Musar zu Schemot 20:34

The written Torah concludes with the word ישראל and commences with the word בראשית. We may view the end as firmly connected with the beginning and the beginning as firmly connected with the end. We demonstrate this on שמחת תורה by reading from the beginning of פרשת בראשית as soon as we have concluded the last passage in וזאת הברכה. Our sages have provided an allusion for this when they said: בראשית ברא בראשית, i.e. בשביל התורה וישראל שנקראו ראשית. Israel is the whole purpose of the creation of the universe. It is appropriate therefore that the Torah begin with the word בראשית and end with the word ישראל. The Torah commences with the letter ב, which our sages in the Midrash describe as the letter symbolizing ברכה, blessing. The essence of any blessing is the expansion and the intensification of the prevailing abundance provided by G–d. The purpose of the benediction is to ensure the continuance of these abundant blessings by G–d indefinitely. Torah too is eternal, hence it represents the essence of all blessings. This idea is also alluded to in Psalms 29,11: ה' עוז לעמו יתן ה' יברך את עמו בשלום, "May the Lord grant strength to His people; may He bestow well-being on his people." A question is asked in the Sefer Ha-Bahir as well as in the Ziyoni "Whence do we know that the Torah itself is a blessing?" As an answer the authors cite Moses' blessing in 33,23: "And full of the Lord's blessing the West (sea) and the South, conquer it!" We have a tradition that "West" is a hyperbole for Torah because it is written in Job 11,9: "and broader than the West (sea)." Thus far the Tziyoni.

Commandment 25 of the 613 commandments is אנכי ה' אלוקיך, "I am the Lord Your G–d."

The whole subject matter of burial is connected with Genesis 3,19: כי עפר אתה ואל עפר אתה תשוב, "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Adam's origin was dust from the earth. Our sages describe G–d as having taken earth from the site that is described in Exodus 20,21: מזבח אדמה תעשה לי, "Make for Me an altar of earth" (Talmud Yerushalmi, Nazir 7,2).

Now that it has been made clear that our intent is to further the service of the Creator, blessed be He, for because of that the world was created, we say that the service of God is an obligation upon us to fulfill, both from Scripture and from reason. From Scripture, we learn that the Creator, blessed be He, created the world for no other reason than for the Torah, as it is said (Jeremiah 33:25), “If My covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” And it says further (Proverbs 3:19), “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” And it says further (Proverbs 8:22), “The Lord made me the beginning of His way, the first of His works of old.” We can say that the service of God is an obligation upon us, for the Creator gave the Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai, only as the means to serve Him, as it is said (Exodus 20:17), “God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.” And it is written (ibid., 3:12), “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” And it is said (Deuteronomy 6:13), “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him shalt thou serve.” Scripture placed “fear” before “service” to teach that if there is no fear there can be no serving of God. Thus it is said (ibid., 10:12), “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God… .” Now that we know that the world was created only for the sake of the Torah, we also know that the world was created for no other purpose than the service of God. As long as service to God and righteousness stand, the world will stand upon them. As it is said (Proverbs 10:25), “But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” Since it has been explained that the service of God is what we are obligated to do according to Scripture, we will now explain how it is derived by way of reason. We will say that it is well known that with regard to a mortal king, his kingdom is not firmly established except by the faithful service of his servants. If his servants do not serve him or fear him, then he has no sway over them, and there is no way in which his authority over them can be known. We see that such a king rewards his servants according to their service and their fear of him. If a king of flesh and blood must show his dominion and authority over his servants who are creatures such as he, and who may even be better than he, how much more is it fitting that the dominion of the Creator, blessed be He, should be apparent from our fear of Him. In what way can it be known that He is our Creator and we His servants, and that He endures forever, while we are transitory? How can we make all of this known except by doing His will and by our fear of Him? In this way, we will know what we are and what our lives are.

Kabbalists are aware that סדר זמנים, the arrangement in the cosmos of times allocated to certain events or activities, represents a combination of the emanations תפארת and מלכות. These are the mystical domains of the "sun and moon" in the Celestial Regions, the domain of the יוצר אור ובורא חושך, the Creator of light and darkness. The emanation תפארת contains the גוף הבנין, the "torso" as it were, of the Ineffable Name, from which His creative activity radiates, much as in a human torso the arms and legs, etc. perform comparable tasks. The six emanations from תפארת "down" to the emanation יסוד, perform these creative activities (We are discussing the creation of a spiritual as opposed to a physical universe). These six emanations or "branches," are analogous to the six days of Creation and, since they each represent a fusion of the attributes of דין and חסד, they are really twelve. They expand, or radiate in 6 different directions. The number twelve is the total number of possible permutations in writing the 4-lettered Ineffable Name of G–d. The "lowest" emanation מלכות, acts as receptacle of all these radiations. This concept can be understood as analogous to the moon which receives radiations from the sun during twelve separate months of the year. The sun and moon respectively are viewed as 2 "faces." בינה, being the 7th emanation involved, must be viewed like the Sabbath, the day on which all the forces abstain from activity. This is a cycle which repeats itself endlessly.

A pious man is so called because he has a sense of shame, for the word 'hassid' or 'pious' means 'white', for the translation of 'stork' (Hassidah) in Aramaic is "hawaeita" meaning "the white one", as you note in Leviticus 11:19, and similarly in Isaiah 29:22: "Neither shall his face now become white" (with shame), and the Aramaic translation of "herpah" (shame) is hisda (same as Hassid), as you will note in Genesis 34:14. And all of this for what reason? That the Hassid or pious person must bear shame in order to fulfill the Torah, and he must remove shame from his face at performing any precept. Then he is called a Hassid or "pious one", and thus he attains to prophecy as it is written: "Then didst Thou speak in vision to Thy pious ones" (Ps. 89:20). And through his sense of shame he will attain to true reverence of God, as it is written: "In order that His awe be upon your faces and you do not sin" (Exod. 20:20). What kind of awe or fear of God can be seen in a person's face? You must surely say, "A sense of shame" (which causes the face to change color) (Nedarim 20a).

A pious man is so called because he has a sense of shame, for the word 'hassid' or 'pious' means 'white', for the translation of 'stork' (Hassidah) in Aramaic is "hawaeita" meaning "the white one", as you note in Leviticus 11:19, and similarly in Isaiah 29:22: "Neither shall his face now become white" (with shame), and the Aramaic translation of "herpah" (shame) is hisda (same as Hassid), as you will note in Genesis 34:14. And all of this for what reason? That the Hassid or pious person must bear shame in order to fulfill the Torah, and he must remove shame from his face at performing any precept. Then he is called a Hassid or "pious one", and thus he attains to prophecy as it is written: "Then didst Thou speak in vision to Thy pious ones" (Ps. 89:20). And through his sense of shame he will attain to true reverence of God, as it is written: "In order that His awe be upon your faces and you do not sin" (Exod. 20:20). What kind of awe or fear of God can be seen in a person's face? You must surely say, "A sense of shame" (which causes the face to change color) (Nedarim 20a).

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house” (Exodus 20:17); “and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house” (Deuteronomy 5:18). We were warned with this not to make evil plots to take the field or vineyard or anything of (your) [our] fellow, even if one gives their price. And we were warned about the thought of this evil thing, that we should not resolve in our thoughts to do it, as it is stated, “You shall not covet.” And if a person longs for his fellow to sell him a field or a vineyard or [any] of his possessions and [the owner] does not want to sell it - but if he pleads with him with many supplications, he will be embarrassed to answer him - it is forbidden to plead with him, as it is like coercion or duress. And one who covets to take any object and is a respected person - such that if he asked the question, they would not let his eminence down - it is forbidden to ask for [any] purchase or grant, unless he knows that [the owner] would give it to him with [full agreement], and not regret giving it to him in his heart.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house” (Exodus 20:17); “and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house” (Deuteronomy 5:18). We were warned with this not to make evil plots to take the field or vineyard or anything of (your) [our] fellow, even if one gives their price. And we were warned about the thought of this evil thing, that we should not resolve in our thoughts to do it, as it is stated, “You shall not covet.” And if a person longs for his fellow to sell him a field or a vineyard or [any] of his possessions and [the owner] does not want to sell it - but if he pleads with him with many supplications, he will be embarrassed to answer him - it is forbidden to plead with him, as it is like coercion or duress. And one who covets to take any object and is a respected person - such that if he asked the question, they would not let his eminence down - it is forbidden to ask for [any] purchase or grant, unless he knows that [the owner] would give it to him with [full agreement], and not regret giving it to him in his heart.

