Session Twelve, Verses 58 and 59, The Five Parts of Verse 58, Part Two

Session Twelve

Verses 58 and 59 – The Five Parts of Verse 58 – Part Two: “And Eat Freely Therein Wherever You Wish” – Point One: A Non-Obligatory Command – Point Two: The Meaning of Eating – Point Three: How the Children of Israel Responded to This Command

November 12, 2024

Summary of the Previous Session

We have noted that verses 58 and 59 comprise several parts; verse 58 contains five parts. The first part was discussed: “And [recall] when We said: Enter this town” («وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ»); we set forth various points concerning this part of verse 58.

Part Two: “And Eat Freely Therein Wherever You Wish”

This part likewise contains certain points, some of which we shall now address. The meaning of this passage of verse 58 is as follows: so eat — that is, make use of the blessings that exist in this town, whatever you wish, in abundance — that is, a command to make use of the blessings present in that region, and to do so in an abundant and extensive manner, partaking of delightful blessings without restriction. This, in fact, addresses the restriction they had previously experienced, both in terms of scarcity and abundance — that is, in terms of quantity — and in terms of quality and variety. In any case, during their forty years of wandering and bewilderment in that land, they had been subjected to various restrictions. Here God is, as it were, saying: now that you have entered this town and taken up residence in it, those restrictions are lifted; you may make use of God’s blessings however you wish, in an extensive and abundant manner. It is clear that, on the basis of this very command and statement, it becomes evident that the command to enter this town was, in fact, a command to settle there; when the verse states, “And [recall] when We said: Enter this town, and eat freely therein wherever you wish” («وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا»), this does not mean that you should enter this town, make use of this blessing, and then return; rather, it states: enter and take up residence there, and partake of the abundant and delightful blessings of that land. This is a general explanation regarding this part of the verse.

Point One: A Non-Obligatory Command

Among the points and matters that must be addressed within this part, one concerns this command itself. This command, following the mention of the command to enter this town, is not an obligatory command, in contrast to the command to enter — “And [recall] when We said: Enter this town” («وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ») — which was an obligatory command, as we have already explained in connection with the first part. This command, however, is not obligatory; that is, you are permitted to make use of the abundant and delightful blessings of this land.

It is clear why this command is not obligatory. For were it intended as an obligatory command — that you must eat as much as you wish, in abundance — this would amount to an imposition of an obligation beyond capacity, which is fundamentally meaningless as a command and would be inconsistent with the rest of the divine commands.

Point Two: The Meaning of Eating

The command to eat is, in fact, an allusion to making use of something, as in the verse “And do not consume your wealth among yourselves unjustly” («وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ»); there, where it says do not consume your wealth by unjust means, what is meant is not literal eating; that is, do not make use of your wealth, which exists among you, through unjust means. Here, too, what is meant is not eating in particular, but rather any form of making use of the divine blessings — naturally, the manner of use varying according to the nature of each particular blessing.

Point Three: How the Children of Israel Responded to This Command

A further point concerns the response of the Children of Israel to this command. Of these several commands which God mentions in these two verses, the only command that was obeyed was this very command; God commanded them to enter the town; He commanded them to enter through a specific gate in a state of humility and reverence; and He commanded them to utter a specific remembrance, or to seek forgiveness and request the remission of sin. The Children of Israel, however, true to their habitual conduct, opposed all of these commands, with the exception of the command “And eat freely therein wherever you wish” («فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا»). They opposed the command to enter this town, for they began to dispute with God. They had carried out one stage of disputation in an earlier stage and had opposed God’s command there; here too, in a different form. With regard to the command to enter through the gate of that region in a state of humility and reverence, they likewise opposed this, for they entered arrogantly and proudly. As for God’s instruction that they utter this statement (we shall explain this further in due course) — that is, to seek the forgiveness of sins from God, to seek pardon, and to ask God to remit their sins — they defied this as well, and the only command among this set of commands and instructions that they obeyed was this very command, “And eat freely therein wherever you wish” («فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا»).

This, too, was because partaking of blessing and making use of material blessings — particularly in that region replete with bounty and blessing — corresponded precisely to the temperament of the Children of Israel; the Children of Israel, given to ease and comfort and not inclined toward effort and struggle, received this command with great readiness, since it accorded with their comfort-seeking temperament and their inclination toward enjoyment and benefit from God’s blessings; this command they obeyed quite well, and indeed acted beyond what they had been commanded — they did this to a greater degree than what had been made permissible for them. This was a matter entirely clear and evident in the case of the Children of Israel; whenever it was time for struggle, they made excuses; when war arose, they made excuses; but when it was a matter of enjoyment and benefit, all of them readily entered in and partook.

Perhaps no further point needs to be addressed in this passage of the verse, and what was necessary has now been set forth.

Topic of the Next Session

God willing, in the coming session we shall explain the third part of the verse, namely “and enter through the gate prostrating” («وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا»).