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If he was unmarried when he entered service, he
shall leave by himself. But if he was a married man,
his wife shall leave with him.
If his master gives him a wife, and she bears
sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall
remain her master's property. The slave shall leave
by himself.
If the slave declares,
"I am fond of my master,
my wife and my children; I do not want to go free," his master must bring him to the courts. Standing
the slave next to the door or doorpost, his master
shall pierce his ear with an awl. The slave shall
then serve his master forever.
The Hebrew Maidservant
If a man sells his daughter as a maidservant, she
shall not be freed as male servants are released. Her master should provisionally designate her as
his bride, and if she is not pleasing to him, he must
let her be redeemed. He is considered to have broken
faith with her, and he therefore does not have the
right to sell her to anyone else.
If the master designates her as a bride for his
son, she must be treated exactly the same as any other
girl.
If
the master marries another
wife, he may not diminish this one's allowance,
clothing or rights.
If none of the above three are done
to the girl, then she shall be released without liability or
payment.
Manslaughter
If one person strikes another and
the victim
dies, the murderer must be put to death. If he did not plan to kill
his victim, but HaShem
caused it to happen, then I will provide a place where
the killer can find refuge.
Murder
If a person plots against his neighbor to kill
him intentionally, then you must even take him from My
altar to put him to death.
Injuring a Parent
Whoever intentionally injures his father or
mother shall be put to death.
Kidnapping
If one person kidnaps and sells another, and
the victim is seen in his hand, then the kidnapper
shall be put to death.
Cursing a Parent
Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put
to death.
Personal Injury
This is the
law when two men fight, and one
hits the other with a stone or with his fist. If the victim does not die, but becomes bedridden,
and then gets up and can walk under his own
power, the one who struck him shall be acquitted. Still, he must pay for
the victim's loss of work,
and must provide for his complete cure.
Killing of Slaves
If a man strikes his male or female slave with a
rod, and the slave dies under his hand, the death
must be avenged. However, if the slave survives for a day or
two, then, since he is his master's property, his death shall not be avenged.
Personal Damages
This is the
law when two men fight and accidentally harm a pregnant woman, causing her to
miscarry. If there is no fatal injury to the woman,
then the guilty party must pay a monetary penalty.
The woman's husband must sue for it, and the amount
is then determined by the courts. However, if there is a fatal injury
to the
woman, then he must pay full compensation for her
life. Full compensation must be paid for the loss of
an eye, a tooth, a hand or a foot. Full compensation must also be paid for a
burn, a wound, or a bruise.
Injury to Slaves
If a person strikes his male or female slave in
the eye and blinds it, he shall set the slave free
in compensation for his eye. Similarly, if he knocks out the tooth of his
male or female slave, he must set the slave free in
compensation for his tooth.
The Killer Ox
If an ox gores a man or woman, and
the victim
dies, the ox must be stoned to death, and its flesh
may not be eaten. The owner of the ox, however, shall
not be punished. But if the ox was in the habit of goring on
previous occasions, and the owner was warned but did
not take precautions, then, if it kills a man or
woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner shall also deserve to die.
Nevertheless, an atonement fine must be imposed
on him, and he must pay whatever is imposed on him as
a redemption for his life. This law also applies if the ox gores a minor
boy or a minor girl. If the ox gores a male or female slave, its
owner must give thirty silver shekels to the slave's master, and the bull must be stoned.
A Hole in the Ground
This is the
law if a person digs a hole in the
ground, or uncovers a hole, and does not cover it
over. If an ox or donkey falls into it, the one responsible for the hole must make
restitution, restoring the full value of the animal
to its owner. The dead animal remains the property of
its owner.
Damage by Goring
If one person's ox injures the ox of another
person, and it dies, they shall sell the live ox and
divide the money received for it. They shall also
divide the dead animal. However, if the ox was known to be in the habit
of goring on previous occasions, and its owner did not
take precautions, then he must pay the full value of the dead ox. The dead animal remains the property of
its owner.
Penalties for Stealing
If a person steals an ox or sheep and then
slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for
each ox, and four sheep for each sheep.
Penalties for Stealing
If a burglar is caught in the act of breaking in,
and is struck and killed, it is not considered an act
of murder. However, if he robs in broad daylight, then it is
an act of murder to kill him. A thief must make full restitution. If he does not
have the means, he must be sold as a slave to make restitution for his theft.
