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RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 456
Judaism is based not only on the major pronouncements of the Decalogue but on the hundreds of minor ways in which we are called on to sanctify our relationships with other people. Ramban sees this parashah as an extension of the 10th commandment, 'you shall not covet.' To obey that commandment properly, we need to know what we are entitled to and what belongs to our neighbor. Our standards for how we treat others must be based not on social-utilitarian concerns, the desire for an orderly society, but on the recognition of the image of 'god in every person and the presence of God in every relationship.
Bava Batra 8
Abaye said to him: From what Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda taught, that one does not impose a charity obligation on orphans even for the sake of redeeming captives, learn from this that redeeming captives is a great mitzva. Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: Concerning this matter that the Sages stated, that redeeming captives is a great mitzva, from where is it derived? Rabba bar Mari said to him: As it is written: “And it shall come to pass, when they say to you: To where shall we depart? Then you shall tell them: So says the Lord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity” (Jeremiah 15:2).
Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai would expound this verse as a type of decorative wreath [ḥomer], i.e., as an allegory: Why is the ear different from all the other limbs in the body, as the ear alone is pierced? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: This ear heard My voice on Mount Sinai when I said: “For to Me the children of Israel are slaves” (Leviticus 25:55), which indicates: And they should not be slaves to slaves. And yet this man went and willingly acquired a master for himself. Therefore, let this ear be pierced.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 462
Other Near Eastern societies permitted the family of a murderer to accept a monetary settlement from the murderer; the Torah forbids it. 'The guilt of a murderer is infinite because the murdered life is invaluable.'
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 462
In all likelihood, 'an eye for an eye' is a graphic way of expressing the abstract idea that the punishment should not be too lenient ('a scolding for an eye') or too harsh ('a life for an eye'), but should fit the crime and the circumstances.
Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p. 1204
21:26. liberated, for his eye. Even in a system that allows slavery, a master does not own the slave’s body. The master can require work from a slave, but damaging the slave’s eye or tooth steps over the line, and the master no longer owns the slave. This reminds us also of the Egyptian enslavement of Israel. The Egyptians are not criticized for having slaves, but rather for the way they treat the slaves: “They degraded them…. They made them serve with harshness … they made their lives bitter with hard work …” They killed the male infants. The Torah did not bring about the end of slavery by abolishing it. It established principles regarding slaves’ dignity, rights, and treatment. And these gradually contributed to humans’ own rejection of slavery in much (though not yet all) of the world. This is a crucial point itself: that some of the laws of the Torah command things outright, while others lead humans to grow and change themselves.
(כ) וְגֵ֥ר לֹא־תוֹנֶ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(20) You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
(ט) וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(9) You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.
(ט) וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֛ה צַעֲקַ֥ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּ֣אָה אֵלָ֑י וְגַם־רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הַלַּ֔חַץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם לֹחֲצִ֥ים אֹתָֽם׃
(9) Now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me; moreover, I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
Nehama Leibowitz, New Studies in Shemot, vol 2, p. 383
The reciprocity involved is further underlined by the stylistic device of using the same lexical word lahaz 'oppress' 'squeeze' to describe the oppression of the stranger and the oppression suffered by Israel in Egypt...The verb lahaz does. not recur [after Exodus 3:9] till we reach our text dealing with the stranger. The prohibition of oppressing the stranger is thus linked by verbal association with the oppression suffered by Israel as strangers in Egypt. We are bidden to put ourselves in the position of the ger - the stranger, by recalling how it felt when we were strangers in another land.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 468
The decency of a society is measured by how it cares for its least powerful members.
Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah, vol. 1, loc. 3479, Kindle edition
Since you know what it feels like to be a stranger, you must never abuse or mistreat the stranger. This prohibition is so often cited that it’s easy to miss just how radical and non-obvious it is. The Torah could have responded quite differently to the experience of oppression in Egypt. It could have said, Since you were tyrannized and exploited and no one did anything to help you, you don’t owe anything to anyone; how dare anyone ask anything of you? But it chooses the opposite path: Since you were exploited and oppressed, you must never be among the exploiters and degraders. You must remember what it feels like to be a stranger. Empathy must animate and intensify your commitment to the dignity and well-being of the weak and vulnerable. And God holds you accountable to this obligation.
