Difference between revisions of "Avot and Mitzvot – Was Avraham the First Jew/2/en"
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<h2>Overview</h2> | <h2>Overview</h2> | ||
<p>In discussing to what extent the Patriarchs kept the Torah's commandments, commentators offer a full range of possibilities, from full observance to no observance at all. Some sources portray the founding fathers as voluntary pioneers of performance and not just faith, with some even going so far as to claim that they kept even rabbinic ordinances. Others attempt to demonstrate that the Torah is eternal, and that the mitzvot were given already to Adam.</p> | <p>In discussing to what extent the Patriarchs kept the Torah's commandments, commentators offer a full range of possibilities, from full observance to no observance at all. Some sources portray the founding fathers as voluntary pioneers of performance and not just faith, with some even going so far as to claim that they kept even rabbinic ordinances. Others attempt to demonstrate that the Torah is eternal, and that the mitzvot were given already to Adam.</p> | ||
− | <p>As these positions encounter difficulties in explaining the Patriarch's apparent violations of some Biblical prohibitions, other commentators take the opposite tack, suggesting that the vast majority of the Torah's commandments began only at Sinai. | + | <p>As these earlier positions encounter difficulties in explaining the Patriarch's apparent violations of some Biblical prohibitions, other commentators take the opposite tack, suggesting that the vast majority of the Torah's commandments began only at Sinai. Additionally, a few different variations of a compromise approach suggest that there was partial observance by the Avot. This has the advantage of being able to explain away most transgressions, while simultaneously maintaining a portrait of some early ritual observance.</p></div> |
<approaches> | <approaches> | ||
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<opinion>Hashem Commanded | <opinion>Hashem Commanded | ||
<mekorot> | <mekorot> | ||
− | <multilink><a href="SifreDevarim41" data-aht="source">Sifre Devarim</a><a href="SifreDevarim41" data-aht="source">Devarim 41</a><a href="Sifre Devarim" data-aht="parshan">About Sifre Devarim</a></multilink>,<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="SifreBemidbar111" data-aht="source">Sifre Bemidbar</a><a href="SifreBemidbar111" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 111</a><a href="Sifre Bemidbar" data-aht="parshan">About Sifre Bemidbar</a></multilink> which implies that there were commandments which were only given to Moshe and not to the Patriarchs.</fn> <multilink><a href="NeofitiBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targumim</a><a href="NeofitiBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targum Neofiti Bereshit 2:15</a><a href="PsJBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targum | + | <multilink><a href="SifreDevarim41" data-aht="source">Sifre Devarim</a><a href="SifreDevarim41" data-aht="source">Devarim 41</a><a href="Sifre Devarim" data-aht="parshan">About Sifre Devarim</a></multilink>,<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="SifreBemidbar111" data-aht="source">Sifre Bemidbar</a><a href="SifreBemidbar111" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 111</a><a href="Sifre Bemidbar" data-aht="parshan">About Sifre Bemidbar</a></multilink> which implies that there were commandments which were only given to Moshe and not to the Patriarchs.</fn> <multilink><a href="NeofitiBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targumim</a><a href="NeofitiBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti) Bereshit 2:15</a><a href="PsJBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) Bereshit 2:15</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti)" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti)</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AvotDRN2-21" data-aht="source">Avot DeRabbi Natan</a><a href="AvotDRN2-21" data-aht="source">Version 2, Chapter 21</a><a href="Avot DeRabbi Natan" data-aht="parshan">About Avot DeRabbi Natan</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="PirkeiDRE11" data-aht="source">Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer</a><a href="PirkeiDRE11" data-aht="source">11</a><a href="PirkeiDRE20" data-aht="source">20</a><a href="PirkeiDRE21" data-aht="source">21</a><a href="PirkeiDRE31" data-aht="source">31</a><a href="Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer" data-aht="parshan">About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer</a></multilink>,<fn>See also <multilink><a href="LekachTovBereshit43-16" data-aht="source">Lekach Tov</a><a href="LekachTovBereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a><a href="LekachTovBereshit43-16" data-aht="source">Bereshit 43:16</a><a href="R. Toviah b. Eliezer (Lekach Tov)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Toviah b. Eliezer</a></multilink> which links <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> to the following verse which serves as the source of Noachide laws in many Rabbinic sources.