. Or, the sages teach us that if one thanks the Lord daily in a proper fashion this is equivalent to having recited one hundred benedictions daily. In other words, it is equivalent to prostrating oneself. This has been attested to by a Rabbi Boon, in the Jerusalem Talmud [I have not found the quote, perhaps it is inaccurately quoted. Ed.]

כי אם ליראה וגו׳ EXCEPT TO FEAR [THE LORD YOUR GOD, etc.]. — Our Rabbis derived from this (“and now, what does God ask from you”) that everything is in the hands of God except the fear of God (Berakhot 33b).

ולאהבה אותו, this will also be a natural result if only you reflect on all the goodness you have experienced at His hand. לטוב לך, all of this G’d asks only for your own good, so that you will qualify for eternal life in the hereafter.

This verse may also be understood as an opening for תשובה, penitence, by the person who transgresses one of G'd's commandments claiming that he simply does not understand why G'd wants him to keep such a commandment. Moses answers such a person by telling him "and now." According to Bereshit Rabbah 21,6 the word עתה always is an opening for man to repent a sin. [The verse under discussion in that Midrash is Genesis 3,22 when G'd justifies expelling Adam from the garden of Eden. Ed.] According to that approach the words ועתה מה ה׳ אלוקיך שואל מעמך mean that G'd makes it very easy for us to become penitent. All we have to do is to demonstrate fear of the Lord. When we demonstrate such an attitude towards G'd He will be pleased with us already.

Diese יראת ד׳ ist bleibend die einzige Wurzel alles unseres Seins und Wollens vor Gott, sie ist das einzige, das Gott ganz in unsere Hand gelegt, הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים, sie ist das einzige, das עמך ist, und das Gott daher מעמד fordert, sie ist das einzige, welches Gott für alles und mit allem, das er uns gibt, von uns zurückerwartet. אין לו לה׳ב׳ה בבית גנזיו אלא אוצר של יראת שמים (Berachot 33 b). Sie ist der Schlüssel zu allem Wissen und ihre volle Betätigung ist das Ziel alles Wissens. כל אדם שיש בו תורה ואין בו יראת שמים דומה לגזבר שמסרו לו מפתחות הפנימיות ומפתחות החיצונות לא מסרו לו בהי עייל? und חבל על דלית ליה דרתא ותרעא לדרתא עביד (Schabbat 31 b).

From you. 'I request nothing from you but fear and love', for all the commandments are not from you but rather from Him; if He gives you a house, make a mezuzah and a fence [for its flat roof]. Clothing, make fringes. Money, make of it donations. Grain and grape juice and wine, make from them priestly and other tithes. A son, circumcise him. It turns out, performance of the mitzvot is ultimately from God! There is no Arab merchant in the world who, when given 20 dinarim, doesn't give because of this to the One who has commanded regarding it half of the money or a third, and this holds for him goodness. And so too, because of the Holy Blessed One we are able to praise all that You have made and give to him, and not beg at the doors. And this is that he does not ask from us a gift, just fear and love and the intention of the heart, and thus it is written (Job 41:3): "Who has a previous claim on Me, that I should repay him? All that is under the heavens is Mine!" -- I am first to give to them, before they give to Me anything. And so said David, "what is yours has been given to you". And not only do you do a mitzvah, but you even receive benefit! As it is written "to your own good" (Deuteronomy 10:13). And from this verse, our rabbis saw a hint (Menachot 43b) of one hundred daily blessings, as it is written "What [mah/מה] does the Lord your God ask of you?" Do not read "what" [mah/מה], rather one hundred [me'ah/מאה] -- and there are one hundred letters in this verse from "And now", when you read "what" with the additional alef (making it "me'ah"), that in one hundred there are one hundred letters. For within the verse there are 99 letters, and with the alef there are a round 100. And now there are two [hundreds]! -- one that you read, and a further one of the 100 letters.

