Re'eh
Encyclopedia
Re'eh, Reeh, R'eih, or Ree (רְאֵה — Hebrew
for "see", the first word
in the parshah) is the 47th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the fourth in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
generally read it in August or early September.
Jews read part of the parshah, which addresses the Three Pilgrim Festivals (Shalosh Regalim), as the initial Torah reading on the eighth day of Passover
when it falls on a weekday and on the second day of Shavuot
when it falls on a weekday. And Jews read a larger selection from the same part of the parshah, as the initial Torah reading on the eighth day of Passover when it falls on a Sabbath, on the second day of Shavuot when it falls on a Sabbath, and on Shemini Atzeret
.
In the parshah, Moses
set before the Israelites the choice between blessing
and curse
. Moses instructed the Israelites in the law
s that they were to observe, including the law of a single, centralized place of worship. Moses warned against following other gods and their prophet
s. And Moses set forth laws of Kashrut
, tithe
s, the Sabbatical year, the Hebrew slave, firstborn animals, and the three pilgrim festivals.
commandments
and curse if they did not obey but turned away to follow other gods. Moses directed that when God brought them into the land
, they were to pronounce the blessings at Mount Gerizim
and the curses at Mount Ebal
.
ed their gods, tear down their altar
s, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the image
s of their gods. They were not to worship God as the land’s residents had worshiped their gods, but to look only to the site that God would choose as God’s habitation to establish God’s name. There they were to bring their burnt offerings and other sacrifices
, tithe
s and contributions, offerings, and the firstlings of their herd
s and flocks. There, together with their households, they were to feast before God, happy in all God’s blessings. Moses warned them not to sacrifice burnt offerings in any place, but only in the place that God would choose. But whenever they desired, they could slaughter
and eat meat
in any of their settlements, so long as they did not partake of the blood, which they were to pour on the ground. They were not, however, to consume in their settlements their tithes, firstlings, vow offerings, freewill offerings, or contributions; these they were to consume along with their child
ren, slaves
, and their local Levite
s before God in the place that God would choose.
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Moses warned the Israelites carefully to observe only that which he enjoined upon them, neither adding to it nor taking away from it. If a prophet appeared before them and gave them a sign or a portent and urged them to worship another god, even if the sign or portent came true, they were not to heed the words of that prophet, but put the offender to death
. If a brother
, son, daughter, wife
, or closest friend
enticed one in secret to worship other gods, the Israelites were to show no pity
, but stone the offender to death. And if they heard that some scoundrels had subverted the inhabitants of a town to worship other gods, the Israelites were to investigate thoroughly, and if they found it true, they were to destroy the inhabitants and the cattle
of that town, burning the town and all its spoil as a holocaust to God. Moses prohibited the Israelites from gashing themselves or shaving
the front of their head
s because of the dead.
, sheep, goat
, deer
, gazelle
, roebuck
, wild goat
, ibex, antelope
, mountain sheep
, and any other animal that has true hoofs that are cleft in two and chews cud. But the Israelites were not to eat or touch the carcasses of camel
, hare
, daman, or swine
. Of animals that live in water, they could eat anything that has fin
s and scales
, but nothing else. They could eat any clean bird, but could not eat eagle
, vulture
, black vulture
, kite
, falcon
, buzzard
, raven
, ostrich
, nighthawk
, sea gull
, hawk
, owl
, pelican
, bustard
, cormorant
, stork
, heron
, hoopoe
, or bat
. They could not eat any wing
ed swarm
ing things. They could not eat anything that had died a natural death, but they could give it to the stranger or you sell it to a foreigner. They could not boil a kid in its mother’s milk
.
, wine
, and oil
, and the firstlings of their herds and flocks, in the presence of God in the place where God would choose to establish God’s name. If the distance was too great to transport, they could convert the tithes or firstlings into money, take the proceeds to the place that God had chosen, and spend the money and feast there. But they were not to neglect the Levite in their community, for the Levites had no hereditary portion of land. Every third year, they were to bring out the full tithe, but leave it within their settlements, and the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow
in their settlements could come and eat their fill.
s from fellow Israelites, although they could continue to dun foreigners
.
There would be no needy among them if only they heeded God and kept all God’s laws, for God would bless them. But if one of their kinsmen fell into need, they were not to harden their hearts, but were to open their hand
s and lend what the kinsman needed. The Israelites were not to harbor the base thought that the year of remission was approaching and not lend, but they were to lend readily to their kinsman, for in return God would bless them in all their efforts.
and put it through the slave’s ear into the door, and the slave was to become the master’s slave in perpetuity.
. Three times a year, on those three festivals, all Israelite men were to appear before God in the place that God would choose, each with his own gift, according to the blessing that God had bestowed upon him.
as an offering to God. however, allows killing and eating meat in any place.
2 Kings
and 2 Chronicles
recount how King Josiah
implemented the centralization called for in
of Passover. In the Hebrew Bible
, Passover is called:
Some explain the double nomenclature of “Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened Bread” as referring to two separate feasts that the Israelites combined sometime between the Exodus
and when the Biblical text became settled. (See, e.g., W. Gunther Plaut
. The Torah: A Modern Commentary, 456. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981. ISBN 0-8074-0055-6.) and indicate that the dedication of the firstborn also became associated with the festival.
Some believe that the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” was an agricultural festival at which the Israelites celebrated the beginning of the grain harvest. Moses may have had this festival in mind when in and he petitioned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. (Plaut, at 464.)
