The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives. (cont.) Gospel of John, Chapter 8
- Chapter 32 -
The sixth commandment.
Said Helias: "O Lord and Master, see, I am a maiden and have never known a man; therefore it would probably not be the right thing, if I make a remark about the sixth commandment! I therefore would like to ask You, that You, o Lord, spare me to talk about the sixth commandment."
2
Said I: "O My dear daughter, if you secretly did not know anything about this commandment, I would surely not let you talk about it; but since you know this commandment very well, despite not having anything to do with a man, it is quite proper for you to talk also about this commandment. And so can speak in your own manner!"
3
And Helias repeated her motto: "O Lord, who does your will, does not commit a sin! And thus I will talk in a proper manner. 'You shall not commit adultery!' is the literally meaning of the sixth commandment. And according what my rabbi has taught me, it says the following: 'You should behave chaste and pure before God and before people; since who lives and acts unchaste and impure, is a sinner like an adulterer, a lecher and a prostitute!' These were the words my rabbi used when he taught me.
4
I have nothing else to criticise other than, firstly, when Moses wrote the basic commandments in his second book, chapter 20, he only prohibits adultery, although he then in his third book, about from chapter 18 onwards, speaks in great detail about this matter, - which I haven't read yet, since my rabbi decided that it wasn't good for me. And secondly, God gave through Moses this commandment, as well as many others, always addressing the male gender and only very seldom thinking about woman.
5
Who is 'You', who should not commit adultery? The single commandment in the law is only directed to one person or to only one gender, apparently to males, while the woman is not mentioned. One can of course argue and say: If the man is not allowed to commit adultery, then the woman can't do it either, since without a man she cannot sin. But in my opinion, it is in fact the woman which, through her charm, is the most decisive element in provoking the man to commit adultery, and hence, it should be specifically said to the woman, that she should not tempt the man into adultery and should not herself break the marriage.
6
I would like to know why this is so! And why did Moses in the law addresses so much more the man than the woman? Does the woman belong less to the human race than the man?"
7
Said I: "Now, this your criticism is still acceptable, although it also walks only alongside the truth. See, here also the true and pure neighbourly love comes to the foreground, and this concerns the woman in the same way as the man.
8
If you, for example, are the wife of a decent man, - would it make you happy if the wife of your neighbour desires your husband and does with him what is not right? If you in your heart certainly would not approve of it, that something like this happens to you, then you must behave towards your neighbour in just the same way as you wish that your neighbour behaves towards you. And what has been said in the law for the man, applies in an equal measure for the woman.
9
God gave only according to the wording the basic commandment to the man alone, just like He gave to the human head the main senses and through them the intellect in the brain. And just as God speaks for the time being only to the mind of man, He also speaks to the man as the head of the woman, since so to speak the wife is the body of the man. If the head of a person becomes illuminated and insightful, - will not in the same measure the whole body becomes insightful?
10
If the mind of the person becomes properly illuminated, then soon also the heart of a person becomes illuminated, which will with pleasure submit to the orderly reason of the mind. But the wife also corresponds to the heart of the man; and if the man as the head is properly illuminated, equally will also the wife as his heart become and be illuminated.
11
Since ancient times it is written that man and woman are one body. Therefore, what has been said to the man, is also said to the woman.
12
And see, by that, I have shown to you the nullity of this your doubt and have shown you the right light of the law, which you have certainly comprehended well. And since that has been properly understood, you can continue with your criticism."