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Hebrew Word for Obey
#1
I am reading another one of Rabbi Sacks books titled "Ceremony and Celebration"

On page 191 in the chapter where he writes about Pesah he says -

One of the most striking facts about biblical Hebrew is that, despite the Torah containing 613 commandments, it contains no word that means "to obey". Modern Hebrew had to adopt the Aramaic word letzayet. The word the Torah uses instead of "to obey" is shema, a word that means "to listen, to hear, to understand, to internalize, and to respond."

That is amazing as I never knew that!!

If you read most English translations, it uses the word obey quite often. Many times we are told by Christians, we cannot obey the law perfectly. Of course we know we cannot and never were told to or meant to. But this carries a whole new meaning to me. Now I can respond by saying the Torah never says to obey the law! Okay, the meaning "respond" may be close, but it isn't obey.
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#2
Interesting! I'll have to pick up a copy.
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#3
That's an interesting point SMR. I looked up the word 'obey' online. Just to see what it means, and what it doesn't mean. There is also a biblical meaning supposedly. But in considering Rabbi Sacks opinion, it can be ruled out in Judaism.

That is an excellent book: https://www.amazon.com/Ceremony-Celebrat...B075D88F9L

He has about 80 free pages on the look inside feature. I'll probably get that book. Looks like a really good read.
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#4
(01-09-2019, 02:30 AM)searchinmyroots Wrote: I am reading another one of Rabbi Sacks books titled "Ceremony and Celebration"

On page 191 in the chapter where he writes about Pesah he says -

One of the most striking facts about biblical Hebrew is that, despite the Torah containing 613 commandments, it contains no word that means "to obey". Modern Hebrew had to adopt the Aramaic word letzayet. The word the Torah uses instead of "to obey" is shema, a word that means "to listen, to hear, to understand, to internalize, and to respond."

That is amazing as I never knew that!!

If you read most English translations, it uses the word obey quite often. Many times we are told by Christians, we cannot obey the law perfectly. Of course we know we cannot and never were told to or meant to. But this carries a whole new meaning to me. Now I can respond by saying the Torah never says to obey the law! Okay, the meaning "respond" may be close, but it isn't obey.

Modern Hebrew also uses לְהִשָּׁמַע lehishama, which is built on the root for “hear.” The word “discipline” is מִשְׁמַעַת mishmáat (from the same root) and someone who is “disciplined” is called מְמֻשְׁמָע memushma. It’s all from the same word that means “hear.” It’s kinda exaggerating to say that we don’t have a word for “obey.” That’s an essential meaning of the word “hear” or “listen” in both Hebrew and English.

“He didn’t listen to his mother.” = “He didn't obey his mother.”

If you have a way to express the concept, who cares that it isn’t a dedicated word of its own? The concept of obedience lies in the lexical range of the word “hear.”
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#5
Well, I guess to be fair to Rabbi Sacks and what was written to share his point -

He wrote prior - "There is a fundamental difference between a parent teaching a child why certain things are wrong, and a commander instructing those under his command not to do this or that. One is a form of education, the other is a relationship of command-and-control. Education is an apprenticeship in liberty; command-and-control is a demand for obedience, pure and simple."


Rabbi Sacks continues after my initial post- "God does not call for blind submission to His will.

God wants us to keep His laws freely and voluntarily because we understand them. Hence the unique insistence, throughout the Torah, on the importance of education as the constant conversation between the generations"
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#6
(01-10-2019, 03:07 AM)searchinmyroots Wrote: Well, I guess to be fair to Rabbi Sacks and what was written to share his point -

He wrote prior - "There is a fundamental difference between a parent teaching a child why certain things are wrong, and a commander instructing those under his command not to do this or that. One is a form of education, the other is a relationship of command-and-control. Education is an apprenticeship in liberty; command-and-control is a demand for obedience, pure and simple."


Rabbi Sacks continues after my initial post- "God does not call for blind submission to His will.

God wants us to keep His laws freely and voluntarily because we understand them. Hence the unique insistence, throughout the Torah, on the importance of education as the constant conversation between the generations"

I think that Rabbi Telushkin also was of the same mind regarding blind obedience vs understanding.  He wrote in his book Jewish Literacy about the prophet Micah, saying: 
 
Rabbi Telushkin Wrote:The prophet Micah initiates an unusual and admirable tradition in Jewish life: the willingness to "reduce" Judaism to its ethical essence.  In the most direct language possible, Micah summarizes the "bottom-line" requirement that God makes of Jews: "To do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God" (6:8).
 
Think of the messages being put forth by most Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders today; they rarely cite Micah's guideline for assessing people's obedience to God.  Ask any Jew—religiously observant or not—whether another Jew is religious, and the question is invariably answered by noting the person's observance of Jewish rituals, not of Jewish ethics.  As if God regarded ethical observance as a voluntary, extra-credit activity.
 
Micah (and those teachers who came after him, such as Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Akiva) placed great emphasis on ethical behavior, and I don't think that would have been possible without also having a profound understanding of what God asks of us.  I think that these teachers were closer to the truth than those who place greater emphasis on following the law without question.
Heart !לחיים

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#7
Thanks for sharing this Channalee!
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#8
Great topic! And thank you for the book recommendation by Rabbi Sacks. I was not aware there weren't any words for (obey) in Hebrew and had been pondering that concept since reading this post.

 I've learned the combinational use שמע לקול, שמע בקול means he hearkened to the voice of.  The book of Zechariah, Chapter 6 verse 15b. If you truly listen to the voice of Hashem - אמ-שמוע תשמון בקול יה אלֹהיכם. The same combination of words are written in the book of Exodus 15 verse 26. If you hearken diligently to the voice of Hashem...אם-שמוע תשמע לקול יה אלֹהיך.

I looked up the word, hearken, and it means to listen. I noticed where to hearken is used in the Torah, obey Me fully, in the NIV, for the same verse.   I think this difference is significant, especially when it comes to attitude or belief.  

I can see the concept of obedience is different between what Judaism and Christianity present,  where it seems Christianity places a higher value on obedience over that of understanding. During my transition out of the Christian faith, I remember listening to one of Rabbi Singer's podcasts where he was speaking to a group of women, both Jewish and Christian.  He had raised a point about something and some of the women questioned his assertion, asking for clarity. He had jokingly remarked that he could always tell who is Jewish by the challenges and questions presented to him.  That had been a profound statement for me to hear because questioning certain biblical concepts are not really encouraged within some branches of Christianity on some of the foundational tenets.  The New Testament has so many verses about walking in obedience to his commands, even verses about wrath and hell for disobedience.   I love reading about the finer points in the Hebrew language.  Again, thank you for the eye opener.  This is a book I'd like.
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#9
Thanks for chiming in Dana!

Yes, the Hebrew language and it's meanings are quite different from what we read in the English.

We may not have all of the answers, but we sure have a lot of questions!

And that is a good thing!

Smile
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#10
I was thinking about this a little more and came to the conclusion that you usually don't ask your children to obey (although sometimes we may use those words). We command dogs and animals to obey when we are training them.

I would have to think this might be similar to what Rabbi Sacks is saying.

We don't want to train our children or others like animals, we want them to listen, to hear, to understand, to internalize, and to respond.

Not that they always do, but at least that is the intent.
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