Shemot/ Ex 21:1 – 24:18
For millennia mankind have sought ways to discover and draw closer to an All – Powerful Divine Being.
How does one truly draw near to the Heart of our Heavenly Father?
I believe there is one way and one way only and that is to have the mind of the Messiah.
Php 2:5 For, let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah יהושע,
Php 2:6 who, being in the form of Elohim, did not regard equality with Elohim a matter to be grasped,
Php 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and came to be in the likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And having been found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, death even of a stake.
Php 2:9 Elohim, therefore, has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name,
Php 2:10 that at the Name of יהושע every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Php 2:11 and every tongue should confess that יהושע Messiah is Master, to the esteem of Elohim the Father.
This Torah portion points us to the heart of the Father and His Kingdom and how we should and will live in His Kingdom.
The key to Kingdom living is to have the heart of a servant and not just any servant but a bondservant. The bondservant is one who has committed his or her entire life in loving service to their master and the family of their master.
The men and woman who brought us YHVH’s word without exception all considered themselves bondservants of YHVH.
The Torah and YHVH’s covenant can only be entered into by someone who is willing to dedicate their entire existence in loving service to the Master and His family.
Everything else is commentary.
Blessing of Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam,
asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah.
Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the
Universe,you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah.
Ameyn.)
asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah.
Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the
Universe,you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah.
Ameyn.)
Torah Readings:
- 21:1-19
- 21:20 – 22:4 (3 Heb.)
- 22:5-27 (22:4-26 Heb.)
- 22:28 – 23:5 (22:27 – 23:5 Heb.)
- 23:6-19
- 23:20-25
- 23:26 – 24:14 (Sefardim); 23:26 – 24:15 (Ashkenazim).
- Maftir: 24:15-18 (S); 24:16-18 (A)
Haftarah: Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 34:8 – 22; 33:25-26.
Aliyah Rishon 21:1-19
Shemot/Exo 21:1 “These are the right-rulings which you are to set before them:
Right-rulings or “Mishpatim.” This Hebrew word comes from the root “shaphat” which means to judge and by implication to vindicate or punish and by extension to govern.
We could also say this is the way the Kingdom of Elohim operates. We seek first His Kingdom and everything else will fall into place (Mat 6:33).
Exo 21:2 “When you buy a Heḇrew servant, he serves six years, and in the seventh he goes out free, for naught.
Exo 21:3 “If he comes in by himself, he goes out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.
Exo 21:4 “If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children are her master’s, and he goes out by himself.
Exo 21:5 “And if the servant truly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, let me not go out free,’
Exo 21:6 then his master shall bring him before Elohim, and shall bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall serve him forever.
Now the rabbi’s frown upon this custom because they believe Hebrews should seek to avoid the bondage of slavery.
This Torah portion reveals a bigger picture of how Messiah became a Hebrew slave for the sake of a Jewish and gentile bride and her children – the Messiah’s “kehelat” (assembly/called-out ones)
Only a freeman (one whose debt has been paid in full) can become a bondservant, the Hebrew slave (ivri eved) could only become a bondservant after 6 years. Yahshua was free because he had no sin, no debt to pay off, yet Yahshua very kindly paid our debt and chose to remain in a position of servitude to His Master forever and ever so that we could remain part of His household forever and ever.
Yeshayahu/Isa 50:5 The Master יהוה has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.
Isa 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard, I did not hide My face from humiliation and spitting.
The Hebrew verb for “opened” has a more intense form which means to carve or engrave. This reminds us of the ritual of “opening” the ear of a bondservant with an awl against the door post.
Yahshua will bear in his body the scars of the covenant he entered into on our behalf forever.
The gematria of Mashiach and Hebrew slave is 358.
(mem,shin,yud,chet = Messiah and ayin,veit,reish,yud – ayin,veit,daleth = Ivri eved or Hebrew slave)
Hebrew Slavery -Prof. Dov Landau.
“How can it be that the Torah, YHVH's perfect book of Law, did not take into account that in our day slavery would be considered morally reprehensible?
