Sifré to DeuteronomyArticle Free Pass
Sifré to Deuteronomy, systematic, verse by verse commentary to the book of Deuteronomy by the sages of Rabbinic Judaism. Since the Mishnah (c. 200 ce) and the Tosefta (c. 250 ce) are cited verbatim, a probable date for the work is c. 300 ce. Out of cases and examples, the sages sought generalizations and governing principles. The document’s compilers took the details of cases and carefully reframed them into rules that then pertained to all cases. These rules show what details restrict the prevailing law to the conditions of the case, and what details exemplify the encompassing traits of the overall law. Four principal topics comprise the document’s propositions—the first three yield systematic statements that concern the relationships between Israel (the Jewish people) and God, with special reference to the covenant, the Torah, and the land; Israel and the nations, with interest in Israel’s history, past, present, and future, and how that cyclic time is to be recognized; and Israel on its own terms, focusing upon Israel’s distinctive leadership. The fourth rubric examines prevailing modes of thought that demonstrate the inner structure of intellect—whether that be the intellect underlying sifré itself, the cases of scripture, or the encompassing rules.
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