There are some [negative commandments] that are dependent upon the tongue, for which we give lashes. For so did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Makkot 16a), “All the warnings in the Torah - we do not give lashes for a negative commandment that does not [involve] an action, except for one who makes an oath or curses his fellow with [God’s] name.” And even though there is no death penalty from the court with a vain oath, its punishment at the hands of the Heavens is more weighty than many sins that do have a death penalty from the court. For making an oath in vain profanes [God’s] name - as it is stated (Leviticus 19:12), “You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God” - and the punishment for profaning the name is more elevated than [that of] all of the sins. And it is not written like this about any of the sins besides a false oath and idolatry, as it is stated (Leviticus 20:3), “because he gave of his offspring to Molech and so defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.” And it is stated in the warning about idolatry (Exodus 20:5), “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord, your God, am a jealous God.” [This] means to say, that He will not forgive the iniquity of idolatry in the way of forgiveness for other sins - like the matter that is written (Jeremiah 5:7), “Why should I forgive you; your children have forsaken Me and sworn by no-gods!” And likewise is it written in the warning for a false oath (Exodus 20:7), “for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.” And the warning for a false oath is written (immediately) after the warning of idolatry, most certainly because the iniquity of profaning God, may He be blessed, is found under the wings of a false oath. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said regarding the matter of the verse (Proverbs 30:8-9), “Give me neither poverty nor riches, etc. Lest, being sated, I renounce, saying, ‘Who is the Lord,’ or, being impoverished (it is written fully with an aleph, but its meaning is, poor), I take to theft, and profane the name of my God,” that the latter is harsher than the former - as it is stated (Ezekiel 20:39), “As for you, O House of Israel, etc., go, every one of you, and worship his idols and continue, if you will not obey Me; but do not profane My holy name any more.” It is meaning to say that the iniquity of the one who swears falsely in a court is more weighty than the punishment of one who worships idolatry in private, due to the profaning of the name [involved in the former]. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shevuot 39a), “For all of the other transgressions in the Torah, punishment is exacted only from the transgressor and his family; whereas here, punishment is exacted from him and from the entire world,” And if the court obligates a man to make an oath but he knows that his mouth speaks falsely (it would be a false oath), it is forbidden to [even] take the oath upon himself, saying, “I will swear” - in order to frighten his fellow - even though he does not plan to swear. For it is stated, (Exodus 20:7), “You shall not bear” - and included in its meaning is not to accept (agree) to swear falsely. And likewise did they, may their memory be blessed, say in our Mekhilta (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Yitro). And the Targum (translation of Onkelos) of, “Do not bear a vain report“ (Exodus 23:1), is “do not accept.” And it is forbidden to make a needless oath, even if he is swearing about the truth, as it is stated (Exodus 20:7), “Do not bear the name of God in vain” - and its Targum is, “for nothing.” And likewise is the iniquity of one who causes his fellow to swear for nothing, great - for example when his fellow owed him a hundred and he doubled it in his claim, in order that the law would come out that one who admits partially is obligated to make a Torah-based oath; or when he claims against his fellow for nothing and asks him for what he knows nothing about and makes him take a [rabbinic] oath of inducement. And our Rabbis said (Shevuot 39a) that this man is called a thief, as he is stealing his mind (deceiving him); and about him is it stated (Zechariah 5:4), “[But] I have sent it forth - declares the Lord of Hosts - and [the curse] shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name, and it shall lodge inside their houses and shall consume them to the last timber and stone.” And one who knows that if he takes an oath, people will suspect him about [the truth of] the oath, should restrain himself from [taking] the oath for the honor of the Heavens - even though the truth is with him.

There are some [negative commandments] that are dependent upon the tongue, for which we give lashes. For so did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Makkot 16a), “All the warnings in the Torah - we do not give lashes for a negative commandment that does not [involve] an action, except for one who makes an oath or curses his fellow with [God’s] name.” And even though there is no death penalty from the court with a vain oath, its punishment at the hands of the Heavens is more weighty than many sins that do have a death penalty from the court. For making an oath in vain profanes [God’s] name - as it is stated (Leviticus 19:12), “You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God” - and the punishment for profaning the name is more elevated than [that of] all of the sins. And it is not written like this about any of the sins besides a false oath and idolatry, as it is stated (Leviticus 20:3), “because he gave of his offspring to Molech and so defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.” And it is stated in the warning about idolatry (Exodus 20:5), “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord, your God, am a jealous God.” [This] means to say, that He will not forgive the iniquity of idolatry in the way of forgiveness for other sins - like the matter that is written (Jeremiah 5:7), “Why should I forgive you; your children have forsaken Me and sworn by no-gods!” And likewise is it written in the warning for a false oath (Exodus 20:7), “for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.” And the warning for a false oath is written (immediately) after the warning of idolatry, most certainly because the iniquity of profaning God, may He be blessed, is found under the wings of a false oath. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said regarding the matter of the verse (Proverbs 30:8-9), “Give me neither poverty nor riches, etc. Lest, being sated, I renounce, saying, ‘Who is the Lord,’ or, being impoverished (it is written fully with an aleph, but its meaning is, poor), I take to theft, and profane the name of my God,” that the latter is harsher than the former - as it is stated (Ezekiel 20:39), “As for you, O House of Israel, etc., go, every one of you, and worship his idols and continue, if you will not obey Me; but do not profane My holy name any more.” It is meaning to say that the iniquity of the one who swears falsely in a court is more weighty than the punishment of one who worships idolatry in private, due to the profaning of the name [involved in the former]. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shevuot 39a), “For all of the other transgressions in the Torah, punishment is exacted only from the transgressor and his family; whereas here, punishment is exacted from him and from the entire world,” And if the court obligates a man to make an oath but he knows that his mouth speaks falsely (it would be a false oath), it is forbidden to [even] take the oath upon himself, saying, “I will swear” - in order to frighten his fellow - even though he does not plan to swear. For it is stated, (Exodus 20:7), “You shall not bear” - and included in its meaning is not to accept (agree) to swear falsely. And likewise did they, may their memory be blessed, say in our Mekhilta (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Yitro). And the Targum (translation of Onkelos) of, “Do not bear a vain report“ (Exodus 23:1), is “do not accept.” And it is forbidden to make a needless oath, even if he is swearing about the truth, as it is stated (Exodus 20:7), “Do not bear the name of God in vain” - and its Targum is, “for nothing.” And likewise is the iniquity of one who causes his fellow to swear for nothing, great - for example when his fellow owed him a hundred and he doubled it in his claim, in order that the law would come out that one who admits partially is obligated to make a Torah-based oath; or when he claims against his fellow for nothing and asks him for what he knows nothing about and makes him take a [rabbinic] oath of inducement. And our Rabbis said (Shevuot 39a) that this man is called a thief, as he is stealing his mind (deceiving him); and about him is it stated (Zechariah 5:4), “[But] I have sent it forth - declares the Lord of Hosts - and [the curse] shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name, and it shall lodge inside their houses and shall consume them to the last timber and stone.” And one who knows that if he takes an oath, people will suspect him about [the truth of] the oath, should restrain himself from [taking] the oath for the honor of the Heavens - even though the truth is with him.

There are other groups that do not have a share in the world to come: And they are the group of the enemies of the Lord, may He be blessed; the group of the destroyers of the vineyard of the Lord; and the group of the ones inflicting fear in the land of the living. Behold we will present their content and the proof of their punishment explicit in the Torah:
For the group of the enemies of Lord will be lost from the world to come, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 7:10), “But who requites with destruction those who hate Him to his face - never slow with those who hate Him, but requiting them to his face.” Its explanation is that he repays the reward of the commandments fulfilled by those that hate Him, in this world - in order to destroy them from [getting to] the world to come. And its Targum (translation by Onkelos) is, “And He repays those that hate Him the good that they do in front of Him, in their lives, to destroy them. And David said (Psalms 37:20), “But the evildoers shall be lost, and the enemies of the Lord shall be like heavy sheep, completely consumed in smoke.” And he mentioned the expression, “loss,” with the evildoers, as it is [used] for distress and exile - as the matter that is stated (Isaiah 27:13), “the lost who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled, etc.”; (Jeremiah 50:6), “My people were lost sheep”; [and] (Psalms 119:176), “I have strayed like a lost sheep” - and it is also [used] for death, as the matter that is stated (Psalms 119:92), “I would have been lost in my affliction”; (Esther 8:6) “at the loss of my kindred”; [and] (Leviticus 23:30) “and I will cause that soul to be lost” - meaning excision from this world. For evildoers are punished with difficulties and afflictions or with death, and they are also punished with the judgement for their deeds in the world to come. But [David] compared the enemies of the Lord to the meat of sheep, as it will become coals. Therefore, it will be “completely consumed in smoke.” Just like the fat of sheep is consumed in smoke, so too will the enemies of the Lord be consumed. For their souls will be consumed and lost from the world to come. And it is stated (Exodus 20:5), “visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who hate Me.”

