(7) Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that GOD has spoken we will faithfully do!”

(10) And Moses instructed them as follows: Every seventh year, the year set for remission, at the Feast of Booths, (11) when all Israel comes to appear before the ETERNAL your God in the place that [God] will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. (12) Gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to revere the ETERNAL your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching.

(1) the entire people assembled as one in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the scroll of the Teaching of Moses with which GOD had charged Israel. (2) On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Teaching before the congregation, men and women and all who could listen with understanding. (3) He read from it, facing the square before the Water Gate, from the first light until midday, to the men and the women and those who could understand; the ears of all the people were given to the scroll of the Teaching.

(4) Ezra the scribe stood upon a wooden tower made for the purpose, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah at his right, and at his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam. (5) Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up. (6) Ezra blessed the ETERNAL, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with hands upraised. Then they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before GOD with their faces to the ground. (7) Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the Teaching to the people, while the people stood in their places. (8) They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God, translating it and giving the sense; so they understood the reading.

(4) On four Shabbatot during and surround-ing the month of Adar, a Torah portion of seasonal significance is read. When the New Moon of Adar occurs on Shabbat, the congregation reads the portion of Shekalim on that Shabbat. If the New Moon occurs during the middle of the week, they advance the reading of that portion to the previous Shabbat, and, in such a case, they interrupt the reading of the four portions on the following Shabbat, which would be the first Shabbat of the month of Adar, and no additional portion is read on it. On the second Shabbat, the Shabbat prior to Purim, they read the portion: “Remember what Amalek did” (Deuteronomy 25:17–19), which details the mitzva to remember and destroy the nation of Amalek. On the third Shabbat, they read the portion of the Red Heifer [Para] (Numbers 19:1–22), which details the purification process for one who became ritually impure through contact with a corpse. On the fourth Shabbat, they read the portion: “This month [haḥodesh] shall be for you” (Exodus 12:1–20), which describes the offering of the Paschal lamb. On the fifth Shabbat, they resume theregularweeklyorder of readings and no special portion is read. For all special days, the congregation interrupts the regular weekly order of readings, and a special portion relating to the character of the day is read. This applies on the New Moons, on Hanukkah, and on Purim, on fast days, and on the non-priestly watches, and on Yom Kippur.

§ An amoraic dispute was stated: If the Shabbat on which the portion of Shekalim is to be read occurs on the Shabbat in which the regular weekly portion is “Andyoushallcommand / Tetzaveh / תצוה ” (Exodus 27:20–30:10), what should be done? Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa said: Six people read from the portion “And you shall command,” until but not including the weekly portion of “When you take the count” (Exodus 27:20–30:10), and one person reads the portion of Shekalim from “When you take the count,” until but not including the verse: “And you shall make a copper laver” (Exodus 30:11–16). Abaye said:

However, according to the one who said that the portion of “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, My offering” is read as Shekalim, does that portion ever occur at that time of the year? That portion usually occurs much later in the year, in the summer. The Gemara answers: Yes, it sometimes occurs that this portion is read during the beginning of Adar, for thepeopleoftheWest, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, who complete the cycle of reading the Torah not in one year but in three years.

(1) These are the rules that you shall set before them: (2) When you acquire a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment. (3) If he came single, he shall leave single; if he had a wife, his wife shall leave with him.

(20) You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (21) You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. (22) If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me, (23) and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.

(9) Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascended; (10) and they saw the God of Israel—under whose feet was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. (11) Yet [God] did not raise a hand against the leaders of the Israelites; they beheld God, and they ate and drank.

(1) (Exodus 21:1) "And these are the judgments": R. Yishmael says: "And these" — What follows is being added to what precedes, viz.: Just as what precedes was stated at Sinai, so, what follows.

(2) R. Akiva says: What is the intent of "And these are the judgments"? From (Leviticus 1:2) "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them," I would think, only once. Whence do I derive that it is to be repeated two, three, and four times until it is assimilated? From (Devarim 31:19) "and teach it to the children of Israel." I might think that it is to be taught but not repeated. It is, therefore, written (Ibid.) "Place it in their mouths." I might think that it is to be repeated (even) if it is not understood. It is, therefore, written "And these are the judgments." Set them out before them as a settable, as it is written (Ibid. 4:35) "You have been shown to know, etc."

(6) R. Shimon says: Why do (the mitzvoth of) adjudication take precedence over all the mitzvoth of the Torah? For when there is litigation between a man and his neighbor, there is strife between them. Once the ruling has been given, there is peace between them. And thus did Yithro say (Exodus 18:23) "If you do this thing (i.e., if you provide for adjudication) … then all this people will come to their place in peace."

(1) (Exodus 22:20) "And a stranger you shall not afflict and you shall not oppress him": You shall not afflict him with words and you shall not oppress him in money matters. Do not say to him: "Yesterday you worshipped the deity of Nevo, and (the flesh of) swine is still between your teeth, and you would dare contend with me!" And whence is it derived that if you taunt him he can taunt you in return? From "And a stranger you shall not afflict … for you were strangers in the land of Egypt"

(2) — whence R. Nathan derived "Do not attribute a blemish of your own to your neighbor."

(5) Beloved are the strangers, for by every epithet that Israel is called, the strangers are called. Israelites are called "servants," as it is written (Leviticus 25:55) "For unto Me the children of Israel are servants." And the strangers are called "servants," as it is written (Isaiah 56:6) "… to love the name of the L–rd and to be servants unto Him." Israelites are called "ministers," as it is written (Ibid. 6:6) "And you, 'priests of the L–rd' shall you be called; 'ministers of our G–d' will it be said of you." And the strangers are called "ministers," as it is written (Ibid. 56:6) "… and the strangers who join the L–rd to minister unto Him." Israelites are called "lovers," as it is written (Ibid. 41:8) "the seed of Abraham, My lover." And the strangers are called "lovers" (i.e., beloved), as it is written (Devarim 10:18) "And He loves the stranger."

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It is so stated (in Exod. 24:11), “they beheld God, and they ate and drank.” Was there eating and drinking there? To what is the matter comparable? To a servant who attended his master while [holding] a slice of bread in his hand and taking bites from it. Similarly had they acted with disrespect as though eating and drinking. So the elders along with Nadab and Abihu deserved to be destroyed by fire on that day; but because the giving of Torah was dear to the Holy One, blessed be He, He therefore did not want to harm them and bring calamity to them on that day. This is what is written (ibid.), “But He (the Holy One, blessed be He,) did not raise His hand against the nobles of the Children of Israel.” From this you may infer that they deserved to have a hand raised [against them]. ...

Rav was wont to say:The World-to-Come is not like this world.In the World-to-Come there is no eating, no drinking,no procreation, no business negotiations,no jealousy, no hatred, and no competition.Rather, the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads, enjoying the splendor of the Divine Presence, as it is stated:“And they beheld God, and they ate and drank” (Exodus 24:11), meaning that beholding God’s countenance is tantamount to eating and drinking.