(10) And Moses instructed them as follows:
Every seventh year, the year set for remission, at the Feast of Booths, (11) when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel.
(12) Gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to revere the LORD your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching.
Is there anything weird about the above passage?
After coming up with one or two things, take a look at the passages below. Does this help answer any of your questions? If not, then working backwards, what question on the above passage might it help to answer?
דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין אוּר גֵּיהִנָּם שׁוֹלֶטֶת בָּהֶן, קַל וָחוֹמֶר מִמִּזְבַּח הַזָּהָב. מָה מִזְבַּח הַזָּהָב, שֶׁאֵין עָלָיו אֶלָּא כְּעוֹבִי דִּינַר זָהָב, עָמַד כַּמָּה שָׁנִים וְלֹא שָׁלְטָה בּוֹ הָאוּר. פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁמְּלֵיאִין מִצְוֹת כְּרִמּוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ״, וְאָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: אַל תִּיקְרֵי ״רַקָּתֵךְ״ אֶלָּא ״רֵיקָתֵיךְ״, שֶׁאֲפִילּוּ רֵיקָנִין שֶׁבָּךְ מְלֵיאִין מִצְוֹת כְּרִמּוֹן
Even the "sinners" of the Israelits, are filled with good deeds like a pomegranate, as it is stated: “Your temples [rakatekh] are like a split pomegranate behind your veil” (Song of Songs 6:7).
And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said about this: Do not read: Your temples [rakatekh], but rather: Your empty ones [reikateikh], meaning that even the sinners among you are full of mitzvot like a pomegranate!
(טז) רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר, רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מב) יְיָ חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר:
(16) Rabbi Ḥananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to confer merit upon the Jewish people; therefore, He increased for them Torah and mitzvot, as each mitzva increases merit, as it is stated: “It pleased the Lord for the sake of His righteousness to make the Torah great and glorious” (Isaiah 42:21). God sought to make the Torah great and glorious by means of the proliferation of mitzvot.
How do we see God "proliferating" mitzvoth in the first paragraph?
When is the last time that you felt you were doing something so "right," that according to your understanding of God and mitzvoth, that deed could very likely fall into the category of mitzvoth?
Is there anything like this that, since covid, you have been able to do, or begun doing, that you otherwise might not have?
After discussion, make your way over to our Padlet page and share with us some of what you're thinking about! Don't forget to personalize your space with colors and a picture.