Indeed, the gemara in Tractate Kiddushin 15a says:
A hired laborer only works during the day; a Hebrew bondsman works day or night. [On this the gemara asks:] But is it conceivable that a Hebrew bondsman should work day or night? After all, it is said (Deut. 15:16): "he...is happy with you" - eating with you, drinking with you, and enjoying shelter with you.
For the next four pages the gemara sets forth all the protections due to a Hebrew bondsman, such as: he should not be made to work as a slave; his master must provide sustenance for his wife and children; the bondsman is released after the sixth year and in the jubilee year with a grant from his master; he may even redeem himself, etc., so that in the end he essentially is removed from the class of a slave and is no less than a resident hired worker. Moreover, a Hebrew slave is like a master, for the gemara (Kiddushin 20a) interprets the verse, "he... is happy with you" as follows:
Eating with you and drinking with you, for you are not to eat fresh bread while he eats stale mouldy bread, you drink aged wine while he drinks young wine, you bed down on feathers while he on hay. Hence it is said that whoever buys himself a Hebrew bondsman (i.e. slave) is as if he bought himself a master.
Abarbanel looked for the lesson to be learned from the juxtaposition between the Ten Commandments at the end of Parashat Yitro and the passage on Hebrew slaves at the beginning of this week's reading. He further developed the Sages' interpretation that the conjunction "And" appearing in the Hebrew as the first letter in Mishpatim, appended to the words, "These are the rules," means that the text which follows should be seen as adding to what preceded (i.e., to the first commandment, which says "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage," Ex. 20:2). Abarbanel felt that the juxtaposition taught that by taking the Israelites out of bondage YHVH acquired them as His very own, as indicated by the Midrash on the words, "The children of Israel are My servants," (Lev. 25:58) "and not servants of servants". This idea was further developed by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on this text. He adds that a Hebrew slave was not something encountered every day. Jewish courts did not sell a person, and a person would not sell himself except in the most dire of circumstances. Accordingly, even the situation of a "slave who is not a slave" came about only in the most rare of circumstances. Even in the extreme case of a thief sold for his theft it is said: "He shall remain with you as a hired or bound laborer" (Lev. 25:40), and we are taught that "you may not change his trade," that is, he must continue doing the skills he learned and may not be forced to do menial tasks.
We conclude with a quote from Rabbi Wolf:
Rather, the Torah left slavery in and of itself in existence, but improved the condition of the slave to the extent that the land of Israel would in any case become a paradise for slaves. The life and health of the Canaanite slave are well protected (vv. 20-21, 26-27). A weekly day of rest is assured him (Deut. 5:14). Slaves from other lands would flee to the land of Israel, to find refuge and be decently treated there, and in the fullness of time this situation would force slave owners in other countries to improve the lot of their slaves, so that in the end it would be recognized that a human being is not chattel and slavery would end of its own accord.
It must not be forgotten that in these matters the Torah does not permit any agreements to turn over slaves, for it says: "You shall not turn over to his master a slave who seeks refuge with you from his master" (Deut. 23:16). Even in our time, with the enlightened progress in morality of the third millennium, we have not yet reached this level. For all our progressive approaches, we are not capable of changing the mistaken conceptions to which we have become accustomed. Even the word 'slave' we are not capable of interpreting in its historic context, but give it anachronistic connotations in line with our modern-primitive conceptions.
Perhaps we would do better to learn our modern humane ideas precisely from the words of our ancient Torah?”
Shemot/Exo 21:7 “And when a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she does not go out as the male servants do.
Exo 21:8 “If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who has engaged her to himself, then he shall let her be ransomed. He shall have no authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of him deceiving her.
Exo 21:9 “And if he has engaged her to his son, he is to do to her as is the right of daughters.
Exo 21:10 “If he takes another wife, her food, her covering, and her marriage rights are not to be diminished.
Exo 21:11 “And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out for naught, without silver.
Vs 10 has given rise to one of the greatest controversies of our generation – the issue of polygyny (one man having more than one wife). It is probable that monogamy (one man having one wife) was YHVH’s original intention when He created male and female. Mankind no longer enjoys the intimacy and privilege once found in the garden of Eden.