</fn> <multilink><a href="Kirkisani" data-aht="source">Anan and other Karaite exegetes</a><a href="Kirkisani" data-aht="source">Kirkisani</a><a href="Yefet" data-aht="source">Yefet b. Eli</a><a href="OtzarNechmad" data-aht="source">Otzar Nechmad</a><a href="KaraiteCommentary" data-aht="source">Karaite Commentary</a><a href="KaraiteTract" data-aht="source">Karaite Tract</a></multilink><fn>See also <multilink><a href="RMubashir" data-aht="source">R. Mubashir HaLevi</a><a href="RMubashir" data-aht="source">Critique of the Writings of R. Saadia Gaon (p. 78)</a><a href="R. Mubashir HaLevi" data-aht="parshan">About R. Mubashir HaLevi</a></multilink> and the opinions cited by <multilink><a href="RasagCommentaryBereshit4" data-aht="source">R. Saadia Gaon</a><a href="RasagCommentaryBereshit4" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 4</a><a href="R. Saadia Gaon" data-aht="parshan">About R. Saadia Gaon</a></multilink> and <multilink><a href="IbnBalaamBereshit8-2" data-aht="source">R. Yehuda ibn Balaam</a><a href="IbnBalaamBereshit8-2" data-aht="source"></a><a href="R. Yehuda ibn Balaam" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yehuda ibn Balaam</a></multilink>.</fn> |
</mekorot> | </mekorot> | ||
<point><b>Who was commanded?</b> This position maintains that the Torah and its commandments were given already to Adam.<fn>The earliest extant source for this position and for its interpretation of <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> may be the pseudepigraphic work, <a href="2Enoch31-1" data-aht="source">2 Enoch</a>.</fn> The Midrashim derive this by reading the words "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" in <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> as referring to the Torah.<fn>Avot DeRabbi Natan and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer argue that "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" cannot refer to the Garden of Eden because it had no need for toil or guarding (see Bereshit 3:23). This would appear to also be the argument in the Sifre.<p>It is possible that the Midrashic motif is also motivated by the fact that גן is a masculine noun in its other Biblical occurrences (see Yeshayahu 58:11, Yirmeyahu 31:11, Shir HaShirim 4:12,16). Cf. <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">16:5</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink> for a different but related figurative interpretation which limits the scope of the command to observing Shabbat (also feminine), but see below for alternative explanations of the verse and gender.</p></fn></point> | <point><b>Who was commanded?</b> This position maintains that the Torah and its commandments were given already to Adam.<fn>The earliest extant source for this position and for its interpretation of <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> may be the pseudepigraphic work, <a href="2Enoch31-1" data-aht="source">2 Enoch</a>.</fn> The Midrashim derive this by reading the words "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" in <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> as referring to the Torah.<fn>Avot DeRabbi Natan and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer argue that "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" cannot refer to the Garden of Eden because it had no need for toil or guarding (see Bereshit 3:23). This would appear to also be the argument in the Sifre.<p>It is possible that the Midrashic motif is also motivated by the fact that גן is a masculine noun in its other Biblical occurrences (see Yeshayahu 58:11, Yirmeyahu 31:11, Shir HaShirim 4:12,16). Cf. <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">16:5</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink> for a different but related figurative interpretation which limits the scope of the command to observing Shabbat (also feminine), but see below for alternative explanations of the verse and gender.</p></fn></point> | ||
