4TH Day Passover (Exo 22:27-23:16)

EXO 22

27 You shall not revile a judge, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Rashi

You shall not revile a judge—Heb. אֱלֹהִים. This is a warning against cursing God and a warning against cursing a judge.

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?

35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—“ JOH 10:34-35

John Gill

If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—The Syriac version reads, “because the word of God came to them”; either the divine “logos,” the essential word, the Son of God, who appeared to Moses, and made him a God to Pharaoh, and who appointed rulers and magistrates among the Jews; and who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, from whom all receive their power and dominion: this sense is favoured by the Ethiopic version, which renders it, “if he called them gods to whom God appeared, the word of God was with them”: or else the commission from God, authorizing them to act in the capacity of rulers and governors, is here meant; or rather the word of God, which, in the passage of Scripture cited, calls them so, as it certainly does.

And Scripture cannot be broken—Or be made null and void; whatever that says is true, there is no contradicting it, or objecting to it: it is a Jewish way of speaking, much used in the Talmud; when one doctor has produced an argument, or instance, in any point of debate, another says, “it may be broken”; or objected to, in such and such a manner, and be refuted: but the Scripture cannot be broken, that is not to be objected to, there can be no confutation of that.

3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”

John Gill

Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you”—Which may be considered either as a prophecy of what would be, that God would strike him with some judgment here, or with death quickly, or with eternal damnation hereafter; taking up his own words, and suggesting that a retaliation would be made, and that the measure he meted, would be measured to him again; or else as an imprecation upon him; for the words may be rendered, “may God strike you”; the future tense being often used by the Jews for the imperative, and that in this very phrase; for certain it is, that this is the form of an imprecation with them: for it is said, if anyone should say, “may God strike,” or “so may God strike”; this is “a curse,” written in the law; though this instance of the apostle ought not to be drawn into example, any more than those of other saints, who might be under a direction of the Holy Spirit to deliver out such things, which would come to pass in righteous judgment: and if this was Ananias, the son of Nebedaeus, as is generally thought, it is remarkable, that five years after this, in the beginning of the wars of the Jews with the Romans, this Ananias, hiding himself under the ruins of a conduit, was discovered, and taken out, and killed.

You whitewashed wall—Or hypocrite, in like manner as Christ compares the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs (Mat 23:27).

Are you sitting to judge me according to the law—The law of Moses, which was the rule of judgment in the Sanhedrin, at least professed to be, and which was allowed of by the Romans, especially in matters relating to the Jewish religion.

And yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?—Which condemns no man before he is heard, and much less punishes him (Joh 7:51) and which is contrary not only to the Jewish laws, but to the Roman laws, and all others founded upon the law of nature and reason.

5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” ACT 23:3, 5

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. TIT 3:1-2

Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1PE 2:17

and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 2PE 2:10

Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. JUD 1:8

EXO 23

6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.

Rashi

Your poor—An expression of desiring, meaning one who is impoverished and desires all good things.

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? JAS 2:5-6

16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the fruit of your labor from the field.

Chagigah 18a:2

And Reish Lakish said, providing a different proof: From the very name of the day: “The Feast of Harvest” (Exo 23:16), we can learn the following: On which feast do you celebrate and harvest? You must say it is the Feast of Weeks. When exactly does this apply? If we say that it is on the feast day itself, is harvesting permitted on a feast? Rather, is it not referring to the day of redress?

Chagigah 18a:3

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: However, if that is so, you should likewise say with regard to “the Feast of Gathering” (Exo 23:16): On which feast is there gathering? You must say it is the Feast of Booths. When exactly? If we say it is on the feast day itself, is labor permitted on a feast? Rather, it is referring to the intermediate feast days. But on the intermediate feast days, too, is it permitted? One may perform only work that, if neglected, would result in irretrievable loss. Rather, you must explain that “the Feast of Gathering” is referring to the season of the year, i.e., the feast that occurs during the time of gathering. Here too: “The Feast of Harvest” means a feast that occurs during the time of harvest.

Menachot 71a:6

Rather, Rava said that the source of the halakha is the verse: “The Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field” (Exo 23:16). This verse is referring to grain from the time of sowing, i.e., from when the grain takes root. Rav Pappa said to Rava: If so, then even though the grain had not taken root it should be permitted by the omer offering. The verse mentions grain at the time of sowing, but it does not indicate that it is necessary for that grain to have taken root in order to be permitted by the omer. Rava said to Rav Pappa in reply: Wise one! It is written: “In the field,” which indicates that the verse is referring to freshly sown produce that has become part of the field, i.e., it has taken root.

Menachot 84b:4

The baraita continues: And from where is it derived that the two loaves precede the bringing of the firstfruits as well? The verse states: “You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest” (Exo 34:22). The order of the verse teaches that the offering of the feast, which is the two loaves offering, precedes the bringing of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. I have derived only that the two loaves precede the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. From where do I derive that they also precede the bringing of the firstfruits of the barley harvest? The verse states with regard to the Feast of Weeks: “The Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you will sow in the field” (Exo 23:16). The order of the verse teaches that the offering of the feast, which is the two loaves offering, precedes all forms of firstfruits that are sown in the field, which includes barley.

Menachot 84b:5

From this verse, I have derived only that the two loaves precede the bringing of the firstfruits that sprouted from seeds you sowed, as the verse states: “Of what you will sow.” From where do I derive that they precede even the bringing of firstfruits that sprouted by themselves? The continuation of that verse states: “In the field” (Exo 23:16). The term is superfluous and serves to include even produce that sprouted by itself.

Menachot 84b:7

The baraita concludes: From where is it derived that the offering of the two loaves is to precede both the bringing of drink offerings from grapes of the new crop and the bringing of the firstfruits of the tree? It is stated here, with regard to the two loaves: “The firstfruits of your labor” (Exo 23:16), and it is stated there at the end of that verse: “When you gather in the products of your labor from the field.” Just as there, the term “your labor” is referring both to fruits used for the drink offerings and the fruit of the tree, so too, here, the term is referring to both fruits used for the drink offerings and the fruit of the tree.

Rashi

The Feast of Harvest—This is the Feast of Weeks.

The firstfruits of your labor which is the time for bringing the firstfruits, for the two loaves that were brought on the Feast of Weeks and serve to permit the new grain to be used for grain offerings (Menachot 68b), and to bring the firstfruits into the temple (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3), for it is said (Num 28:26), “And on the day of the firstfruits, etc.” (cf. Rashi on that verse).

The Feast of Ingathering—That is the Feast of Booths.

When you gather in the fruit of your labor—For during the whole summer-time the grain dries out in the fields, and on the Feast of Booths, they gather it into the barns because of the rain that is then due.

Rosh Hashanah 13a:2

The Gemara answers: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is written: “The Feast of Gathering, which is at the end of the year, when you have gathered in your labor from the field” (Exo 23:16). What is the meaning of “Gathering”? If we say that it means: A feast that comes at the time of gathering the crops, isn’t it already written: “When you have gathered in your labor”? There is no need to repeat this a second time.

2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” JOH 7:2, 37

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ACT 2:1