The great challenge we have today is that the Torah speaks of the issue of polygyny more than once and it does not condemn this practice. Many Christians become highly emotive and speak strongly against this practice in spite of the fact that polygyny was practiced and regulated in the Torah. How dare anyone exalt themselves above the authority of the scripture? Granted polygyny is not commanded but neither is monogamy, yet today in the west monogamy is enforced and even legislated. No wonder there are so many social problems in our society, broken homes and single parent families etc. Polygyny should at least be offered as an alternative to monogamy in certain cases. Please note monogamy is greatly desired and has been blessed by YHVH for centuries.
The great Jewish thinker Vilna Gaon was quoted as saying if he could he would do everything possible to reverse the decision rabbi Gershom made to ban polygyny because he saw the negative impact forced monogamy had on society. If the Torah gave the option of polygyny why don’t we?
Polygyny however can also be just as problematic as monogamy; we see several examples of this in the scripture as well.
The prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah gives a profound prophecy concerning relationships between men and woman in Yir/Jer 31:22 “Till when would you turn here and there, O backsliding daughter? For יהוה has created what is new on earth: a woman encompasses a man!”
In the Hebrew we can deduce from this that the nurturing qualities of a woman will surround the strength of a man (nekeva tsovav gaber). Note the future tense of the verb “will surround or encompass” implying that this is not happening yet as it one day will. The context of this chapter is for the end of this age and the beginning of the next age or millennium.
We sadly see that in the garden Chava (Eve) did not nurture Adam’s strength but she assumed a position of authority and operated in a position of strength that belonged to Adam alone. Adam may have abdicated but the consequences of Eve’s action have had consequences until this day. Will this one day be restored by Yirmeyahu’s/Jeremiah’s prophecy? I believe it will.
The current status of many relationships in these days points to the need and longing for a Torah restoration of relationships. Every Shabbat we pray for our wives - the “eshet chayil” – a woman of strength and ability from Proverbs 31:10 onwards. It would appear reading this chapter that no single woman would be capable of having all the listed qualities.
Further in this chapter (vs 31-33) we see that YHVH is going to renew His covenant (marriage with Yisrael) by putting His Torah in their hearts.
This prophecy must also point towards the restoration of Messiah and his bride. This spiritual dimension will also reflect in the marriage relationships between men and woman.
Shemot/Exo 21:12 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.
Exo 21:13 “But if he did not lie in wait, but Elohim delivered him into his hand, then I shall appoint for you a place where he is to flee.
Exo 21:14 “But when a man acts presumptuously against his neighbour, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him even from My altar to die.
From verse 12 follows a long list of “mishpatim” right rulings or judgments.
It is helpful to understand these “mishphatim” as an evidence of what takes place spontaneously in our lives when the Torah is written in our hearts.
It is also helpful to understand the “mishphatim” in terms of the significance given to ownership or stewardship of property and respect and honour towards authority in the Torah. We see this illustrated in vs 12, when you kill someone you are actually destroying someone who is made in the image of YHVH and belongs to YHVH. Murder is destroying YHVH’s property - the crowning esteem of His creation – this is an extremely serious violation against YHVH and the penalty is death.
Exo 21:15 “And he who smites his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
Respect towards earthly authority especially towards parents will reveal what kind of respect we have for YHVH’s authority.
Exo 21:16 “And he who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall certainly be put to death.
Exo 21:17 “And he who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
Exo 21:18 “And when men strive together, and one smites the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,
Exo 21:19 if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who smote him shall be innocent. He only pays for lost time and sees to it that he is completely healed.
Aliyah Sheni 21:20-22:4
Shemot/Exo 21:20 “And when a man smites his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall certainly be punished.
Exo 21:21 “But if he remains alive a day or two, he is not punished; for he is his property.
Exo 21:22 “And when men strive and they shall smite a pregnant woman, and her children come out, yet there is no injury, he shall certainly be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband lays upon him. And he shall give through the judges.
Exo 21:23 “But if there is injury, then you shall give life for life,
Exo 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.
Exo 21:26 “And when a man smites the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he is to let him go free for the sake of his eye.
Exo 21:27 “And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he is to let him go free for the sake of his tooth.
Exo 21:28 “And when an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent.
Exo 21:29 “However, if the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox is stoned and its owner also is put to death.