If the stolen article is found in his possession,
and it is a living ox, donkey or sheep, he must make
double restitution.
Damage by Grazing
If a person grazes a field or a vineyard, and
lets his livestock loose so that it grazes in another
person's field, he must make restitution with the best
of his field and the best of his vineyard.
Damage by Fire
If fire gets out of control and spreads through
weeds, and then consumes bound or standing grain or
a field, the one who started the fire must make
restitution.
The Unpaid Custodian
If one person gives another money or articles to
watch, and they are stolen from the house of the
person keeping them, then if the thief is found, the thief must make
the usual double restitution. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house
shall be brought to the courts, where he must swear
that he did not lay a hand on his neighbor's property. In every case of dishonesty, whether it involves
an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or anything else
that was allegedly lost, and witnesses testify that it was seen, both parties' claims must be brought
to the courts. The person whom the courts declare
guilty must then make double restitution to the other.
The Paid Custodian
If one person gives another a donkey, an ox, a
sheep, or any other animal to watch, and it dies, is
maimed, or is carried off in a raid, without eye
witnesses, then the case between the two must be decided on
the basis of an oath to HaShem. If the person keeping
the animal did not make use of the other's property,
the owner must accept it, and the person keeping the animal need not pay.
However, if it was stolen from the keeper,
then he must make restitution to the animal's owner. If the animal was killed by a wild beast and
the keeper can provide evidence, he need not make
restitution for the attacked animal.
The Borrowed Article
If a person borrows something from another, and
it becomes broken or dies, and the owner is not
involved with the borrower, then the borrower must
make full restitution. However, if the owner was involved with him,
then the borrower need not make restitution.
If the article was hired, the loss is covered by the
rental price.
Seduction If a man seduces a
woman who is not betrothed,
he must pay a dowry and must marry her. If her father refuses to allow him to marry her,
then he must pay the father the usual dowry money
for women.
Occult Practices
Do not allow a sorceress to live.
Idolatry and Oppression
Whoever sacrifices to any deity other than
HaShem
alone must be condemned to death. Do not hurt the feelings of a foreigner or
oppress him, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not mistreat a widow or an orphan.
If you mistreat them, and they cry out to Me, I
will hear their cry. I will then display My anger and kill you by
the sword, so that your wives will be widows, and your
children, orphans.
Lending Money
When you lend money to My people, to the poor
man among you, do not press him for repayment. Also
do not take interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's garment as security for a loan, you must return it to him before sunset.
This alone is his covering, the garment for his
skin. With what shall he sleep? Therefore, if he cries
out to Me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.
Accepting Authority
Do not curse the judges. Do not curse a leader
of your people. Do not delay your offerings of newly ripened
produce and your agricultural offerings. Give me the first-born of your sons.
You must also do likewise with your ox and
sheep. It must remain with its mother for seven days,
but on the eighth day, you must give it to Me. Be holy people to Me. Do not eat flesh torn off
in the field by a predator. Cast it to the dogs.
Justice
Do not accept a false report.
Do not join forces with a wicked person to be a
corrupt witness. Do not follow the majority to do evil.
Do not speak up in a trial to pervert justice. A case
must be decided on the basis of the majority. Do not favor
even the poorest man in his
lawsuit.
Strayed Animals
If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey
going astray, bring it back to him.
The Fallen Animal
If you see the donkey of someone you hate lying
under its load, you might want to refrain from helping
him, but instead you must make every effort to help
him unload it.
Justice and Festivals
Do not pervert justice for your degraded
countryman in his lawsuit.
Keep away from anything false.
Do not kill a person who has not been proven guilty or
one who has been acquitted. Ultimately I will not
let a guilty person escape punishment. Do not accept bribery. Bribery blinds the
clear-sighted and twists the words of the just.
Do not oppress a foreigner. You know how it feels
to be a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
You may plant your land for six years and gather
its crops. But during the seventh year, you must leave it
alone and withdraw from it. The needy among you will
then be able to eat from your fields just as you do,
and whatever is left over can be eaten by wild
animals. This also applies to your vineyard and your
olive grove.
You may do whatever you must during the six week
days, but you must stop on Saturday. Your donkey and
ox must then be able to rest, and your maid's son and
the foreigner must be able to relax. Be very careful to keep everything I have said
to you.
