Commandments
According to Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 14 positive and 27 negative commandments in the parshah.
- To appoint judges
- Not to plant a tree in the sanctuary
- Not to erect a column in a public place of worship
- Not to offer a temporarily blemished animal
- To act according to the ruling of the Sanhedrin
- Not to deviate from the word of the Sanhedrin
- To appoint a king from Israel
- Not to appoint a convert
- The king must not have too many horses.
- Not to dwell permanently in Egypt
- The king must not have too many wives.
- The king must not have too much silver and gold.
- The king must have a separate Torah for himself.
- The Tribe of Levi must not be given a portion of the land in Israel; rather they are given cities in which to dwell.
- The Levites must not take a share in the spoils of war.
- To give the shoulder, two cheeks, and stomach of slaughtered animals to a Kohen
- To set aside the tithe for the Kohen (Terumah Gedolah)
- To give the first sheering of sheep to a Kohen
- The priests' work shifts must be equal during holidays.
- Not to go into a trance to foresee events
- Not to perform acts of magic
- Not to mutter incantations
- Not to consult a medium (ov)
- Not to consult a wizard (yidoni)
- Not to attempt to contact the dead
- To listen to the prophet speaking in God's Name
- Not to prophesize falsely in the name of God
- Not to prophesize in the name of an idol
- Not to be afraid of putting the false prophet to death
- To designate cities of refuge and prepare routes of access
- A judge must not pity the murderer or assaulter at the trial.
- Not to move a boundary marker to steal someone's property
- Not to accept testimony from a lone witness
- To punish the false witnesses as they tried to punish the defendant
- Not to panic and retreat during battle
- To appoint a priest to speak with the soldiers during the war
- To offer peace terms to the inhabitants of a city while holding siege, and treat them according to the Torah if they accept the terms
- Not to let any of the people of the seven Canaanite nations remain alive
- Not to destroy fruit trees even during the siege
- To break the neck of a calf by the river valley following an unsolved murder
- Not to work nor plant that river valley
Read more about this topic: Shoftim (parsha)
Famous quotes containing the word commandments:
“If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes...then...Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples.”
—Bible: Hebrew, 1 Kings 9:6-7.
““Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.””
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 22:36-40.
“Not for nothing does it say in the Commandments ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any image’ ... Every image is a sin.... When you love someone you leave every possibility open to them, and in spite of all the memories of the past you are ready to be surprised, again and again surprised, at how different they are, how various, not a finished image.”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)