Exo 21:30 “If a sin-covering is laid upon him, then he shall give the ransom of his life, whatever is laid on him.
Exo 21:31 “Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this right-ruling it is done to him.
Exo 21:32 “If the ox gores a male or female servant, he is to give to their master thirty sheqels of silver, and the ox is stoned.
Exo 21:33 “And when a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,
Exo 21:34 the owner of the pit is to repay, he is to give silver to their owner, and the dead beast is his.
Exo 21:35 “And when the ox of a man smites the ox of his neighbour and it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the silver from it, and also divide the dead ox.
Exo 21:36 “Or if it was known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall certainly repay ox for ox, while the dead beast is his.
Exo 22:1 “When a man steals an ox or a sheep, and shall slaughter it or sell it, he repays five cattle for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
Exo 22:2 “If the thief is found breaking in, and he is smitten so that he dies, there is no guilt for his bloodshed.
Exo 22:3 “If the sun has risen on him, there is guilt for his bloodshed, he shall certainly repay. If he has not the means, then he shall be sold for his theft.
Exo 22:4 “If the theft is indeed found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he repays double.
Aliyah Shlishi 22:5 – 27
Exo 22:5 “When a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare, and lets loose his livestock, and it feeds in another man’s field, he repays from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
Exo 22:6 “When fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain, or standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall certainly repay.
Exo 22:7 “When a man gives silver or goods to his neighbour to guard, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he repays double.
Exo 22:8 “If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought before Elohim to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbour’s goods.
Exo 22:9 “For every matter of transgression, for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for garment, or for whatever is lost which another claims to be his, let the matter of them both come before Elohim. And whomever Elohim declares wrong repays double to his neighbour.
Exo 22:10 “When a man gives to his neighbour a donkey, or ox, or sheep, or any beast to watch over, and it dies, or is injured, or is driven away while no one is looking,
Exo 22:11 let an oath of יהוה be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbour’s goods. And the owner of it shall accept that, and he does not repay.
Exo 22:12 “But if it is indeed stolen from him, he repays to its owner.
Exo 22:13 “If it is torn to pieces, then let him bring it for evidence, he does not repay what was torn.
Exo 22:14 “And when a man borrows from his neighbour, and it is injured or dies while the owner of it is not present, he shall certainly repay.
Exo 22:15 “But if its owner was with it, he does not repay. If it was hired, he is entitled to the hire.
Exo 22:16 “And when a man entices a maiden who is not engaged, and lies with her, he shall certainly pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.
Exo 22:17 “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he pays according to the bride-price of maidens.
Exo 22:18 “Do not allow a practiser of witchcraft to live.
Exo 22:19 “Anyone lying with a beast shall certainly be put to death.
Exo 22:20 “He who slaughters to a mighty one, except to יהוה only, is put under the ban.
Exo 22:21 “Do not tread down a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 22:22 “Do not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 “If you do afflict them at all – if they cry out to Me at all, I shall certainly hear their cry,
Exo 22:24 and My wrath shall burn and I shall slay you with the sword, your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.
Exo 22:25 “If you do lend silver to any of My people, the poor among you, you are not to be like one that lends on interest to him. Do not lay interest on him.
Exo 22:26 “If you take your neighbour’s garment as a pledge at all, you are to return it to him before the sun goes down.
Exo 22:27 “For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What does he sleep in? And it shall be that when he cries to Me, I shall hear, for I show favour.
Aliyah Reviee 22:28- 23:5
Exo 22:28 “Do not revile Elohim, nor curse a ruler of your people.
Exo 22:29 “Do not delay giving your harvest and your vintage. Give Me the first-born of your sons.
Exo 22:30 “Likewise you are to do with your oxen, with your sheep. It is to be with its mother seven days. On the eighth day you give it to Me.
Exo 22:31 “And you are set-apart men to Me, and you do not eat any meat which is torn to pieces in the field, you throw it to the dogs.
Exo 23:1 “Do not bring a false report. Do not put your hand with the wrong to be a malicious witness.
Exo 23:2 “Do not follow a crowd to do evil, nor bear witness in a strife so as to turn aside after many, to turn aside what is right.