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<point><b>Punishments for violators</b> – Some <a href="KaraiteTract" data-aht="source">Karaite sources</a> assert that the bringing of the Flood, the punishment meted out to the Canaanites for their sins, and the verses in Yechezkel which say that the Israelites deserved to be wiped out in Egypt demonstrate that the commandments existed before Sinai.<fn>Contrast with commentators below who explain that these punishments resulted from a violation of only a select group of laws, rather than the entire Torah.</fn></point> | <point><b>Punishments for violators</b> – Some <a href="KaraiteTract" data-aht="source">Karaite sources</a> assert that the bringing of the Flood, the punishment meted out to the Canaanites for their sins, and the verses in Yechezkel which say that the Israelites deserved to be wiped out in Egypt demonstrate that the commandments existed before Sinai.<fn>Contrast with commentators below who explain that these punishments resulted from a violation of only a select group of laws, rather than the entire Torah.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>Religiosity of the Patriarchs</b> – This position takes for granted that the Patriarchs observed all of the Torah's commandments.<fn>Cf. the formulation in <multilink><a href="BavliNedarim32a" data-aht="source">Bavli Nedarim</a><a href="BavliNedarim32a" data-aht="source">Nedarim 32a</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> "שאין לך מי שנתעסק במצות כאברהם אבינו".</fn></point> | <point><b>Religiosity of the Patriarchs</b> – This position takes for granted that the Patriarchs observed all of the Torah's commandments.<fn>Cf. the formulation in <multilink><a href="BavliNedarim32a" data-aht="source">Bavli Nedarim</a><a href="BavliNedarim32a" data-aht="source">Nedarim 32a</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> "שאין לך מי שנתעסק במצות כאברהם אבינו".</fn></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Patriarchal transgressions</b> – This approach encounters difficulties in explaining the instances in which our forefathers seem to have violated the Torah's prohibitions, particularly those of forbidden sexual relationships.<fn><a href="Yefet" data-aht="source">Yefet</a> attempts to also address why Avraham did not circumcise himself until he was 99 years old, by drawing a parallel to the Children of Israel not performing circumcision in the desert.</fn> Thus, <a href="Yefet" data-aht="source">Yefet</a> goes so far as to assert that Leah and Rachel were merely relatives and not sisters,<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="RYBSBereshit30-9" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYBSBereshit18-8" data-aht="source">Bereshit 18:8</a><a href="RYBSBereshit30-9" data-aht="source">Bereshit 30:9</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanYevamot98a" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanYevamot98a" data-aht="source">Yevamot 98a</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Nachmanides</a></multilink>, and Sefer Nizachon Yashan 34 that they were born from two different mothers.</fn> and that Yocheved was Amram's cousin rather than his aunt.<fn>This matches the position of the LXX, Neofiti, and Peshitta who translate "דֹּדָתוֹ" in Shemot 6:20 as "daughter of his aunt" rather than just "aunt". The earliest source for this position is Demetrius the Chronographer. For more on this position and its chronological implications, see <a href="Duration of the Egyptian Exile" data-aht="page">Duration of the Egyptian Exile</a>.</fn> Alternatively, these actions were, in fact, problematic.<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="BavliPesachim119b" data-aht="source">Bavli Pesachim</a><a href="Pesachim119b" data-aht="source">Pesachim 119b</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="DaatZekeinimBereshit37-35" data-aht="source">Daat Zekeinim</a><a href="DaatZekeinimBereshit37-35" data-aht="source">Bereshit 37:35</a><a href="DaatZekeinimShemot6-20" data-aht="source">Shemot 6:20</a><a href="Daat Zekeinim" data-aht="parshan">About Daat Zekeinim</a></multilink>, and <multilink><a href="MinchatYehudaVayikra20-19" data-aht="source">Minchat Yehuda</a><a href="MinchatYehudaVayikra20-19" data-aht="source">Vayikra 20:19</a><a href="R. Yehuda b. Elazar (Minchat Yehuda)" data-aht="parshan">About Minchat Yehuda</a></multilink>.</fn></point> | + | <point><b>Patriarchal transgressions</b> – This approach encounters difficulties in explaining the instances in which our forefathers seem to have violated the Torah's prohibitions, particularly those of forbidden sexual relationships.