גַּֽם־עֵ֭דֹתֶיךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָ֗י אַנְשֵׁ֥י עֲצָתִֽי׃
Peringatan-peringatan-Mu pun menjadi kesukaanku, merekalah penasihat-penasihatku.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Throughout the Book of Proverbs Solomon always speaks in the name of the attribute (or emanation) חכמה, wisdom; he refers to all the 613 commandments in the Torah as either אמרים , “words” or מצות, “commandments.” His father David before him already referred to the commandments as אמרים, as we know from Psalms 12,7: אמרות ה’ אמרות טהורות, “the Lord’s commandments are pure commandments.”
The commandments of the Torah are subdivided into three groups. They are known as 1) מצות מקובלות, 2) מצות מושכלות, and 3) מצות שאין טעמם נגלה ומבואר 1) Commandments which are based on historical precedents; 2) commandments which appeal to our minds and which are easy to understand and appreciate. 3) Commandments the reason for which and the usefulness of which are completely outside our ability to comprehend. The first group which includes such laws as making and wearing phylacteries or putting fringes on our four-cornered garments as well as the commandment to circumcise our male babies, etc., have a common denominator in that they are associated with the history of our people and our special protection by the Almighty. When we perform any of these commandments we testify to the fact that we belong to the chosen people and that we as well as our forefathers have accepted His covenant and are loyal to it, bound by it. None of these commandments would have been invented by man as only G’d can legislate what are suitable symbolic acts to recall events in our history. This is why many of our sages also call these commandments עדות, “testimony.” They are all of Divine origin. The Torah describes the second generation of Israelites as inquiring after what they perceive to be these “testimonial laws” in Deut. 6,20. Some of these laws testify to the fact that G’d created the universe out of no tangible material, others testify to the selection of the Jewish people as His special nation; still others testify to the manner in which G’d provided for us in the desert, etc. David (Psalms 119,24) is on record as viewing even these commandments as שעשעי, “my delights.”
The second group of commandments, even if not always in their details, are the ones which the human mind would have had to invent and legislate if the Torah had not done so; this is why they are called מושכלות, “rational” in essence. Examples are how we are to deal with the crimes of theft, robbery, murder, unfair business practices, etc., etc. The term applied to these kinds of commandments in the Torah is משפטים.
The third group of commandments, the ones which completely baffle us, are the legislation not to mix certain seeds, wear clothes combining wool and linen, mixing of meat and milk (though they are part of the same animal), the dispatch of the scape-goat to the Azazel, and the laws involving the red heifer. The Torah’s appellation for all of these types of laws is חקים, “statutes.” This is also one of the groups of laws referred to as the subject of the inquiry by second generation Israelites (and later generations) in Deut. 6,20-21. The answer suggested by the Torah to such inquiries is prefaced with the words: “we used to be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt who maltreated us in a cruel manner until the Lord our G’d redeemed us from there ad brought us to this land of Israel.” The Torah emphasises “the Lord our G’d did all this,” i.e. that as of that point in time the reputation of the Lord as our national G’d was greatly enhanced. It is therefore appropriate that we loyally accept all three groups of commandments. The passage in Deuteronomy we quoted refers to three groups of commandments, עדות, משפטים, חקים. In the verse quoted above from Proverbs, Solomon merely paraphrases the words of the Torah by speaking of the עדות as אמרי; he refers to the משפטים as שמור מצותי וחיה, “observe My commandments so that you may live (a civilian and secure life).” Finally, when Solomon says: ומצותי תצפון אתך, “treasure My commandments with you,” he refers to the חקים statutes, which, though not understood by you, should be treasured nonetheless. G’d in His capacity as our king has the right to legislate statutes such as the one of the red heifer without revealing His motive.
The commandments of the Torah are subdivided into three groups. They are known as 1) מצות מקובלות, 2) מצות מושכלות, and 3) מצות שאין טעמם נגלה ומבואר 1) Commandments which are based on historical precedents; 2) commandments which appeal to our minds and which are easy to understand and appreciate. 3) Commandments the reason for which and the usefulness of which are completely outside our ability to comprehend. The first group which includes such laws as making and wearing phylacteries or putting fringes on our four-cornered garments as well as the commandment to circumcise our male babies, etc., have a common denominator in that they are associated with the history of our people and our special protection by the Almighty. When we perform any of these commandments we testify to the fact that we belong to the chosen people and that we as well as our forefathers have accepted His covenant and are loyal to it, bound by it. None of these commandments would have been invented by man as only G’d can legislate what are suitable symbolic acts to recall events in our history. This is why many of our sages also call these commandments עדות, “testimony.” They are all of Divine origin. The Torah describes the second generation of Israelites as inquiring after what they perceive to be these “testimonial laws” in Deut. 6,20. Some of these laws testify to the fact that G’d created the universe out of no tangible material, others testify to the selection of the Jewish people as His special nation; still others testify to the manner in which G’d provided for us in the desert, etc. David (Psalms 119,24) is on record as viewing even these commandments as שעשעי, “my delights.”
The second group of commandments, even if not always in their details, are the ones which the human mind would have had to invent and legislate if the Torah had not done so; this is why they are called מושכלות, “rational” in essence. Examples are how we are to deal with the crimes of theft, robbery, murder, unfair business practices, etc., etc. The term applied to these kinds of commandments in the Torah is משפטים.
The third group of commandments, the ones which completely baffle us, are the legislation not to mix certain seeds, wear clothes combining wool and linen, mixing of meat and milk (though they are part of the same animal), the dispatch of the scape-goat to the Azazel, and the laws involving the red heifer. The Torah’s appellation for all of these types of laws is חקים, “statutes.” This is also one of the groups of laws referred to as the subject of the inquiry by second generation Israelites (and later generations) in Deut. 6,20-21. The answer suggested by the Torah to such inquiries is prefaced with the words: “we used to be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt who maltreated us in a cruel manner until the Lord our G’d redeemed us from there ad brought us to this land of Israel.” The Torah emphasises “the Lord our G’d did all this,” i.e. that as of that point in time the reputation of the Lord as our national G’d was greatly enhanced. It is therefore appropriate that we loyally accept all three groups of commandments. The passage in Deuteronomy we quoted refers to three groups of commandments, עדות, משפטים, חקים. In the verse quoted above from Proverbs, Solomon merely paraphrases the words of the Torah by speaking of the עדות as אמרי; he refers to the משפטים as שמור מצותי וחיה, “observe My commandments so that you may live (a civilian and secure life).” Finally, when Solomon says: ומצותי תצפון אתך, “treasure My commandments with you,” he refers to the חקים statutes, which, though not understood by you, should be treasured nonetheless. G’d in His capacity as our king has the right to legislate statutes such as the one of the red heifer without revealing His motive.