Exo 23:3 “And do not favour a poor man in his strife.
Exo 23:4 “When you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall certainly return it to him.
Exo 23:5 “When you see the donkey of him who hates you lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall certainly help him.
Aliyah Chamishi 23:6-19
Shemot/Exo 23:6 “Do not turn aside the right-ruling of your poor in his strife.
Exo 23:7 “Keep yourself far from a false matter, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I do not declare the wrong right.
Exo 23:8 “And do not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the seeing one and twists the words of the righteous.
Exo 23:9 “And do not oppress a sojourner, as you yourselves know the heart of a sojourner, because you were sojourners in the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 23:10 “And for six years you are to sow your land, and shall gather its increase,
Exo 23:11 but the seventh year you are to let it rest, and shall leave it, and the poor of your people shall eat. And what they leave, the beasts of the field eat. Do the same with your vineyard and your oliveyard.
Exo 23:12 “Six days you are to do your work, and on the seventh day you rest, in order that your ox and your donkey might rest, and the son of your female servant and the sojourner be refreshed.
Exo 23:13 “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.
Exo 23:14 “Three1 times in the year you are to observe a festival to Me: Footnote: 1The Festivals of יהוה are grouped in three, for three different times of the year.
Exo 23:15 “Guard the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Aḇiḇ – for in it you came out of Mitsrayim – and do not appear before Me empty-handed;
Exo 23:16 and the Festival of the Harvest, the first-fruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Festival of the Ingathering at the outgoing of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labours from the field.
Exo 23:17 “Three times in the year all your males are to appear before the Master יהוה.
Exo 23:18 “Do not offer the blood of My slaughtering with leavened bread, and the fat of My offering shall not remain until morning.
Exo 23:19 “Bring the first of the first-fruits of your land into the House of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Aliyah Shishi 23:20-25
Exo 23:20 “See, I am sending a (not the) Messenger before you to guard you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Exo 23:21 “Be on guard before Him and obey His voice. (Why capital letters which are not used in the original?) Do not rebel against Him, for He is not going to pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him.
Exo 23:22 “But if you diligently obey His voice and shall do all that I speak, then I shall be an enemy to your enemies and a distresser to those who distress you.
Exo 23:23 “For My Messenger shall go before you and shall bring you in to the Amorites and the Ḥittites and the Perizzites and the Kena’anites and the Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, and I shall cut them off.
Exo 23:24 “Do not bow down to their mighty ones, nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but without fail overthrow them and without fail break down their pillars.
Exo 23:25 “And you shall serve יהוה your Elohim, and He shall bless your bread and your water. And I shall remove sickness from your midst.
There are many in the Messianic movement who claim Yahshua’s deity and pre -existent existence. There are others who refute these claims on the grounds of the following scripture found in the book of Hebrews.
YHVH communicated in times past through various messengers in the giving of the Torah and making known His will and purpose to His people. However 2000 years ago YHVH chose to communicate with us directly through His son – Yahshua who has inherited a more excellent name than the messengers (angels).
Ivrim/Heb 1:1 Elohim, having of old spoken in many portions and many ways to the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by the Son, whom He has appointed heir of all, through whom also He made the ages,1 Footnote: 1John 1:3.
Heb 1:3 who being the brightness of the esteem and the exact representation of His substance, and sustaining all by the word of His power, having made a cleansing of our sins through Himself, sat down at the right hand of the Greatness on high,
Heb 1:4 having become so much better than the messengers, as He has inherited a more excellent Name than them.
Heb 1:5 For to which of the messengers did He ever say, “You are My Son, today I have brought You forth”?1 And again, “I shall be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”?2 Footnotes: 1Ps. 2:7. 22 Sa. 7:14.
Heb 1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “Let all the messengers of Elohim do reverence to Him.”
Heb 1:7 And of the messengers indeed He says, “... who is making His messengers spirits and His servants a flame of fire.”
Heb 1:8 But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever, a sceptre of straightness is the sceptre of Your reign.
Heb 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Because of this, Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Heb 1:10 And, “You, Master, did found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Heb 1:11 “They shall perish, but You remain. And they shall all grow old like a garment,
Heb 1:12 and like a mantle You shall fold them up, and they shall be changed. But You are the same, and Your years shall not fail.”
