tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post8352472028587563524..comments2023-05-24T04:12:10.274-04:00Comments on House out of Focus: Four non-literal children, part 2Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post-9959948929348638962012-09-03T15:20:29.093-04:002012-09-03T15:20:29.093-04:00The first place I found discussion of testimonies ...The first place I found discussion of testimonies as meaning the tablets that Moses brought is actually on the Yad Vashem site at <a href="http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/learning_environments/testimony.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/learning_environments/testimony.asp</a>. They were not talking about the haggadah, and Shmuel is clearly right about the words explaining a way to classify the commandments.<br /><br />As for how to translate eidos, we are commanded to observe Shabbat as a testimony to God's resting on the seventh day. The word <i>testimony</i> works well for me there when explained. <i>Remembrances</i>, which Shmuel suggests and which is used extensively elsewhere in the haggadah, works better.<br /><br />So what is gained by enumerating the types of commandments? Well, it encourages us to think about how to classify particular commandments. But the haggadah seems primarily concerned with eidos (naturally, given that Passover is all about doing various things in remembrance of what happened in our departure from Egypt). If you ask someone to classify commandments and the first 20 all come out as eidos, the task becomes a bit boring.<br /><br /><b>The wise child asks, What do all of God's commandments mean?</b>Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985892327107710890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post-1687354803981722232012-09-02T22:27:59.765-04:002012-09-02T22:27:59.765-04:00It's a fair cop, re: that song being more or l...It's a fair cop, re: that song being more or less supplemental. And you're very welcome. :-)<br /><br />(The actual reason the Sinai portion of the proceedings is hardly mentioned is that there's a whole <i>other</i> holiday for that seven weeks later. But you knew that.) :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post-10175009688635127542012-09-02T21:32:49.881-04:002012-09-02T21:32:49.881-04:00Thank you for both comments! Re your first comment...Thank you for both comments! Re your first comment, I started checking English dictionaries after not finding an explanation in the commentaries I was looking at.<br /><br />Re your second comment, that's also where Moses is actually mentioned in the haggadah, but that song is outside of the seder service itself.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985892327107710890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post-29482462949599425282012-09-02T21:02:08.647-04:002012-09-02T21:02:08.647-04:00(As for where the tablets are mentioned in the Hag...(As for where the tablets are mentioned in the Haggadah, here's a hint: who knows two?) :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112945660401255413.post-87631033174480437892012-09-02T20:58:19.189-04:002012-09-02T20:58:19.189-04:00Testimonies in the wise child’s question may refer...<i>Testimonies in the wise child’s question may refer to either the stone tablets given to Moses containing the ten commandments, or to the ark containing the tablets.</i><br /><br />...umm, no, it doesn't. Where did you get that idea from? (For that matter—putting aside the fact that testimonies [<i>eidos</i>], the tablets [<i>luchos</i>] and the ark [<i>aron</i>] are three entirely different words—how would referring to the ark make any sense here?)<br /><br />The wise child asks about three different categories of commandments: <i>eidos, chukim,</i> and <i>mishpatim.</i> These might be translated as "testimonies, decrees, and statutes." As the name suggests, "testimonies" are those laws that testify or recall historical events, such as Passover itself. ("Decrees" are those commandments that don't seem to have any rational basis, such as the prohibition against wearing a garment made with both linen and wool, and "statutes" are those laws that do seem logical, such as the criminal justice system.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com