The Kosher Bookworm: The Ten Commandments in history and commentary

With last week’s Torah reading encompassing a summary of the essence of the Ten Commandments and with Lag Ba’omer this coming Sunday, we are each day becoming ever more mindful of the oncoming of the festival of Shavuot, the holiday commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. This week’s essay is themed to this event that defines the core of our faith and very existence.

In his essay entitled, “How to Divide the Ten Commandments” [vbm-torah.org/Shavuot] Jerusalem’s distinguished Rabbi Alex Israel teaches us, through internal investigation, the unusual format and unique message that is seen through the Torah’s method of presentment of the format of the Ten Commandments.

“The Ten Commandments are maybe the best-known of all Jewish laws. They are perceived widely as a universal code of ethics. Within Judaism, they are one of the most prominent symbols of faith, with the two tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments adorning synagogues and other Jewish ritual objects. Clearly, the Decalogue has a very central role.”

In discussing the Ten Commandments, Rabbi Israel goes into great detail concerning the internal organization of the text of these commandments by describing stylistic differences, citing the Sefer Hachinuch’s teachings, the creation role of one’s mother and father, a centerpiece of teaching within the heart of the commandment’s text. As to its placement within the text, Rabbi Israel explains to us the following:

“Respect for parents is a commandment which naturally leads us to revere G-d. If respect for parents is based on the enormous unrepayable debt that we owe them – for our very existence, for all their worry and care – then we owe G-d all of that and more. The command of reverence for parents sits well in the first section [bain adam l’makom]. It relates more to G-d than to man.”

The essay’s narrative further elucidates the rationale of the Biblical text’s organization, its thematic unity, social laws, the contrasting roles of G-d and Moshe, the drama of the revelation, and the role that love and fear play in this whole episode.

Rabbi Israel concludes his teaching with the following extended observation:

“The revelation at Sinai is THE encounter with G-d. It is there that we begin a covenant which has lasted to this day. It would make sense if that covenant were a true reflection of the realities of faith. In our relationships with G-d we experience something of a dialectic between the love and fear of G-d. At times we experience a fear, an apprehension about religion, and we run away, only to look back from a distance. At times we are attracted to G-d and all that is holy. We wish only to bask in the light of the Divine and connect with His path. This existential reality is also the story of the Revelation at Sinai. On one hand, there is a barrier to retain the excited crowds, there are demands to ‘see’ G-d, to experience Him in a direct way. And then, there is the fright of His enormous power.”

With the above as prologue, we now come to the main literary event for this week, “The Ten Commandments,” a comprehensive and in-depth presentation of this sacred text.

Published in Israel in 2005 by the Taryag Legacy Foundation, this work is edited by Rabbi David Wax. This work of 400 pages consists of one of the most detailed English commentaries of the text of the Ten Commandments that is endorsed by some of the leading Jewish educators, among them, Rabbi Charles Abramchik, Rabbi Yaakov Bender, Rabbi Mordechai Besser, Rabbi Oscar Ehenreich, Rabbi Joseph Elias, and Rabbi Jonathan Rietti.

Among a few of the leading rabbinical leaders who have given their endorsements to this sacred work are Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Rabbi Eli Mansour, Rabbi Herschel Billet, Rabbi David Weinberger, Rabbi Moshe Weinberger, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Rabbi Yisrael Belsky, Rabbi Reuven Feinstein and Rabbi David Cohen.

The content of this sacred text consist of the following structure of organization:

1.The basic mitzvah, followed by a broader look at the laws;

2.A broader look at the laws involved;

3.Situation in Halachah;

4.The blessings for the mitzvah;

5.Suggested reasons for the mitzvah;

6.Stories, parables and insights;

7.The count of the mitzvahs

Among the rabbis and works referenced for this book are:

Sefer Hachinuch, Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvot, R. Saadiah Gaon, Sefer Mitzvoth Gadol, Baal Halachot Gedolot and Sefer Yereim. When taken together with all the other unnamed works, we have a total of over 1000 years of scholarship represented within this work. It is truly sophisticated, well written, and detailed, having a depth of content that will just about satisfy anyone seeking a good teaching of the Ten Commandments.

In his introduction, the editor stated the following as his goal: “A solid knowledge of the Taryag Mitzvot provides a grasp of the entire Torah. The study of the suggested reasons for the mitzvoth and their deeper meanings imbues their performance with a richness of understanding and feeling that enables the performer to reach new heights of commitment and devotion with each repeated performance. Just about everyone can learn the Taryag Mitzvot with relative ease over a reasonably short time and thereby gain a panoramic view of the Torah as a whole.”

I conclude with the following teachings from Parashat Kedoshim by Rabbi Alex Israel, entitled, “G-d in the Real World” [vbm-torah.org] where he asks, “Why repeat the Ten Commandments in a new expanded form?” The rabbi answers: “Because the great principles which were given amidst fire and cloud must translate themselves into regulations which guide our every step in the prosaic rhythm of the everyday. We do not require a Sinai to experience the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are for life. We experience them on a regular basis through our dedicated adherence to Jewish law, an entire code for living which touches every sphere of human activity….Judaism celebrates life. It infiltrates and regulates the way that the ordinary person lives.”