Torah

On the day of June 28, 2017, the news reported a man in Arkansas arrested for destroying a monument of the 10 commandments with his car. Incriminating evidence found online unwittingly posted by the perpetrator himself helped the authorities identify him. A video was posted of the driver revving his engine, screaming “freedom!” before ramming his car right through the 10 commandments. Ironically, a Christian song can be heard playing in the background before all the noise of the crash. This was not an act of defiance by an Atheist or member of an opposing religion. The individual responsible was a Christian!

It is my intent that by the end of this post, the reader would know that only a gross misunderstanding of Old Testament law could motivate a Christian to commit such an act of aggression against it.

The Purpose of the Torah

While the Torah does indeed function according to the ways as described by Paul in his epistles; I would like to stress that his teachings on the Torah represent the deeper revelations of the Torah not explicitly found in the text. This is why Paul goes to such length to describe it. In contrast, Paul entirely avoids making such fervent discourse on the teachings that the Jews would have considered foundational and obvious.

The text of Exodus chapter 19 contains a curious focus on the number three:

In the third month… it came to pass on the third day… that Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God… – Ex. 19:1, 16-17

Jewish commentary elaborates:

A Galilean scholar lectured before Rabbi Chisda: “Blessed be the Merciful One who gave a three-fold Torah [consisting of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings] to a three-fold people [consisting of Priests, Levites and Israelites] through a third-born [Moses, born after Aaron and Miriam] on the third day in the third month.” – Talmud, Shabbat 88a

Triads can be identified in Jewish traditional prayer, Jewish “Aggadah” or wisdom sayings, and as shown, in the text of the Torah itself. Judaism has no shortage of triads. In keeping with Ecclesiastes, it has been used to represent completion, stability, and strength:

A cord of three strands is not easily broken. – Eccl. 4:12

Considering the above, it seems that an exposition of at least three purposes of the Torah is sufficient for a solid understanding of the Torah:

• The Torah is a record of a treaty made between God and Israel
• The Torah is the constitution of the theocratic nation of Israel
• The Torah makes Israel Holy for the Holy land

All three points serve to stress another triad:

The Nation of Israel – Torah – The Holy land

The Nation of Israel is inseparable from its constitution: the Torah. The Nation and the Torah, are in turn inseparable from the land.

The Torah is a record of a treaty made between God and Israel

When Israel entered into the Mosaic Covenant, God became their King:

“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel…” – Isaiah 44:6

The terms of the Covenant were written by Moses in the “Book of the Covenant” and the 10 commandments were carved on two tablets of stone. The distinction would not only specially hallow the 10 commandments, but they served a different purpose. One that scholars have not been privy to, until now. The tablets were used to represent what has been discovered and defined as a “Suzerain Treaty.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, page 260 defines the treaty as:

“When a king (a Suzerain) made a treaty with a vassal country”

William Shakespeare uses the term “Leige Lord” to refer to the supreme authority of a king above other lesser kings owing fealty and allegiance as vassals.

In the ancient near east, treaties between kings were common. The Hittite empire extended into modern-day Syria and had developed the practice of entering into treaties to establish smaller vassal states. However archeological evidence of this was not found until 1906 and publication of this evidence wasn’t available until the 1930. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that scholars noticed a connection:

“What captured the Biblicists, starting in the 1950’s, was the similarity of the forms of these treaties to the form of various presentations of God’s covenant with Israel, including, predominately, the narrative of Exodus 19-20 culminating in the proclamation of the Ten Commandments.” – How to read the Bible, James L. Kugal

The Mosaic covenant joined the nation of Israel as a vassal state in submission to the authority of a greater kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven! The nation of Israel along with its territory was annexed into the Kingdom. A loose modern-day example can be found in the “Crown” of Britain. The same way the commonwealth nations were made subservient to the monarch, the nation of Israel was placed under the dominion and rulership of heaven:

The Crown
Monarch of England	Commonwealth Nations

The Kingdom of Heaven
King of Heaven (YHVH) “Suzerain King”	The Nation/Land of Israel Lesser king and “vassal state”

Dr. Meshulam Margaliot, author of the book “What was written on the two tablets?” explains that tradition asserts two possibilities for the ten commandments:

“In the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael (Tractate de-ba-Hodesh 5) we read: “How were the Ten Commandments given? Five on one tablet and five on the other. ‘I am the Lord’ written across from ‘You shall not murder’…This is according to R. Hanina b. Gamaliel, but the Sages say ten on one tablet and ten on the other. (Horowitz-Rabin ed., p. 232, and parallel versions listed there). The second opinion, that of the Sages, essentially means that the Ten Commandments were given in double form.”

The author sided with the second explanation offered: that the Ten Commandments were in “Double form”, two copies of ten. The Double form theory would make sense in light of Suzerain treaties. In a Suzerain Treaty, both parties would hold a copy of the agreement. God, however, swearing by his name had no need for a copy in order to remember, therefore Israel kept both copies and stored them in the Ark of the Covenant.