“Passover,” on the other hand, was associated with a thanksgiving sacrifice of a lamb, also called “the Passover,” “the Passover lamb,” or “the Passover offering.” ( 21, 27, 43, 48; 5–6; 17–18; 6–9, 11, 13.)
and and 5, and direct “Passover” to take place on the evening of the fourteenth of Aviv (Nisan
in the Hebrew calendar
after the Babylonian captivity
). and confirm that practice. and and direct the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” to take place over seven days and and direct that it begin on the fifteenth of the month. Some believe that the propinquity of the dates of the two festivals led to their confusion and merger. (Plaut, at 464.)
and 27 link the word “Passover” (Pesach, פֶּסַח) to God’s act to “pass over” (pasach, פָסַח) the Israelites’ houses in the plague
of the firstborn. In the Torah, the consolidated Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread thus commemorate the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt
. ( 3, 6.)
The Hebrew Bible frequently notes the Israelites’ observance of Passover at turning points in their history. reports God’s direction to the Israelites to observe Passover in the wilderness of Sinai
on the anniversary of their liberation from Egypt. reports that upon entering the Promised Land
, the Israelites kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho
and ate unleavened cakes and parched corn, produce of the land, the next day. reports that King Josiah commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover in Jerusalem as part of Josiah’s reforms, but also notes that the Israelites had not kept such a Passover from the days of the Biblical judges
nor in all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah
, calling into question the observance of even Kings David
and Solomon
. The more reverent however, reports that Solomon offered sacrifices on the festivals, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And reports King Hezekiah
’s observance of a second Passover anew, as sufficient numbers of neither the priests nor the people were prepared to do so before then. And reports that the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity observed Passover, ate the Passover lamb, and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy.
associates Shavuot with the first-fruits (בִּכּוּרֵי, bikurei) of the wheat harvest. (See also ) In turn, set out the ceremony for the bringing of the first fruits.
To arrive at the correct date, instructs counting seven weeks from the day after the day of rest of Passover, the day that they brought the sheaf of barley for waving. Similarly, directs counting seven weeks from when they first put the sickle to the standing barley.
sets out a course of offerings for the fiftieth day, including a meal-offering of two loaves made from fine flour from the first-fruits of the harvest; burnt-offerings of seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams; a sin-offering of a goat; and a peace-offering of two lambs. Similarly, sets out a course of offerings including a meal-offering; burnt-offerings of two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs; and one goat to make atonement. directs a freewill-offering in relation to God’s blessing.
and ordain a holy convocation in which the Israelites were not to work.
reports that Solomon offered burnt-offerings on the Feast of Weeks.
. In the Hebrew Bible, Sukkot is called:
Sukkot’s agricultural origin is evident from the name "The Feast of Ingathering," from the ceremonies accompanying it, and from the season and occasion of its celebration: "At the end of the year when you gather in your labors out of the field" ; "after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress." It was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest. (Compare .) And in what may explain the festival’s name, Isaiah
reports that grape harvesters kept booths in their vineyards. (Isaiah
) Coming as it did at the completion of the harvest, Sukkot was regarded as a general thanksgiving for the bounty of nature in the year that had passed.
Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as indicated by its designation as “the Feast of the Lord” or simply “the Feast.” ( 65; ) Perhaps because of its wide attendance, Sukkot became the appropriate time for important state ceremonies. Moses instructed the children of Israel to gather for a reading of the Law during Sukkot every seventh year. King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem
on Sukkot. And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.
In the time of Nehemiah
, after the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites celebrated Sukkot by making and dwelling in booths, a practice of which Nehemiah reports: “the Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua.” In a practice related to that of the Four Species
, Nehemiah also reports that the Israelites found in the Law the commandment that they “go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of olive
trees, pine
trees, myrtles, palms
and [other] leafy trees to make booths.” In God told Moses to command the people: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willow
s of the brook,” and “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” The book of Numbers, however, indicates that while in the wilderness, the Israelites dwelt in tents. Some secular scholars consider (the commandments regarding booths and the four species) to be an insertion by a late redactor. (E.g., Richard Elliott Friedman
. The Bible with Sources Revealed, 228–29. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.)
Jeroboam
son of Nebat, King of the northern Kingdom of Israel, whom describes as practicing “his evil way,” celebrated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, one month after Sukkot, “in imitation of the festival in Judah.” “While Jeroboam was standing on the altar
to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar” in disapproval.
According to the prophet Zechariah, in the messianic era, Sukkot will become a universal festival, and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there.
interpreted the centralization of worship in to teach that just as there is only one God, there would be only one Temple; and the Temple was to be common to all people, just as God is the God for all people. (Against Apion
2:24(193).)
4:1.) Rabbi Levi compared the proposition of to a master who offered his servant a golden necklace if the servant would do the master’s will, or iron chains if he did not. (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:2.) Rabbi Haggai taught that not only had God in set two paths before the Israelites, but God did not administer justice to them according to the strict letter of the law, but allowed them mercy so that they might (in the words of ) “choose life.” (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:3.) And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
taught that when a person makes the choice that urges and observes the words of the Torah, a procession of angels passes before the person to guard the person from evil, bringing into effect the promised blessing. (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:4.)
Our Rabbis asked in a Baraita
why says, “You shall set the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon mount Ebal.” cannot say so merely to teach where the Israelites were to say the blessings and curses, as already says, “These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people . . . and these shall stand upon Mount Ebal for the curse.” Rather, the Rabbis taught that the purpose of was to indicate that the blessings must precede the curses. It is possible to think that all the blessings must precede all the curses; therefore the text states “blessing” and “curse” in the singular, and thus teaches that one blessing precedes one curse, alternating blessings and curses, and all the blessings do not precede all the curses. A further purpose of is to draw a comparison between blessings and curses: As the curse was pronounced by the Levites, so the blessing had to be pronounced by the Levites. As the curse was uttered in a loud voice, so the blessing had to be uttered in a loud voice. As the curse was said in Hebrew, so the blessing had to be said in Hebrew. As the curses were in general and particular terms, so must the blessings had to be in general and particular terms. And as with the curse both parties respond “Amen,” so with the blessing both parties respond “Amen.” (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 37b.)
