פרשה: בהר · עלייה: שביעי (מלכות)

כי לי בני ישראל עבדים, "For the children of Israel are My servants, etc." Why did the Torah write once more עבדי הם, "they are My servants?" Perhaps the point G'd makes here is that "they are My servants" as they are of sacred origin, their souls and their bodies are intrinsically holy independent of the Exodus from Egypt. The factor which obligates the Israelites to conduct themselves in a manner befitting holy creatures is "that I took them out of the land of Egypt." Ever since, G'd says, they themselves realise that they are My servants.

אני ה׳ אלוקיכם, "I am the Lord your G'd." Why did the verse commence in the third person, i.e. G'd speaking about the Israelites, whereas it concludes with direct speech, i.e. "I am the Lord your G'd?" Perhaps we have to look for the reason in the laws governing the sale and purchase of a slave. We have the law that if someone acquires a Jewish servant he has to free him in the Jubilee year. G'd therefore had to state that the Jew remains His servant also in the Jubilee year and beyond, i.e. עבדי הם. The purchaser of the Jewish servant may argue that this fact is justification for a Jew not being allowed to sell himself into permanent servitude, but this fact does not impose an obligation on the purchaser. If the Jew had sold himself to a resident stranger, גר תושב, that resident stranger would argue that he had no oligation to release the servant merely because of the Jubilee year. G'd therefore states categorically: "I am the Lord your G'd," i.e. I address you the purchaser the very person whom the Torah addressed at the beginning of this paragraph in verse 39 and subsequently in verse 44 when it spoke about ונמכר לך, "and he was sold to you." The Torah wanted to be sure the owner understood that he was expected to comply with the entire legislation recorded here.

את שבתתי תשמורו, "Observe My Sabbaths!" Why did the Torah again repeat the commandment to observe the Sabbath? I believe the Torah wanted to write the commandment of Sabbath-observance next to the commandment preceding it not to make anything resembling idolatrous symbols. This is the Torah's way of reminding us that just as idolatry or rather abstaining from it is equivalent to observing the entire Torah, so Sabbath-observance is also equivalent to observance of the whole Torah. [This does not absolve a person from the observance of any other commandment; it simply means that one demonstrates one's commitment to Torah by either Sabbath-observance or abstaining from anything idolatrous. Ed.]

In addition to that the fact that the שמיטות are also called "Sabbaths" (compare 28,2) and that commandment is tied to reverence for the Holy Temple, we are reminded of the statement that the Holy Temple was destroyed due to the failure to observe the שמיטה laws (compare 26,34).

The Torah linked Sabbath-observance to reverence for the Holy Temple to tell us not to become guilty of the destruction of the Temple due to failure to observe the Sabbath. We have pointed out previously that when G'd pours out His anger over stones and wood, this is one way of G'd's restraining His anger at human beings.