And this is the thing about the group of liars - the content of this group is divided into nine sections:
The first section: The lying man that left the Torah and does evil and destroys with the response of his mouth - like one who contradicts his countryman about a deposit or a transfer or the wage of a wage-worker, as it is stated (Leviticus 19:11), “you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely, a man towards his countryman.” And likewise, one who bears false witness against his neighbor; and it is said (Exodus 20:13), “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” And included in this section is deception and fraud in commerce and in partnerships; and it is stated (Leviticus 25:14), “you shall not cheat, one man, his brother.” And it is [also] stated (Psalms 55:12), “fraud and deceit never leave its square.” And he is called a man of iniquity and a ruffian; and he is the heaviest with iniquity from the groups of the evildoers, as we have discussed in the Gates of Fear of Sin (no longer extant). And the characteristics of this man of iniquity are that he winks his eyes and rolls his fingers, as it is written (Proverbs 6:12-13), “A ruffian individual, a man of iniquity, etc. Winking his eyes, etc.”

Maimonides writes that the different wording used here as compared to the Tenth Commandment in Exodus 20,14 are not to be viewed as a mere repetition of the same commandment differently worded. The prohibition of לא תתאוה is a separate prohibition. The prohibition of לא תחמוד enjoins one not to acquire someone else's possession either by paying for it or by not paying for it unless the owner voluntarily agrees to sell it. The additional prohibition in our פרשה refers to the contemplation of ownership of such objects of one's desire. We must not ask how the Torah can expect us to exercise control over our mind's desires. This is a spurious argument. Only wicked people or fools would argue in such a way. Man is a free agent and can control his desires. He can discipline himself not to desire what is forbidden. G–d is well aware of our innermost thoughts and will punish people for sinful thoughts, whereas He will reward people who have pure thoughts for up to two thousand generations. It is best if a person can train himself to have only pure thoughts, for they lead to laudable deeds.

The commandments: "I am the Lord your G–d," and "you must not have any other god," tell us that אנכי, "I am the Lord your G–d," is the source of all positive commandments, and לא יהיה לך tells us that the same G–d is the source of all negative commandments. Our sages teach us that Israel heard these two commandments directly from G–d's mouth (Makkot 24). This is why you find that G–d addresses Israel in the second person in these two commandments. When G–d introduces the third commandment, He switches half-way through the commandment (20,7) to indirect speech, i.e. כי לא ינקה, "For He will not consider blameless, etc." He also did not say "Do not utter My name in vain, but "do not utter the name of the Lord your G–d in vain." It was Moses quoting G–d who said these words; hence the change in style. The same applies to the remainder of the first set of the Ten Commandments.

I have also come to awaken ourselves to another thing that most men stumble in. It is well known that [the issur of] theft obtains both with others and with relatives, and even with one's father and mother, as we find in Bava Kamma 70a: "If one stole from his father, etc." And it is obvious that the negative commandment of "You shall not covet" also obtains with all. And see Choshen Mishpat that the negative commandment of "You shall not covet" does not obtain with desiring in the heart alone, but with one's being so profuse in blandishments of another that he finally consents to give him what he wants. Accordingly, if one joined another in a wedding agreement [tenaim] to wed his daughter to his son and they agreed what each would give [(For before they reach an agreement, each is entitled to ask whatever he wishes, stating that lacking this, he does not wish to sign)], and after this he heaped blandishments upon the other to extract more and more, apparently the negative commandment of "You shall not covet" obtains, and this with all such optional gifts [(as opposed to grants of charity)], where the other does not really wish to give but consents only under the pressure of the blandishments.

The מכילתא on Exodus 20,14 comments in a vein similar to what Maimonides has written. The commandment of לא תתאוה is seen as a preliminary stage to לא תחמוד. As long as the desire is not yet accompanied by plans to acquire the desired object, regardless of the owner's attitude, one is guilty only of לא תתאוה. As soon as one plans to obtain possession of the object of one's desire one becomes guilty of violating the commandment of לא תחמוד. How do I know that the plan to acquire someone else's property against his will eventually will lead to robbery? We know this from Michah 2,2: וחמדו שדות וגזלו , "They covet fields and seize them."

And love for father and mother should be in this manner — that he should be ever mindful that they reared him and exerted themselves to teach him the ways of the Lord, may He be Blessed, and instructed him and educated him as to Torah and Commandments, and it is through them that he can fulfill the command of the Creator, may He be Blessed, as it is written: "Honor your father and your mother" (Exod. 20:12).

3) The third method of acquiring that status of doing מעשים טובים, is performance of the commandment when it involves various degrees of self sacrifice, מסירת נפש. The Mechilta explains this in connection with Exodus 20,6, where G–d promises reward for the next two thousand generations to people who have performed His commandments, whereas in Deut 7,9, the reward is promised for one thousand generations. The difference is due to whether the commandments have been performed out of love for G–d or out of fear of G–d. Isaac is reported to have replied to Ishmael who had boasted of his מסירת נפש when undergoing circumcision at the age of thirteen, a deed Isaac could not match since he had been only eight days old at his own circumcision. He told his half-brother Ishmael that he would offer up all his organs at the עקדה, thus proving even greater self-sacrifice.

The statement of our sages זכור ושמור בדבור אחד, that "remember" and "observe" -the Sabbath- was said simultaneously (i.e. the difference in the version of the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20,7, and the version recorded in the Deuteronomy 5,11), is linked to the Exodus from Egypt (as distinct from the Sabbath of creation). In Deuteronomy the reason for the legislation is יציאת מצרים, the Exodus, whereas in Parshat Yitro it is מעשה בראשית. Clearly then the Exodus is equivalent to the act of creating the universe, in other words a חידוש העולם. I have explained this at greater length in my commentary on מסכת שבת and on other occasions. Originally, G–d had considered to create a universe that was to be run along the lines of strict justice, מדת הדין. This is hinted at in the story of creation. Rabbeynu Bachyah in his commentary sees a hint of this in the first-forty two letters of the Torah, concluding with the letter ה in the word ובהו. The idea is spelled out more clearly in the Pardes Rimonim of Rabbi Moses Cordovero, in the chapter dealing with names and צירופים.

It is written in Seifer HaChinuch: When a man thinks about matters of silver and gold and coins he violates the negative injunction, “You shall not make gods of silver and gods of gold alongside of Me” (Shmos 20:20). It is worth examining the rest of the passage as well.

And if you wish to have mercy on your children and kin and to honor them with a great honor, then you must occupy yourself with Torah and good deeds and kindly acts of charity and this will be the best for them — that they should be honored through you and not bear reproach because of you. For there is no greater shame than that one should have parents and relatives who are wicked people. And he whose father is a thief or robber or had done other notorious deeds that are ugly in the eyes of the world, all his descendants are made ugly after him for many generations, for people say of them, "These are the descendants of that wicked one." And for the sins of parents children die, as it is written: "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me" (Exod. 20:5). See and understand this — is there a more cruel man than one whose children die because of his sin? And there is none who shows greater mercy to his children than the righteous man, for his merit continues for a thousand generations (and his descendants are blessed and honored because of him.)

'A son will honor his father, and a servant his master.' A son will honor his father, as it is written: 'Honor your father and your mother,' which they explained: 'with food and with drink and the like.' This, during the life of his father. Now lest you say that after his father dies, he is exempt from this, this is not so, for [in this respect, too,] it is written: 'Honor your father.' For if the son walks in crooked paths, he certainly shames his father; he certainly humiliates him. But if that son walks in a just path and corrects his misdeeds, he certainly honors his father. He honors him in this world before people; he honors him in the world to come before the Holy One Blessed be He. The Holy One Blessed be He pities him [the father] and places him in his seat of honor. Happy are the tzaddikim, who merit holy sons, holy offspring, of whom it is written (Isaiah 61:9): 'All who see them will defer to them, for they are seed blessed of the L-rd.'"

Trust is impossible without faith, as it is written : "And they that know Thy Name will put their trust in Thee" (Ps. 9:11). For those who know His Great Name and recognize His greatness and power, and believe in Him with all their heart — only they can truly trust in Him, for trust and faith are partners; if there is no faith, there is no trust. And faith is the very beginning of the Torah, as it is written : "I am the Lord, your God; you shall have no other gods" (Exod. 20:2-3). And if a man does not believe of what good is his Torah? And where a man believes from the depths of his heart that the Creator will fulfill all that is written in the Torah, sending troubles to the sinner and paying a good reward to those who fulfill the precepts of the Torah, then he will carefully guard the Torah. For if all the thieves and robbers knew with certainty that they would be slain because of their thefts and robberies and would be unable to escape this fate, they would restrain themselves from wrong doing. But all of the thieves and robbers are sure that they will always be saved from this tragic end, and, therefore, they do what their heart desires. And, also, in the case of the sinner, if he believed with certainty that he would be punished greatly, he would not sin.

