02-09-2021, 11:18 AM
(02-09-2021, 02:39 AM)searchinmyroots Wrote: I think the commentators of yesteryear sum it up quite well -
You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain: You shall not swear in vain by the name of the Lord, your God. — [Onkelos] לַֹשָוְא -[This word appears twice in this verse.] (The second [mention of לַֹשָוְא is an expression of falsehood, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: לְֹשִיקְרָא, as it says [in Shavuos 21a]: "What constitutes a vain oath? If one swears contrary to what is known, [for example, saying] about a stone pillar that it is [made of] gold. (The first [mention of לַֹשָוְא is an expression of vanity, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: [לְמַגָּנָא].) This [refers to] one who swears for no reason and in vain, [for example making an oath] concerning [a pillar] of wood, [saying] that it is wood, and concerning [a pillar] of stone, [saying] that it is stone. — [from Shevuoth 29a, Mechilta]
This is what Rabbi Joseph Telushkin says about this subject in his book: “Jewish Literacy.”
“The Third Commandment also has not fared well in English. Lo tissa et shem Ha-Shem Eloheikha la-shaw is usually translated as “You shall not take the Lord Your God’s name in vain.” Many people think that this means that you have to write God as G-D, or that it is blasphemous to say words such as “goddam.” Even if these assumptions are correct, it’s still hard to figure out what makes this offsense so heinous that it’s included in the document that forbids murdering, stealing, idolatry, and adultery. However, the Hebrew Lo tissa, literally means “You shall not carry [God’s name in vain]”; in other words, don’t use God as your justification in selfish causes. The Third Commandment is the only one concerning which God says, “for the Lord God will not forgive him who carries His name in vain” (Exodus 20:6-7).
The reason now seems to be clear. When a person commits an evil act, he discredits himself. But when a religious person commits an evil act in the name of God, he or she discredits God as well. And since God relies on religious people to bring knowledge of Him into the world, He pronounces this sin unpardonable.