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What Exactly Is the First Commandment? | Sefaria Source Sheet Builder 27/05/2020 What exactly is the First Commandment? | Sefaria Source Sheet Builder What exactly is the First Commandment? Source Sheet by Rafael Kaiserblueth More info ╚ שמות כ׳:ב׳ Exodus 20:2 (ב) ָאֽנ ֹ ִ֖כ ֙י יְהָ֣וה ֱא ֶ֑֔הי ֲא ֶ֧שׁר הוֹ ֵצא ִ֛תי I am the Lord your God, who have (2) ֵמ ֶ֥א ֶרץ ִמ ְצַ֖ריִם ִמ ֵ֣בּ֥ית ֲע ָב ִ ֑דֽים׃ brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Alternative translations: I the Lord, am your God I, am the Lord your God Crescas (Spanish Jewish Philosopher 1340-1410): He who includes the list of positive precepts belief in the existence of God falls into a common error. The very character of the term mitzvah indicates by definition, that it can only apply to matters governed by free will and choice. But faith in the existence of God is one of those things which are not governed by free will and choice. Consequently, the term mitzvah cannot apply to it. It is neither a negative or positive commandment. It is a declarative, or preamble. Abravanel: The phrase, "I am the Lord your God..." constitutes no commandment, either dogmatic or practical, but is merely a preface to the subsequent commandments and injunctions, a declaration making known to the Children of Israel, Who was addressing them... ספר המצוות לרמב"ם, מצוות עשה Sefer HaMitzvot LaRambam, Mitzvot א׳:א׳ Ase 1:1 (א) היא הצווי אשר צונו בהאמנת The first mitzvah is that He commanded us to believe in the Deity, that is, the we האלהות, והוא שנאמין שיש שם עלה believe that there is a cause and motive וסבה הוא פועל לכל הנמצאים, והוא force behind all existing things. This אמרו אנכי ה' אלהיך. idea is expressed in the statement, "I am the Lord your God." משנה תורה, מצוות עשה א׳ Mishneh Torah, Positive Mitzvot 1 https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/25624?editor=1 1/9 27/05/2020 What exactly is the First Commandment? | Sefaria Source Sheet Builder () ִמ ְצ ָוה ִראשׁוֹנָה ִמ ִמּ ְצווֹת ֲע ֵשׂה, ֵלי ַדע The first commandment of positive ֶשׁיֵּשׁ ָשׁם ֱאל ַוֹהּ, ֶשׁנֶּ ֱא ָמר: "אָנ ֹ ִכי ה' commandments is to know that there is a God, as it is said, "I am the LORD your ֱא ֶהי" (שמות כ ב, דברים ה ו). .(God" (Exodus 20:2, Deuteronomy 5:6 What is the main difference between these two sources? משנה תורה, הלכות יסודי התורה Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the א׳:ו׳ Torah 1:6 (ו) ִוי ִד ַיעת ָדּ ָבר זֶה ִמ ְצ ַות ֲע ֵשׂה ֶשׁנֶּ ֱא ַמר It constitutes the most fundamental of (6) fundamentals and pillar of all sciences to (שמות כ-ב) "אָנ ֹ ִכי ה' ֱא ֶהי". ְו ָכל know that there is a first cause bringing ַה ַמּ ֲע ֶלה ַעל ַדּ ְעתּוֹ ֶשׁיֵּשׁ ָשׁם ֱאל ַוֹהּ אַ ֵחר in to existence all existing things, and חוּץ ִמזֶּה. עוֹ ֵבר ְבּא ַתּ ֲע ֶשׂה ֶשׁנֶּ ֱא ַמר that all that exists on heaven and earth and between them, exists only through (שמות כ-ג) "א יִ ְהיֶה ְל ֱא ִהים ֲא ֵח ִרים the truth of God's existence... ַעל ָפּנָי". ְוכוֹ ֵפר ָבּ ִע ָקּר ֶשׁזֶּהוּ ָה ִע ָקּר The knowledge of this matter is a ַה ָגּדוֹל ֶשׁ ַהכּל ָתּלוּי בּוֹ: positive commandment, as it says, "I am the Lord your God" (Ex. 20:2). And anyone who brings upon his mind that there may be another god beside Him violates a negative commandment, as it says, "You shall not have other gods before Me" (Ex. 20:3). And this [thought] is complete heresy. For this [knowledge of God] is the greatest principle upon which everything else depends. מכות כ״ג ב Makkot 23b דרש רבי שמלאי שש מאות ושלש Rabbi Simlai taught: There were 613 § mitzvot stated to Moses in the Torah, עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה שלש consisting of 365 prohibitions מאות וששים וחמש לאוין כמנין ימות corresponding to the number of days החמה ומאתים וארבעים ושמונה עשה in the solar year, and 248 positive כנגד איבריו של אדם אמר רב המנונא mitzvot corresponding to the number of a person’s limbs. Rav Hamnuna said: מאי קרא (דברים לג, ד) תורה צוה לנו What is the verse that alludes to this? It משה מורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה is written: “Moses commanded to us וחד סרי הוי אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי the Torah, an inheritance of the הגבורה שמענום congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4). The word Torah, in terms of its numerical value [gimatriyya], is 611, the number of mitzvot that were received and taught by Moses our teacher. In addition, there are two mitzvot: “I am the Lord your God” and: “You shall have no other