The Mishnah
noted the common mention of the terebinths
of Moreh
in and Genesis
and deduced that Gerizim and Ebal were near Shechem
. (Mishnah Sotah 7:5; Babylonian Talmud
Sotah 32a.) But Rabbi Judah
deduced from the words “beyond the Jordan” in that Gerizim and Ebal were some distance beyond the Jordan. Rabbi Judah deduced from the words “behind the way of the going down of the sun” in that Gerizim and Ebal were far from the east, where the sun rises. And Rabbi Judah also deduced from the words “over against Gilgal
” in that Gerizim and Ebal were close to Gilgal. Rabbi Eleazar ben Jose said, however, that the words “Are they not beyond the Jordan” in indicated that Gerizim and Ebal were near the Jordan. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 32b.)
explained that Rabbi Jose derived from the words “and you shall destroy their name out of that place” in that the place of the idol must be renamed. And Rabbi Eliezer deduced from the same words in that the Israelites were to eradicate every trace of the idol. (Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 45b.)
The Mishnah recounted the history of decentralized sacrifice. Before the Tabernacle
, high place
s were permitted, and Israelite firstborn performed the sacrifices. After the Israelites set up the Tabernacle, high places were forbidden, and priests
performed the services. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land and came to Gilgal, high places were again permitted. When the Israelites came to Shiloh, high places were again forbidden. The Tabernacle there had no roof, but consisted of a stone structure covered with cloth. The Mishnah interpreted the Tabernacle at Shiloh to be the “rest” to which Moses referred in . When the Israelites came to Nob and Gibeon, high places were again permitted. And when the Israelites came to Jerusalem, high places were forbidden and never again permitted. The Mishnah interpreted the sanctuary in Jerusalem to be “the inheritance” to which Moses referred in . (Mishnah Zevachim 14:4–8; Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 112b.) The Mishnah explained the different practices at the various high places when high places were permitted. The Mishnah taught that there was no difference between a Great Altar (at the Tabernacle or the Temple) and a small altar (a local high place), except that the Israelites had to bring obligatory sacrifices that had a fixed time, like the Passover sacrifice, to the Great Altar. (Mishnah Megillah 1:10; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 9b.) Further, the Mishnah explained that there was no difference between Shiloh and Jerusalem except that in Shiloh they ate minor sacrifices and second tithes (ma'aser sheni
) anywhere within sight of Shiloh, whereas at Jerusalem they were eaten within the wall. And the sanctity of Shiloh was followed by a period when high places were permitted, while after the sanctity of Jerusalem high places were no longer permitted. (Mishnah Megillah 1:11; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 9b–10a.)
Rabbi Judah (or some say Rabbi Jose) said that three commandments were given to the Israelites when they entered the land: (1) the commandment of to appoint a king, (2) the commandment of to blot out Amalek
, and (3) the commandment of to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Rabbi Nehorai, on the other hand, said that did not command the Israelites to choose a king, but was spoken only in anticipation of the Israelites’ future complaints, as says, “And (you) shall say, ‘I will set a king over me.’” A Baraita taught that because says, “And when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about,” and then proceeds, “then it shall come to pass that the place that the Lord your God shall choose,” it implies that the commandment to exterminate Amalek was to come before building of the Temple. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 20b.)
Tractate Chullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the slaughter of animals for purposes other than sacrifice in (Mishnah Chullin 1:1–12:5; Tosefta Shechitat Chullin 1:1–10:16; Babylonian Talmud Chullin 2a–142a.)
Tractate Bikkurim
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud
interpreted the laws of the first fruits in and and (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Tosefta Bikkurim 1:1–2:16; Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 1a–26b.)
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre
” (after Abraham
was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
The Gemara taught that sets forth one of the three most distinguishing virtues of the Jewish People. The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that the Israelites are distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful, and benevolent. They are merciful, for says that God would “show you [the Israelites] mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you.” They are bashful, for (20:17 in NJPS) says “that God’s fear may be before you [the Israelites].” And they are benevolent, for says of Abraham “that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that only one who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join the Jewish People. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 79a.)
Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:4–6, Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:1–6, and Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 111b–13b interpreted to address the law of the apostate town. The Mishnah held that only a court of 71 judges could declare such a city, and the court could not declare cities on the frontier or three cities within one locale to be apostate cities. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 1:5; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 2a.) A Baraita taught that there never was an apostate town and never will be. Rabbi Eliezer said that no city containing even a single mezuzah
could be condemned as an apostate town, as instructs with regard to such a town, “you shall gather all the spoil of it in the midst of the street thereof and shall burn . . . all the spoil,” but if the spoil contains even a single mezuzah, this burning would be forbidden by the injunction of which states, “you shall destroy the names of [the idols] . . . . You shall not do so to the Lord your God,” and thus forbids destroying the Name of God. Rabbi Jonathan
, however, said that he saw an apostate town and sat upon its ruins. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 71a.)
birds (birds with an injury or defect that would prevent them from living out a year). The Gemara interpreted the word “birds” (צִפֳּרִים, zipparim) to mean kosher birds. The Gemara deduced from the words of “Every bird (צִפּוֹר, zippor) that is clean you may eat,” that some zipparim are forbidden as unclean — namely, birds slaughtered pursuant to The Gemara interpreted the words of “And these are they of which you shall not eat,” to refer to birds slaughtered pursuant to And the Gemara taught that repeats the commandment so as to teach that one who consumes a bird slaughtered pursuant to infringes both a positive and a negative commandment. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 139b–40a.)
