“And you should make a Breast-plate of Judgment of a woven design. Like the design of the Ephod you shall make it. You shall make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet wool and twisted linen.” (Shemot 28:15)
The Kohen
Gadol wore eight garments. These
consisted of the four garments worn by every kohen and an additional four special vestments. One of the special vestments was the Choshen Mishpat – the Breast-plate of
Judgment.
The Choshen
hung from the shoulders of the Kohen
Gadol. The vestment was made of
woven cloth. Embedded into the Choshen were precious stones
representing the shevatim – the
tribes of Bnai Yisrael.
The Choshen
had a unique function. Questions could
be posed to the Kohen Gadol. He would
respond by consulting the Choshen. Maimonides explains this process based upon
the Talmud. The question would be
brought to the Kohen Gadol. He would immediately be overcome with the
spirit of prophecy. The Kohen Gadol would look at the Choshen. The response would be transmitted to him in a prophetic
vision. The answer was expressed
through the letters engraved upon the stones of the Breast-plate.[1]
According to Nachmanides the process of posing a
question to the Kohen Gadol for a response from the Choshen is included in a
positive command. What is this positive
command?
In order to answer this question and understand
Nachmanides’ position, we must consider a set of pesukim at the end of Chapter 18 of Sefer Devarim. These passages begin with an admonition to
not emulate the practices of the nations that lived in Canaan. The Torah then outlines various mystical
practices and routines used by these nations to predict the future. Then, the Torah tells us that we must
wholeheartedly follow Hashem. The
section ends with laws regarding prophets.
We are commanded to obey true prophets and to punish false prophets.[2] The overall message of these passages is
fairly clear. The people of Canaan had
developed various primitive rituals and procedures for influencing their
environment and predicting the future.
Hashem commands Bnai Yisrael to not adopt these heathen customs. Hashem tells Bnai Yisrael that He will
provide them with prophets. These
prophets will communicate with Hashem and the people should rely on the
prophets for guidance and leadership.
However, one passage is difficult to
understand. After Hashem admonishes
Bnai Yisrael against adopting the practices of the nations of Canaan and before
commanding the people to obey His prophets there is a transitional pasuk.
In this passage, Bnai Yisrael are told that they must wholeheartedly
follow Hashem. What is the meaning of
this passage?
Nachmanides contends that this passage is designed
to connect the preceding and following passages. We are not to rely on fortune tellers and heathen rituals
designed to predict the future.
Instead, we are to follow Hashem wholeheartedly. How do we fulfill this requirement? We fulfill it though our obeying His
prophets.
How is obedience to Hashem’s prophets an expression
of wholehearted commitment to Hashem?
Nachmanides explains that all of the methods used the nations of Canaan
to predict the future were based on the premise that this future is fixed and
predetermined. He uses astrology and an
example. Astrology is based in the
assumption that the configuration of the stars appearing in the nighttime sky
exercises an absolute casual influence on the event in this world. Astrology posits that by understanding this
influence – or reading the stars – we can predict with certainty events in this
world. If the predictions of
astrologers are sometimes incorrect, this is because they have not correctly
read the signs in the heavens. But the
information is in the heavens for the astrologer that can properly unravel the
message.
Nachmanides explains that this premise is
inconsistent with the outlook of the Torah.
According to the Torah, the events that occur in this world are not
predetermined. Hashem is omnipotent. He rules over the universe and our
world. He has the ability to suspend or
disregard the laws of nature. According
to Nachmanides, the astrologer does not fail simply because he has not
correctly read the signs in the heavens.
He fails because these signs are not absolute indications of the
future. The stars may influence events in
this world but they do not determine the future. Ultimately, only Hashem’s will determines the future. No astrologer or fortune teller can know
Hashem’s will.
However, Hashem does reveal His will to His
prophets. Therefore, only these
prophets can actually know the future.
If we must seek knowledge of the future, we are to turn to these
prophets and not to astrologers and fortune tellers.
Based on this analysis, Nachmanides concludes that
relying on astrology or other portents of the future is a denial of a
fundamental tenet of the Torah. This is
because reliance on these methods of predicting the further is predicated on
the assumption that the future is fixed and that it is not ultimately
determined by Hashem’s will.