The elders are instructed only “to go in His ways and to love Him and to serve Hashem with all your heart and with all your soul.” The common folk of the nation of Israel are required only “to guard the commandments of Hashem...” To the children, women and convert applies only “...for your good.” And still all these injunctions are stated together because this portion is said inclusive of all the assembly of Hashem, who contain within them all manner of people and everything required of each individual. David acted in a similar manner when he asked “one thing” of Hashem, meaning that each person should receive what is fitting for him. A Talmid Chacham should sit in in the House of Hashem, to see His pleasantness and to visit His Temple. Someone who is not fit for such a level will continue with his work, and should be sheltered in his covering when an evil day comes. One who goes out to war with His enemies should be raised up high on rock [in victory]. Nonetheless these requests are made on behalf of all Israel, and it is understood that at one time a man might stand in a position and Hashem will require of him a specific duty, and in turn he will ask for his specific needs, and at another time he will hold another position and he will be like that other man.

Moses continues ללכת בכל דרכיו "to walk in all His paths;" this can be understood in accordance with Vayikra Rabbah 21,5 that if you have committed a string of violations try and compensate for this by performing a string of commandments. Maimonides writes in his commentary on the Mishnah at the end of tractate Makkot that a person who has not angered G'd [by transgressing any negative commandment Ed.] will acquire merit both in this world and in the Hereafter as long as he performs a single commandment. Thus far Maimonides. I have compared the matter to two servants of a king, one of whom has never caused his monarch to be angry at him, and who now visits his king bearing a relatively inexpensive gift, a young dove. The second servant has a history of offending his monarch on repeated occasions; when he visits the king he tenders an ox as a gift. One could reason that the king has reason to be pleased with the offering of the dove and to be displeased with the offering of the ox in view of the previous acts of disobedience of the servant who now offers this gift. Moses here tells the penitent sinner to walk in "all the Lord's paths" i.e. to make up for it by performance of many commandments.

On a mystical level our verse also targets the hidden connections, i.e. interactions known only to G'd whereby man's actions in our world help unify branches of sanctity in the celestial regions. The same occurs in reverse, of course. Proverbs 16,28 ונרגן מפריג אלוף, "a quarrelsome one alienates his friend," refers to the אלופו של עולם. [Just as man's sins create a chasm between him and his Creator, so his מצוה-performance can close any chasm which existed between man and G'd. Ed.] Moses hints at this interaction. In terms of sanctity, the word מה refers to the presence of G'd, שכינה, as explained by the Talmud Sotah 11 in connection with Exodus 2,4: "his sister (Moses' sister Miriam) stood from afar to know what would happen to him." Rabbi Yitzchok demonstrates there how every word in that verse can be viewed as referring to celestial powers, and he understands the verse as speaking about the שכינה. Just as the word מה in that verse is a reference to the שכינה, so the word מה in our verse refers to the שכינה.

This approach is also in accordance with what our sages said in Tanchuma Korach 12 אל תקרי מה אלא מאה, "do not read מה, but 100, a reference to the 100 benedictions a person is supposed to recite daily. [This entire fascinating passage in the Tanchuma commences already with the mystical significance of the number 100. For instance, the words לך לך at the beginning of Genesis 12 are understood in terms of their numerical value i.e. 50+50 =100. This was a hint that Abraham's son Isaac would be born when Abraham was 100 years old. Ed.] It is important to associate G'd's ineffable name (י־ה־ו־ה) with the number 100, hence we have to recite 100 benedictions using the ineffable name of G'd. Moses says that basically, this is what G'd asks of the Jewish people, i.e. to create a unity between the Jewish people and G'd and His name. The reason Moses had to say ועתה, "and now," is because this is something that man can only do in this life. Once he finds himself in the hereafter, -though he may accomplish many outstanding tasks,- he cannot perform deeds as he will be like the angels, i.e. beings without a body. We find that our sages have compared this world to שעה, "an hour," when they described the kind of people who set more value by things which occur in this life though it is so transient. The wording in Shabbat 33 is: "they ignore eternity in favour of focusing on the life comprising an hour." When you pursue this approach, the words כי אם ליראה assume the meaning of some kind of material, i.e. the "fear" Moses is speaking about is quasi something tangible. Moses means that although when looked at in terms of something abstract "fear" may be something very great, hard to attain, once we reduce it to tangible terms it becomes much smaller, even though, admittedly, one needs spiritual resources in order to attain it. Moses,' or rather, G'd's message is that the beneficial result of fearing the Lord will be proportionately far greater than the effort invested in attaining such a result.

