by Bill White
[Transcript]
Let’s start by me confirming that I am NOT trying to convince anyone of my religious belief, which for the avoidance of doubt is rooted firmly in Judaism. I am Jewish and I am not proselytising for our Team; primarily because Jews don’t proselytize. But if you find yourself rooting for another team, then, I am willing to bet that the founding documents that you claim to accept contain precisely what I am about to explain.
Okay, some background. Although I don’t like dividing Jews into different denominations because it’s been said that there are only Jews; just some are more observant than others, I am what you could describe as an Observant Jew, and by that I mean, I keep Shabbat (in other words, I don’t work from Friday evening for at least 25 hours, I eat only Kosher food and I rise each night after midnight and before dawn to pray and read from the Torah and The Zohar.
The Talmud notes that the Torah contains 613 Mitzvot or Commandments. The word mitzvah comes from the root word le-tZaVet (לצוות), which means “to join.” This teaches us that the performance of mitzvot is the means by which we can “join” and attach ourselves to G-D in order to experience the Divine.
There are 248 positive commandments (things we must do), and 365 prohibitive commandments (things we must not do). Briefly, and I do mean briefly, an overview of the topics covered in no specific order include G-D, Torah, Signs and Symbols, Prayer and Blessings, Love and Brotherhood, the Poor and Unfortunate among us, the Treatment of non-Jews, Marriage, Divorce, and Family,
Forbidden Sexual Relations, Times and Seasons (relating to Agriculture), Dietary Laws, Business Practices, Employees and Servants, Vows, Oaths and Swearing (for legal purposes), the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years (again, relating to Agriculture), the Court and Judicial Procedure, Injuries and Damages, Property and Property Rights, Criminal Laws, Publishment and Restitution, Prophecy, Idolatry, the Treatment of Animals, Clothing, the Firstborn, the Kohanim (or Priests) and the Levites (who have political and educational responsibilities within the Community),
Tithing (Tzedakah or Charity) and Taxes, The Temple, Sanctuary and Sacred Objects, Offerings, Purity and Impurity, the King, Nazarites (those who dedicate themselves for a period of time to intense religious devotion and finally my list concludes with the subject of War. Of course, some of these mitzvot are currently redundant because they relate only to the Temple, in Israel, and because the first two Temples were destroyed, we’re left with a list that will still fill even the longest of days.
And each of these requires an in-depth discussion of their own, but I wanted you to get an idea of the comprehensiveness of the list because many people will think of the “ten Commandments” and stop there. These mitzvot cover all areas in life, providing a sort of “cradle to grave” management for living.
But today, I wanted to focus on just two Negative Commandments: Numbers 39 and 40. Both are found within a single verse in Devarim, or you might know it as Deuteronomy; verse 22:5, which says “A woman must not put on man’s apparel, nor shall a man wear woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is abhorrent to your G-D.”
Now, I am NOT a biologist, but I would say that’s a reasonably unambiguous statement. Whether you’re Jewish or not, if you believe in G-D, you must take those words to heart and recognise that G-D had a very good reason to include them. Furthermore, I am not aware of either of those Commandments having been withdrawn. But if you require any further clarification of that, you could refer to the Commentary of Rashi, who explains it further and you will come to understand that it’s not merely about their clothes.
I’ll leave the links to my source for the text, below, in the description.
Suffice it to say, G-D’s reason must have been to point out that men and women are different and as Rashi explains, if a woman wants to appear as a man or should a man seek to pass himself off as a woman, nothing good can come of it.
To suggest or to say or act otherwise is abhorrent to G-D and IF you believe in G-D, based on history, this does not end well for those involved.
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