<fn><a href="Yefet" data-aht="source">Yefet</a> attempts to also address why Avraham did not circumcise himself until he was 99 years old, by drawing a parallel to the Children of Israel not performing circumcision in the desert.</fn> Thus, <a href="Yefet" data-aht="source">Yefet</a> goes so far as to assert that Leah and Rachel were merely relatives and not sisters,<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="RYBSBereshit30-9" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYBSBereshit18-8" data-aht="source">Bereshit 18:8</a><a href="RYBSBereshit30-9" data-aht="source">Bereshit 30:9</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanYevamot98a" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanYevamot98a" data-aht="source">Yevamot 98a</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Nachmanides</a></multilink>, and Sefer Nizachon Yashan 34 that they were born from two different mothers.</fn> and that Yocheved was Amram's cousin rather than his aunt.<fn>This matches the position of the LXX, Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti), and Peshitta who translate "דֹּדָתוֹ" in Shemot 6:20 as "daughter of his aunt" rather than just "aunt". The earliest source for this position is Demetrius the Chronographer. For more on this position and its chronological implications, see <a href="Duration of the Egyptian Exile" data-aht="page">Duration of the Egyptian Exile</a>.</fn> Alternatively, these actions were, in fact, problematic.<fn>Cf. <multilink><a href="BavliPesachim119b" data-aht="source">Bavli Pesachim</a><a href="Pesachim119b" data-aht="source">Pesachim 119b</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="DaatZekeinimBereshit37-35" data-aht="source">Daat Zekeinim</a><a href="DaatZekeinimBereshit37-35" data-aht="source">Bereshit 37:35</a><a href="DaatZekeinimShemot6-20" data-aht="source">Shemot 6:20</a><a href="Daat Zekeinim" data-aht="parshan">About Daat Zekeinim</a></multilink>, and <multilink><a href="MinchatYehudaVayikra20-19" data-aht="source">Minchat Yehuda</a><a href="MinchatYehudaVayikra20-19" data-aht="source">Vayikra 20:19</a><a href="R. Yehuda b. Elazar (Minchat Yehuda)" data-aht="parshan">About Minchat Yehuda</a></multilink>.</fn></point> |
<point><b>Polemical motivations</b> – The implication of this position is that the laws of the Torah are immutable and eternal. It thus served as a direct response<fn>See <multilink><a href="DialogueTrypho20" data-aht="source">Trypho</a><a href="DialogueTrypho20" data-aht="source">Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 20</a></multilink>'s argument in his debate with Justin Martyr.</fn> to both Christian contentions that the precepts were given only as a corrective for the sin of the Golden Calf, and Islamic claims that the Law is always subject to change.<fn>This is made explicit by <a href="Kirkisani" data-aht="source">Kirkisani</a>. For the possible influence of polemical concerns on Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, see M. Zucker, על תרגום רס"ג לתורה, (New York, 1959): 450 n.6.</fn></point> | <point><b>Polemical motivations</b> – The implication of this position is that the laws of the Torah are immutable and eternal. It thus served as a direct response<fn>See <multilink><a href="DialogueTrypho20" data-aht="source">Trypho</a><a href="DialogueTrypho20" data-aht="source">Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 20</a></multilink>'s argument in his debate with Justin Martyr.</fn> to both Christian contentions that the precepts were given only as a corrective for the sin of the Golden Calf, and Islamic claims that the Law is always subject to change.<fn>This is made explicit by <a href="Kirkisani" data-aht="source">Kirkisani</a>. For the possible influence of polemical concerns on Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, see M. Zucker, על תרגום רס"ג לתורה, (New York, 1959): 450 n.6.</fn></point> | ||
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