Now the meaning of the admonition to wholeheartedly
follow Hashem emerges. We are required
to accept the proposition that only Hashem’s will determines the future and
that only through His prophets can we truly know the future. According to Nachmanides this admonition to
wholeheartedly follow Hashem – to accept the proposition that His will alone
determines event in this world – is a positive command.[3] According to his reasoning it follows that
by turning to Hashem’s prophets or by posing our questions to the Kohen Gadol wearing the Choshen, we fulfill the mitzvah of wholeheartedly following
Hashem.[4]
Maimonides does not regard this passage as a
positive command. In other words,
according to Maimonides, the admonition to wholeheartedly follow Hashem is not
a mitzvah. Why did Maimonides not regard this instruction as a mitzvah? Nachmanides suggests a possible explanation. According to Maimonides, general admonitions
to observe the commandments of the Torah are not in themselves mitzvot. In order for an admonition to be counted as a commandment, it
must engender a specific obligation or prohibition. General admonishments do not meet this criterion and therefore
cannot be counted among the 613 mitzvot.[5] Nachmanides suggests that according to
Maimonides, the admonition to wholeheartedly follow Hashem is directing us to
observe the commandments of the Torah.
Because it is a general admonition, Maimonides does not include it in
his enumeration of the 613 mitzvot.[6]
Meggilat Esther suggests a similar explanation for
Maimonides’ position. According to
Meggilat Esther, the admonition to wholeheartedly follow Hashem is a positive
formulation of the negative commandments in the preceding pesukim. As noted above,
the preceding passages command Bnai Yisrael to not resort to and rely upon
fortune-telling and other portents.
These passages include a number of negative commandments that prohibit
specific practices. The directive to
wholeheartedly follow Hashem reiterates these prohibitions in a positive
formulation. Maimonides maintains that
in instances in which a positive directive merely reiterates the substance of a
prohibition, the positive formulation is not generally counted as a separate mitzvah.[7] Meggilat Esther suggests that Maimonides
applies this principle to the admonition to wholeheartedly follow Hashem and
therefore, does not count it as a separate mitzvah.[8]
However a careful analysis of a related issue
suggests an alternative explanation of Maimonides’ position. In order to develop this explanation, it is
necessary to return to Nachmanides’ comments.
As explained above, according to the Torah it is prohibited to rely on
portents, fortune-tellers, and even astrology.
According to Nachmanides, this prohibition is fundamentally an assertion
that the events of this world are ultimately determined by Hashem. But Nachmanides is careful not to assert
that astrology and other methods of predicting the future are baseless. Instead, he asserts that these methods are
flawed. They are predicated on the
belief that the future is solely controlled by the stars or natural
forces. They assume that by
understanding and “reading” these forces the future can be predicted. They do not acknowledge that such
predictions are not absolute and can be overridden by Hashem. In other words, Nachmanides accepts that
natural forces influence events in this world and that the affect of these
forces can be predicted. However, he
asserts that such predictions are not reliable because they do not account for
Hashem’s ability to override the natural laws.
In contrast, Maimonides contends that the methods
utilized by the nations of Canaan were nonsensical and nothing more than
superstitions. Maimonides asserts that
one who believes that these methods have some validity and contain an element
of truth is a fool. He does not
attribute any credibility to these methods of predicting the future. Maimonides does not regard the study of
portents and signs as a flawed approach to predicting the future. He emphatically declares that they are utter
foolishness. It is this context the
Maimonides makes reference to the admonition to wholeheartedly follow
Hashem. According to Maimonides, this
admonition tells us to be completely committed to the truth and to not revert
to superstitions and their implicit primitive outlook.[9]
We can now appreciate Maimonides’ decision to not
count this admonition as a commandment.
According to Maimonides, the admonition tells us to act intelligently
and not regress to the superstitious and foolish beliefs of the heathen nations
of Canaan. The admonition does not
engender or prohibit a specific performance.
Instead, it directs us to adopt a general outlook and to be completely
faithful to this outlook. Accordingly,
Maimonides does not count this general directive as a commandment.
[1] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Klai HaMikdash 10:11.
[2] Sefer Devarim 18:9-22.
[3] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Commentary on Sefer Devarim 18:13.
[4] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Critique on Maimonides’ Sefer HaMitzvot -- Positive Commands that Maimonides Neglected to Include.
[5] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Sefer HaMitzvot, Principle 4.
[6] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Critique on Maimonides’ Sefer HaMitzvot -- Positive Commands that Maimonides Neglected to Include.
[7] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Sefer HaMitzvot, Principle 9.
[8] Rabbaynu Yitzchak DeLeon, Meggilat Esther, Commentary on Maimonides’ Sefer Hamitzvot, Comments on Nachmanides’ Critique.
[9] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avodah Zarah 11:16.