Tractates Maasrot
and Maaser Sheni
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of tithes in and (Mishnah Maasrot 1:1–5:8; Tosefta Maasrot 1:1–3:16; Jerusalem Talmud Maasrot 1a–46a; Mishnah Maaser Sheni 1:1–5:15; Tosefta Maaser Sheni 1:1–5:30; Jerusalem Talmud Maaser Sheni 1a–59b.)
The precept of to rejoice on the festivals (or some say the precept of to rejoice on the festival of Sukkot) is incumbent upon women notwithstanding the general rule that the law does not bind women to observe precepts that depend on a certain time. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 27a.)
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for "see", the first word
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
in the parshah) is the 47th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the fourth in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
generally read it in August or early September.
Jews read part of the parshah, which addresses the Three Pilgrim Festivals (Shalosh Regalim), as the initial Torah reading on the eighth day of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
when it falls on a weekday and on the second day of Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
when it falls on a weekday. And Jews read a larger selection from the same part of the parshah, as the initial Torah reading on the eighth day of Passover when it falls on a Sabbath, on the second day of Shavuot when it falls on a Sabbath, and on Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. In the Diaspora, an additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred to as Simchat Torah...
.
In the parshah, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
set before the Israelites the choice between blessing
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
and curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
. Moses instructed the Israelites in the law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s that they were to observe, including the law of a single, centralized place of worship. Moses warned against following other gods and their prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s. And Moses set forth laws of Kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
, tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s, the Sabbatical year, the Hebrew slave, firstborn animals, and the three pilgrim festivals.
Blessing and curse
Moses told the Israelites that he set before them blessing and curse: blessing if they obeyed God’sNames of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
and curse if they did not obey but turned away to follow other gods. Moses directed that when God brought them into the land
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, they were to pronounce the blessings at Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus , and forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated,...
and the curses at Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank , and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim...
.
Centralized worship
Moses instructed the Israelites in the laws that they were to observe in the land: They were to destroy all the sites at which the residents worshipWorship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
ed their gods, tear down their altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s of their gods. They were not to worship God as the land’s residents had worshiped their gods, but to look only to the site that God would choose as God’s habitation to establish God’s name. There they were to bring their burnt offerings and other sacrifices
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
, tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s and contributions, offerings, and the firstlings of their herd
Herd
Herd refers to a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic, and also to the form of collective animal behavior associated with this or as a verb, to herd, to its control by another species such as humans or dogs.The term herd is generally applied to mammals,...
s and flocks. There, together with their households, they were to feast before God, happy in all God’s blessings. Moses warned them not to sacrifice burnt offerings in any place, but only in the place that God would choose. But whenever they desired, they could slaughter
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
and eat meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
in any of their settlements, so long as they did not partake of the blood, which they were to pour on the ground. They were not, however, to consume in their settlements their tithes, firstlings, vow offerings, freewill offerings, or contributions; these they were to consume along with their child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren, slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, and their local Levite
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
s before God in the place that God would choose.
Not following other gods
Moses warned them against being lured into the ways of the residents of the land, and against inquiring about their gods, for the residents performed for their gods every abhorrent act that God detested, even offering up their sons and daughters in fire to their gods.Moses warned the Israelites carefully to observe only that which he enjoined upon them, neither adding to it nor taking away from it. If a prophet appeared before them and gave them a sign or a portent and urged them to worship another god, even if the sign or portent came true, they were not to heed the words of that prophet, but put the offender to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. If a brother
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
, son, daughter, wife
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, or closest friend
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
enticed one in secret to worship other gods, the Israelites were to show no pity
Pity
Pity originally means feeling for others, particularly feelings of sadness or sorrow, and was once used in a comparable sense to the more modern words "sympathy" and "empathy"...
, but stone the offender to death. And if they heard that some scoundrels had subverted the inhabitants of a town to worship other gods, the Israelites were to investigate thoroughly, and if they found it true, they were to destroy the inhabitants and the cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
of that town, burning the town and all its spoil as a holocaust to God. Moses prohibited the Israelites from gashing themselves or shaving
Shaving
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down to the level of the skin. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair...
the front of their head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
s because of the dead.
Kashrut
Moses prohibited the Israelites from eating anything abhorrent. Among land animals, they could eat oxOx
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
, sheep, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, gazelle
Gazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
, roebuck
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
, wild goat
Wild Goat
The wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
, ibex, antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
, mountain sheep
Argali
The argali, or the mountain sheep is a wild sheep, which roams the highlands of Central Asia . It is the biggest wild sheep, standing at the shoulder, measuring long and weighing , with a maximum known weight of...
, and any other animal that has true hoofs that are cleft in two and chews cud. But the Israelites were not to eat or touch the carcasses of camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
, hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
, daman, or swine
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
. Of animals that live in water, they could eat anything that has fin
Fin
A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
s and scales
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
, but nothing else. They could eat any clean bird, but could not eat eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
, vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
, black vulture
Eurasian Black Vulture
The Cinereous Vulture is also known as the Black Vulture, Monk Vulture, or Eurasian Black Vulture. It is a member of the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.This bird is an Old World vulture, and is only distantly related to the...
