The Separateness of Israel

The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: I the Lord am your God (Leviticus 18:1–2). [ . . . ]

They welcomed my edicts: You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or as they do in the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws (Leviticus 18:3). [ . . . ]

Nor shall you follow their laws (ibid.).

And what did scripture leave unsaid [since it already lists many practices that should not be followed]? [ . . . ]

That you should not follow their customs [nimusot] in matters that are settled for them by law, for example, going to their theaters, festivals, and game fields.

R. Meir says: These are prohibited as being among “the ways of the Amorites,” which the sages have described.

R. Judah ben Betera says: This means you should not dress extravagantly [this word is unclear] and not grow your [hair] fringe or cut your hair kome-style [a gentile hairstyle]. [ . . . ]

And so you do not say, “For them they are laws [ḥukkim] but for us they are not laws.” Scripture says: You shall observe my judgments [mishpatim] and keep my laws [ḥukkim] [ . . . ] (Leviticus 18:4).

But the evil impulse can still hope to object and say, “Theirs are nicer than ours.” So scripture says: You shall keep and do it, for it is your wisdom and your understanding (Deuteronomy 4:6).

You shall observe my judgments—these are matters written in the Torah that, had they not been written, would be sensible to write, such as theft, sexual violations, idolatry, blasphemy, and bloodshed. If they had not been recorded [in the Torah], it would be sensible to record them. And those [i.e., the ḥukkim] are ones to which the evil impulse and the idolatrous nations of the world object, such as the prohibition against eating pork, wearing mixed seeds, the sandal-removal ritual [to annul a levirate bond], the purification rite for scale disease, and the scapegoat ritual, to which the evil impulse and the idolatrous nations of the world object. Scripture says: I am the Lord, meaning you are not allowed to object to my decrees [ḥukkotay].

To follow them (Leviticus 18:4)—treat them as primary, not secondary.

To follow them—you should deal only with them. You should never combine them with other matters in the world. So you do not say, “I have learned the wisdom of Israel; I will learn the wisdom of the nations of the world.” Scripture says: to follow them—you are not free to renounce yourself of them.