Another way of looking at this unusual utterance by Moses, ‎in which, at least superficially, he appears to describe reverence ‎for G’d as an attribute that is easily cultivated by man. We read in ‎Deuteronomy 33,26 where Moses describes some of the ‎phenomenal capacities of the Creator in the words: ‎רוכב שמים ‏בעזרך‎, “He rides the heavens in support of you (His people).” ‎Although G’d’s abilities are unlimited, ‎אין סוף‎, He has nonetheless ‎imposed restrictions upon Himself out of His love for the Jewish ‎people, so much so that when applying His many attributes in ‎practice, He first compares the way in which His people, Israel, ‎practice these same attributes down here on earth. When G’d ‎observes the Jewish people excelling in the practice of loving ‎kindness for their fellow Jews, He in turn, will also practice this ‎attribute in a very generous measure. The same is true of other ‎attributes such as displaying unforgiving hostility towards those ‎who blaspheme and belittle G’d, or worse. He will deal with such ‎people harshly, having taken His cue from the way His people ‎behave toward them. This was implied when we mentioned earlier ‎in connection with G’d being described both as Hashem and ‎as elokim in the same verse, (Deut. 6,4) (compare page 732) that whereas ‎the name ‎Hashem is a “comprehensive” name ‎including all of G’d’s manifold attributes, the name ‎‎“elokim” is used when referring to a specific attribute of ‎His being prominent at that time. When Moses, in our verse here, ‎stresses the name of G’d as His attribute of ‎אלוקיך‎, “your G’d,” this ‎suggests that He applies His attributes according to the way His ‎people practice this attribute on earth in their dealings with ‎others. ‎

That is that we were commanded to build a choice house for Divine service, in which there will be sacrifices and an eternal burning of fire; and to which there will be journeying and pilgrimage on the festivals, and gatherings every year. And that is His saying, "And let them make Me a sanctuary" (Exodus 25:8). And the language of the Sifrei (Sifrei Devarim 67:1) is, "Three commandments were commanded to Israel upon their entrance to the land: To appoint a king over themselves; to build themselves a choice house; and to cut off the seed of Amalek." Behold it has been made clear to you that the building of the choice house is a separate commandment. And we have already explained (Sefer HaMitzvot, Shorashim 12) that this aggregate includes many parts, such as the menorah, the table, the altar and the rest of them - all of them are parts of the Temple. And all of it is called, Temple, even as each and every part has an individual command. However, His saying about the altar, "Make for Me an altar of earth" (Exodus 20:21), could have been thought of as a separate commandment, besides the commandment of the Temple. And the content of this is as I will tell you: True, the simple understanding of the verse is indeed clearly speaking about the time of the permissibility of altars - as at that time, it was permitted for us to build an earthen altar and sacrifice upon it. But [the Sages] have already said that the [actual] content in this is that He commanded us to to build an altar that is connected to the ground, and that it not be detached and moved, as it was in the desert [journey from Egypt]. And that is their saying in the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael (Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon bar Yochai 20:21) in explanation of this verse, "When you come to the land, make Me an altar that is attached to the ground." And since the matter is so, behold that this command is practiced for [all] generations; and it would be one of the parts of the Temple - meaning that specifically an altar of stones be built. And they said in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:22:1) in explanation of, "And if an altar of stones you make for Me" (Exodus 20:22), "Rabbi Yishmael says, 'Each and every, if, in the Torah [connotes] optionality, except for three.'" And one of the them is, "And if an altar of stones." They said, "'And if an altar of stones you make for Me.' This is obligatory. You say it is obligatory, but perhaps it is optional. [Hence] we learn to say, 'Of whole stones shall you build [the altar of the Lord]' (Devarim 27:6)." And the regulations of this commandment as a whole - meaning to say, the building of the Temple and its description and the building of the altar - have been explained in the tractate associated with it, and that is Tractate Middot. And likewise is the form of the menorah, the table and the golden altar; and the location of their placement in the chamber explained in the Gemara, Menachot and Yoma. (See Parashat Terumah; Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 1.)