신명기 6:20의 주석

כי ישאלך בנך מחר WHEN THY SON ASKETH THEE — There is a usage of the word מחר that refers to a day that only comes after the lapse of some time (and this is so here, i.e. it here means “in time to come", not "to-morrow”) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:14).

WHEN THY SON ASKETH THEE IN TIME TO COME, SAYING: ‘WHAT MEAN THE TESTIMONIES, AND THE STATUTES, AND THE ORDINANCES etc.?’ The meaning thereof is that first he will ask, “These commandments called testimonies — to what do they testify?” For they are a memorial to His wonders³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. and witnesses thereof, such as the Unleavened Bread, the Booth, the Passover, the Sabbath, the phylacteries, and the Mezuzah. [Then he will ask] “What are the statutes?,” for their reasons are hidden in the Torah. Of the ordinances he will inquire: “What are the ordinances that we enforce in these commandments — stoning him who does work on the Sabbath, burning him who has intercourse with a woman and her mother, and administering forty lashes to him who sows mixed seeds?” For the ordinances pertaining to the social order of countries — such as the laws of the ox, the pit, the guardians, and the rest of the laws of the Torah — are righteous and good, all that see them acknowledge them,³²¹Isaiah 61:9. [and of these they do not ask]. Now concerning the answer to this question, he commanded that we relate to the inquirer the whole subject of the exodus from Egypt,³²²Verses 21-23. the intent thereof being as He stated in the Ten Commandments, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt,³²³Above, 5:6. directing us that we inform the inquiring son that the Eternal is the Creator [through Whom everything has come into existence] by His will and power, as has been made clear to us by the exodus from Egypt. This is the sense of the expression [And the Eternal showed signs …] ‘before our eyes,’³²⁴Verse 22. for it is we who know and are witnesses of the signs and wonders, for we saw there that the Eternal is our G-d, He is the G-d in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, and there is none else.³²⁵Above, 4:39. All this was made known through the departure from Egypt, as I have explained in the first commandment.³²⁶Exodus 20:2. Vol. II, pp. 285-286. Thus it befits us to give honor to His Name, for He is our Creator, and [He] has magnified His mercy upon us, and He commanded us to do all these statutes³²⁷Verse 24. mentioned in the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances [about which the son had asked]: to fear Him³²⁷Verse 24. by performing [commandments known as] the testimonies which are a memorial to His wonders;³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. for our good³²⁷Verse 24. through performance of [commandments known as] the statutes for they are good, there being no statute which contains any evil, although their reasons have not been clarified to all people;³²⁸But to the Sages of Israel the reasons of the statutes were revealed. See Ramban further, 22:6. that He might preserve us alive³²⁷Verse 24. through [the commandments called] the ordinances. For we shall live by all [three kinds of commandments] together as they are all good, containing nothing harmful at all, but instead they all ultimately result in good life. Thus we are obliged to do the will of the Creator Who is our G-d, and we are His people, and the flock of His hand,³²⁹Psalms 95:7. and there is nothing but good in all of His commandments. And what is more, it shall be accounted virtue unto us before the Eternal our G-d³³⁰Verse 25. and He will give us good reward for observing all these commandments. The verse refers to the reward for the observance of the commandments as “righteousness” [in the sense of charity] for the bondsman who was bought by his master is obliged to serve him [and has no claim to payment for his service]. If the master gives him payment for his service, he does an act of righteousness with him.

מה העדות, a reference to the philosophical, theological aspects of the Torah. These invariably relate to the supernatural matters described in the Torah.