Divine Guidance for Good Living
Guidance from the Mitzvot

From Sandy:

As we discussed last year in our full-cycle Torah journey, there are, by tradition, 613 mitzvot in the Hebrew Bible. These are sometimes translated as laws or commandments. But they’re, more interestingly, I think, guides or directionals that inform the blessed life that God calls us to live.

I love the thought that our study will help us understand at a very deep and specific level what Micah meant, when he said, “It has been told thee, O man, what the Lord requires of you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Even more apt may be the idea that all the mitzvot actually serve to understand the two great commandments that Jesus taught.

In that respect, our first group of lessons will focus on the roughly 90 mitzvot that relate to Jesus’ first great commandment, teaching us about relationship with God. Among the positive instructions, we will focus on beliefs, duties, ways of acting toward God, as well as ways we habituate ourselves to a life in service of God. As for the “shall nots,” we will go into considerable depth on the topic of idolatry - what it is, why and how it is so dangerous (in all times, including our own), and what we can do to shun it.

Since we won’t be tied to a weekly regime as we were last year, we will be able to go into more depth in our study. I suspect that even with a quick pace this first chapter will take five or six weeks.

I will send out a list of the mitzvot we will consider each week so that those who want to study them ahead of class will be able to do so.

 At bottom, I really look forward to this study and hope it will be exciting and valuable for the class.

Divine Guidance for Good Living - The Chapters

Divine Guidance Chapter 1                      Relationship with God       Divine Guidance for Good Living - Introduction          Notes              Audio   Chapter I - Part I   Positive Elements                             Notes               Audio   Chapter I - Part II  Habituation to God's Way                 Notes               Audio   Chapter I - Part III    Avoidance of Idolatry                     Notes               Audio[1]                                                                                           Audio[2] Audio[3]  Audio[4]

Divine Guidance Chapter 2              Relationship with Others        Chapter 2 - Part I  Love Your Neighbor as Yourself           Notes         Audio(1)                                                                                                       Audio(2)   Audio(3)   Chapter 2 - Part II  The Weak                                  Notes     Audio(1)  Audio(2)   Chapter 2 - Part III  The Stranger, the Servant, the Enemy, and Animals                                                                                                   Notes     Audio(1)     Audio(2)   Chapter 2 - Part IV  Encounters in Commercial Settings         Notes    Audio

Divine Guidance Chapter 3                     Justice                                   Chapter 3 - Part I  Divine Expectations of Judges and Judging                                                                                                                   Notes     Audio 1     Audio 2  Chapter 3 - Part II - Witnesses and the Nature of Law            Notes        Audio  Chapter 3 - Part III - Regarding Criminal Actions Harmful to Others      Notes                                                                                                           Audio 1    Audio 2   Chapter 3 - Part IV - Rights and Interests of Harmed Parties  Notes     Audio     Chapter 3 - Part V - Leaders and the Conduct of War               Notes     Audio 

Divine Guidance Chapter 4                    Sacred Space I                     Chapter 4 - Part I       The Nature and Purpose of Sacred Space     Notes                                                                                                                    Audio 1   Audio 2   Chapter 4 - Part II  The Roles of the Priests and the People          Notes                                                                                                                    Audio 3    Audio 4   Chapter 4 - Part III  Requirements for Priests and Roles of Levites                                                                                                                               Notes     Audio 5

Divine Guidance Chapter 5            Sacred Space II                           Chapter 5 - Part I  The Importance of Purity to Holiness - a Discussion of Tahor and Tamei                                                                                 Notes        Audio 1  Chapter 5 - Part II  The Condition of Tzara'at                        Notes        Audio 2 Chapter 5 - Part III  What We Do To Eat                                  Notes        Audio 3    Chapter 5 - Part IV Forbidden Mixtures & Intro to Sacrifice Notes       Audio 4

Divine Guidance Chapter 6                Sacred Space III                      Chapter 6 - Part I  The Role of Sacrifices in Faith                 Notes       Audio 1  Chapter 6 - Part II  Life Activities That Call for Offerings     Notes       Audio 2  Chapter 6 - Part III Tithes, Vows, and the Manner of Making Offerings    Notes                                                                                                                             Audio 3

Divine Guidance Chapter 7                      Sacred Time                   Chapter 7 - Part I  The Nature and Purpose of Sacred Time    Notes    Audio 1  Chapter 7 - Part II  The Meaning and Experience of Creation, Revelation, and Redemption                                                                                 Notes       Audio 2

Divine Guidance Chapter 8               From Generation to Generation Chapter 8 - Part I  From Generation to Generation                       Notes   Audio

Divine Guidance for Good Living

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