(21) You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. (22) If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me,
Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah, vol. 1, loc. 3612, Kindle edition
To be a religious person is, in part, to follow God’s example: To listen even when others will not, and to see even when others look away.
Rabbi Mark Borowitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 125
We also carry false rumors about ourselves whenever we engage in negative self-talk.
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Exodus: The Book of Redemption, p. 160, Kindle edition
There are two principles at stake here. One is concern for the animal. Jewish law forbids tza’ar ba’alei ĥayim, the needless infliction of pain on animals. It is as if the Torah is here saying: a conflict between two human beings should not lead either of them to ignore the fact that the ass is labouring under its load. It is innocent. Why then should it suffer? That in itself is a powerful moral lesson. The second is stronger still. It says, in effect: your enemy is also a human being. Hostility may divide you, but there is something deeper that connects you: the covenant of human solidarity. Distress, difficulty – these things transcend the language of difference. A decent society will be one in which enemies do not allow their rancour or animosity to prevent them from coming to one another’s assistance when they need help. If someone is in trouble, help. Don’t stop to ask whether they are friend or foe. Get involved...
Bava Metzia 32b
Come and hear proof from a baraita: If one encounters a friend whose animal collapsed and it is necessary to unload its burden, and one also encounters an enemy who needs assistance to load a burden onto his animal, the mitzva is to assist the enemy, in order to subjugate one’s evil inclination.
Rabbi Mark Borowitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 120
There is an incredibly strong message here about the importance of treating each other well in order to fulfill the spirit and the letter of God’s will. This parashah reminds me of the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, z”l, who wrote in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, “In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
Rav Avraham Isaac Kook, Orot HaKodesh 3:259
When a great man involves himself too much with details, whether by studying them or by anxiety about them, he is diminished and his stature lessened; he must return and repent with love, with greatness of soul, and bind that contents of his spiritual life with great and sublime ideas. Certainly, he must not slight any detail, and always expand force and holiness in his deeds as well.
Rabbi Shmeuly Yankowitz, in The Mussar Torah Commentary, p. 116, Kindle edition
Kook was aware that we can easily begin to worship details in a way that is paralyzing for our broader spiritual vision and for actualizing our most cherished values in the world. Complexity should lead us to pause and reflect, yes, but complexity should also guide us to our moral and societal responsibilities.
Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 5:18
I will not prolong my argument. I will merely point to the following: A heart that deviseth wicked thoughts (Prov. 6:18); thou didst well that it was in thy heart (II Chron. 6:8); And to them that are upright in their hearts (Ps. 125:4). Moses at the end said, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it (Deut. 30:14). The main purpose of the mitzvot is to perfect the heart.
Rabbi Shmeuly Yankowitz, in The Mussar Torah Commentary, p. 117, Kindle edition
The Kotzker Rebbe shares that it is easy for the masses to stand afar and tremble at the sight, but Moses entered the dark cloud knowing that the deepest spiritual treasures are found not in seemingly perfect certainties, but rather in humble places that are often quite blurry and uncertain. And so, we should prepare ourselves—our hearts and our souls—for a life on earth and in the midst of the clouds.
(כ) הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י שֹׁלֵ֤חַ מַלְאָךְ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמׇרְךָ֖ בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ וְלַהֲבִ֣יאֲךָ֔ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי׃
(20) I am sending a messenger before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready.
Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p. 1230
23:20. I’m sending an angel ahead of you. This will be repeated twice (32:34; 33:2). It is another recurrence of language from the accounts of the patriarchs: Abraham told his servant that God will send “His angel ahead of you,” which would lead to the success of his mission to get a wife for Isaac (Gen 24:7; see also 32:4). That is now a reminder that the preceding angel on a journey is an assurance and protection.