The result of all these considerations is an awareness that G–d is the Original Cause and Existence, and has in turn, brought into existence any phenomena we observe. As a result He is able to do whatever He wants as He demonstrated in Egypt when He performed all the miracles. This is why the first of the Ten Commandments concludes with the words: "who has brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slaves." It was in that environment that the uniqueness of G–d and His Power was demonstrated to the greatest number of people simultaneously.

If at Sinai it says וידבר אלוקים to indicate that the attribute of Justice was being applied to certain types of people, the word ואלה is a continuation of that thought as applied to the judges of the Jewish people.

We must try and understand why Rabbenu Bachyah was so selective in his comparison of the creation with the construction of the Tabernacle. He could have cited additional parallels. A look at a lengthy Midrash in Shemot Rabbah 33,4 quotes Rabbi Berechyah as presenting a long list of parallels between the Tabernacle and מעשה בראשית. The list includes many items found in the heavens such as ערפל, זבול, עצי שטים, כרובים, אופנים and many others. In each case Rabbi Berechyah demonstrates that the Tabernacle contained something parallel.

We must try and understand why Rabbenu Bachyah was so selective in his comparison of the creation with the construction of the Tabernacle. He could have cited additional parallels. A look at a lengthy Midrash in Shemot Rabbah 33,4 quotes Rabbi Berechyah as presenting a long list of parallels between the Tabernacle and מעשה בראשית. The list includes many items found in the heavens such as ערפל, זבול, עצי שטים, כרובים, אופנים and many others. In each case Rabbi Berechyah demonstrates that the Tabernacle contained something parallel.

The making of images is prohibited even if these are not meant to be worshipped [such as when they are displayed in museums as relics of primitive man. Ed.]. The existence of such images may become the cause of someone somewhere choosing to worship them. The prohibition applies no less when one commissions someone to construct a cast image than when one fashions them with one's own hands. According to Maimonides, culpability results from one's being the cause of these images being made.

Many negative commandments refer to theft such as "you shall not steal" (Shemot 20:13, "you shall not rob" Vayikra (19:13), "you shall not oppress" (ibid); "nor deny nor lie one to another" (Vayikra 19:11), "you shall not oppress one another" (Vayikra 25:14), "You shall not push back your neighbor's boundary" (Devarim 19:14). All these are divisions of the laws of theft which apply to many common business transactions and each one includes many prohibitions under it.

לא תשתחוה להם. This means that when one prostrates oneself before a graven image or idol, though this may not be the normal way in which such an idol is worshipped, one is guilty of idol-worship, because prostrating oneself before G–d is the way of service in the Holy Temple before the Almighty. The act of השתחויה is a definite form of worship. We are told in Exodus 22,19: "Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord alone shall be proscribed" [is subject to the death penalty by stoning. Ed]. While it is true that we learn from Exodus 22,19 that any acts that constitute normal worship such as slaughtering the animal, burning its flesh on the altar, pouring libations of wine on the altar, etc., are all actions punishable by death when performed in honour of other deities (regardless of whether such acts are part of the system in which that particular deity is worshipped), the question is why the Talmud did not derive the prohibition of prostrating oneself from this verse in Exodus. Prostrating oneself, which does not involve a sacrificial act, could not be derived from the words זובח in Exodus 22,19. Hence a special verse was needed for this prohibition. The act of prostrating oneself symbolises that one humbles oneself utterly and thus becomes culpable.

ולא תעבדם. This is a warning not to serve idols in the manner in which they are usually being served, even though such ways revolt us. The classic example is the idol בעל פעור, which was worshipped by means of humans excreting before it. The culpability for such an act stems from one's having demonstrated that one is on the theological wavelength of the adherents of such a cult, something abhorrent in the eyes of G–d. One tried to please such a deity.

Now any man who has this quality strongly within him, is very despicable, for jealousy brings a person to lust, for when a man does not pay attention to what his companion acquires, he does not lust. And the Torah said, "You shall not lust after the wife of your neighbor… and anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exod. 20:14). A man who is overpowered by lust, is very close to transgressing the Ten Commandments. A parable that will illustrate this is the story of a man who had a neighbor and there was a wall that separated them and their property. Now the wicked man coveted the wife of his neighbor, and also some of his possessions. One day he overheard the man say to his wife, "I shall have to leave for a while for business," and thus he did. What did the wicked man do? On Sabbath eve, he went and broke the wall that was between them. And thus, he had already transgressed the commandment to "remember and keep the Sabbath." He then forcibly attacked the wife of his neighbor, and in that way transgressed the commandment that "You shall not covet" and he lay with her, and thus he transgressed the commandment "You shall not commit adultery." And after that when he began to plunder the possessions of his neighbor, the woman cried out, and when she cried out, he slew her — and so he transgressed the commandment "You shall not commit murder." And after he had robbed and stolen what he lusted for, he had already transgressed the commandment, "You shall not steal" as well as "You shalt not covet." Then his father and his mother stood up and rebuked him. He arose up against them and struck them, and thus he transgressed the commandment "Honor your father and your mother." And afterwards, when he was brought to court, he and his worthless companions testified that the property found in his possession had been left with him as a pledge by his neighbor and that he had permitted his neighbor to take them back in trust even though he had not paid. He had trusted his neighbor with the pledge and had never been able to obtain possession of them until now when the robbers had broken the wall which was between their properties and had slain the woman and that when he heard the commotion he had entered and taken back his pledge. Now by this testimony, he transgressed against the commandment "You shall not utter false testimony against your neighbor." Then continually, wherever he went, he swore that he had done nothing wrong, and so he transgressed against the commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain." Finally, his crimes were revealed and his wrong became known far and wide. Because of this disgrace, he became utterly depraved, denied the living God and thus he transgressed against the First Commandment, "I am the Lord thy God." Finally, he became attached to idolatry and thus he transgressed the command "You shall have no other gods, you shall not bow down before them and you shall not serve them." And all of this was caused by his lust! Thus we find that lust can bring one very near to transgress against all of the Torah.

לא תשא. Even a king of flesh and blood insists on not lending his good name to something criminal or dishonourable. How much more so is the Creator of the entire universe entitled to have His Holy Name respected! We must remember that the existence of the Lord our G–d, i.e. His eternal existence, is not comparable to any other existence in this universe. This awareness must be reflected whenever we utter His Name, something that must be accompanied by feelings of awe and reverence. One does not use His Holy Name in light-hearted conversation. It is not appropriate to bring G–d's Name into conversations which deal with transient matters. Needless to say that it is even less appropriate to associate His name with lies and cheating.

From all of our elaborating until now on the greatness of the punishment for lashon hara in this world and the next, it should be understood how much we must distance ourselves from the sin of machloketh. For aside from the sin itself, which is a grave one, as we shall explain, it is a potent cause of other grave sins, namely: vain hatred, lashon hara, rechiluth, anger, verbal wronging, "whitening of the face" [in shame], revenge, bearing a grudge, vain curses, undermining a person's livelihood, and, sometimes, even desecration of the Name, G-d forbid, an extremely grave transgression. And it is also common to come through this to the sin of flattery, whereby one gains adherents for his quarrel, as we find with Korach, as Chazal have said (Sanhedrin 52a) on the verse (Psalms 35:16): "Because of the flattery of the quaffing of a draught, he has ground his teeth against me" — Because of the flattery they accorded Korach for the drinks that he plied them with, the plenipotentiary of Gehinnom ground his teeth against them." And machloketh also leads to levity, to mock the opposing party and thereby draw adherents to one's counsel. And all this was the conduct of the first man of machloketh — Korach, as we find in Midrash Rabbah, Korach. And it is known that the punishment for levity begins with suffering and ends with destruction, as Chazal have said. And more than this. It is found that when the yetzer entices one to strengthen the machloketh and to draw men to his counsel, and he fears lest they turn away from him and leave him by himself, the yetzer entices him to create a strong bond [of unity] by means of an oath. All this we find in the Midrash and in the Gemara in respect to Korach, Dathan, and Aviram. And see, my brother, how much blindness there is in this. For the oath is close to being a vain one, their having sworn to transgress a mitzvah [See Yoreh Deah 236:2, and the Shach there, section 4]. And even if he fulfills his oath, it still does not leave the category of "a vain oath" [See 238:5]. And the severity of the punishments for a vain oath is well known, the Holy One Blessed be He not absolving one for this, as it is written (Shemoth 20:7): "The L-rd will not absolve one who takes His name in vain" [See Shevuoth 39a]. I have written all of this only to show to all the great "blindness of the eyes" that inheres in this. And even if in the beginning he does not intend such evil, still, in the end, he will not be absolved of the aforementioned transgressions, as should be clear to anyone with a knowledge of the world.

