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Sifre Deuteronomy

Halakhic Midrash

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Chapter 49

(Devarim 11:22) "to walk in His ways": Which are the ways of the Holy One Blessed be He? (Shemoth 34:6-7) "The L-rd, the L-rd, G-d of mercy and grace, slow to wrath and abundant in mercy and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving transgression, offense, and sin, and cleansing …" And it is written (Yoel 3:5) "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape": Now how is it possible for a man to be called by the name of the Holy One Blessed be He? But, (the intent is) just as the L-rd is called "merciful and gracious," you, too, be merciful and gracious, and give gratuitously to all.⁠ Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "righteous," viz. (Psalms 145:17) "Righteous is the L-rd in all His ways and saintly in all His acts" — you, too, be righteous. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "saintly," — you, too, be saintly. This is the intent of "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape." And it is written (Isaiah 43:7) "… everyone that is called by My name. For My honor I have created him, and formed him, and fashioned him." And it is written (Proverbs 16:4) "The L-rd has created all for His sake." (Devarim, Ibid.) "and to cleave to Him": How is it possible for a man to ascend the heights and cleave to Him? Is it not written (Ibid. 4:24) "For the L-rd your G-d is a consuming fire"? and (Daniel 8:9) "His throne was like a fiery flame and its wheels like burning fire"? But, (the intent is) cleave to the sages and to the disciples, and I will account it to you as if you had ascended the heights and had taken it (the Torah). And not as if you had taken it peacefully, but as if you had waged war and taken it.⁠ And thus is it written (Psalms 68:19) "You ascended on high; you took spoils; you took gifts for man." The expounders of metaphor say: Do you wish to recognize the One who spoke and brought the world into being? Learn haggadah. For if you do so, you will come to recognize the Holy One Blessed be He and cleave to His ways. And if you do yours, then I will do Mine, (Devarim 11:23) "and the L-rd will drive out, etc."

Texts in conversation

Compare Luke 6:36 and Sifre Deuteronomy 49

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

In Luke 6, Jesus teaches that being merciful is a way to imitate God, a theme also found in Sifre Deuteronomy and other Rabbinic traditions that urge people to be merciful and gracious because God is merciful and gracious.

Passages

Luke 6:36

New Testament
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

Sifre Deuteronomy 49

Rabbinic · Halakhic Midrash
(Devarim 11:22) "to walk in His ways": Which are the ways of the Holy One Blessed be He? (Shemoth 34:6-7) "The L-rd, the L-rd, G-d of mercy and grace, slow to wrath and abundant in mercy and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving transgression, offense, and sin, and cleansing …" And it is written (Yoel 3:5) "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape": Now how is it possible for a man to be called by the name of the Holy One Blessed be He? But, (the intent is) just as the L-rd is called "merciful and gracious," you, too, be merciful and gracious, and give gratuitously to all. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "righteous," viz. (Psalms 145:17) "Righteous is the L-rd in all His ways and saintly in all His acts" — you, too, be righteous. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "saintly," — you, too, be saintly. This is the intent of "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape." And it is written (Isaiah 43:7) "… everyone that is called by My name. For My honor I have created him, and formed him, and fashioned him." And it is written (Proverbs 16:4) "The L-rd has created all for His sake." (Devarim, Ibid.)
200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sifre Deuteronomy

References

"... In addition to the idea that benefactors are rewarded (or punished if they refuse to give), the notion that people who give alms are imitating God is also presented in rabbinic texts. In the Mekhilta De-Rabbi Ishmael, we read: אבא שאול אומר אדמה לו מה הוא רחום וחנון אף אתה רחום וחנון. Abba Shaul says: I shall be like Him. As He is gracious and merciful, so [shall] you [be] gracious and merciful. (Mekhilta De-Rabbi Ishmael, Tractate Shirata 3; Horvitz-Rabin 127) ... (A very similar teaching occurs in the New Testament: 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.' Luke 6:36) ... This teaching occurs again as a baraita in the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Peah 1:1, 15b), immediately preceding the story of a rabbi who wanted to distribute all of his property to the poor, and the story about King Monbaz. In later Amoraic texts - especially Qoheleth Rabbah (7:2-3) - this idea is developed further, in reference to gemilut ḥasadim (acts of lovingkindness) and specific categories for which God acts as a model. Whereas Tannaitic and Amoraic texts emphasize both the concept that those who support the poor imitate God and the promise that great rewards (whether in this world or in the world to come) are secured for those who give to the poor, in Amoraic midrashim we also find teachings that describe an interdependence between the wealthy and the poor ..."
Yael Wilfand, “Poverty, Charity and the Image of the Poor in Rabbinic Texts from the Land of Israel” (PhD diss., Duke University, 2011), 249–250.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Luke 6:36 and Sifre Deuteronomy 49

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