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<multilink><a href="MishnaKiddushin4-13" data-aht="source">Mishna Kiddushin</a><a href="MishnaKiddushin4-13" data-aht="source">Kiddushin 4:13</a><a href="MishnaChulin7-6" data-aht="source">Chulin 7:6</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink>,<fn>See, though, J.N. Epstein, מבוא לנוסח המשנה (Jerusalem, 1948): 977 who suggests that this passage, like various others found at the conclusion of tractates, is a later addition to the Mishna.</fn> <multilink><a href="ToseftaKiddushin5-21" data-aht="source">Tosefta Kiddushin</a><a href="ToseftaKiddushin5-21" data-aht="source">Kiddushin 5:21</a><a href="Tosefta" data-aht="parshan">About the Tosefta</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah61-1" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">16:5</a><a href="BereshitRabbah34-9" data-aht="source">34:9</a><a href="BereshitRabbah61-1" data-aht="source">61:1</a><a href="BereshitRabbah64-4" data-aht="source">64:4</a><a href="BereshitRabbah95-3" data-aht="source">95:3</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>,<fn>Note, however, that Bereshit Rabbah 16:5 states that Hashem commanded Adam to observe Shabbat, and 61:1 speaks of Hashem's role in facilitating Avraham's knowledge of the laws.</fn> <multilink><a href="TanchumaVayigash11" data-aht="source">Tanchuma</a><a href="TanchumaLekhLekha1" data-aht="source">Lekh Lekha 1</a><a href="TanchumaVayigash11" data-aht="source">Vayigash 11</a><a href="Tanchuma" data-aht="parshan">About the Tanchuma</a></multilink> | <multilink><a href="MishnaKiddushin4-13" data-aht="source">Mishna Kiddushin</a><a href="MishnaKiddushin4-13" data-aht="source">Kiddushin 4:13</a><a href="MishnaChulin7-6" data-aht="source">Chulin 7:6</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink>,<fn>See, though, J.N. Epstein, מבוא לנוסח המשנה (Jerusalem, 1948): 977 who suggests that this passage, like various others found at the conclusion of tractates, is a later addition to the Mishna.</fn> <multilink><a href="ToseftaKiddushin5-21" data-aht="source">Tosefta Kiddushin</a><a href="ToseftaKiddushin5-21" data-aht="source">Kiddushin 5:21</a><a href="Tosefta" data-aht="parshan">About the Tosefta</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah61-1" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah16-5" data-aht="source">16:5</a><a href="BereshitRabbah34-9" data-aht="source">34:9</a><a href="BereshitRabbah61-1" data-aht="source">61:1</a><a href="BereshitRabbah64-4" data-aht="source">64:4</a><a href="BereshitRabbah95-3" data-aht="source">95:3</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>,<fn>Note, however, that Bereshit Rabbah 16:5 states that Hashem commanded Adam to observe Shabbat, and 61:1 speaks of Hashem's role in facilitating Avraham's knowledge of the laws.</fn> <multilink><a href="TanchumaVayigash11" data-aht="source">Tanchuma</a><a href="TanchumaLekhLekha1" data-aht="source">Lekh Lekha 1</a><a href="TanchumaVayigash11" data-aht="source">Vayigash 11</a><a href="Tanchuma" data-aht="parshan">About the Tanchuma</a></multilink> | ||
</mekorot> | </mekorot> | ||
− | <point><b>Sources which are ambiguous</b> – <multilink><a href="BavliYoma28b" data-aht="source">Bavli Yoma</a><a href="BavliYoma28b" data-aht="source">Yoma 28b</a><a href="BavliZevachim116a" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a</a><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a Manuscripts</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, | + | <point><b>Sources which are ambiguous</b> – <multilink><a href="BavliYoma28b" data-aht="source">Bavli Yoma</a><a href="BavliYoma28b" data-aht="source">Yoma 28b</a><a href="BavliZevachim116a" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a</a><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a Manuscripts</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ShemotRabbah1-1" data-aht="source">Shemot Rabbah</a><a href="ShemotRabbah1-1" data-aht="source">1:1</a><a href="Shemot Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Shemot Rabbah</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AggadahBereshit32-5" data-aht="source">Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a><a href="AggadahBereshit32-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 32:5</a><a href="Midrash Aggadah (Buber)" data-aht="parshan">About Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RashiBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Rashi</a><a href="RashiBereshit7-2" data-aht="source">Bereshit 7:2</a><a href="RashiBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="RashiYoma28b" data-aht="source">Rashi Yoma 28b</a><a href="R. Shelomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki</a></multilink>, as well as other sources, all speak of the Patriarchs fulfilling all of the commandments, but it is difficult to determine whether they think this was obligatory or voluntary.<fn>From the Bavli and Rashi, it is clear that Noach's observance was voluntary.</fn></point> |