זכור את יום השבת. The Talmud in Pessachim 106 states that one fulfils this commandment by reciting a benediction over wine on the Sabbath eve. Whence do we know that one needs to recite a similar benediction on the Sabbath day also? This is why the Torah says in this verse זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. One sanctifies the Sabbath by speaking about its sanctity during meals while enjoying this day of rest. In the absence of wine, the benediction may be recited over bread since eating bread also contributes to one's feeling well and contented, though not to the same degree as drinking wine. When the Sabbath ends, we are also required to speak of its holiness and to signify that there is a difference between the holiness of the Sabbath and the secular nature of the days following. The reason the Rabbis do not permit the reciting of הבדלה over bread may be that since we have eaten extensively during the Sabbath, the addition of another piece of bread would not contribute to our feeling of well-being. This is why the benediction הבדלה, is to be recited over wine. By its very definition, the Sabbath is a reminder of the fact that the universe had a beginning, i.e. it did not precede G–d; it testifies to the fact that G–d has created the universe and all that is in it ex nihilo.

כבד את אביך ואת אמך. Our sages (Kidushin 30) have said that a man is the product of three partners, two of whom are father and mother. It follows that G–d, the third partner, has given some of the honour due to Him to His partners in creating the human being in question. This concludes the description of the plain meaning of the first five of the Ten Commandments.

The first of the משפטים deals with the Jewish servant, both male and female, and is hinted at already in the first of the Ten Commandments. G–d had liberated Israel from bondage to become exclusively His servants. We know from Leviticus 25,55, that כי לי בני ישראל עבדים, that "the children of Israel are My slaves." Rashi refers to this when explaining why the servant who chooses to remain in service has his ear pierced with an awl (Exodus 21,6).

The two words "לאמר" that we mentioned earlier as apparently superfluous, have something in common. The repeated "דבור" suggests that there was an exoteric (נגלה) as well as an esoteric (נסתר) element in what the Torah tells us here. In 25,10 the exoteric meaning is to inform the people of the noble lineage Pinchas was descended from, whereas in 25,12 they are to be informed of an additional dimension of Pinchas' greatness, i.e. that he is equated with the prophet Elijah. This is alluded to in the words "because he displayed jealous fervor on behalf of his G–d" (25,13). The letters in the expression “לאל-היו,” are identical with the word “לאליהו,” “to Elijah.” The latter also excelled by displaying jealousy on behalf of G–d, something that he himself is quoted as saying to G–d in Kings I 19,10. He referred to his having slain four hundred Jewish priests who had forsaken the Torah to serve the idol Baal instead. Elijah's performance on Mount Carmel was similar to that of Pinchas at Shittim. The name אליהו (which in the Bible is frequently spelled without the letter Vav at the end) contains two names of G–d, i.e. El and Ya-h. In his encounter with Zimri Pinchas restored the honor of the name El, since the Israelites at the time had been guilty of insulting that name of G–d by serving the El of the Moabites and Midianites, "וישתחוו לאלהיהן" (Numbers 24,2). The second of the Ten Commandments specifically prohibits a Jew prostrating himself before an alien deity (Exodus 20,4). Pinchas' deed restored the relations between G–d and Israel which the people's behaviour had upset. His deed, when analysed, consisted of discrediting a man and a woman who respectively were leaders of their tribes, or, in the case of Cozbi, whose father was an ancestral tribal head. The Torah emphasizes the word איש and אשה, when referring to these two both in 25,8, and in 26,14-15, although there is no need for this. We have mentioned repeatedly that the letters "י and ה" in the Hebrew for "man" and "woman" teach us that only when they remain aware of G–d's Presence in this world are they safe from burning up in the passion of their sexuality, seeing that without those letters of G–d's name their names would signal merely masculine and feminine "fire" respectively. The name of G–d contained in those two people whom Pinchas slew was Ya-h. These two had disgraced the name of G–d by their conduct. The Torah in order to draw our attention to all this repeats: …. ושם … איש … ושם האשה, (26,14, 26,15). Rashi already explained that at the count of the people after this episode the peculiarly worded names of the tribes i.e. ה-ראובנ-י, and not simply ראובן demonstrated that the name of each tribe contained the name of G–d. G–d thus personally testified-that the members of all these tribes were conceived while their respective parents maintained absolute chastity. This too is the meaning of Psalms 122,4: שבטי י-ה עדות לישראל, "Israel are G–d's tribes, as per G–d's personal testimony." The letter ו in the word שלום, is "amputated" in 25,12. Baal Haturim points out that the numerical value of that word equals זהו משיח, "this is the Messiah." By diminishing the size of that letter, it is as if one had not thought about the last letter in the name of אליהו. Elijah is the prophet who announces the imminent arrival of the Messiah and prepares people for that. Removing part of the letter ו is meant to convey to us that Elijah (as alluded to by the absence of the last letter in his name), will materialise when one least thinks of him.. The letters added to the names of the tribes during this count therefore can be viewed as making up the second name of G–d contained in the name אליה, the name Ya-h. The Torah informs us in Exodus 6,25 that Pinchas' father had married one of the daughters of Putiel, who according to Midrash Hagadol fattened (play on word Putiel) all the idols in the world and the other tribes despised him on account of his ancestry. Since the name פוטיאל concludes with the letters of the name of G–d, however, the Torah alerts us to the fact that he converted to monotheism, i.e. El Ya-h. The whole verse is an allusion to Joseph who controlled his desire in his involvement with the wife of his master Potiphar, whose similarly sounding name reminds us of what took place then. Just as Joseph preserved the holy covenant with G–d at that time, so Pinchas, his descendant maternally, restored the holy covenant with G–d by taking G–d's revenge on Zimri. As a result, G–d granted him "My covenant Peace." Targum Yonathan on that verse says that Pinchas was made into an angel who would live until he could announce the final redemption. It is further written (of Pinchas) that G–d's covenant of life and well-being was with him (Malachi 2,5), that "the true Torah was in his mouth. He walked with Me in peace and equity, nothing perverse was on his lips. He served Me with complete loyalty; he held many back from committing iniquity, for the lips of a priest guard knowledge and people seek Torah from his mouth, seeing that he is an angel of the Lord G–d of Hosts" (Ibid 6). This verse clearly alludes to Pinchas, since Pinchas became an angel, as our sages comment on Joshua 2,4, (Tanchuma quoted by Rashi). Since Pinchas held back many from sinning, he is described by the prophet as having the true Torah issuing forth from his mouth. "Truth" is an element that reinforces and strengthens religious belief and practice. It is not something merely personal, but is something that must be demonstrated to the community in order to be capable of convincing such a community to do penitence. Such a result is called אמת, truth. Truth is something of an everlasting nature.

לא תגנובו . Here (19,11) the Torah speaks about someone stealing money or other valuables, whereas in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20,13 the Torah referred to the kidnapping of a person or persons. I find it puzzling why the Torah used the singular, i.e. לא תגנוב in Exodus, whereas in our portion the legislation is formulated in the plural, לא תגנובו. It is also puzzling why the Torah first legislated the prohibition against completely harvesting one's field. We may understand the sequence of "do not steal" as addressed to the multitude, not because so many people may be guilty of this sin, but because of what the sin leads to. Theft leads to denial of the theft, denial leads to other lies in order to cover up the theft; this is turn leads to perjury. Such behavior even if only by a single individual, will give the whole Jewish people a bad reputation because of the multiple sins involved. The Torah warns us against compounding a sin committed by denying it and even possibly confirming such denial by an oath.

It is no accident that when Abraham's descendants moved to Egypt they numbered seventy, i.e. a counterweight to the seventy nations of the world. There they became refined through their bondage to the Egyptians. When G–d took them out of there they had been prepared to exchange bondage to the Egyptians for becoming servants of the Lord, as G–d says: כי עבדי הם, "For they are My servants" (Leviticus 25,42). G–d instilled in the Israelites the feeling that they were slaves so as to make the transition to becoming G–d's servants easier for them. This is also what G–d had in mind in the first of the Ten Commandments which states: "I am the Lord your G–d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage," i.e. in order to become My servants.

