Exodus-Chapter-23
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye
shall NOT ADD
TO THE WORD which I command
you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT,
that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy
4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Exodus 23 continues the “Book of the Covenant”, transitioning from civil torts to the moral fabric of a holy society. It establishes that justice is not merely a legal requirement but a sacred duty. The chapter outlines the “Social Message” of the Torah protecting ‘the vulnerable’, maintaining ‘judicial integrity’, and observing the sacred cycle of time through the Sabbath and Festivals’. It concludes with the Divine promise of guidance as the nation prepares to enter the land, emphasizing that moral conduct within the community is the prerequisite for success beyond its borders.
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Exodus Chapter 23, verses 1 to 33: Whilst below the verses are the Explanation’s. (The Chapter is from JPS-1917 version of the Torah).
Verses
1-3: Thou
shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an
unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do
evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a
multitude to pervert justice; neither shalt thou favour a
poor man in his cause.
Explanation Verses 1-3, focus on the integrity of the legal
system. Verse 1 warns against spreading false reports or conspiring with the
wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Verse 2 contains a vital principle: one
must not follow a multitude to do evil, nor pervert justice by simply siding
with the majority in a dispute. Verse 3 adds a unique balance, noting that one
should not even favour a poor man in his cause; justice must be blind to social
status, whether high or low.
Verses 4-5: If thou meet thine enemy's
ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth
thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt
surely release it with him.
Explanation Verses 4-5, deal with “The Law of the Enemy”. If you
see your enemy’s ox or ass wandering or collapsing under a burden, you are
commanded to return it or help him release it. This transforms an internal
feeling of enmity into an external act of kindness, preventing personal grudges
from damaging the community's welfare.
Verses 6-9: Thou shalt not wrest the
judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from
a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not
justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no gift; for
a gift blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9 And
a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing
ye were strangers in the
Explanation Verses 6-9, return to judicial ethics. Verse 6
commands not to wrest the judgment of the poor. Verse 7 is a stern warning to
“keep far from a false matter” and not to slay the innocent. Verse 8 prohibits
taking bribes, as gifts blind the clear-sighted. Verse 9 reminds the people not
to oppress the stranger, “for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were
strangers in the
Verses 10-13: And six years thou shalt sow
thy land, and gather in the increase thereof; but the
seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people
may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner
thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt
rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid,
and the stranger, may be refreshed. And in all things that
I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other
gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Explanation Verses
10-13, introduces the agricultural and weekly
Sabbaths. For six years the land is sown, but in the seventh (Sabbatical) year,
it must rest and lie fallow so the poor and the beasts of the field may eat.
Likewise, the weekly Sabbath (Verse 12) ensures that even the ox, the ass, and
the son of the handmaid may be refreshed.
Verses 14-19: Three times thou shalt keep
a feast unto Me in the year. The feast
of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened
bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib for in it thou camest out
from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty; and the
feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the
end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours
out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males
shall appear before יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha (God). Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of
My feast remain all night until the morning. The choicest
first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֶיךָ -
the LORD thy Eloheicha.
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
Explanation Verses
14-19, outline the
three pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh Regalim): the Feast of Unleavened Bread
(Passover), the Feast of Harvest (Shavuot), and the Feast of Ingathering (Sukkot). These verses establish the rhythm of Jewish life,
ensuring that the people gather before יְהוָה - the LORD to offer
the first fruits of their labour.
Verses 20-26: Behold, I send an angel
before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I
have prepared. Take heed of Him, and hearken unto His
voice; be not rebellious against Him; for he will not pardon your
transgression; for My name is in him. But
if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I
will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine
adversaries. For Mine angel shall
go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the
Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off. Thou
shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their doings;
but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their pillars. And ye shall serve יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם -
the LORD your Eloheichem,
and He will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from
the midst of thee. None shall miscarry, nor be barren, in
thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfil.
Explanation Verses
20-26, contain the promise of a Divine messenger
(angel) sent to guard the people on the way. The text warns to be obedient to
this guidance. In return, יְהוָה - the LORD promises to
be an enemy to their enemies and to bless their bread, water, and health,
removing sickness from their midst and ensuring long life.
Verses 27-33: I will send My terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to
whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto
thee. And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall
drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite,
from before thee. I will not drive them out from before
thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and
the beasts of the field multiply against thee. By little
and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and
inherit the land. And I will set thy border from the
Explanation Verses
27-33, discuss the
conquest of the land. The “terror” and “hornet” sent ahead represent a
psychological and natural displacement of the inhabitants. Crucially, Verse 30
states the conquest will be “little by little”, lest the land
become desolate and wild beasts multiply. The chapter ends with a strict
prohibition against making covenants with the inhabitants or their gods, to
prevent the people from being ensnared by foreign practices.
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My Closing Message:
Exodus 23 teaches us that holiness is found
in the “details”. It is not found in grand gestures, but in how we treat a lost
animal, how we speak in a court of law, and how we leave the corners of our
fields for the hungry. By sanctifying our speech, our judgments, and our time,
we create a space where the Divine Presence can dwell. May this study of these laws
inspire a commitment to truth and a heart of empathy for all!
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