The_Talmud_of_Jmmanuel_-_12_Commandments
Contents • 1 Chapter 23 (continued) ♦ 1.1 The Greatest Commandment • 2 Further Reading • 3 Source
Chapter 23 (continued) The Greatest Commandment 31. But when the Pharisees heard that Jmmanuel had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered and deliberated. 32. And one among them, a scribe, tested him by asking, Jmmanuel, which is the foremost commandment in the law?" 33. Jmmanuel asked in return, "Whose law are you thinking of, the law of the emperor, or are you thinking of the law of god, or are you thinking of the law of Creation?" 34. The scribe said, "l am thinking of the laws of all three." 35. But Jmmanuel said, "The highest directive in the law of Creation is this: Achieve the wisdom of knowledge, so that you may wisely follow the laws of Creation. 36. "But the highest commandment of the law of god is this: You shall honor god as the ruler of the three human lineages and obey his laws, for he is their king of wisdom and a good and just counselor. 37. "And the highest command of the laws of the emperor is this: You shall be obedient to the emperor, follow his laws and give to him the tithe, because he is the ruler over the people and their guardian and protector 38. "These are the foremost and greatest commandments in the laws of the three, as applied to their categories. 39. "But the other directive, equal to the first, is this: You shall consider only Creation as omnipotent, for it alone is constant in all things and therein is timeless. 40. "The emperor and god are transitory, but Creation is eternal. 41. "Upon these two directives depend the entire law and the prophets. 42. "The laws of god and those of the emperor are human laws and are intended to maintain law and order among the people. 43. "But the laws of Creation are the laws of life and the spirit and, therefore, they are eternal and constant. 44. "Likewise eternal is a person's spirit, which is a tiny fragment of Creation spirit, for how could Creation itself ever cease to be? 45. "Hence, when a person dies, their spirit lives on and leaves this side of existence for the other side, where it continues to gather the wisdom of knowledge.
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