ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף ירמיהו 38:16

"Behold the Heavens, and the Heavens of the Heavens, belong to the Lord, the earth and all there is therein." (10,14) This points out the difference between G'd and any other deities. Since the latter, not even laying claim to own the universe, cannot inspire "fear" as we have defined it, they are also unable to elevate man. G'd, by reason of His ownership of the universe, can claim obedience of all creatures. Should we ask that since He owns it all, what difference can one nation's claim to consideration by G'd make?, the answer given is "He only took a liking to your ancestors, to love them and their seed after them." (10,15) Even though the Jewish people are far from perfect, "like the lily amongst the thorns," G'd chose Israel because of its relative merit. By the time you have realised and appreciated the meaning of your national history, says Moses, you will have arrived at the stage of love for G'd. At that point performance of the mitzvot will no longer be an act of obedience, but an expression of your love for G'd the Lawgiver. Reviewing the whole chapter, one is forced to conclude that far from making impossible demands upon us, G'd is in fact granting us privileges. The etnachta, tone sign under the words "from you" in verse twelve, as well as under the word "today" in verse thirteen, supports our view that the lines between have to be read as if in parenthesis. The verse then reads "and now Israel what is it that the Lord asks of you this day; in order that you will be well off?..except to..." After all that, the passage describing the land of Israel as one that needs rainfall, as distinct from Egypt, is a reminder that even after attaining their reward and successful takeover of the land of Canaan, Divine help will continue to be needed. The land will only deliver its bounty to Israel when such Divine help is forthcoming. The second paragraph of the keriyat shema which follows, spells out the conditions for such Divine help, and the consequences should Israel fail to meet these conditions.

It is manifest that God is identical with His attributes and His attributes with Him, so that it may be said that He is the knowledge, the knower, and the known, and that He is the life, the living, and the source of His own life, the same being true of His other attributes. This conception is very hard to grasp, and thou shouldst not hope to thoroughly understand it by two or three lines in this treatise. There can only be imparted to thee a vague idea of it.⁵⁸For an exhaustive discussion of the theories which M. merely mentions here, see Moreh, I, 50-51, on the attributes of God. See Munk, Guide, I, 50, p. 179 ff., passim; Kaufmann, ibid., p. 418 ff.; Cohen, Charakteristik, etc. in Moses ben Maimon, I, pp. 89-90. Now, in consequence of this important axiom, the Hebrew language does not allow the expression Ḥe Adonai (the life of God) as it does Ḥe Fara'oh⁵⁹Gen. XLII, 15. (the life of Pharaoh), where the word ḥe (in the construct state) is related to the following noun, for the thing possessed and the possessor (in this case) are two different things. Such a construction cannot be used in regard to the relation of a thing to itself. Since the life of God is His essence, and His essence is His life, not being separate and distinct from each other, the word "life", therefore, cannot be put in the construct state, but the expression Ḥai Adonai⁶⁰Ruth, III, 13. (the living God) is used, the purpose of which is to denote that God and His life are one. ⁶¹Cf. Yesode ha-Torah, II, 10, and Moreh, I, 58 (beg.). See Munk, Guide, I, p. 302, n. 3. The expressions חֵי אלהים (II Sam. II, 27), חֵי אל (Job XXVII, 2), and especially חֵי יהוה וחֵי נפשך (I Sam. XX, 3; XXV, 26, and II K. II, 2), and Jer. XXXVIII, 16 substantiate this novel linguistic argument of M. Amos VIII, 14 חֵי אלהיך דן is used in reference to the gods of idolators.

THE Hebrew nefesh (soul) is a homonymous noun, signifying the vitality which is common to all living, sentient beings. E.g. “wherein there is a living soul” (nefesh) (Gen. 1:30). It denotes also blood,” as in “Thou shalt not eat the blood (nefesh) with the meat” (Deut. 12:23). Another signification of the term is “reason,” that is, the distinguishing characteristic of man, as in “As the Lord liveth that made us this soul” (Jer. 38:16). It denotes also the part of man that remains after his death (nefesh, soul) comp. “But the soul (nefesh) of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life (1 Sam. 25:29). Lastly, it denotes “will”; comp. “To bind his princes at his will” (be-nafsho) (Ps. 105:22); “Thou wilt not deliver me unto the will (be-nefesh) of my enemies” (Ps. 41:3); and according to my opinion, it has this meaning also in the following passages, “If it be your will (nafshekem) that I should bury my dead” (Gen. 23:8); “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my will (nafshi) could not be toward this people” (Jer. 15:1), that is, I had no pleasure in them, I did not wish to preserve them. When nefesh is used in reference to God, it has the meaning “will,” as we have already explained with reference to the passage, “That shall do according to that which is in my will (bi-lebabi) and in mine intention (be-nafshi)” (1 Sam. 2:35).