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Do you not see that He told Noah: 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed' (Gen. 9:6)?
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The third: that sacrifice was commanded for all people, then restricted to Aaron and his sons. This too is not an abrogation — for there is no text stating that all people were designated to offer sacrifice.
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The fourth: offering sacrifice on the Sabbath after labor was forbidden on it. This too is not an abrogation — rather it confirms the rejection of abrogation.
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For the law of sacrifice preceded the Sabbath, so the Sabbath law could not forbid it — that would be an abrogation. Instead, the Sabbath forbade all other labors except sacrifice and circumcision, which preceded it.
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The fifth: God's word to Abraham regarding Isaac — 'Offer him there as a burnt offering' (Gen. 22:2) — and then: 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, do nothing to him' (Gen. 22:12).
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This too is not an abrogation — not in our view and not in theirs — since even those who permit abrogation do not permit it before a law has been fulfilled at least once, lest it become empty.
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He commanded Abraham to devote his son as an offering — and when the devotion was completed by the display of fire, wood, and the drawing of the knife, He said: 'Enough; I wanted nothing more from you than this.'
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The sixth: God's word to Balaam about Balak's messengers — 'Do not go with them' (Num. 22:12) — then 'Go with them' (Num. 22:20). This too is not an abrogation.
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For the people he went with were not the same people he was forbidden to go with — for it says: 'Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more distinguished than these' (Num. 22:15).
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The seventh: God's word to Hezekiah — 'You will die, you shall not live' (Isa. 38:1) — then: 'I will add fifteen years to your life' (Isa. 38:5). This too is not an abrogation.
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For God spoke this as a threat or warning — and when a servant hears it and is deterred, the threat is lifted, as we know from the people of Nineveh and every sincere penitent.
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The eighth: the matter of 'I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn' (Num. 3:12). This too is not an abrogation — for it is His way to honor a servant, and if the servant sins, to demote him.
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The ninth: they say Joshua waged war on the Sabbath. This is not so — for warfare is not mentioned in every day.
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In each day they carried the ark and blew the trumpets — acts that are permitted on the Sabbath. And the seventh day on which battle occurred was not the Sabbath.
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The tenth: they say the direction of prayer was first toward the Tabernacle, then transferred to the Temple. This too is not an abrogation.
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For the direction of prayer was established toward the Ark — wherever the Ark was in the land, that was the direction. When the Ark moved to Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, Gibeon, and the Temple, the direction followed it.
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Some ask us: what is the meaning of the transmission on which we base the perpetual validity of Torah law? They claim we can reinterpret it.
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Our custom is to ask in return: does there exist in the world explicit, firm speech that repels every reinterpretation and every doubt? If he says no, he has nullified the reality of language and rendered all of it error.
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— all of it error. And if he says yes, then by that very standard of certainty we heard the eternal validity of Torah's laws.
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Now, God have mercy on you — after abrogations have been removed and diminished before us, it would be a great wonder if we did not uphold these laws for which we labored and strove to establish.
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Would the labor not become vain — like those of whom it is said: 'He hardened his children for vanity, toiling to no purpose, without fear' (Job 39:16) — and would we not be like those who have no reason and no knowledge?
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Section 10. Having spoken about the matters of abrogation and what I have established, and having mentioned what whispers in hearts regarding the death of the messengers, their eating, drinking, marital life, and the wrongs done to them —