Heb 1:13 And to which of the messengers did He ever say, “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all serving spirits sent out to attend those who are about to inherit deliverance?
Aliyah Sheviee 23:26 – 24:18
Shemot/Exo 23:26 “None shall miscarry or be barren in your land. I shall fill the number of your days.
Exo 23:27 “I shall send My fear before you, and cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
Exo 23:28 “And I shall send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Ḥiwwite, the Kenaʽanite, and the Ḥittite from before you.
Exo 23:29 “I shall not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become a waste and the beast of the field become too numerous for you.
Exo 23:30 “Little by little I shall drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.
Exo 23:31 “And I shall set your border from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River, for I shall give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
Exo 23:32 “Do not make a covenant with them nor with their mighty ones.
Exo 23:33 “Let them not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me when you serve their mighty ones, when it becomes a snare to you.”
Exo 24:1 And to Mosheh He said, “Come up to יהוה, you and Aharon, Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall bow yourselves from a distance.
Exo 24:2 “But Mosheh shall draw near to יהוה by himself, and let them not draw near, nor let the people go up with him.”
Exo 24:3 And Mosheh came and related to the people all the Words of יהוה and all the right-rulings. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the Words which יהוה has spoken we shall do.”
Exo 24:4 And Mosheh wrote down all the Words of יהוה, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve standing columns for the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Exo 24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and they offered burnt offerings and slaughtered peace slaughterings of bulls to יהוה.
Exo 24:6 And Mosheh took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 24:7 And he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that יהוה has spoken we shall do, and obey.”
QUESTION: In the previous parshah, it is written, "Vaya'anu chol ha'am yachdav" — "And the people answered together, 'All that YHVH has spoken, na'aseh — we will do' " (19:8).
1. Why is the word "nishmah" — "obey" — not mentioned?
2. Why in our parshah is there no mention that they responded "yachdav" — "together"?
ANSWER: It is really impossible for every Hebrew on his own to fulfill all the 613 mitzvot. Some mitzvot can only be performed by a King, others only by a Kohen (priest), etc. Nevertheless, there are ways for every Hebrew to receive credit for the fulfillment of all the 613 mitzvot: 1) Through learning about the mitzvot, it is considered as though one performed them. 2) When the Hebrews are united, they are considered one entity. Thus, through unity, they fulfill all the mitzvot and share the rewards.
Therefore, in our parshah, since it says, "na'aseh" — "we will do" — and also "nishmah" — "we will obey" — which means to study and learn about the mitzvot, each Hebrew on his own can do "kol asher diber Hashem" — "everything which Hashem has spoken." However, in Parshat Yitro where only "na'aseh" — "we will do" — is mentioned and not "nishmah," which means obeying and learning, fulfilling everything YHVH commands is only possible through "yachdav" — togetherness and unity.
Exo 24:8 And Mosheh took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “See, the blood of the covenant which יהוה has made with you concerning all these Words.”
Exo 24:9 And Mosheh went up, also Aharon, Naḏaḇ, and Aḇihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisra’ĕl,
Exo 24:10 and they saw the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, and under His feet like a paved work of sapphire stone, and like the heavens for brightness.
Exo 24:11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the chiefs of the children of Yisra’ĕl! And they saw Elohim, and they ate and drank.
Exo 24:12 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there, while I give you tablets of stone, and the Torah and the command which I have written, to teach them.”
Exo 24:13 And Mosheh arose with his assistant Yehoshua, and Mosheh went up to the mountain of Elohim.
Exo 24:14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. And see, Aharon and Ḥur are with you. Whoever has matters, let him go to them.”
Exo 24:15 And Mosheh went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
Exo 24:16 And the esteem of יהוה dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh day He called to Mosheh out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17 And the appearance of the esteem of יהוה was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Exo 24:18 And Mosheh went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And it came to be that Mosheh was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
“Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam,
asher natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe,
you have given us your Torah of truth,
and have planted everlasting life within our midst.
Blessed are you, Yahweh giver of the Torah.
Ameyn.)
Please note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final authority on any subject.
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