This does not preclude a change in the future. Jacob was אוחז בעקב "holding on to the "heel" (Genesis 25,26) i.e. to humility already from the moment he was born. This is also the mystical dimension of ויבא יעקב שלם, that "Jacob attained perfection" (Genesis 33,18). When Jacob was called ישראל because he prevailed in a struggle with the Divine, this is an allusion to the World to Come, a domain even closer to G–d than the domain of the angels. This is alluded to in Numbers 23,23 by Bileam who said: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל א-ל. "Jacob is told at once, Yea, Israel, what G–d has planned." [The author tries to demonstrate that when manipulating the spelling of the name יעקב the name ישרון which is the name used to describe the Jewish people on their highest spiritual level, can be obtained. When one omits the first letter of a "word" representing the "full" spelling of a letter such as the letter י being spelled יוד, this is called a concealed way of spelling the word, נעלם. In our example, if you spell the word יעקב "full" i.e י"וד-ע"ין-ק"וף ב"ית, and you then omit the letters I have highlighted i.e. י-ע-ק-ב, you will be left with ו"ד-י"ן-ו",-י"ת. The numerical value of the last 8 letters is 566, the same as the numerical value of ישרון. Ed.]. This is the mystical aspect of Isaiah 40,4: והיה העקוב למישור, "and the crooked will become straight," an allusion to the perception of Jacob as devious and engaging in deception as claimed by Esau. The "concealed" spelling of these names is a hint of the great good in store for the Jewish people. The three names יעקב-ישראל-ישרון correspond to the שלמות of Jacob in three areas: his body, גוף, his relationship with the material goods of this world, ממון, and his spiritual life, נפש (cf. Rashi on Genesis 33,18). These three areas are the subject of the manner in which we are to relate to G–d with love, i.e. "בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The body will be as much part of an everlasting life in the future we speak of as is the soul in our times. All the Kabbalists are agreed that this is so because the body has been created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of G–d. The names ישראל and ישרון allude to this dual "perfection" of body and soul, i.e. that both will gain everlasting life. The name ישרון symbolizes ישר, that G–d has created man ישר, upright, honest. He could not have done otherwise for ישרים דרכי ה', "the ways of the Lord are upright" (Hosea 14,10). It is relatively easy for a soul, רוח, to return to the Celestial Regions it has come from. When we speak about שלימות ממונו, the Torah means אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב לא תעשו (Exodus 20,23), that one must not elevate the value one places on silver and gold as something akin to a deity.

"Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam" — "Mention it with your mouth always" [Ramban]. And he writes there that this is an explicit positive commandment, just as (Shemoth 20:8): "Remember the day of Sabbath to sanctify it," (Ibid. 13:3): "Remember this day that you went out of Egypt, etc." And this, too, just as the former, is a positive commandment, to mention the great punishment that the L-rd brought upon the tzadeketh, the prophetess, who spoke only of her brother, the "redeemed of her soul," whom she loved as her soul, and who did not speak thus to his face, to embarrass him, and not in public, but only in private, to her holy brother [Aaron] — and all of this did not avail [to save her from leprosy.] You, too, if 'you sit and speak against your brother; if you slander your mother's son,' (Psalms 50:20), you will not be saved."

On this fear Moshe Rabeinu, peace be unto him, said: "in order that His fear shall be upon your faces, so that you shall not sin" (Shmot 20:17). For this is the primary fear - that a man fear and tremble always until this fear never leaves Him. For through this, certainly, he will not come to sin, and if he does come to sin, it will be considered as accidental. Isaiah said in his prophecy: "this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). And king David extolled in this: "Princes have pursued me for nothing, but my heart feared [only] Your word" (Tehilim 119:161).

Let us return to the concept of the basic equality of the concepts of משכן and שבת. It is logical therefore that all the forbidden work-activities on the Sabbath are derived from activities performed in constructing the Tabernacle. This is also why in order to be culpable for transgressing these prohibitions they must have been performed intentionally. The Torah states that the construction of the Tabernacle involved לחשוב מחשבות, thoughtful planning (35,32). This means that everything that was made for use in the Tabernacle was designated to perform its function already when it was merely being processed, long before it became an integral part of the Tabernacle. The various artisans involved had to be familiar with the true significance of the parts they were fashioning, possibly even their mystical aspects. The author proceeds to point out the significance in the wording of the opening משנה of the tractate שבת, (which describes different elements of the act of transferring property from one domain to another), as applicable to the comparison between work performed on the Sabbath and work performed for the construction of the משכן. The work is described as , שתים שהן ארבע בפנים, ושתים שהן ארבע בחוץ, "two categories which are really four, internally, and two categories which are really four, externally." The expression חוץ, outside, is a reference to the negative prohibitions whose purpose is to keep the קליפות, negative, Satan-inspired, influences outside. The expression פנים refers to the positive commandments and their function to bring additional sanctity into our personality. This is also the reason the sages refer to the two different "headlines" of the Sabbath, i.e. זכור ושמור, as having been said בדבור אחד, "in one word." They view the observance of the negative commandments of the Sabbath legislation as no more than the other side of the coin called Sabbath, the first side symbolising the positive commandment זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. [compare Exodus 20,8 and Deuteronomy 5,12 respectively.] Matters concerning the performance of positive commandments are two-fold, i.e. they involve body and soul respectively. Both body and soul consist of hidden as well as revealed aspects. Thus we see that there are a total of four categories. The revealed aspect of the soul is the Torah. Our sages phrased this by stating לא איברי שבתות אלא לגירסא, "The only reason the Sabbath days were created is to enable Torah study to be pursued on those days." The Zohar elaborates that upon its return to the Celestial Regions after the Sabbath, the נשמה יתירה is asked what new Torah insights it had gained during its stay on earth on the Sabbath. By coming up with such new insights the soul is considered as having created new heavens. This is why the Midrash we quoted earlier compared Isaiah 40,22 to the construction of the tent-cloths for the Tabernacle in Exodus 26,1. The message in both statements is that man is able to perform creative acts.

This is what our sages said: "Know what is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are inscribed in a book" (Avot 2:1). For since the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over every thing, and He sees everything and hears everything, certainly every action will leave an impression. And all of them are inscribed in a book, whether for merit or for debt (punishment).

[And this is the intent of Mishlei 4:7: "The beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom," and, the end of the verse: "and with all of your acquisitions, acquire understanding." This is self-explanatory: "Wisdom" connotes what is apparent, first principles, what one learns from others; and "understanding," what one reflects upon thereafter by himself, to understand one thing from another. Therefore, he says that first one must acquire wisdom, and then he must strengthen himself to understand one thing from another. As they said (Shabbath 31a): "At the time of judgment they ask a man: 'Did you discourse in wisdom? Did you understand one thing from another?''' As to "and with all your acquisitions, acquire understanding," this is understood according to Midrash Shir Hashirim 8 in the episode of R. Chiyya b. Abba and R. Yochanan, who were walking on the way and came upon a field, at which R. Yochanan said: "This was mine, but I sold it to toil in Torah," and thus, until the last field. At this, R. Chiyya began to cry, and said to him: "What will you leave over for your old age?" R. Yochanan answered: "Why does this disturb you? I sold something that was created in six days, as it is written (Shemoth 20:11): 'For six days the L-rd made, etc.', and I bought something which was learned in forty days, as it is written (Ibid. 39:28): 'And he was there with the L-rd for forty days.'" And this is what Scripture intimates to us in "and with all of your acquisitions acquire understanding." It is right that one give all he possesses to acquire understanding. That is, that he grow wise in all matters of Torah in order to understand one thing from another.]

Immediately thereafter an agent of Gehinnom comes and apprehends him in accordance with the ruling of the academy that delivered him into his hands. He is then catapulted from there straight to the depths of Gehinnom where he is made to suffer terrible and bitter punishments, as it related in the Zohar in Parashas Yisro (87a): Whoever propounds Torah insights that he does not know to be true and that he did not receive from his mentor, concerning him was it written, “Do not fashion for yourself an idol or any image” (Shemos 20:4). And in the future the Holy One Blessed is He will exact payment from him in the World to Come. For when his soul wishes to enter its place it will be pushed outside, away from the place that is bound up in the bond of life along with the rest of the souls. From this passage one can see the seriousness of the sin and the severity of the punishment.

And how fitting is the homily of our sages of blessed memory on the verse (Shemoth 32:16): "And the tablets [luchoth] are the work of G-d.": "'Luchoth' is written [without the vav] to show that they [the tablets] were both the same; that is, they looked like one tablet. For it is known that on one tablet, on the right, there were written those things between man and his Maker, and on the second tablet, that begins (Ibid. 20:13): "You shall not kill," "You shall not commit adultery," until the end of that tablet, there were written those things between man and his neighbor. That is, one should not think about any one of them that it is only superficial, to "beautify" a man. For this reason they are written in great proximity, to show that one is not superior to the other. And they also looked like one tablet, to intimate that just as one is considered a "man among men" only when he is whole in his limbs; but if he is missing any part of his body, he is lowered in the eyes of men and also in his own eyes, so is it with the soul. When is he the "complete man"? When all the words of the L-rd are beloved of him, which is not the case, G-d forbid, if he belittles any of the words of the L-rd, whether in the area of man and his Maker or in that of man and his neighbor. Then he is not a "man."

