the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them (Matthew 7:12 NASB).
According to rabbinic reckoning, there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Two hundred and forty-eight are positive commands that tell us what to do. Three hundred and sixty-five are negative commands that tell us what not to do. The 248 positive commands correspond to the number of separate parts in our body; the 365 negative commands correspond to the days of the year. Hence, all the days of the year we are to do all of the commandments with all the parts and joints of our body.
Yet, the respected Rabbi Hillel reduced all of the commands to one. As the story goes, a Gentile came to him seeking conversion to Judaism on the condition that Hillel teach him all of the commands while the man stood on one foot. Hillel agreed, saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it" (Shabbat 31a).
Yeshua did not say anything new, but restated the golden rule in the positive saying, "Whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them." It was an old rabbinic adage that captured the essence of the Torah in a single thought.
...seek to practice the golden rule by doing something good for another.
EK
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