, kite
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
, falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
, buzzard
Buzzard
A buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.-Old World:In the Old World Buzzard can mean:* One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings....
, raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
, ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
, nighthawk
Nighthawk
A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae. Nighthawks are medium-sized New World birds, with long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They usually nest on the ground. They feed on flying insects. The Least Nighthawk, at and ,...
, sea gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
, hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
, bustard
Bustard
Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World...
, cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
, stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
, hoopoe
Hoopoe
The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...
, or bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. They could not eat any wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
ed swarm
Swarm
Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by animals of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse or migrating in some direction. As a term, swarming is applied particularly to insects, but can also be applied to...
ing things. They could not eat anything that had died a natural death, but they could give it to the stranger or you sell it to a foreigner. They could not boil a kid in its mother’s milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
.
Tithes
They were to set aside every year a tenth part of all the yield of their harvest. They were to consume the tithes of their new grainCereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, and oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, and the firstlings of their herds and flocks, in the presence of God in the place where God would choose to establish God’s name. If the distance was too great to transport, they could convert the tithes or firstlings into money, take the proceeds to the place that God had chosen, and spend the money and feast there. But they were not to neglect the Levite in their community, for the Levites had no hereditary portion of land. Every third year, they were to bring out the full tithe, but leave it within their settlements, and the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
in their settlements could come and eat their fill.
The Sabbatical year
Every seventh year, the Israelites were to remit debtDebt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
s from fellow Israelites, although they could continue to dun foreigners
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
.
There would be no needy among them if only they heeded God and kept all God’s laws, for God would bless them. But if one of their kinsmen fell into need, they were not to harden their hearts, but were to open their hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
s and lend what the kinsman needed. The Israelites were not to harbor the base thought that the year of remission was approaching and not lend, but they were to lend readily to their kinsman, for in return God would bless them in all their efforts.
The Hebrew slave
If a fellow Hebrew was sold into servitude, the Hebrew slave would serve six years, and in the seventh year go free. When the master set the slave free, the master was to give the former slave parting gifts. Should the slave tell the master that the slave did not want to leave, the master was to take an awlStitching awl
A stitching awl is a simple tool with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. It is also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas. It is a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent....
and put it through the slave’s ear into the door, and the slave was to become the master’s slave in perpetuity.
The firstling
The Israelites were to consecrate to God all male firstlings that were born in their herds and flocks eat it with their household before God in the place that God would choose. If it had a defect, they were not to sacrifice it, but eat it in their settlements, as long as they poured out its blood on the ground.Three pilgrim festivals
Moses instructed the Israelites to observe Passover, Shavuot, and SukkotSukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
. Three times a year, on those three festivals, all Israelite men were to appear before God in the place that God would choose, each with his own gift, according to the blessing that God had bestowed upon him.
Deuteronomy chapter 12
Leviticus like addresses the centralization of sacrifices and the permissibility of eating meat. prohibited killing an ox, lamb, or goat (each a sacrificial animal) without bringing it to the door of the TabernacleTabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
as an offering to God. however, allows killing and eating meat in any place.
2 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
and 2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
recount how King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
implemented the centralization called for in
Passover
refers to the FestivalJewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
of Passover. In the Hebrew Bible
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, Passover is called:
- “Passover” (Pesach, פֶּסַח) (Exodus 21, 27, 43, 48; NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
4–6, 10, 12–14; 5–6; JoshuaBook of JoshuaThe Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
EzraBook of EzraThe Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
5, 15, 17–18; 6–9, 11, 13, 16–19); - “The Feast of Unleavened Bread” (Chag haMatzot, חַג הַמַּצּוֹת) ( 21; ); and
- “A holy convocation” or “a solemn assembly” (mikrah kodesh, מִקְרָא-קֹדֶשׁ) ( 25).
Some explain the double nomenclature of “Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened Bread” as referring to two separate feasts that the Israelites combined sometime between the Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
and when the Biblical text became settled. (See, e.g., W. Gunther Plaut
Gunther Plaut
Wolf Gunther Plaut, CC, O.Ont is a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 is its Senior Scholar....
. The Torah: A Modern Commentary, 456. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981. ISBN 0-8074-0055-6.) and indicate that the dedication of the firstborn also became associated with the festival.
Some believe that the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” was an agricultural festival at which the Israelites celebrated the beginning of the grain harvest. Moses may have had this festival in mind when in and he petitioned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. (Plaut, at 464.)
“Passover,” on the other hand, was associated with a thanksgiving sacrifice of a lamb, also called “the Passover,” “the Passover lamb,” or “the Passover offering.” ( 21, 27, 43, 48; 5–6; 17–18; 6–9, 11, 13.)
and and 5, and direct “Passover” to take place on the evening of the fourteenth of Aviv (Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
in the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
after the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
). and confirm that practice. and and direct the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” to take place over seven days and and direct that it begin on the fifteenth of the month. Some believe that the propinquity of the dates of the two festivals led to their confusion and merger. (Plaut, at 464.)
and 27 link the word “Passover” (Pesach, פֶּסַח) to God’s act to “pass over” (pasach, פָסַח) the Israelites’ houses in the plague
Plagues of Egypt
The Plagues of Egypt , also called the Ten Plagues or the Biblical Plagues, were ten calamities that, according to the biblical Book of Exodus, Israel's God, Yahweh, inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh capitulated after the tenth...
of the firstborn. In the Torah, the consolidated Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread thus commemorate the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. ( 3, 6.)
The Hebrew Bible frequently notes the Israelites’ observance of Passover at turning points in their history. reports God’s direction to the Israelites to observe Passover in the wilderness of Sinai
Biblical Mount Sinai
The Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
on the anniversary of their liberation from Egypt. reports that upon entering the Promised Land
Promised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
, the Israelites kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
and ate unleavened cakes and parched corn, produce of the land, the next day. reports that King Josiah commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover in Jerusalem as part of Josiah’s reforms, but also notes that the Israelites had not kept such a Passover from the days of the Biblical judges
Biblical judges
A biblical judge is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings."...
nor in all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah
Kings of Judah
The Kings of Judah ruled the ancient Kingdom of Judah after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, David became king of a reunited Kingdom of Israel. However, in about 930 BC the united kingdom split, with ten of the twelve Tribes of Israel...
, calling into question the observance of even Kings David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
and Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
. The more reverent however, reports that Solomon offered sacrifices on the festivals, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And reports King Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
’s observance of a second Passover anew, as sufficient numbers of neither the priests nor the people were prepared to do so before then. And reports that the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity observed Passover, ate the Passover lamb, and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy.
Shavuot
refers to the Festival of Shavuot. In the Hebrew Bible, Shavuot is called:- The Feast of Weeks (חַג שָׁבֻעֹת, Chag Shavuot) ( see also (חַג הַשָּׁבֻעוֹת, Chag haShavuot));
- The Day of the First-fruits (יוֹם הַבִּכּוּרִים, Yom haBikurim) ;
- The Feast of Harvest (חַג הַקָּצִיר, Chag haKatzir) ; and
- A holy convocation (מִקְרָא-קֹדֶשׁ, mikrah kodesh)
associates Shavuot with the first-fruits (בִּכּוּרֵי, bikurei) of the wheat harvest. (See also ) In turn, set out the ceremony for the bringing of the first fruits.
To arrive at the correct date, instructs counting seven weeks from the day after the day of rest of Passover, the day that they brought the sheaf of barley for waving. Similarly, directs counting seven weeks from when they first put the sickle to the standing barley.
sets out a course of offerings for the fiftieth day, including a meal-offering of two loaves made from fine flour from the first-fruits of the harvest; burnt-offerings of seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams; a sin-offering of a goat; and a peace-offering of two lambs. Similarly, sets out a course of offerings including a meal-offering; burnt-offerings of two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs; and one goat to make atonement. directs a freewill-offering in relation to God’s blessing.
and ordain a holy convocation in which the Israelites were not to work.
reports that Solomon offered burnt-offerings on the Feast of Weeks.
Sukkot
And refers to the Festival of SukkotSukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
. In the Hebrew Bible, Sukkot is called:
- “The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths)” ( 16; ZechariahBook of ZechariahThe Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
18, 19; ); - “The Feast of Ingathering” ;
- “The Feast” or “the festival” ( 65; );
- “The Feast of the Lord” ( JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
); - “The festival of the seventh month” ( NehemiahBook of NehemiahThe Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
); and - “A holy convocation” or “a sacred occasion” .
Sukkot’s agricultural origin is evident from the name "The Feast of Ingathering," from the ceremonies accompanying it, and from the season and occasion of its celebration: "At the end of the year when you gather in your labors out of the field" ; "after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress." It was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest. (Compare .) And in what may explain the festival’s name, Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
reports that grape harvesters kept booths in their vineyards. (Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
) Coming as it did at the completion of the harvest, Sukkot was regarded as a general thanksgiving for the bounty of nature in the year that had passed.
Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as indicated by its designation as “the Feast of the Lord” or simply “the Feast.” ( 65; ) Perhaps because of its wide attendance, Sukkot became the appropriate time for important state ceremonies. Moses instructed the children of Israel to gather for a reading of the Law during Sukkot every seventh year. King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
on Sukkot. And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.
In the time of Nehemiah
Nehemiah
Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...
, after the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites celebrated Sukkot by making and dwelling in booths, a practice of which Nehemiah reports: “the Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua.” In a practice related to that of the Four Species
Four Species
The four species are four plants mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to Sukkot. Karaite Jews build their Sukkot out of branches from the four specified plants , while Talmudic Jews take three types of branches and one type of fruit which are held together and waved in a special ceremony...
, Nehemiah also reports that the Israelites found in the Law the commandment that they “go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
trees, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
trees, myrtles, palms
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
and [other] leafy trees to make booths.” In God told Moses to command the people: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s of the brook,” and “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” The book of Numbers, however, indicates that while in the wilderness, the Israelites dwelt in tents. Some secular scholars consider (the commandments regarding booths and the four species) to be an insertion by a late redactor. (E.g., Richard Elliott Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman is a biblical scholar and the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia. He joined the faculty of the UGA Religion Department in 2006. Prior to his appointment there, he was the Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near...
. The Bible with Sources Revealed, 228–29. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.)
Jeroboam
Jeroboam
Jeroboam was the first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy....
son of Nebat, King of the northern Kingdom of Israel, whom describes as practicing “his evil way,” celebrated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, one month after Sukkot, “in imitation of the festival in Judah.” “While Jeroboam was standing on the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar” in disapproval.
According to the prophet Zechariah, in the messianic era, Sukkot will become a universal festival, and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there.
Deuteronomy chapter 12
JosephusJosephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
interpreted the centralization of worship in to teach that just as there is only one God, there would be only one Temple; and the Temple was to be common to all people, just as God is the God for all people. (Against Apion
Against Apion
Against Apion was a polemical work written by Flavius Josephus as a defense of Judaism as a classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks.-Text:Against Apion 1:8 also defines which books he viewed as being in the Jewish...
2:24(193).)
