תמונה הרב דוד אוחיון (2)
Country: ארצות הברית

Question

 

Why does it appear in the Torah that during an oath they would place the hand under the thigh?

Answer

We find in two places in the book of Genesis that the ‘avot’ asked to put your hand under my thigh and to swear by the name of God.

The first time was Avraham who asked Eliezer his slave to go find yitzchak a wife, as mentioned in the beginning of chapter 24, verse 2.

The second time is with our forefather yaakav, who asked his son yosef not to bury him in Egypt but to bring his coffin to the Land of Israel. Genesis chapter 47, verse 2.

Two annotations were made in the commentaries, the first being that this position of placing the hand under the thigh symbolizes enslavement and commitment as a slave to the master to do what he commands.

The second explanation is, that during the oath in the name of hashem, it is necessary to hold an object of mitzvah in the hand such as a Torah scroll or tefillin, etc., and since in the time of our forefathers there were no objects of mitzvah, they would place the hand under the thigh to symbolize the mitzvah of circumcision.

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Rabbi David Ohayon

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