Do not pronounce the name of another deity. You must
not let it be heard through your mouth. Offer a sacrifice to Me three times each year.
Keep the Festival of Matzahs. Eat matzahs for
seven days, as I commanded you, during the prescribed
time in the month of standing grain, since this is
when you left Egypt.
Do not appear before Me empty-handed. Also keep the Reaping Festival, through the
first fruits of your produce that you planted in the
field. There is also the Harvest Festival right after the end of the year, when you gather your
produce from the field. Three times each year, every male among you must
appear before HaShem, Master of the Universe. Do not sacrifice the blood of My
Passover
offering in the presence of leavened bread.
Do not allow the fat of My offering to remain
overnight until morning. Bring your first fruits to the Temple of
HaShem.
Do not cook meat in milk, even that of its mother.
Promises and Instructions
I will send an angel before you to safeguard you
on the way, and bring you to the place that I have
prepared. Be careful in his presence and heed his voice.
Do not rebel against him, since My name is with him.
He will not pardon your disobedience. But if you obey him and do all that I say, then
I will hate your enemies and attack your foes. My angel will go before you and bring you among
the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites,
Hivites and Yebusites, and I will then annihilate
them.
Do not bow down to their
gods and do not serve
them. Do not follow the ways of these nations. You
must tear down their idols and break their sacred
pillars. You will then serve HaShem, and He will
bless your bread and your water. I will banish
sickness from among you.
The Land
In your land, no woman will suffer miscarriage
or remain childless. I will make you live out full
lives. I will cause the people who are in your path
to be terrified of Me, and I will throw all the people
among whom you are coming into a panic. I will make
all your enemies turn their backs and flee from you. I will send deadly wasps ahead of you, and they
will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites
before you. I will not drive them out in a single year,
however, lest the land become depopulated, and the
wild animals become too many for you to contend with. I will drive
the inhabitants out little by
little, giving you a chance to increase and fully
occupy the land.
I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the
Philistine Sea, from the desert to the river. I will
give the land's inhabitants into your hand, and you
will drive them before you. Do not make a treaty with these
nations or
with their gods. Do not allow them to reside in your land, since
they may then make you sin to Me. You may even end up
worshiping their gods, and it will be a fatal trap to
you.
Sealing the Covenant
HaShem
said to Moses, "Go up to HaShem along with
Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel. All of you must bow down at a distance. Only Moses shall then approach
HaShem. The others may not come close, and the people may not go up with
him."
Moses came and told the people all of
HaShem's words
and all the laws. The people all responded with a
single voice, "We will keep every word that HaShem has
spoken."
Moses wrote down all of
HaShem's words. He got up
early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot
of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the
twelve tribes of Israel. He sent the consecrated young men among the
Israelites, and they offered oxen as burnt offerings
and peace offerings to HaShem. Moses took half the blood of these
offerings,
and put it into large bowls. The other half he
sprinkled on the altar. He took the book of the covenant and read it
aloud to the people. They replied, "We will do and
obey all that HaShem has declared." Moses then took the rest
of the blood and
sprinkled it on the people. He said, "This is the
blood of the covenant that HaShem is making with you
regarding all these words."
Moses then went up, along with Aaron, Nadav and
Avihu, and seventy of Israel's elders. They saw a vision of the HaShem
of Israel, and
under His feet was something like a sapphire brick,
like the essence of a clear blue sky.
HaShem
did not unleash His power against the
leaders of the Israelites. They had a vision of the
Divine, and they ate and drank.
Moses Ascends
HaShem
said to Moses, "Come up to Me, to the
mountain, and remain there. I will give you the stone
tablets, the Torah and the commandment that I have
written for the people's instruction."
Moses and his aid Joshua set out. Moses went up
on HaShem's Mountain. He said to the elders, "Wait for us here until
we return to you. Aaron and Chur will remain with you.
Whoever has a problem can go to them."
As soon as Moses reached the mountain top, the
cloud covered the mountain. HaShem's glory rested on Mount Sinai, and it was
covered by the cloud for six days. On the seventh day,
He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. To the Israelites, the appearance of
HaShem's glory
on the mountain top was like a devouring flame. Moses went into the cloud, and climbed to the
mountain top. Moses was to remain on the mountain for
forty days and forty nights.
Next Week's
Parsha :
Terumah Exodus 25:1
- 27:19
Next
Week's Haftara:
I Kings 5.26-6.13 |
