By Khen Lim
Image Source: earnthis.net
1. Ten Words
The Torah does not call them the Ten Commandments. “Aseret
had’varim” means “the ten words” (Ex 34:28, Dt 4:13, 10:40 or “aseret
hadibrot,” which is “the ten sayings.” That is why the Jewish Talmud begins
with Ex 20:2, with God’s declaration that is decidedly more of a statement than
a commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
2. Sacrificial recitation
The Ten Commandments were historically part of a recitation
ritual, that was a daily sacrificial temple tradition but were taken off by
rabbis when they created the worship service. According to Brachot 12, the
people wanted to re-cite them outside the temple but were prevented by some
sectarians resulting in the rabbis abandoning the part they played in the daily
prayers outside the temple.
3. Different versions
Other than Exodus 20 and 34 and Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments
also appears in Leviticus 19, according to the rabbis (Leviticus Rabbah 24:5).
The order of the commandments including their wording in Leviticus vary. In a
few instances, the identification can stretch a little of our imagination.
Here’s one example: The famous “You shall not murder” could be reflected
in Leviticus 19:16 as, “Do not stand by the blood of your neighbour.”
4. The Judeo-Christian split
Beyond the agreement that there are Ten Commandments (or
Statements), they don’t necessarily share the order or even the starting point.
Judaists insist the beginning is Exodus 20:2 in which God says He is the Lord
our God. As we know, Christians disagree but how did we still end up with ten?
The Catholics go one more creative step by dividing the commandment on
covetousness into two. For Christians, “You shall have no other gods before
Me” (v.3) is distinct from the one to do with making idols (v.4). On the
other hand the Judaists and Catholics put those two together and call them one
commandment. By now, it’s not surprising if you have twisted yourself around
the bend!
5. The problem with the Gematria
In Jewish genealogy (gematria), the word ‘Torah’ has a
numerological value of 611; however the rabbinical enumeration suggests 613 due
to the commandments in the Torah. The additional 2 come from the teaching of the
first two of the Ten Commandments, which are considered significant because
they were spoken directly by God while the others were transmitted through
Moses. Not that any of this is critical from the Protestant perspective though…
6. Chanting the Commandments
The Jewish do approach the Ten Commandments by either chanting
or reading or both during a worship service and apparently there are different
ways to do either. In the case of chanting, each commandment is chanted as if
it were a single verse. But when the text is read or studied, each verse is
distinct and the trope is treated individually.
7. Displaying the Commandments
Apparently 19th Century Reform Judaists have begun a recent
innovation of displaying the Ten Commandments above the ark in their synagogues
but it certainly hasn’t been without controversy and some gnashing of teeth.
8. Reward-laced Commandment
Of the commandments in the Torah, the one that commands us to
honour our parents promises a reward. Exodus 20:12 says, “Honour your father
and your mother” while the second part is very telling, “that your days
may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”
Deuteronomy 5:16 adds a second promise, “and that it
may go well with you…” Rabbinical Judaism approaches this with great
importance with the Talmud saying that there is reward not just in this world
but in the one to come as well (Shabbat 127a).
9. ‘Stealing’ ain’t just Stealing
When it comes to “You shall not steal,” the rabbis are of the
opinion that it does not point to possessions but to kidnapping. They
point to Leviticus 19:11, which refers to the stealing of property while, on
the other hand, the Ten Commandments refers to one of fellow human beings.
The rabbis take this stand because the Ten Commandments list
stealing as among murder and adultery (vv.13-15); the latter both of which are
crimes against humanity.
10. Underlying Meaning of ‘Covet’
The forbiddance of ‘coveting’ is also not straightforward.
Rabbis have been concern with the depth of its meaning, rationalising that its needs
on the surface where
the word appears to refer to a thought or a feeling rather than a behavioural
trait. The Jewish approach teaches that a desire for an object can lead
to stealing and a desire for another man’s spouse can likewise lead to sinful
adultery or in some cases, even murder.
Interesting facts
concerning the Ten Commandments shouldn’t just remain ‘interesting.’ There is
much we can learn from them. In the near future, we will dig deep and discover
more in order that we enrich ourselves with an experiential understanding of
the Ten Commandments.
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