6The Torah Is Not Man-Made
172When a Slave Does Not Want to Leave His Master
7Man-Made or God-Made: Why It Matters
173Chapter 16
8How Was the Torah Transmitted?
174The Torah’s Holidays
9Reason, Torah, and God
175The First Festival of the Year: Passover (Pesach)
10Why Read The Rational Bible?
176The Power of Ritual
11Some Details
177The Torah’s Behaviorist Approach to Happiness
12Why Exodus Was Volume 1
178The Third Festival: Sukkot, the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)
13BC or BCE?
179Demands on Judges
14God as “He”
180ESSAY: Justice Comes before Everything—Including Compassion
15On How to Read This Commentary
181Chapter 17
16The Use of Post-Biblical Jewish Sources
182ESSAY: On Executing an Israelite Idol Worshiper
17Preface
183The Torah’s Moral Innovations in Charging the Accused
18Chapter 1
184Why the Witnesses Must Cast the First Stones
19Why Moses Introduced New Laws and New Ideas
185Why the Rest of the Community Must Also Cast Stones
20Did Moses Write Every Word of Deuteronomy?
186ESSAY: How Do We Know the Right Thing to Do If the Torah Doesn’t Specifically Tell Us?
21On the Need to Explain the Torah
187ESSAY: Freedom and Theocracy
22Moses’s First Address
188If the Israelites Want a King . . .
23ESSAY: A Good Society Is Unattainable without Wisdom
189ESSAY: The Torah’s Limitations on a King’s Wealth and Power
24ESSAY: Fear of God Is Morally and Psychologically Necessary
190The King Is Subject to God’s Laws, Just as Every Other Israelite
25Was Sending Spies into Canaan God’s Idea or Moses’s?
191Chapter 18
26ESSAY: When Anger—Divine and Human—Is Appropriate
192ESSAY: The Banning of the Magical Arts
27When God Does Not Listen
193The Role of the Prophet
28Chapter 2
194How to Identify a False Prophet
29God Is Not Ethnocentric, and Israel Is Not to Expand beyond the Promised Land
195Chapter 19
30Another Moral First
196What to Do with a Person Who Commits Homicide Unintentionally
31Who Complains?
197The Lesson of Moses: To Know God Is to Love God
32ESSAY: The Moral Problem of Killing “Men, Women, and Children” in the Torah
198On Pitying Murderers
33Chapter 3
199Private Property
34The Torah and Monotheism
200Chapter 20
35Moses Blamed the Israelites for Not Being Allowed to Enter the Promised Land
201The Meaning of God’s Promise of Victory
36Chapter 4
202People Who Were Exempted from Battle
37ESSAY: Do All of the Torah’s Laws Have Reasons?
203The Frightened Are Exempted from Military Service
38A Nation’s Greatness Comes from Its Moral Power
204Laws of War
39ESSAY: Does God Answer Our Prayers?
205ESSAY: Morality and Moses’s Order to Wipe Out the Canaanites
40When Nations Forget Their Past, They Cease to Exist
206Chapter 21
41ESSAY: Are We to Fear or Only Revere God?
207ESSAY: The Earliest Known Ban on Rape in Time of War
42The Power of the Ear versus the Power of the Eye
208You May Love One Wife More, but You Cannot Favor Her Offspring
43God Is Not Physical
209Love versus What Is Right
44ESSAY: Can Other Nations Worship the Sun and the Moon?
210The “So What?” Principle
45Moses Expressed His Anger at the Israelites (Again)
211The Wayward Son—and the Centrality of Parental Authority
46A Good God Does Get Angry
212ESSAY: Parents Are Not Permitted to Kill Their Children
47What Happens When Jews Abandon God
213Putting the Bodies of Those Executed on Display . . .
48How to Find God
214. . . Is an Affront to God
49God’s Promise That the Jews Will Not Perish
215Chapter 22
50Chapter 5
216ESSAY: Neither Sex May Wear the Clothing of the Other Sex
51On Blind Obedience
217Releasing a Mother Bird Prior to Taking Her Young
52The Ten Commandments
218ESSAY: God Made Order by Making Distinctions: Do Not Mix That Which Is Distinctive
53ESSAY: Commandments Imply a Commander
219A Husband Claims He Was Cheated When He Paid to Marry a Virgin: The Torah Sought to Protect Wives—I
54Many People Reject the Idea of Commandments
220The Torah Sought to Protect Wives—II
55Commandment One: The First Statement
221The Torah Sought to Protect Wives—III
56First Be Grateful
222ESSAY: Were Past Generations Unsophisticated for Valuing Virginity?
57The Ten Commandments: One of the Two Purposes of the Exodus
223The Penalty for Adultery Applies to the Man and the Woman
58ESSAY: Commandment Two: Having No Other Gods Is as Important as Belief in the One God
224Engagement Is Tantamount to Marriage
59ESSAY: Education as a False God
225Rape and the Involuntary Loss of Virginity
60ESSAY: Art as a False God
226Chapter 23
61ESSAY: Love as a False God
227Marriage to the Former Wife of One’s Father Is Forbidden
62ESSAY: Intelligence as a False God
228ESSAY: The Mamzer: A Seemingly Insoluble Moral Problem in the Torah
63ESSAY: Science as a False God
229What Does “Congregation of the Lord” Mean?
64God Cannot Be Depicted Physically
230Three Possible Approaches to the Dilemma
65Does God Get “Jealous”?
231Do Not Hate Those Who Enslaved You
66What Does It Mean to “Hate God”?
232Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness
67ESSAY: Commandment Three: The One Commandment Whose Violation God Will Not Forgive
233A Runaway Slave May Not Be Returned to His Master
68Commandment Four: The Sabbath, the One Ritual in the Ten Commandments
234Cult Prostitution
69ESSAY: Shabbat in My Life, Part I:—“God Is Higher Than the Angels”
235Chapter 24
70ESSAY: Shabbat in My Life, Part II: When I Decided I Would Observe Shabbat the Rest of My Life
236ESSAY: Divorce
71ESSAY: Commandment Five: Parents Are the Only People We Are Commanded to Honor
237Can a Person Divorce for Any Reason?
72In the Torah, Mother and Father Are Equals
238Can Only a Man Initiate a Divorce?
73We Are Not Commanded to Love Our Parents
239A Man May Not Remarry the Woman He Divorced If She Remarries and Is Widowed or Divorced
74Parents Should Be Honor-Worthy
240A Man Is Obligated to Make His Bride Happy
75The Second Five Commandments—How We Are to Treat Fellow Human Beings
241Preserving a Borrower’s Dignity
76Murder: The Great Evil
242A Ban on Kidnapping People to Sell as Slaves
77ESSAY: Is Murder Forgivable?
243“Remember What God Did to Miriam”—the Importance of Memory
78The Sixth Commandment Prohibits Murder, Not Killing
244A Man’s Home—Even the Home of a Poor Man in Debt—Is Sacrosanct
79The Seventh Commandment: Adultery
245You May Not Take Advantage of a Borrower
80The Eighth Commandment: Stealing
246You May Not Abuse Your Worker—Jew or Non-Jew
81The Ninth Commandment: Lying
247You May Not Delay Payment to Your Workers
82The Tenth Commandment: Coveting Anything That Belongs to One’s Neighbor
248ESSAY: Neither Children nor Parents May Be Punished for the Others’ Crimes
83God Wants Us to Have a Good Life
249Do Not Oppress the Most Vulnerable
84Chapter 6
250Chapter 25
85Are We to “Revere” or “Fear” God?
251Corporal Punishment of Criminals
86ESSAY: The Jewish Credo (the Sh’ma): There Is Only One God
252The Dignity of a Punished Man Must Be Preserved
87ESSAY: Love of God Does Not Come Naturally
253Levirate Marriage: Marrying the Widow of One’s Brother
88The First Lesson
254What If a Man Doesn’t Want to Marry His Brother’s Widow?
89The Second Lesson
255What Does the Widow Do When Her Brother-in-Law Refuses to Marry Her?
90The Third Lesson
256When Noble Ends Do Not Justify Ignoble Means
91ESSAY: Is God Lovable?
257The Overriding Significance of Honesty in Business
92Parents as Teachers of Moral Character
258Evil Must Be Remembered
93ESSAY: Ritual and Faith, Judaism and Christianity
259Chapter 26
94The Mezuzah
260The Feast of Weeks—Shavuot
95Success, Gratitude, Memory, and Faith
261Prescriptive versus Spontaneous Prayer
96On God Described as “Jealous”
262ESSAY: Happiness Is a Moral Obligation
97On God’s Threat to Wipe Out the Israelites
263Tithing
98ESSAY: Faith Demands Good Works
264Chapter 27
99ESSAY: Explain Your Religion (or Nation) to Your Children, or There Will Eventually Be No Religion (or Nation) to Explain
265ESSAY: The Need to Explain the Torah’s Teachings and Offer Them to the World
100Chapter 7
266Twelve Cursed Actions
101Did the Israelites Commit Genocide?
2671. Constructing a False God
102Intermarriage with Idolaters
2682. Cursing One’s Parents
103The Power of Wives
2693. Violating Private Property
104Outside of Israel, Paganism Is to Be Tolerated
2704. Tricking Those Who Do Not See
105God Chose the Jews Because They Weren’t Special
2715. Oppressing the Least Protected Members of Society
106Man and God (Like Husbands and Wives) Have a Contract
2726. Sleeping with the Wife of One’s Father
107ESSAY: God Rewards Good—and That Is a Good Thing
2737. Bestiality
108No Infertility?
2748. Sleeping with One’s Sister
109Chapter 8
2759. Sleeping with One’s Mother-in-Law
110ESSAY: Does Mitzvah Mean “Commandment” or “Good Deed”?
27610. Murdering a Person in Secret
111Everyone Is Tested
27711. Accepting a Bribe in a Murder Case
112Man Needs Much More Than Bread for a Meaningful Life
27812. “This Teaching” (“This Torah”)
113Fear of a Just God Is Morally Necessary
279The Importance of This Verse to Christian Theology
114ESSAY: Be Thankful—Even If You Don’t Feel It
280Chapter 28
115God Wants Us to Enjoy Life
281The Blessings for Obedience (Verses 1–14)
116Belief in God Means Living by God’s Laws
282The Most Audacious Prediction in History
117The Rich Need God as Much as the Poor Do
283The Blessings
118How the Successful Can Avoid Self-Worship
284The Curses for Disobedience (Verses 15–68)
119Godless Nations Really Do Perish
285The Listed Punishments Are of This World, Not the Next
120Chapter 9
286Additional Curses
121Deuteronomy 9:3 to 9:6—Four Important Verses
287The Sin of Not Serving God in Joy and the Sin of Ingratitude
122Why Did God Choose This Unimpressive People?
288Epilogue: The Curses: A True Story
123Essay: How Are People to Regard Their Nation’s Past?
289Chapter 29
124On Arguing with God—or Parents
290People Rarely Appreciate What They Receive for Free
125Moses’s Three Arguments on Behalf of Sparing the Israelites
291Once Again—the Danger of Following One’s Heart
126Chapter 10
292What Does the Blotting Out of One’s Name Mean?
127What Are Verses 6–9 Doing Here?
293Things That Are Unknowable
128Is There a Contradiction as to Where Aaron Died?
294Chapter 30
129ESSAY: Why Did Moses Tell the Israelites That He Saved Them?
295Impediments to Loving God
130ESSAY: The Five Things God Wants from Us
296God’s Instructions Are from Heaven—but Not in Heaven
131The Commandments Are for Our Sake, Not God’s
297ESSAY: Everything in Life Is a Choice—Including Life
132God Is First and Foremost a Judge. Thank God.
298Chapter 31
133God Loves the Stranger—the Only God Who Ever Did
299ESSAY: Teach the Founding Texts to Every Generation or You Will Cease to Be a Nation
134Empathy Is Important, but Not Enough
300When God Hides His Face
135The Torah’s Three Commandments of Love
301Courage: The Rarest, and Most Important, of the Moral Qualities
136Chapter 11
302Why Moses Called on Heaven and Earth as Witnesses
137Miracles Alone Do Not Produce Faith
303Chapter 32
138Are These Rewards That God Promises Believable?
304Part I: Introduction to Moses’s Poem (Verses 1–3)
139Evil and Famine
305Part II: A Faithful God and a Faithless People (Verses 4–9)
140ESSAY: Life Consists of Both Blessings and Curses
306ESSAY: God Made the Jews—and the West Was Made by Those Who Believed in the Jews’ God
141Chapter 12
307Part III: The Goodness of God (Verses 10–14)
142On Destroying Canaanite Gods in the Holy Land
308Part IV: Israel’s Prosperity and Apostasy (Verses 15–18)
143Sacrifice, Not Prayer, Was Permitted in One Place
309Part V: God’s Responses to Israel’s Apostasy (Verses 19–22)
144Only the Torah Banned Human Sacrifice
310Part VI: The Execution of God’s Judgment (Verses 23–25)
145God Wants Happy People
311Part VII: Why God Did Not Permit Israel to Be Decimated by Its Enemies (Verses 26–33)
146ESSAY: Religion, Like Everything Worthwhile, Demands Sacrifices
312Part VIII: God Will Ultimately Save Israel (Verses 34–38)
147Slaves, Too, Are to Rejoice
313ESSAY: What Is Revenge? Is It Reserved to God Alone?
148ESSAY: The Torah, Vegetarianism, and the Value of Animals
314Part IX: God’s Nature and His Vengeance (Verses 39–44)
149On Not Eating Blood
315Part X (Conclusion): God’s Deliverance of Israel (Verse 43)
150The Essence of Ethical Monotheism
316Moses Could See the Promised Land—but Not Enter It
151Chapter 13
317Chapter 33
152ESSAY: Why People Add to and Subtract from God’s Laws
318Moses’s Farewell Address
153Why Would God Test Us?
319Introduction (Verses 2–5)
154ESSAY: The Morality of a Seemingly Immoral Law
320The Order of the Blessings
155Chapter 14
321Epilogue
156No Self-Laceration in Mourning
322Chapter 34
157Jewish Chosenness
323Moses’s Death
158ESSAY: Kosher Animals
324Few of Us Enter Our Promised Land
159Four-Legged Land Animals (Verses 5–8)
325Moses Died Alone
160Birds (Verses 11–18)
326People in Positions of Authority Should Not Seek to Be Loved
161Winged Insects (Verses 19–20)
327ESSAY: The Greatness of Moses
162Why Not Boil a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk?
328Genesis
163God Does Not Eat
329About the Author
164Why Does the Torah Permit Alcohol?
330Notes (pt. 1)
165How Much Charity Are We Obligated to Give?
331Notes (pt. 2)
166Chapter 15
