פירוש על שמות 23:13

ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו AND IN ALL THAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU TAKE HEED — This statement is intended to bring every positive command (מצות עשה) also under the category of a prohibition (לאו); for wherever the term שמר, “take heed”, is used in the Torah it is an admonition in the place of (having the force of) a prohibition (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 355).

AND IN ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU TAKE YE HEED. Rashi explained: “This verse is intended to bring every positive commandment also under the term of a prohibition,³⁶⁷So that if one fails to fulfill a positive commandment [as e.g. taking the Lulav on the festival of Succoth] he has also violated thereby a negative commandment as expressed in the verse before us. for wherever the term shmirah (taking heed) or shvithah³⁶⁸“Or shvithah” is not found in our Rashi. And correctly so, for the term shvithah can indicate a positive commandment, such as: and on the seventh day ‘tishboth’ (thou shalt rest) — Verse 12. is used in the Torah, it signifies an admonition in the place of an express prohibition.”
Now according to his explanation, Rashi will have to say that this verse is a lav sh’bichlaluth [a negative admonition expressed in general terms, so that violation of any or all of the prohibitions included under it does not render one liable to punishment].³⁶⁹This term is applied to a verse which covers many different prohibitions, none of which is specifically indicated, and therefore the court does not administer punishment for violation thereof. — See “The Commandments,” Vol. II, p. 11, Note 1, for full explanation of this term. For if that were not so, the court would have to administer whipping to anyone who fails to fulfill any of the positive commandments of the Torah; but in such a prohibition which includes many matters without mentioning specifically any particular transgression, everyone would agree that no whipping is incurred on account of its breach. But [if so, there is the following difficulty with Rashi’s explanation]: the Rabbis have already said³⁷⁰Erubin 96a. The opinion is that of Rabbi Ilai. that the term hishamer (take heed) used in connection with a positive commandment, carries the force of an additional positive commandment; in that case, He has added here [not a negative commandment as Rashi has it], but a mere positive one [since the statement, and in all things that I have said unto you ‘tishameru’ (take ye heed), refers to the positive commandments mentioned in the preceding Verses 10-12]! In the Mechilta the Sages differed as to the explanation of this verse and interpreted it in many ways.
In accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, the explanation of the verse is: “and in all things that I have said unto you concerning other gods take ye heed,” for the verse is to be connected with its continuation, [which states: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth]. Thus He is stating: Of all the many admonitions that I have said to you concerning other gods, take great heed; do not worship them, nor bow down to them, condemn to death anyone who sacrifices to them, and make no graven image, nor any manner of likeness. Moreover, take heed not to mention the name of their gods, such as Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milkom the god of the children of Ammon,³⁷¹I Kings 11:33. and Ashima the god of Hamath.³⁷²II Kings 17:30. Neither let there be heard out of thy mouth their name, even without the epithet of deity, such as merely mentioning Milkom or Ashima; instead you are to mention them in a manner of condemnation: “the abhorrent thing of Moab,” “the abomination of the children of Ammon.” Or, the expression lo yishama (neither let there be heard), means: let it not be heard from its worshipper through your dealings with him, similarly to that which our Rabbis have said,³⁷³Sanhedrin 63b. that one should not make a business—partnership with an idolator, for it might lead to him swearing by his deity.
It is possible that lo tazkiru (make no mention) is transitive, meaning: do not mention the name of other gods to their worshippers, such as saying, “By your god! deal kindly with me.” Neither let there be heard out of thy mouth the mention of his name at all. It is this which is said in the Book of Joshua, Neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, nor serve them.³⁷⁴Joshua 23:7. He added prohibitions in that verse, in order to explain that the admonition here covers not mentioning or causing anyone whomsoever to swear by the foreign gods.

כל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו, ושם אלוהימ אחרים לא תזכירו, the Israelites are cautioned not only not to violate G’d’s commandments, but to construct safeguards to ensure that they do not violate these commandments inadvertently. A prime example of this is the caution not to only not to worship idols, but not even to mention their names.

ובבל אשר אמרתי, "and in all things that I have said, etc." The reason the Torah writes ובכל ..תשמרו instead of simply וכל אשר…תשמרו, is connected to the statement of the sages (Makkot 23) that the number of positive commandments is 248, corresponding to man's limbs, whereas the 365 negative commandments correspond to the number of sinews in the human body (compare Zohar volume one page 78). A person should not say: "I am going to observe a sufficient number of commandments in order to safeguard the health of my body. By writing ובכל, the Torah hints strongly that our good health and well being will depend on our observing all of the commandments.

וככל אשר אמרתי אליכם, since the revelation at Mount Sinai until now, be careful to observe all these commandments. According to our sages in Shabbat 18 the reason for the apparent repetition is to include the need for one’s vessels (inert objects) to observe Sabbath rest. [a reference to those vessels which are used only on weekdays in connection with work prohibited on the Sabbath. Ed.]

ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו, “be careful concerning all that I have said to you.” According to Rashi this is a warning concerning every positive commandment, i.e. each positive commandment implies violation of a negative commandment if it is ignored. [based on Mechilta chapter 20 by Rabbi Eliezer. Ed.] Nachmanides questions this whole concept, claiming that contrary to the meaning of the word השמר when used in connection with a negative commandment, when used with a positive commandment it leaves the positive commandment intact as such. He adds that unless, according to Rashi, this would be a general negative commandment, it would follow that every violation, i.e. failure to observe a positive commandment would automatically be punishable by 39 strokes. According to the plain meaning of the text, this line covers all the words commencing with ושם אלוהים אחרים in our verse.

To make every positive precept as a negative precept. This is why a positive precept always overrides a negative precept ( עשה דוחה את לא תעשה ). For every positive precept includes a negative precept. Thus it has both, and therefore a positive precept overrides a single negative precept.

V. 13. ובכל אשר אמרתי וגו׳ kann nicht heißen: hütet euch vor Übertretung alles dessen, was ich euch verboten habe. Es müsste dann מכל אשר וגו׳ heißen. בכל אשר וגו׳ hat offenbar den Sinn: in allen den Geboten und Verboten, die ich euch erteilt habe, sollt ihr euch selber hüten, d. h. ihr sollt euch unter die eigene Hut stellen, sollt euch solche Bestimmungen und Vorsätze fassen, dass ihr nicht zur Übertretung meiner Worte kommet. Was Recht und Unrecht, Pflicht und Aufgabe sei, das sagt euch mein Gesetz. Solche Fürsorge zu üben, dass mein Gebot erfüllt und das von mir Verbotene gemieden werde, das ist die Arbeit, die ich von eurer Gewissenhaftigkeit erwarte. Damit ist denn das große Gebot der "Gesetzumzäunung und der Gesetzförderung", גזרות (סייגים ,גדרים) und תקנות, gegeben, dessen gewissenhafter Erfüllung allein wir die Erhaltung des göttlichen Gesetzes verdanken. Bezeichnend ist, dass, während vor und nachher die Gebote alle im Singular, somit an die Gesamtheit als solche sich wenden, diese Aufgabe im Plural, somit an alle einzelnen Glieder der Gesamtheit gerichtet ist. Es wird somit diese Aufgabe eine Pflicht der Gewissenhaftigkeit eines jeden Juden als solchen, und wenn diese Aufgabe des Gesetzesschutzes von den עיני הערה, von den "schauenden Leitern" der Nation in ihren Anordnungen gelöst worden, so haben sie damit nichts angeordnet, was nicht jeder einzelne im Volke nach einsichtsvoller Gewissenhaftigkeit sich selbst zu bestimmen und festzusetzen verpflichtet gewesen wäre. Haben sie doch auch diese Anordnungen dem Volke nicht oktrohiert, sondern nur als Ergebnis ihrer Einsicht empfohlen und haben die Sanktion von der freiwilligen und praktischen Annahme des Volkes abhängig gemacht. So wird dieser Satz auch in der מכלתא, und zwar im Zusammenhange mit dem vorangehenden Schabbatgesetze erklärt: אין לי אלא דברים שהן משום .במלאכה דברים שהן משום שבות מנין ת׳׳ל ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו.

ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם, “concerning all that I have told you.” All the regulations pertaining to the Sabbath days in normal years also apply in the seventh year.”An alternate explanation: “I am not warning you only concerning that your servants and domestic beasts have to observe a rest on the Sabbath, but these are only examples; all the other rules concerning work prohibitions on the Sabbath apply, regardless of the fact that you do not work the field a whole week during the seventh year. Your vessels, stoves, vats, etc., have to observe rest on the Sabbath.”A third explanation: All the details that I have commanded you ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai concerning the observance of the Sabbath remain in force indefinitely without interruption. The verse is a repetition of warnings the Torah had issued on previous occasions. We have other examples of this type in Deuteronomy 27,26: ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם, “cursed be he who fails to observe the words of this Torah;”Yet another explanation of our verse: this is a warning concerning the meticulous observance of all the positive commandments. According to Rashi, this was necessary as the vast majority of the Sabbath regulations concern what is forbidden, and do not require us to actually perform an activity, only to desist from performing it. The verse also is a hint at the rule that when a positive and a negative commandment appear to be in conflict, the performance of the positive commandment takes precedence. (Talmud Yevamot folio 3.) The logic behind this is that by performing the positive commandment one automatically fulfils the negative commandment attached to it. A different interpretation: the verse applies only to negative commandments as the grammar in the verse, i.e. the word: תשמורו, warns against violating something by a contrary activity. This is what the Rabbis had in mind when they said in Eyruvin 96: “wherever the expression השמר פן, or אל appears, it is always a warning not to do something that the Torah had forbidden. These expressions only occur when a negative commandment had already been the subject of discussion.