The Torah is the constitution for the theocratic nation of Israel

The Torah does not offer a definitive value regarding the total number of commandments. Similarly, the task of differentiating one command from another has proven difficult. It all depends on the conditions one chooses to define a law. The Rambam in his work, the “Sefer HaMitzvos” lists 14 conditions he used to determine a distinct “law” from a general Biblical injunction.

Tradition maintains that the Torah consists of 613 laws total. This is derived from the Hebrew word itself. The numerical value of the word Torah (when the value of each letter is added) amounts to 611. The Rabbi’s regarded 611 as accounting for every law with the exception of 2.

Commandments one and two of the Ten Commandments are written in the first-person tense:

“[Commandment 1] I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [Commandment 2] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

It should be noted that contrary to the Christian rendering, Judaism regards the statement “I am the Lord thy God…” as the first commandment. The logic is, one must first submit to God as King before any other law could be followed:

“God…[as] king… tells his subjects that before he gives them his laws and ordinances, they must first accept him as their ruler and believe in him. Belief in one God is a prerequisite for all the other mitzvot.” – The Mitzvot, The commandments and their rationale, Abraham Chill, page30

God spoke the first two commandments. Since God himself is speaking, he introduces the first commandment with “I am” and finishes the second commandment with “me.” When these two commandments are added to 611, the total is 613.

“The numerical value assigned to the letters of the word Torah is 611 not counting ‘I Am’ and ‘you shall have no other God’s’ since these came from the mouth of the Almighty.” Talmud, Makkot 24A.

Verse 19 of Exodus 20 states that the people pleaded for Moses to speak on behalf of God, or in their words: “lest we die.” According to tradition, God was only able to speak two commandments. Had the people permitted, he would have uttered the full ten. Remarkably, when the ten commandments are translated properly (different English versions provide incorrect variations) God does indeed only use the first-person tense twice.

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw, they trembled, and stood afar off.” – Exodus 20:18

The Hebrew word for “thunderings” is “qolot” which does mean loud sounds, but can also mean “voices”. This leads to the bizarre reading: “And all the people saw the voices…” A midrash explains:

“They saw what is ordinarily heard and they heard what is ordinarily seen.”- Midrash Lekach Tov, Rashi cited at Chabad.org. Yitro: Parsha in-depth, Chabad.org.

According to Exodus 12:38, a “mixed multitude” followed Israel out of Egypt. This means that in addition to Israelites, Egyptian converts and members of other nations would have been present at Mount Sinai. The belief is that everyone, even the non-Hebrew speaking members of the mixed multitude saw and understood the “voices”. A midrash states that God’s voice split into every language (the Midrash count is 70 languages) so that all the people could understand:

“R. Johanan said that G-d’s voice, as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in seventy languages, so that all the nations should understand.” – Exodus Rabbah 5:9

Another Midrash from the “Exodus Rabbah” summarizes the event, making it clear what was in fact was soo terrible that the multitude had to silence God before he could finish:

“When G-d gave the Torah on Sinai, He displayed untold marvels to Israel with His voice. What happened? G-d spoke and the Voice reverberated throughout the world. . . It says: And all the people perceived the thunderings (Ex. 20:15). Note that it does not say “the thunder” [qol], but “the thunderings.” [qolot]. Wherefore R. Johanan said that G-d’s voice, as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in seventy languages, so that all the nations should understand. When each nation heard the Voice in their own vernacular their souls departed, save Israel who heard but who were not hurt.” – Exodus Rabbah 5:9, Soncino Press Edition

The Ten Commandments and the Torah

Many Christians have posited that a distinction exists between the 10 commandments and the remaining 603 of the Torah. The truth is, they are one in the same.

The ten commandments can be regarded as an expansion of two principles: to love God, and to love our neighbor. The first 5 deal with how God wishes for Israel to express love to him:

1. Worship God only
2. No Idolatry
3. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain
4. Keep the Sabbath Holy
5. You shall honor your Parents

The last 5 deal with how Israel/humanity should express love to one another:

6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness
10. You shall not Covet

To indicate the even split dividing the first five commandments from the last five, a symmetrical relationship between the two categories (love God, love neighbor) can be found when commandment 1 is compared to commandment 6, commandment 2 with 7, and so on:

Worship God only	You shall not murder
No Idolatry	You shall not commit adultery
Do not take the Lord’s name in vain	You shall not steal
Keep the Sabbath day Holy	You shall not bear false witness
You shall honor your Parents	You shall not covet

 

“…murder is an injury to God whose image man is, apostasy is equivalent to marital infidelity, stealing will lead to a false oath, the Sabbath violator attests falsely that God did not create the world in six days and rest on the seventh, and the person who covets his fellow person’s wife will end by fathering a child who rejects his true parent and honors another.” – https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-commandments

Two principles: love God, love neighbor, lead to 10. In turn, the 603 remaining commandments ultimately represent a much greater expansion, delineating in greater detail how to love God and love our neighbor in specific ways.