Deuteronomy chapter 11
The Rabbis taught that the words of “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse,” demonstrate that God did not set before the Israelites the Blessings and the Curses of and to hurt them, but only to show them the good way that they should choose in order to receive reward. (Deuteronomy RabbahDeuteronomy Rabbah
Deuteronomy Rabbah is an aggadic midrash or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. Unlike Bereshit Rabbah, the Midrash to Deuteronomy which has been included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot in the ordinary editions does not contain running commentaries on the text of the Bible,...
4:1.) Rabbi Levi compared the proposition of to a master who offered his servant a golden necklace if the servant would do the master’s will, or iron chains if he did not. (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:2.) Rabbi Haggai taught that not only had God in set two paths before the Israelites, but God did not administer justice to them according to the strict letter of the law, but allowed them mercy so that they might (in the words of ) “choose life.” (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:3.) And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
taught that when a person makes the choice that urges and observes the words of the Torah, a procession of angels passes before the person to guard the person from evil, bringing into effect the promised blessing. (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:4.)
Our Rabbis asked in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
why says, “You shall set the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon mount Ebal.” cannot say so merely to teach where the Israelites were to say the blessings and curses, as already says, “These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people . . . and these shall stand upon Mount Ebal for the curse.” Rather, the Rabbis taught that the purpose of was to indicate that the blessings must precede the curses. It is possible to think that all the blessings must precede all the curses; therefore the text states “blessing” and “curse” in the singular, and thus teaches that one blessing precedes one curse, alternating blessings and curses, and all the blessings do not precede all the curses. A further purpose of is to draw a comparison between blessings and curses: As the curse was pronounced by the Levites, so the blessing had to be pronounced by the Levites. As the curse was uttered in a loud voice, so the blessing had to be uttered in a loud voice. As the curse was said in Hebrew, so the blessing had to be said in Hebrew. As the curses were in general and particular terms, so must the blessings had to be in general and particular terms. And as with the curse both parties respond “Amen,” so with the blessing both parties respond “Amen.” (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 37b.)
The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
noted the common mention of the terebinths
Pistacia palaestina
Pistacia palaestina is a tree or shrub common in the Levant region . It is called terebinth in English, a name also used for Pistacia terebinthus, a similar tree from the western Mediterranean Basin.-Description:...
of Moreh
Moreh
Moreh is a name of a location, commonly used in the Genesis.-Torah locality:Translators who consider the obscure elon moreh of Genesis 12:6 to be the name of a locality, render it as "the plains of Moreh". Translators who consider the term to be a sacred tree or grove, often render it "terebinth",...
in and Genesis
and deduced that Gerizim and Ebal were near Shechem
Shechem
Shechem was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel...
. (Mishnah Sotah 7:5; Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Sotah 32a.) But Rabbi Judah
Judah ben Ilai
Judah bar Ilai, also known as Judah ben Ilai, Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian , was a tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.Judah bar Ilai...
deduced from the words “beyond the Jordan” in that Gerizim and Ebal were some distance beyond the Jordan. Rabbi Judah deduced from the words “behind the way of the going down of the sun” in that Gerizim and Ebal were far from the east, where the sun rises. And Rabbi Judah also deduced from the words “over against Gilgal
Gilgal
Gilgal is a place name mentioned by the Hebrew Bible. It is a matter of debate how many of the places named Gilgal are identical.-The Gilgal associated peacefully with Joshua:...
” in that Gerizim and Ebal were close to Gilgal. Rabbi Eleazar ben Jose said, however, that the words “Are they not beyond the Jordan” in indicated that Gerizim and Ebal were near the Jordan. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 32b.)
Deuteronomy chapter 12
Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Judah derived from the use of the two instances of the verb “destroy” in the Hebrew for “you shall surely destroy” in that the Israelites were to destroy the Canaanite’s idols twice, and the Rabbis explained that this meant by cutting them and then by uprooting them from the ground. The GemaraGemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
explained that Rabbi Jose derived from the words “and you shall destroy their name out of that place” in that the place of the idol must be renamed. And Rabbi Eliezer deduced from the same words in that the Israelites were to eradicate every trace of the idol. (Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 45b.)
The Mishnah recounted the history of decentralized sacrifice. Before the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
, high place
High place
High Place, in the English version of the Old Testament, the literal translation of the Hebrew במה .This rendering is etymologically correct, as appears from the poetical use of the plural in such expressions as to ride, or stalk, or stand on the high places of the earth, the sea, the clouds, and...
s were permitted, and Israelite firstborn performed the sacrifices. After the Israelites set up the Tabernacle, high places were forbidden, and priests
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
performed the services. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land and came to Gilgal, high places were again permitted. When the Israelites came to Shiloh, high places were again forbidden. The Tabernacle there had no roof, but consisted of a stone structure covered with cloth. The Mishnah interpreted the Tabernacle at Shiloh to be the “rest” to which Moses referred in . When the Israelites came to Nob and Gibeon, high places were again permitted. And when the Israelites came to Jerusalem, high places were forbidden and never again permitted. The Mishnah interpreted the sanctuary in Jerusalem to be “the inheritance” to which Moses referred in . (Mishnah Zevachim 14:4–8; Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 112b.) The Mishnah explained the different practices at the various high places when high places were permitted. The Mishnah taught that there was no difference between a Great Altar (at the Tabernacle or the Temple) and a small altar (a local high place), except that the Israelites had to bring obligatory sacrifices that had a fixed time, like the Passover sacrifice, to the Great Altar. (Mishnah Megillah 1:10; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 9b.) Further, the Mishnah explained that there was no difference between Shiloh and Jerusalem except that in Shiloh they ate minor sacrifices and second tithes (ma'aser sheni
Maaser Sheni
The second tithe is a tithe mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and continued in Orthodox Judaism. It is distinguished from the first tithe , the poor tithe, and the terumat ma'aser...