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<point><b>Who observed?</b> These sources ascribe general performance of the mitzvot only to Avraham and his descendants. Avraham's initiative explains his selection to be the father of Hashem's chosen nation. Only a select group of commandments was fulfilled by earlier generations such as Adam and Noach.<fn>Thus, for example, Bereshit Rabbah limits the scope of "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" in <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> to the observance of Shabbat. Regarding "הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה" specified in the Noach stories, Rashi and his version of the <multilink><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Bavli Zevachim</a><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a Manuscripts</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> read this as referring to their future status under Torah law. [Rashi assumes that Noach was aware of this because he learned Torah, however, this additional aspect is not found in the Bavli.] Alternatively, the term refers not to later status under dietary laws but to what was already then permitted to be brought as a sacrifice.</fn></point> | <point><b>Who observed?</b> These sources ascribe general performance of the mitzvot only to Avraham and his descendants. Avraham's initiative explains his selection to be the father of Hashem's chosen nation. Only a select group of commandments was fulfilled by earlier generations such as Adam and Noach.<fn>Thus, for example, Bereshit Rabbah limits the scope of "לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ" in <a href="Bereshit2-15" data-aht="source">Bereshit 2:15</a> to the observance of Shabbat. Regarding "הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה" specified in the Noach stories, Rashi and his version of the <multilink><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Bavli Zevachim</a><a href="BavliZevachim116aMS" data-aht="source">Zevachim 116a Manuscripts</a><a href="Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink> read this as referring to their future status under Torah law. [Rashi assumes that Noach was aware of this because he learned Torah, however, this additional aspect is not found in the Bavli.] Alternatively, the term refers not to later status under dietary laws but to what was already then permitted to be brought as a sacrifice.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>Knowledge of the mitzvot</b> – R. Shimon in Bereshit Rabbah attempts to address the question of "אב לא למדו ורב לא היה לו, ומהיכן למד את התורה". He describes in figurative language how Hashem provided Avraham's kidneys with the intuition to teach him Torah.<fn>Cf. the Tosefta's more ambiguous formulation "שנתגלו לו".</fn></point> | <point><b>Knowledge of the mitzvot</b> – R. Shimon in Bereshit Rabbah attempts to address the question of "אב לא למדו ורב לא היה לו, ומהיכן למד את התורה". He describes in figurative language how Hashem provided Avraham's kidneys with the intuition to teach him Torah.<fn>Cf. the Tosefta's more ambiguous formulation "שנתגלו לו".</fn></point> | ||
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<multilink><a href="IbnEzraBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="IbnEzraVayikra18-18" data-aht="source">Vayikra 18:18</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink>, | <multilink><a href="IbnEzraBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="IbnEzraVayikra18-18" data-aht="source">Vayikra 18:18</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink>, | ||
<multilink><a href="ChizkuniBereshit7-21" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniBereshit7-21" data-aht="source">Bereshit 7:21</a><a href="ChizkuniBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, | <multilink><a href="ChizkuniBereshit7-21" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniBereshit7-21" data-aht="source">Bereshit 7:21</a><a href="ChizkuniBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, | ||
− | <multilink><a href=" | + | <multilink><a href="SfornoBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Sforno</a><a href="SfornoBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="R. Ovadyah Sforno" data-aht="parshan">About R. Ovadyah Sforno</a></multilink>, |
<multilink><a href="MaharalGurAryehBereshit46-10" data-aht="source">Maharal</a><a href="MaharalGurAryehBereshit46-10" data-aht="source">Gur Aryeh Bereshit 46:10</a><a href="R. Judah Loew of Prague (Maharal)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Judah Loew of Prague</a></multilink><fn>See above that Maharal also distinguishes between Avraham and his descendants.</fn> | <multilink><a href="MaharalGurAryehBereshit46-10" data-aht="source">Maharal</a><a href="MaharalGurAryehBereshit46-10" data-aht="source">Gur Aryeh Bereshit 46:10</a><a href="R. Judah Loew of Prague (Maharal)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Judah Loew of Prague</a></multilink><fn>See above that Maharal also distinguishes between Avraham and his descendants.</fn> | ||