לא תזכירו MAKE NO MENTION [OF THE NAME OF OTHER GODS] — This means that one must not say to another: “Wait for me near such-and-such an idol”, or, “Stay with me on the festival of such-an-such an idol’” (mentioning its name) (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 23:13:3; Sanhedrin 63b). Another explanation of verse 13 is: the juxtaposition of “Be heedful in respect of everything that I have spoken to you” with “and the names of other gods ye shall not mention” is intended to teach you that the practise of idol-worship is of equal heinousness as though one had infringed every command (cf. Horayot 8a); and that one who avoids it may be regarded as though he had observed every one of them (cf. Chullin 5a).

לא ישמע על פיך, you must not even be the cause of others mentioning the names of these idols. If they do mention these names it must not be with your approval.

ולא ישמע על פיך. “your mouth shall not cause it to be heard.” The Torah means that even if the name of such a deity is mentioned without any attribute identifying it as such, it is still prohibited to mention it as such in the presence of people who worship such a deity. These considerations prompted our sages to advise not to enter into a business partnership with a gentile, in order not to inadvertently violate this commandment. (Sanhedrin 63) It is possible to understand the word תזכירו here as a transitive verb, meaning that you must not mention the name of the deity to the person who worships such a deity anyway by, for instance, saying to him: “why don’t you pray to your god for help?”

Next to such and such an idol. . . [Rashi explains it this way] because otherwise, why is it necessary [to forbid this]? Is there any reason that a Jew would mention the name of an idolatry that he denies, and regarding which he is commanded to destroy?

ושם אלוהים אחרים לא תזבירו, "and you shall not mention the name of other deities, etc." The Torah means that just as the observance of all the commandments will help man to make all of his 248 limbs and 365 sinews function properly, so there is also an overall protection for man which results from his denial of any form of idolatry. Anyone denying idolatry is considered as if he had accepted the entire Torah and would actively assist all those who are engaged in observing Torah and its commandments. As a result, all the various parts of such a person's body will enjoy protection even if he had not performed certain commandments (because the opportunity did not arise), or he had not been able to demonstrate that he would not violate certain of the Torah's injunctions if given a chance to do so. Such "overall" protection of a person due to his denial of idolatry would not accrue to him if he had ignored or violated one or more of the commandments deliberately, however. The limb or sinew which is "connected" to fulfilment of that particular commandment may then experience pain or malfunction.

Das Gesetz erläutert sofort durch ein Beispiel den Begriff dieser Gesetzesumzäunungspflicht, und greift dazu gleich das erste Verbot der sinaitischen Gesetzgebung, das Verbot der Abgötterei heraus. Das Verbrechen an sich ist: Abgötterei. Den Namen eines Abgottes nennen oder gar bloß veranlassen, dass er von andern genannt werde, ist gewiss noch nicht Abgötterei. Gleichwohl haben wir sowohl dieses als jenes zu unterlassen, offenbar, um uns durch diese Selbsteinschränkung vor wirklicher Abgötterei zu schützen. Wir haben hier das prägnanteste Beispiel der Vermeidung nicht nur des wirklich Schlechten, sondern alles dessen, was nur daran grenzt oder zu ihm führen könnte.

ושם אלוהים אחרים לא תזכירו, “and you must not (even) mention the name of other deities.” The reason why this warning appears next to the previous laws is to remind us that G-d had already warned us about this also. In other words, “you are to remember all the other commandments except this one which is in essence something that must not be remembered.”

לא ישמע IT SHALL NOT BE HEARD from a heathen, THROUGH THINE AGENCY — i. e. you shall make no business partnership with a heathen through which it might happen that he will take an oath by the name of his god, for consequently you will have brought it about that it has been mentioned through your agency (cf. Sanhedrin 63b).

ושם אלהים אחרים לא תזכירו nicht einmal zum Behufe einer Ortsbezeichnung: ולא ישמע על פיך - .שלא יאמר אדם לחברו שמר לי בצד ע׳׳א פלונית, auch nicht einen Nichtjuden zu einer Eidesleistung bei dem Namen eines Abgottes zu veranlassen, ולא יגרום לאחרים שידרו ויקיימו בשמו (Sahedrin 639). Bis auf eine einzige Ausnahme — ותשא בריתי עלי פיך (Ps. 50, 16) — wird על פי nie von dem Aussprechen eines Wortes — das vielmehr בפי heißt — gebraucht, sondern heißt überall, wo es nicht eine konkrete räumliche Bedeutung, על פי הבאר u. dergl. hat: auf Befehl, durch Veranlassung. Das Verbot selbst gleichgültiger Nennung eines Abgottes findet bei ohnehin in der heiligen Schrift vorkommenden Namen keine Anwendung (Sanhedrin das.) und ist, nach הגהו׳ מיימוני׳ zu 9 .5 הל׳ ע׳׳ז, auf solche Namen beschränkt, die die Beilegung eines gottheitlichen Attributs involvieren, vorausgesetzt, dass sie auch nicht in einer anerkennenden Weise — ר׳׳מ) בלשון חשיבות zu 153 י׳׳ר) — genannt werden, woraus, wie הגהו׳ מיימוני׳ bemerken, sich auch das Vorkommen so mancher ע׳׳ז-Namen im Talmud erklärt.