Parshat Yitro; Exodus 18:1-20:23 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

The Torah Portion this week, Parshat Yitro contains the central legal document of the Jewish People. It is this week that God proclaims the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Children of Israel on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are the basis for the new society of the Children of Israel and would govern them in the wilderness, once they reached the Promised Land and even until today. The Ten Commandments become the foundation of all of the law, the Halacha. These ten basic rules of living also would become the foundation of the Western legal tradition as well. They are at the core of how we ought to live in the world and their messages are timeless and have as much resonance today as did long ago.

The portion tells us that three months after the Israelites had left slavery in Egypt, in their newfound freedom they bind themselves to a higher purpose and mission by accepting the commandments and accepting this unique covenantal relationship with the One God. “And now if you hearken well to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for Mine is the entire world. You shall be to Me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6).” The children of Israel respond to this offer. “The entire people responded together and said, “Everything that God has spoken we shall do! (Ex. 19:8)” Even before they heard the words of the Ten Commandments, they accepted the covenant on faith and with the power of the miracles they had witness, including the sounds of the shofar blasting forth on Mt. Sinai, the parting of the Red Sea, the provision for food and drink in the desert and of course the exodus from Egypt itself.

This time not just Moses encounters the Divine, or one of the other ancestors, Joseph, Jacob, Isaac, or Abraham. This is a group encounter of God. This is an encounter that the people can see and hear. “On the third day when it was mourning, there was thunder and lightning and a heavy cloud on the mountain and the sound of the Shofar was very powerful and the entire people that was in the camp shuddered (Ex. 19:16). The People experienced God through sound, and sight and then God spoke the words that would change the world--I am Adonai your God who has taken you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery (Ex. 20:1).

The Ten Commandments cover the agreements to honor God and to honor one’s fellow human being. Some have said that the first 5 commandments are specifically focused on the ways we honor God and the last five commandments are specifically in dealing with our relationships with other human beings. The first five commandments dealing with belief in God, a prohibition of idolatry, a prohibition of vain oaths—showing contempt for God, the fourth commandment dealing with honoring God through Shabbat and finally, the fifth commandment honoring ones parents. While the second set of five commandments deal with our relationships in society including the prohibition against murder, the prohibition against adultery, the prohibition against kidnapping, the prohibition against bearing false witnesses and finally, the prohibition against coveting. But each of these honors God, even those dealing with the way we human beings deal with one another. For we are a reflection of the Divine when we treat one another with dignity and respect.

The Ten Commandments continue to be at the core of shaping humanity and the Jewish people. We would do well to hearken to them.

Posted by Lee at January 25, 2005 01:21 PM