) anywhere within sight of Shiloh, whereas at Jerusalem they were eaten within the wall. And the sanctity of Shiloh was followed by a period when high places were permitted, while after the sanctity of Jerusalem high places were no longer permitted. (Mishnah Megillah 1:11; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 9b–10a.)
Rabbi Judah (or some say Rabbi Jose) said that three commandments were given to the Israelites when they entered the land: (1) the commandment of to appoint a king, (2) the commandment of to blot out Amalek
Amalek
The Amalekites are a people mentioned a number of times in the Hebrew Bible. They are considered to be descended from an ancestor Amalek....
, and (3) the commandment of to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Rabbi Nehorai, on the other hand, said that did not command the Israelites to choose a king, but was spoken only in anticipation of the Israelites’ future complaints, as says, “And (you) shall say, ‘I will set a king over me.’” A Baraita taught that because says, “And when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about,” and then proceeds, “then it shall come to pass that the place that the Lord your God shall choose,” it implies that the commandment to exterminate Amalek was to come before building of the Temple. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 20b.)
Tractate Chullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the slaughter of animals for purposes other than sacrifice in (Mishnah Chullin 1:1–12:5; Tosefta Shechitat Chullin 1:1–10:16; Babylonian Talmud Chullin 2a–142a.)
Tractate Bikkurim
Bikkurim (Talmud)
Bikkurim is the eleventh tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. All versions of the Mishnah contain the first three chapters, and some versions contain a fourth....
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
interpreted the laws of the first fruits in and and (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Tosefta Bikkurim 1:1–2:16; Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 1a–26b.)
Deuteronomy chapter 13
The Jerusalem Talmud interpreted — “a prophet . . . gives you a sign or a wonder” — to demonstrate that a prophet’s authority depends on the prophet’s producing a sign or wonder. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 12a.)Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre
Mamre
Mamre , full Hebrew name Elonei Mamre , refers to a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El. Talmudic sources refer to the site as Beth Ilanim or Botnah. it was one of the three most important "fairs", market place or caravanserai, in Palestine...
” (after Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
The Gemara taught that sets forth one of the three most distinguishing virtues of the Jewish People. The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that the Israelites are distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful, and benevolent. They are merciful, for says that God would “show you [the Israelites] mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you.” They are bashful, for (20:17 in NJPS) says “that God’s fear may be before you [the Israelites].” And they are benevolent, for says of Abraham “that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that only one who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join the Jewish People. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 79a.)
Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:4–6, Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:1–6, and Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 111b–13b interpreted to address the law of the apostate town. The Mishnah held that only a court of 71 judges could declare such a city, and the court could not declare cities on the frontier or three cities within one locale to be apostate cities. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 1:5; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 2a.) A Baraita taught that there never was an apostate town and never will be. Rabbi Eliezer said that no city containing even a single mezuzah
Mezuzah
A mezuzah is usually a metal or wooden rectangular object that is fastened to a doorpost of a Jewish house. Inside it is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah...
could be condemned as an apostate town, as instructs with regard to such a town, “you shall gather all the spoil of it in the midst of the street thereof and shall burn . . . all the spoil,” but if the spoil contains even a single mezuzah, this burning would be forbidden by the injunction of which states, “you shall destroy the names of [the idols] . . . . You shall not do so to the Lord your God,” and thus forbids destroying the Name of God. Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan was a Palestinian tanna of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted. Jonathan is generally so cited without further designation; but there is ample reason for identifying him with the less frequently occurring Jonathan b. Joseph Rabbi...
, however, said that he saw an apostate town and sat upon its ruins. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 71a.)
Deuteronomy chapter 14
The Gemara interpreted the expression “two living birds” in The Gemara interpreted the word “living” to mean those whose principal limbs are living (excluding birds that are missing a limb) and to exclude treifahKashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
birds (birds with an injury or defect that would prevent them from living out a year). The Gemara interpreted the word “birds” (צִפֳּרִים, zipparim) to mean kosher birds. The Gemara deduced from the words of “Every bird (צִפּוֹר, zippor) that is clean you may eat,” that some zipparim are forbidden as unclean — namely, birds slaughtered pursuant to The Gemara interpreted the words of “And these are they of which you shall not eat,” to refer to birds slaughtered pursuant to And the Gemara taught that repeats the commandment so as to teach that one who consumes a bird slaughtered pursuant to infringes both a positive and a negative commandment. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 139b–40a.)
Tractates Maasrot
Ma'aserot
Ma'aserot is the seventh tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It discusses the types of produce liable for tithing as well as the circumstances and timing under which produce becomes obligated for tithing. In Biblical times, during each of the six years of the cycle, "Maaser...
and Maaser Sheni
Ma'aser Sheni
Ma'aser Sheni is the eighth tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It concerns the Second tithe obligation as well as the laws of Revai. For more info also look at the tracate Ma'aserot ·...
in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of tithes in and (Mishnah Maasrot 1:1–5:8; Tosefta Maasrot 1:1–3:16; Jerusalem Talmud Maasrot 1a–46a; Mishnah Maaser Sheni 1:1–5:15; Tosefta Maaser Sheni 1:1–5:30; Jerusalem Talmud Maaser Sheni 1a–59b.)
The precept of to rejoice on the festivals (or some say the precept of to rejoice on the festival of Sukkot) is incumbent upon women notwithstanding the general rule that the law does not bind women to observe precepts that depend on a certain time. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 27a.)