The Constitution

We live in a government where Church and State are distinct. When religion is discussed, our society as a whole is entirely removed from the reality of the content being discussed. The consequences of a debate, if one is proven right or wrong, are not far-reaching. The significance is private to each individual.

The opposite was the case for the ancient Israelite. For the Israelite, religious law was no different from Civil law. The law of the land was the Torah. Religious discussion was tantamount to a court case. The religious experts were lawyers. The constitution was the Torah.

The ten commandments are similar to the 7 Articles of our constitution. The 603 are similar to the 27 amendments:

The American Constitution
7 Articles	27 Amendments

The Torah
10 Commandments	603 Mitzvot (laws)

America is inseparable from its Constitution. Remove the Constitution, and America loses all that it stands for. It loses its identity and the principles that justified its formation. The same is true of the nation of Israel. The Torah and the nation of Israel go hand in hand.

The Torah makes Israel Holy for the Holy land

The commandments (in Hebrew: Mitzvot) when codified, are referred to as the “Taryag” Mitzvot. “Taryag” itself, yields no real meaning. The word is simply used to designate that the system accounts for 613 commandments (the numerical value of the letters add up to 613).

The first known effort to establish a system of codification shows up no earlier than the “Gaonic period” (second half of the 8^th Century). A period of uncertainty persisted until tradition had consolidated the Taryag Mitzvot into one main system:

• the “Sefer HaMitzvos” a work completed by the “Rambam” (an acronym for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon) who lived between 1138 – 1204.

The Rambam utilized a set of 14 rules to arrive at his specific list of 613. In addition, he organized by way of two categories: positive commandments (“Thou shall…”) and negative commandments (“thou shalt not…”). Each commandment, once placed into a category, was sorted into one of ten groups.

Two more works were developed after Rambam, borrowing from the Mitzvot as outlined by the 14 rules:

• The “Sefer HaChinuch” arranges each Mitzvot according to the order they appear the Torah.
• The “Sefer HaMitzvos Hakatzar” organizes the Mitzvot into a shortened list excluding commandments that cannot be performed in exile, and without an active Temple.

The Taryag Mitzvot although inspired by tradition, is still a work founded by man. Without doubt, the 14 rules originate with the Rambam, and not with Moses. Discussion of any system imposed onto the text should be tempered by the way the Torah itself prefers to be organized.

The Torah makes mention of three main types of law:

• Chukkim
• Mishpatim
• Edot

Chukkim: These are the laws relating to religious ritual/ceremony, such as sacrifice, Temple duties, and dietary restrictions. On the surface, they seem to lack clear sense, or purpose. They are known as “Shimiyot” or “irrational.” The Hebrew word “Chukkot/Chukkim” is connected to the notion of a divine decree. Implying that it should be done, if only for the sake of obeying God: “Do it because I say so.”

Mishpatim: Contrary to the Chukkim, Mishpat law is “Sichliyot” meaning rational. They relate to Civil law set in place to ensure order and harmony. The rules established, and the consequences meted, possess clear rationale and reflect principles that would benefit any secular society.

Edot: these laws represent a compromise between the two extremes of Chukkim (irrational) and Mishpatim (rational). Edot when performed, would appear to be Chukkim. However, they are made a category in their own right as a result of God assigning good reason for them. An example would be the wearing of blue “Tzitzit” tassels at the end of their garments. This would seem arbitrary without an explanation. The explanation provided is that the Tzitzit would remind Israel to obey the Torah.

The Chukkim

While scripture does on occasion intimate that God holds the nations responsible to maintain Justice (the purpose of the Mishpatim) there is no scriptural support to expect that God has, or ever will require the nations to observe the Chukkim.

The charge to obey the Chukkim is related to the great role and destiny that God has reserved exclusively for the nation of Israel. It seems God wished to make substantial in every way possible, for his plans to set Israel apart; to make Israel distinct, separate, and Holy.

While the nations have implemented the Mishpatim to varying degrees (some nations are more Just than others) only Israel performs the Chukkim.

Proof of this is evident in the Chukkim themselves:

• Sacrifices can only be performed in the Temple, and the Temple resides in Jerusalem.
• Only the Levitical Priests can officiate sacrifice and serve in the Temple.
• The Feast Days require Sacrifice.
• Many laws are connected to the agriculture of the land of Israel.

The Mosaic Covenant

Israel was elevated above all nations, and made “Holy” through the Mosaic Covenant:

You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. – Leviticus 20:26

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. – Deuteronomy 7:6

This is was for the purpose of initiating a process of sanctification for the Holy land:

But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart [sanctified you] from the nations. – Lev 20:24

While Israel is made Holy by the Mosaic Covenant, God places the responsibility of maintaining an ongoing process of sanctification/Holiness through obeying the Covenant terms required of them. Israel is therefore made Holy through the Covenant, and this sanctification is maintained through faithful obedience to its terms (the Chukkim and the Mishpatim).

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For more information on the Chukkim/Mishpatim: The Ceremonial and Moral aspects of the Torah