For this commandment which I command you this day, is not hidden from you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it. (Deut. 30:11-14)
How is it understood?
Raba expounded, ‘It is not in heaven’, it is not to be found with him who, because he possesses some knowledge of it, towers in his pride as high as the heavens, ‘[neither is it beyond the sea’] it is not found with him who, because of some knowledge of it, is as expansive in his self-esteem as the sea.R. Johanan expounded: ‘It is not in heaven’, it is not to be found among the arrogant;Humility in knowledge.‘neither is it beyond the sea’, it is not to be found among merchants or dealers.
And speaking of knowledge, we get back to the Sabbath boundaries around a town. How is the imaginary 2000 cubit limit to be drawn? It is based on the shape of the town itself:
Our Rabbis taught: How are the sabbath boundaries of towns extended?
[If a town is] long the sabbath limits are measured from its normal boundaries.
If it is round corners are added to it.
If it is square no corners are added to it.
If it was wide on one side and narrow on the other it is regarded as if both its sides were equal.
If one house projected like a turret, or if two houses projected like two turrets, they are to be treated as if a thread had been drawn beside them in a straight line, and the two thousand cubits are measured from that line outwards.
If the town was shaped like a bow or like a gamma, it is to be regarded as if it had been full of houses and courtyards, and the two thousand cubits are measured from the imaginary boundaries outwards.
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