Where can I find Asarah Ma'amarot in English online?

Question

I'm looking for the English translation of Asarah Ma'amarot by Rabbi Menachem Azaria de Fano, specifically Ma’amar Chikur Din 3:21. It can be a community translation of that specific Ma'amar, or a link to an online source. Thanks!

Answer 1

I found the Hebrew text here and translated the first part using ChatGPT as below. Please evaluate and if useful continue the translation yourself using ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/).

"Jacob shall not be ashamed now when he sees his children exiled to Egypt, which is constricting to the Land of Israel, for the Divine Presence descended with them to cause a rose to bloom among the thorns, which is the tribe of Solomon, and to gather to itself the scattered of Israel—these being the sparks of holiness that remained with the snake until then. And through the iron furnace, those who had joined the House of Jacob in earlier times, who were gathered together but not yet at the right time, were brought back and judged in a similar manner. First by the decree of the Nile and the dispersal to make bricks, as we will mention further. However, during the Flood and the Dispersion, their embers were extinguished without repentance. But here, Pharaoh offered them up to their Father in Heaven. And those who were there and were not worthy of redemption died through repentance and crying out, which are effective even to the point of utter soul-crushing. Likewise, during the days of darkness, many of the sinners died, but it is written, 'For all the children of Israel, there was light in their dwellings.' And the abundance here indicates that even those unworthy of redemption, since they died through repentance as we said, had light in their dwellings in the Garden of Eden, and none were missing. Or it can be interpreted that in their dwellings, those worthy of settling and being redeemed had light, and these are the six hundred thousand that God brought close to Mount Sinai. Then, He saw and waived for everyone else the seven general commandments, and specified thirty, as it is stated in the chapter of Gid HaNasheh (the prohibition of eating the sciatic nerve), and these are they:"

(Note: The translation maintains the interpretive and allegorical nature of the original text, which may refer to Kabbalistic or Midrashic traditions.)

The next part is translated by ChatGPT as follows:

"First, idolatry and associated practices: passing children through fire, sorcery, divination, magic, enchanting, consulting mediums, necromancy, and seeking the dead. According to Rabbi Yose, who said that all those mentioned in the portion about sorcery are prohibited to the descendants of Noah. Thus, there are ten commandments.

Second, forbidden sexual relations, and associated with it: being fruitful once and multiplying twice as a positive commandment, the prohibition of sodomy even if they make a formal marriage contract, the prohibition of hybrid animals, castration, and grafting trees—these are seven, as explained further.

Third, murder, and striking the face of an Israelite is associated with it, so there are two.

Fourth, blasphemy, and respect for the Torah is associated with it, as well as the obligation to engage in the Torah given to them (the Noahides), because a Noahide who engages in it is like a High Priest—thus, there are three.

Fifth, theft, and not engaging in Torah that is our inheritance is associated with it, so there are two.

Sixth, the establishment of courts for the settlement of the world, and not allowing them to cease is associated with it, so there are two.

Seventh, the prohibition of eating a limb from a living animal, and associated with it: the prohibition of blood from a living animal, carcasses, and the flesh of the dead—thus, there are four.

In total, there are thirty. Even though 'be fruitful and multiply' is one commandment for us, and among the 613 commandments, it might seem difficult to understand why it is divided into two here. This is because we do not derive the law for the descendants of Noah from the Torah of Moses our teacher. Alternatively, 'be fruitful and multiply' is always counted as one for both us and them. The commandment of establishing courts is divided into two, one as a positive commandment and one as a negative commandment, as is explained in the Talmud. Rashi explained it as follows: one is to judge fairly, and the other is to avoid injustice.

The sacrifices for the early generations were like one who is not commanded but does them regardless. This seems to me to support all the words of the sages. All of these were repeated in the chapter on the four modes of execution, except for three, which are found in the chapter on the sciatic nerve. This matter is in accordance with all the Tannaim and Amoraim, where one sage said one thing, and another said another, but they do not disagree."

And these three that we mentioned refer to the prohibitions against sodomy, human flesh, and the respect for the Torah. There is also the prohibition against the meat of a carcass, which is clearly taught in the Pesikta from the verse: 'Every creature that is alive' (Genesis 9:3), excluding a carcass, meaning an animal that died of itself. This is not in accordance with the words of Tosafot in the chapter 'Four Modes of Execution,' where they said that in such a case, it was permitted to the first human (Adam) based on the verse 'You may surely eat' (Genesis 2:16), and not 'limb from a living animal,' which everyone agrees was not permitted. However, it was not allowed to kill an animal, wild beast, or bird for the sake of eating meat. It is implied that it was permitted to kill for medical purposes or to benefit from their hides, and later, eating their meat was also permitted.

As for the statement about 'seeing and permitting,' do not infer from this that it would be allowed for us to cause another person to sin. For it was taught explicitly: a person should not hand a limb from a living animal to a Noahide, and the Torah specifically stated, 'You shall throw it to the dog' (Exodus 22:30). Rather, it was permitted to them (the Noahides), but they will eventually be held accountable as those who have sinned repeatedly. This is discussed in chapter 14. Alternatively, it was permitted to them, but even if they fulfill those commandments, they do not receive reward like those who are commanded to do so, but rather like those who perform a commandment voluntarily, for there are no longer rejected souls for whom it was originally thought that they should not be left without Torah even for a single moment."