gods” (Exodus 20:2, 3), https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/25624?editor=1 2/9 27/05/2020 What exactly is the First Commandment? | Sefaria Source Sheet Builder the first two of the Ten Commandments, that we heard from the mouth of the Almighty, for a total of 613. One of the earliest attempts to come up with the number 613. דברים ל״ג:ד׳ Deuteronomy 33:4 (ד) תּ ָ֥וֹרה ִצ ָוּה־ ָ֖לנוּ מ ֹ ֶ֑שׁה מ ָוֹר ָ֖שׁה ְק ִה ַ֥לּת When Moses charged us with the (4) יַ ֲע ֽק ֹב׃ Teaching as the heritage of the congregation of Jacob. Rambam - Guide to the Perplexed: They mean that these words (the first 2 commandments) reached them just as they reached Moses our Teacher. But it was not Moses who transmitted it to them. For these two principles, I mean the existence and unity of God, are knowable by human speculation alone. Now with regard to everything that can be known by demonstration, the status of the prophet and that of everyone else is equal...the Torah states: "Unto you it was shown..." Malbim: In his Code, Rambam deliberately changed the wording from "believe" to "know". He wished to stress the intellectual basis of the precept. This as he pointed out in the Guide is based on the rabbinic dictum that we heard the first two commandments of the Decalogue directly from God, implying purely intellectual apprehension. In other words, the whole of Judaism apart from these two precepts is based on faith, faith in Moses as the messenger of God; faith that all he commanded constituted the authentic message of God. But these two commandments - the existence and oneness of the Divinity is attained by the direct exercise of men's intellectual faculties. The Lord implanted these concepts in him from Birth. They are innate ideas. A man has only to look into his own soul to discover them just as he develops all the rest of his faculties. There was no need to receive them from Moses as an act of faith. They were therefore imparted directly by God who fashioned man's soul. The precept consists of making every effort to clarify our knowledge of this, in accordance with the text (Job 12:9): Who cannot fail to discover that the hand of the Lord is behind all this". Attempting to harmonise Rambam's view and Crescas' objection. דברים ד׳:ל״ט Deuteronomy 4:39 (לט) ְויָ ַד ְע ָ֣תּ ַה ֗יּוֹם ַו ֲה ֵשׁב ֹ ָ֮ת ֶאל־ ְל ָב ֶב ֒ ִ֤כּי Know therefore this day and keep in (39) יְה ָו ֙ה ֣הוּא ָהֽ ֱא ֔ ִהים ַבּ ָשּׁ ַ֣מיִם ִמ ֔ ַמּ ַעל mind that the LORD alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there ְו ַעל ָ־ה ָ֖א ֶרץ ִמ ָ֑תּ ַחת ֵ֖אין ֽעוֹד׃ .is no other https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/25624?editor=1 3/9 27/05/2020 What exactly is the First Commandment? | Sefaria Source Sheet Builder Formulation of a Principle אבן עזרא על שמות כ׳:א׳:ג׳ Ibn Ezra on Exodus 20:1:3 שאלני רבי יהודה הלוי מנוחתו כבוד Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, may His למה הזכיר אנכי ה' אלהיך אשר memory be an honor, asked me why it mentioned, "I am the Lord, your God, הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים ולא אמר ",that took you out of the land of Egypt שעשיתי שמים וארץ. ואני עשיתיך. and it did not state, "that made the וזאת היתה תשובתי אליו. דעי כי אין ".heavens and the earth and I made you And this was my answer to him: Know מעלות בני אדם שוות באמונתם בלבם. that the levels of people’s faith, in which שהם מאמינים בשם הנכבד כי הרבים they believe in the glorious God in their מאמינים להשמעות אזנים שיאמר להם hearts, is not equal. As the masses אדוניהם ככה. ולמעלה מהם שראו זה believe that which was heard by their ears, that their Master told them this. כתוב בדברי התורה שנתן השם למשה. And above them are those that saw it ואם יבא אפיקורוס לערער כי אין written in the words of the Torah that אלהים ישימו ידם לפיהם כי לא ידעו God gave to Moshe. And if a heretic להשיב ואשר נשאו לבו ללמוד חכמות ,comes to challenge that there is no God they will place their hands on their שהם כמו מעלות לעלות בהם אל מקום mouths, as they will not know [what] to חפצו יכיר מעשה השם במתכונת answer. And the one whose heart has ובצמחים ובחיות ובגוף האדם בעצמו – elevated him to learn the sciences שידע מעשה כל אבר ואבר כפי which are like stairs to rise up upon to the place of his desire – will recognize התולדות. ולמה הי' על זאת המתכונת. the work of God in the patterns and the ויגבה לבו אחרי כן לדעת דברי הגלגלים plants and the animals, and in his own שהם מעשי השם בעולם האמצעי שהוא human body - that he will know the עומד.
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