וידבר אלהים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר. The word לאמר, suggests that G–d rehearsed the words he was going to say to Israel before actually saying them. We must surely learn from here that an ordinary mortal must carefully review what he is going to say before saying it, if even G–d is reported as doing so.

I have found the following comment by Nachmanides on the commandment לא תשא את שם ה' אלוקיך לשוא: "They heard the first two commandments from G–d directly. This is why the sages said that these two commandments are the essence of all the Commandments. How do we reconcile this with the view of Rabbi Eliezer who points out that the Torah says in Exodus 20,1: 'G–d spoke all these words?' Moses said to the people in Deut. 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם בהר מתוך האש. 'G–d spoke these words to your entire congregation at the Mountain out of the fire.' The Torah (Moses) continues there: 'He inscribed them on two stone tablets and gave them to me' (Moses). This clearly implies that what G–d inscribed on the tablets was exactly what He had said to the people!

וירא העם וינועו ויעמדו מרחוק. Rashi on 20,15 says that this means that the people trembled. If someone wishes to merit the crown of Torah he must relate to Torah as did the Israelites at that time, i.e. he must study with a feeling of awe and reverence; he must not consider Torah study as a pleasurable experience. He must study diligently and sanctify himself from the impurity contracted through seminal emissions. His hands should be clean before he sits down to study Torah.

On Proverbs 6,32, נואף אשה חסר לב, "anyone who commits adultery with a woman lacks undertanding," the Midrash comments that anyone who accepts the mantle of authority thinking he would benefit therefrom is no better than an adulterer who enjoys the body of a woman. Rabbi Menachem son of Yaakov makes the same point based on Proverbs 25,8, אל תצא לריב מהר, "do not be in a hurry to get involved in a quarrel!" He points out that the word Riv, quarrel, is spelled without the letter Yud and can be read as Rav i.e. Rabbi, or leader. The verse in Proverbs there continues "for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has shamed you? What will you answer them when they ask you questions on the morrow?" Rabbi Zeyrah tries to prove the point from the third command-ment not to swear a false oath (Exodus 20,7). He reasons that if that verse were to prohibit perjury, the Torah had already written "do not swear falsely in My name!" (Leviticus 19,12). The meaning of the verse in Exodus then must be that a person should not seek to assume office involving authority over people, unless he is fit for such a position. [The commentary is obviously based on the expression תשא, meaning "to elevate," in this case to elevate oneself, לשוא, inappropriately, vaingloriously. Ed.] Rabbi Abahu said, quoting G–d, "I have been called קדוש, holy, and you the Jewish people, have been called "holy." Unless you possess all My attributes, do not seek out positions of authority." Why did we need four different statements purporting to prove the same point? In which respect is one different from the other?

אשר לא תגלה ערותך עליו. Rashi explains the simple logic in this command (20,23). If it is forbidden to expose oneself even partially -and while wearing trousers as the priests did- to mere stones so as not to embarasss them, how much more circumspect do we have to be not to expose ourselves to a human being who has been created in the image of the Lord, and who therefore would feel far more embarassed by such a sight!

לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני. The verse not only discusses our conduct in this world, but also alludes to the Celestial Regions. On the one hand G–d forbids the worship of anything which is part of the עולם העשיה, our physical world, on the other hand worship of any beings, even in the Celestial Regions other than G–d Himself is equally forbidden. Nachmanides is quite explicit about all this in his commentary on this verse. Every angel found in the Celestial Regions is called Elohim and therefore falls under the category of forbidden deities.

The center of the world, the Holy Temple, is also alluded to here: Bereshit Rabbah states that the ladder is hyperbole for the כבש, ramp of the altar, the words מוצב ארצה, being understood as a reference to the "earthen altar" G–d wished the Jewish people to build (Exodus 20,21). The words וראשו מגיע השמימה, its top reaches Heaven, is understood by the same Midrash as referring to the fragrance of the sacrifices offered on the altar. The מלאכים described as ascending and descending are the High Priests ascending and descending the ramp of the altar when performing the service in the Temple. The words: והנה ה' נצב עליו, are compared to: ראיתי את ה' ניצב על המזבח, "I had a vision of seeing G–d standing on top of the altar" (Amos 9,1). Thus far the Midrash. At the end of Jacob's dream we also find an allusion to the building of the Temple, its destruction, and the eventual rebuilding of it, as will be demonstrated later.

לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה. The emanation מלכות is also known as תמונת י-ה-ו-ה. According to the Kabbalists G–d says of this emanation in Numbers 12,8: ותמונת ה' יביט "He (Moses) beholds a picture of G–d." The Rekanati says "I have already told you that actions performed down here on earth leave an imprint in the Celestial Regions. Anyone who constructs a graven image or picture of a deity diminishes the בנין, "the whole fabric" from which the universe is built." The prohibition pertains to לך, "for yourself, for your own purpose." When such images as the cherubs were fashioned for use in the Tabernacle or later in the Holy Temple, this does not fall under the heading of לך, since it is G–d Himself who derives satisfaction from such figures. The two cherubs symbolise the "two faced" nature of א-ד-נ-י and י-ה-ו-ה. The numerical value of the word תמונה is identical with the numerical value of the expression פרצוף אדם, =501 (the face(s) of the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark). This is the mystical dimension of תפארת אדם.

לא תשתחוה להם. Prostrating oneself is an allusion to drawing Celestial influences earthwards. This is the bending of one's head downwards. Though the Gentile nations attract to themselves or draw down such influences, the fact remains that they prostrate themselves to non existent influences. On the other hand, when we do so -such as during the Temple service- we prostrate ourselves before the King of Kings the Holy One blessed be His name. We do not relate to G–d "back to back" as explained earlier, but פנים אל פנים, "face to face."

The Torah continues with: ואהבת לרעך כמוך, אני ה', "Love your fellow as yourself, I am the Lord." Whereas the Ten Commandments commence with G–d saying: אנכי ה' אלוקיך, in this instance G–d describes Himself as, אני ה'. The latter word is the Egyptian equivalent for אנכי. The Ten Commandments comprise 613 letters from the beginning until the word רעך in Exodus 20,14. The last two words in the Ten Commandments, i.e. אשר לרעך, "that which belongs to your fellow," are the רגל, "foundation," upon which the entire Torah is based.

לא תשא את שם ידו"ד אלהיך. The Rekanati describes anyone who swears a vain or false oath as קוצץ בנטיעות cutting planted trees, i.e. damaging G–d's universe. This is the reason the Torah used the expression לא תשא instead of לא תשבע. By using the expression תשא the idea is conveyed that the groom should not be separated from the bride, [the word is used as נישואים marriage. Ed.] When the Torah continues כי לא ינקה השם, "that G–d will not clear one who does so," this is a reference to another verse in which a person has been cleared, ונקתה, and the resulting union with her husband is fruitful (Numbers 5,28). He who separates will not be cleared, however. Thus far the Rekananti. I have already explained elsewhere how the word שבועה, oath, is derived from שבעה, seven, and is connected with the בנין the "structure" of the universe, something G–d created in seven days. You may read up about this in my treatise שבועות, פרק תורה אור, חלק תורה תמימה.

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. This commandment testifies to the eternal nature of G–d, that He created the world out of nothing. We have a tradition that the two formulas זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו, the one here and the one in Deuteronomy were uttered by G–d simultaneously (Rosh Hashanah 27). The first version in our portion mentions the Creation, something which demonstrated חידוש העולם, G–d creating the universe in 6+1 days. The second version in Deuteronomy 5,12, introduced by the word שמור, mentions the Exodus, the occasion when G–d was seen to establish new ground rules for the universe. There He proved that He was the Creator. The meaning of His name י-ה-ו-ה was demonstrated in Egypt. Our sages say that when one consecrates the Sabbath over a cup of wine one alludes to a world in the future which will be on the spiritual level of the Sabbath all the time (Pesachim 106). We will merit that world of the future by observing the שמור part of this commandment in this present world. The Sabbath in the world of the future represents the mystical dimension of the emanation בינה, where the יין המשומר the wine from the days of גן עדן, has been preserved and is awaiting us.