</mekorot> | </mekorot> | ||
<point><b>Who observed?</b> According to this approach, all of the Patriarchs observed the commandments only selectively. Jubilees attributes the performance of certain mitzvot already to Noach.</point> | <point><b>Who observed?</b> According to this approach, all of the Patriarchs observed the commandments only selectively. Jubilees attributes the performance of certain mitzvot already to Noach.</point> | ||
<point><b>Which commandments?</b><ul> | <point><b>Which commandments?</b><ul> | ||
− | <li>Rashbam suggests that only rational mitzvot which relate to a moral ethic were observed.<fn>See other variations of this position in Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni, and | + | <li>Rashbam suggests that only rational mitzvot which relate to a moral ethic were observed.<fn>See other variations of this position in Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni, and Sforno, and cf. <multilink><a href="RadakBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Radak</a><a href="RadakBereshit26-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 26:5</a><a href="R. David Kimchi (Radak)" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Kimchi</a></multilink>.</fn></li> |
<li>According to the Maharal, since the mitzvot had not yet been commanded, there was a constructive purpose in keeping only the positive, but not the negative, commandments.</li> | <li>According to the Maharal, since the mitzvot had not yet been commanded, there was a constructive purpose in keeping only the positive, but not the negative, commandments.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> |
Latest revision as of 10:32, 28 January 2023
Avot and Mitzvot – Was Avraham the First Jew?
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
In discussing to what extent the Patriarchs kept the Torah's commandments, commentators offer a full range of possibilities, from full observance to no observance at all. Some sources portray the founding fathers as voluntary pioneers of performance and not just faith, with some even going so far as to claim that they kept even rabbinic ordinances. Others attempt to demonstrate that the Torah is eternal, and that the mitzvot were given already to Adam.
As these earlier positions encounter difficulties in explaining the Patriarch's apparent violations of some Biblical prohibitions, other commentators take the opposite tack, suggesting that the vast majority of the Torah's commandments began only at Sinai. Additionally, a few different variations of a compromise approach suggest that there was partial observance by the Avot. This has the advantage of being able to explain away most transgressions, while simultaneously maintaining a portrait of some early ritual observance.
Full Observance
All of the mitzvot existed and were observed before their transmission at Sinai. This position subdivides over whether there was a pre-Sinai Divine obligation to keep the mitzvot or whether it was man's voluntary initiative.
Hashem Commanded
Human Choice
- Torah observance was still optional and not yet obligatory – This appears to be the approach adopted by Bavli Pesachim, and is explicitly taken by Daat Zekeinim.
- The details of the implementation of these laws were affected by Noachide status – See Bavli Yevamot that there is no paternal lineage or familial relationships for Noachides. This principle is applied by Bavli Sanhedrin and R. Yosef Bekhor Shor and Ramban to dispose of the apparent Patriarchal violations.29
No Observance
The Patriarchs fulfilled only what they were explicitly commanded in Sefer Bereshit, and these did not include mitzvot other than circumcision.
Partial Observance
The Patriarchs only partially observed the commandments. The multiple variations of this approach maintain that distinctions existed between different Patriarchs, types of commandments, and locations.
Only Avraham
Only Selected Commandments
- Rashbam suggests that only rational mitzvot which relate to a moral ethic were observed.39
- According to the Maharal, since the mitzvot had not yet been commanded, there was a constructive purpose in keeping only the positive, but not the negative, commandments.