(ג) וַיָּבֹ֣א מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיְסַפֵּ֤ר לָעָם֙ אֵ֚ת כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֑ים וַיַּ֨עַן כׇּל־הָעָ֜ם ק֤וֹל אֶחָד֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נַעֲשֶֽׂה׃ (ד) וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֵ֚ת כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּ֥בֶן מִזְבֵּ֖חַ תַּ֣חַת הָהָ֑ר וּשְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ מַצֵּבָ֔ה לִשְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָׂ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ה) וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח אֶֽת־נַעֲרֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיַּֽעֲל֖וּ עֹלֹ֑ת וַֽיִּזְבְּח֞וּ זְבָחִ֧ים שְׁלָמִ֛ים לַיהֹוָ֖ה פָּרִֽים׃ (ו) וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ חֲצִ֣י הַדָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹ֑ת וַחֲצִ֣י הַדָּ֔ם זָרַ֖ק עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ (ז) וַיִּקַּח֙ סֵ֣פֶר הַבְּרִ֔ית וַיִּקְרָ֖א בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נַעֲשֶׂ֥ה וְנִשְׁמָֽע׃ (ח) וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם וַיִּזְרֹ֖ק עַל־הָעָ֑ם וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה דַֽם־הַבְּרִית֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר כָּרַ֤ת יְהֹוָה֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם עַ֥ל כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃
(3) Moses went and repeated to the people all the commands of יהוה and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, “All the things that יהוה has commanded we will do!” (4) Moses then wrote down all the commands of יהוה. Early in the morning, he set up an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. (5) He designated some assistants among the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as offerings of well-being to יהוה. (6) Moses took one part of the blood and put it in basins, and the other part of the blood he dashed against the altar. (7) Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that יהוה has spoken we will faithfully do!” (8) Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that יהוה now makes with you concerning all these commands.”
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 478
The literal meaning of the two words na-aseh v'nishma is 'we will do and we will obey.'...to say 'I will do' even before one understands is to say, 'I have faith that God will lead me in the proper path.'
Shabbat 88a, 7
Rabbi Simai taught: When Israel accorded precedence to the declaration “We will do” over the declaration “We will hear,” 600,000 ministering angels came and tied two crowns to each and every member of the Jewish people, one corresponding to “We will do” and one corresponding to “We will hear.”
Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:15:1-2
(1) (Ibid. 20:15) "And all the people saw the sounds and the lightnings": They saw what was visible and heard what was audible. These are the words of R. Yishmael. R. Akiva says: They saw and heard what was audible. There was nothing that left the mouth of the Omnipotent which was not inscribed on the tablets, as it is written (Psalms 29:7) "The voice of the L rd hews (with) flames of fire." (2) "And all the people saw": the sounds of sounds and the flames of flames. How many sounds were there and how many flames were there? The intent is that each heard according to his power (to absorb what he experienced), viz. (Psalms 29:4) "the voice of the L rd in power, the voice of the L rd in majesty."
George Robinson, Essential Torah, p. 372, Kindle edition
The Kotzker [Rebbe] recalls the reply of B’nei Yisraelat Sinai and says, “Through the power of the mitzvot we perform, we are able to understand.”...he argues that it is by performing the mitzvot that we draw nearer to God and to an understanding of the Eternal.
Rebbe Nachman, in. Dr. Avivah Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture, p 311, Kindle edition
Na’aseh—“We shall do”—refers to the revealed—that is, to the commandments that one can fulfill, on one’s own level. Nishma—“We shall hear”—refers to the hidden—that is, to things that one cannot grasp. For around each commandment, there are other things, which belong to the class of the hidden. The commandment itself one can fulfill; but the spiritual work that surrounds the commandment is largely unknown, hidden. This, too, is the relation of the Torah and prayer: the Torah can be known and fulfilled; while prayer is generated in that area that surrounds each commandment, which is enigmatic. For hearing is a function of the heart, as in Solomon’s prayer: “Give Your servant a hearing heart.” And the heart expresses itself to God in prayer.
RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 479, 478
This describes a formal part of the ceremony, concluding the Covenant....What does this strange passage mean? Could it be that 70 elders 'saw' God while 'eating and drinking'? What happens to people who experience the presence of God in an unusually intense and vivid way?
Shabbat 88a, 4
The Gemara cites additional homiletic interpretations on the topic of the revelation at Sinai. The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial.