Tablets of the Law (Tablets of Stone)
The stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God with the Ten Commandments. Symbol of divine covenant and the spiritual foundation of sacred law.
God gives Moses the Torah and Ten Commandments at Sinai, establishing Israel’s covenant (Exodus 19-20).
The Law of Moses (Hebrew: תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה Torat Moshe), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
A law given to Moses at Sinai (Hebrew: הלכה למשה מסיני, romanized: Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai) refers to a halakhic law for which there is no biblical reference or source, but rather it was passed down orally as a teaching originating from Moses at Sinai. Such teachings have not been derived from any Talmudical hermeneutics, but known solely from the Jewish tradition
According to Rabbinic Judaism, God transmitted the Torah to Moses in two parts: the written Torah which comprises the biblical books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, and the Oral Torah which was relayed orally, from Moses to his successors, to their successors, and finally to the rabbis.[2]
In rabbinic discourse, a "law given to Moses at Sinai" refers to a law which has no source in the written Torah, and thus must have been transmitted orally since the time of Moses.[3] These laws are nonetheless considered by the Talmud to have the force and gravity of biblical law as if they are written explicitly in the Torah.[
According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses was the leader of early Israel out of Egypt; and traditionally the first five books of the Hebrew Bible are attributed to him, though most modern scholars believe there were multiple authors. The law attributed to Moses, specifically the laws set out in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as a consequence came to be considered supreme over all other sources of authority (any king and/or his officials), and the Levites were the guardians and interpreters of the law.[12]
The Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:24–26) records Moses saying, "Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Template:LORD". Similar passages referring to the Law include, for example, Exodus 17:14, "And the {{LORD" said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven}}; Exodus 24:4, "And Moses wrote all the words of the {{LORD", and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel}}; Exodus 34:27, "And the {{LORD" said unto Moses, Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel}}; and Leviticus 26:46 "These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the {{LORD" established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses.}}
The content of the Law is spread among the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and then reiterated and added to in Deuteronomy. This includes:
- The Ten Commandments
- Moral laws – on murder, theft, honesty, adultery, homosexuality, etc.
- Social laws – on property, inheritance, marriage, and divorce.
- Food laws – on what is clean and unclean, on cooking and storing food.
- Purity laws – on menstruation, seminal emissions, skin disease and mildew, etc.
- Feasts – the Day of Atonement, Passover, Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, etc.
- Sacrifices and offerings – the sin offering, burnt offering, whole offering, heave offering, Passover sacrifice, meal offering, wave offering, peace offering, drink offering, thank offering, dough offering, incense offering, red heifer, scapegoat, first fruits, etc.
- Instructions for the priesthood and the high priest, including tithes.
- Instructions regarding the Tabernacle, and which were later applied to the Temple in Jerusalem, including those concerning the Holy of Holies containing the Ark of the Covenant (in which were the tablets of the law, Aaron's rod, the manna). Instructions and for the construction of various altars.
- Forward looking instructions for time when Israel would demand a king.
Mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah (/ˈmɪtsvə/; Hebrew: מִצְוָה, mīṣvā [mit͡sˈva], plural מִצְווֹת mīṣvōt [mit͡sˈvot]; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law (halakha) in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments.[1]
In its secondary meaning, the word mitzvah refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).[2]