|
Monday, February 20, 2006
|
TEN COMMANDMENTS
The Ten Commandments, the core of laws from the revelation on Mount Sinai, were
given to the Israelites on two stone tablets on the third month after the exodus
from Egypt (50 days after Passover). We find the Ten Commandments listed in
Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5.
Commandments regarding God:
1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
2. You shall not make for yourself idols. You shall not worship them or
serve them.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Commandments regarding others:
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
The first four commandments are our commitment to God. We are forbidden to
worship idols or to misuse or insult the name of God. We are commanded to keep
the Sabbath day holy. The next six commandments are moral laws regarding our
relationship with fellow men. We are to respect our parents and we are forbidden
to murder, commit adultery, steal or lie.
The sages write that the last five commandments are valid for non-Jews.
Furthermore, they say that the juxtaposition of two stones of five commandments
is significant. For example, the second commandment (You shall have no other
gods before Me) and the seventh commandment (You shall not commit adultery) are
directly comparable.
(More in israel today from February 2006)
|
|
| Back to Judaism Lexicon |