לא תעשה כל מלאכה. There are thirty nine categories of work which are forbidden on the Sabbath. Rabbi Menachem Habavli writes that these categories correspond to the types of work the Israelites had to perform for the Egyptians during their years of bondage, i.e. the nnfl nnap mentioned in Exodus 1,13. When you look at the letters in the word עבודת פרך by using a method called את,בש,גר,דק, etc., you will find that the letters פ-ר-ך when exchanged with each other according to this method, when added together amount to 39. [compare Sanhedrin 22 on how Daniel deciphered the writing on the wall of Belshazzar's palace by using this method. Ed.] Thus far Rabbi Menachem Habavli. The Sabbath and the Exodus are part of the same utterance by G–d, as I have explained. The mystical dimension of the "private domain" on the Sabbath is that it must be a minimum of י (10) טפחים high and occupy an area of not less than ד (4 by 4) טפחים. 4 by 4 plus 10 equals the numerical value of the Ineffable Name י-ה-ו-ה=26.

כבד את אביך ואת אמך. Here too we can find an allusion to the Ineffable Name. Father and Mother are at the same time son and daughter, respectively. These four between them symbolise the emanations חכמה, בינה, תפארת and מלכות. The four letters in the Holy Name exert their influence on these four emanations.

לא תרצח לא תנאף לא תגנוב לא תענה לא תחמוד. These last five commandments are called תורת אדם. Israel is called אדם. This fact lies at the root of the concept of כנסת ישראל. This corresponds to the name א-ד-נ-י, the source of Israel as we explained earlier. These last five commandments, if violated, would blemish the Holy Name of G–d. The murderer definitely diminishes G–d's image, seeing that G–d had imparted His image to man when He created him in His image and His likeness. Man's G–d-given soul was already within the womb of his mother before he was born. This is what is called the מלכות שם א-ד-נ-י, the union between the two separate names of י-ה-ו-ה and א-ד-נ-י. The union between איש and אשה is parallel to the relationship between these two names of G–d we have just mentioned. The commandment not to steal refers to kidnapping of a human being. Doing this means uprooting the kidnapped person from his destiny as a human being, depriving him of the appellation that symbolises the purpose of his existence. Testifying falsely against a human being has the same detrimental effect upon that human being as the kidnapping of him. A human being created in G–d's image is reduced to something not worthy of that image by means of the testimony of the false witness.

As stated, the two tablets with five commandments each represent the two-fold spelling of the Ineffable Name, one as written, the other as read by human beings. There is another allusion that we can detect in the fact that the Commandments were written on two tablets instead of on a single one. Each tablet may symbolise five of the ten emanations mentioned in the ספר יצירה. Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, at the beginning of his book Pardes Rimonim mentions that there is an allusion in the first five commandments to the phylactery of the head, which symbolises חכמה, בינה, גדולה, and תפארת, i.e. the four portions of the Torah contained in that תפילה. The fifth emanation כתר is represented by the housing that contains the four portions mentioned. Four of the other five emanations, i.e. תפארת, נצח, הוד, יסוד are represented by the four portions of the Torah contained in the תפילה של יד, the phylactery worn on the hand, whereas the tenth and last emanation מלכות is represented by the housing of that phylactery. The two always have to be worn together; one must not make a separation between the two. When the Torah speaks of: לא תעשון אתי אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב, "Do not make beside Me silver or golden deities," this is an allusion to the "arms" of the world חסד וגבורה; [silver and gold are symbols here, not intended as a description of actual cast images. Ed.] G–d must not be served in a manner that causes things that are joined to become disrupted. Rekanati writes that the sin of Jerovam ben Nevot (the first king of the Northern kingdom of the ten tribes) consisted of his causing a disruption between the five upper emanations and the five lower ones. The five lower emanations are viewed as being "silver" and extend as high as חסד וגבורה, whereas the five "upper" emanations are perceived of as "gold." "Silver" is considered white, and represents the attribute of Mercy, whereas "gold" is considered red and represents the attribute of Justice. There are many different ways in which one can bring about a קצוץ, disruption, in the pattern in which G–d has created the universe.

The mystical dimension of true אמונה, faith, is the striving to re-unite (make whole) the Holy Name which embraces all aspects of the highest spiritual domain, אצילות. We have explained that G–d's Ineffable Name is spelled either as י-ה-ו-ה when written, or as א-ד-נ-י when read, and that it "resides" in His היכל קדשו הס מפניו כל הארץ, Holy Sanctuary, and that the whole Earth is ordered to be silent in His Presence (Habbakuk 2,20). The numerical value of this Sanctuary in the Heavens, היכל, is 65, the same as the numerical value of אדנ"י. We know that in our world we try to emulate what goes on in Heaven. It follows that the Tabernacle or Temple on earth is also the abode of G–d's Holy Name. This is the reason that no sword i.e. metal tool, instrument of potential death, was allowed to be used in its construction. The sword brings to mind Samael, the very concept that the Temple is designed to banish from earth. It is also clear why ערוה, nakedness, must not be displayed wholly or partially within the confines of the Holy Temple. The latter symbolises the אשה זונה, the harlot, whereas the Temple symbolises the אשת חיל the woman of valour as described by Solomon in Proverbs chapter 31. In the Temple the High Priest is therefore able to express our attachment to G–d by pronouncing His Ineffable Name in holiness and purity on the Day of Atonement. While it is true that the Torah (Exodus 20,21) has stated: בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבא אליך וברכתיך, "I shall come to you and bless you in any place that I allow My name to be mentioned," the meaning is not that we may mention His name in any place of our choosing. The Torah was careful not to write: "in any place where you choose to mention My name."

In this connection I find the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, the author of עקדת יצחק, most astonishing. The author of this book [chapter 90, see my translation. Ed.] questions how the Torah can command us to remember something at all; after all, man is subject to lapses of memory, and therefore such a commandment is beyond his control to observe! How can the Torah command us to perform acts beyond our control? Torah precepts involving vision do not apply to the blind because they cannot see, neither do Torah precepts involving hearing apply to the deaf since they cannot hear! The same rule should apply to precepts involving memory. Rabbi Arama answers this question saying that every remembrance has been preceded by an actual happening. It is the happening which triggers one's memory, and therefore the Torah is entitled to command us to use our memory. He quotes as an example the remembrance of the Sabbath legislation in the Kiddush. The mere fact that one observes the commandment of שמירת שבת, abstains from work, etc., acts as a memory jogger. It is therefore not true to say that the Torah commands only our memory. When we put on the phylacteries, that very act helps us to remember what the phylacteries stand for, as demanded by the Torah (Deut. 6,8); the same is true when we wear the ציצית, another commandment which the Torah has linked to memory (Numbers 15,39-40). The sages of the Great Assembly acted in consonance with this principle when they wanted to insure that the miracle which occurred in the days of Mordechai and Esther should be commemorated for all times. Since the Torah had not fixed a specific day for remembering Amalek, they decided to anchor this remembrance by some easily recognisable act and they instituted the reading of פרשת זכור in conjunction with the holiday of Purim. As long as the commandment was not connected with the anniversary of an anti-Jewish act committed by a descendant of Amalek, the commandment itself was in danger of being forgotten. According to the explanation by the Baal Akeydah the question is why the sages of the Great Assembly did not arrange to have the reading of פרשת זכור after Purim, after we had all remembered what the evil Haman had planned?

The purpose of these garments was to be לשם ולתפארת, "for dignity and adornment," as stated by the Torah in Exodus 28,2. Genesis 2,28 reports: "Adam and Eve were nude; they did not experience a sense of shame." The serpent became jealous when it saw their nudity. This is the mystical dimension of all the forbidden sexual unions. The serpent had infected humans with a pollutant. The priests were warned by the Torah not to climb the altar by means of steps so as not to reveal even part of their bodies in the process (Exodus 20,23). It is a natural tendency of man to want to climb steps, to become G–d-like, the vision held out to Eve by the serpent in Genesis 3,4. This tendency became outlawed, i.e. ערוה. Adam later was מושך בערלתו tried to conceal the fact that he was circumcised, as stated by our sages in Sanhedrin 38b. The seven days of inauguration of the Tabernacle before Aaron took over in his capacity as High Priest were symbolic of the seven days of creation. On the eighth day Moses called upon Aaron; on that day he was crowned with ten crowns (Rashi on Leviticus 9,1). He was considered as if he had been created anew on that day. On that date Adam was resurrected, so to speak, because Aaron fulfilled the commandment of "sacrificing his own personality," i.e. אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן, performing an act which reversed the direction Adam had taken, when, instead of cementing his close relations with G–d, he had distanced himself from G–d by eating from the tree of knowledge and bringing death into the world. Nonetheless death henceforth would occur when someone, who was close to G–d (i.e. a priest) would fail to observe all the strictures on the performance of the service in the Tabernacle G–d had placed on the priests, just as death was the consequence of non-observance of G–d's law in the macrocosm, so now death would be the penalty for failing to observe G–d's law within the Tabernacle, the microcosm. At the creation G–d had warned with the words מות תמות; now two sons of Aaron died because they had approached G–d in a forbidden manner, as will be explained in due course.