The Torah houses the Decalogue. Thus, within the Pentateuch’s 613 Commandments, the Ten Commandments is a subset. The Decalogue’s location gives rise to an Orwellian query: “Are some Commandments more equal than others?”
According to the Torah Portion Va’etchanan, the answer is “yes”. The Ten Commandments are different from the others. Moses explain why in his final address to the Children of Israel. The difference touches on the very essence of civilization.
Historical Background
Around 1200 BCE, civilization in the Near East and Mediterranean collapsed. See Cline, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed.
During this period, the Israelites emerged onto the scene. 1208 BCE marked their first historical reference. Egyptian engages with them in the Levant. It was recorded on the Merneptah Stele.
Thus, the Israelite society formed at a time when regional civilization was resetting.
Va’etchanan, A Worthy Portion
Before offering the commandment distinction, it is worthy to note the treasures located within the Portion Va’etchanan. There is the Ten Commandments’ repetition. Deut 5:6-21. Also, there is the “Shema,” the Hebrew nation’s monotheistic declaration. (“Hear of Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One.” Deut 6:4)
The Answer
Moses, in his lecture, observes: “And He told you His covenant that He commanded you to do, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tablets of stones.
And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you laws and judgments, for you to do them in the land to which you’re crossing to take possession of it.” Deuteronomy 4:13
Moses separates the covenant from the other laws and judgments. Commentator Richard Elliott Friedman points out this distinction.
Professor Friedman notes that the “violation of them [the Ten Commandments] by the community (for example, widespread pagan worship or injustice) risks the breaking of the covenant. They are the essence of the covenant.” Commentary, P. 576.
Thus, the Ten Commandments is essentially a contract with a morality clause. The difference being that it is a group versus individual contract.
Community
Friedman’s notion of community is further supported within Va’etchanan.
Later in the portion, Moses notes “The Lord, our God, had made a covenant with us at Horeb (Mt. Sinai.) The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us! We! These! Here! Today! All of us! Living! Face-to face, the Lord spoke with you at the mountain from inside the fire.” Deut 5:2-4.
The Mt. Sinai event constituted a moment in time. It was a community event that would not be repeated. Like a marriage ceremony, each particular matrimony only happens once. It was a Pandora’s box unleashing morality, ethics and values.
Thus, even Deuteronomy’s Ten Commandments’ recitation in Va’etchanan is a simply a recitation.
Religious Significance
A particular religious belief is explained by this rationale. There is a Midrash asserting that all Jewish souls were present at Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. See Tanchuma.
This belief appreciates the moment and everyone’s connection to the bargain. With that Mt. Sinai moment, the nation collectively understood that the community’s well-being was tied to adherence to a particular moral code.
Modern Secular Implications
Nations have building blocks. They are built from cities. Within cities, there are communities.
When communities fail, societal decline follows. Theft, murder and the family deterioration are elements that bring communities down and leave cities in ruin.
On the other hand, a nation’s good health occurs when communities adhere to core values.
Core Value Sources
The Ten Commandments present as core values promoting community. Some of these values are derived from more ancient civilizations.
In other words, not all of the Ten Commandments’ provisions are unique. Tried and true staples from older civilizations are part of the Decalogue.
Thus, the Ten Commandments integrated older core values with some innovations. In doing so, it created a “new and improved” set of core community values. It redefined both communal living and civilization.
Conclusion
In sum, Va’etchanan advances the notion that the Ten Commandments are not simply an individual’s code of conduct. Rather, they are also a covenant. As such, they constitute core community values.
Communities are arguably the building blocks of cities which are the building blocks of nations. Thus, community core value compliance is existential for a nation.
Be well!!
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The issue of the judicial ruling “null and void”. touching the Rambam, Tur, Shulkan Aruch, and the whole of Orthodox Judaism which bases halacha upon Roman statute law, does the halachic posok of statute law qualify as Oral Torah?
Answer: No it does not. The Karaim because they had no פרדס logic system had to create their own interpretations. For example: having visited a Karaite bet knesset in the Old City of Jerusalem I saw with my own eyes their version of the Torah commandment mezuzah. The Karaite religion makes the Xtian 10 commandments as their mezuzah. No that’s not the mitzva of mezuzah any more that the Rambam, Tur, or Shulkan Aruch codes of halachah compare to the Talmud as the Oral Torah.
A complex issue related to Jewish law (halacha) and its interpretation. Basically what’s at issue, the distinctions and differences between judicial common law which has legislative review veto and overwatch of any and all statute laws passed by any Parliament, Congress, President or king. Specifically, statue laws passed by any government body do not equal nor compare to the authority of judicial common law rulings which have the power to not only annul a statute law, but can re-write the statute law such that the re-written judical legislative review new law meets the Constitutional requirements which the Courts so interpret and determine.
Judicial common law stands upon the foundations of פרדס, a kabbalah as taught by rabbi Akiva who learned this 4 part inductive reasoning logic from the P’rushim. The P’rushim preceded the rabbis of the Talmud. They fought a Civil War, remembered by lighting the eight lights of Hanukkah, and defeated the Tzeddukim assimilated and intermarried priests during the ancient Greek kingdom in Syria.
The Greek empire dates back to the time when Alexander the Greek conquered the Persian empire. Following Alexander’s death, two Greek kingdom’s one based in Alexandria Egypt and the other based in Damascus Syria. Both Greek kingdom’s went into decline as the Roman empire’s star rose. Cleopatria VII ruled as the last Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the days of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Syrian Empire during the 2nd century BCE. He is known for his oppressive policies against the Jewish people, which led to the Maccabean Revolt.
This revolt, commemorated by the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Which remembers & celebrates the rededication of Ezra’s Temple in Jerusalem after the successful uprising against Antiochus’s rule. Pardes (פרדס), the kabbalah which the P’rushim taught to rabbis Akiva, Yishmael, Yossi Ha’Galilee – basically all rabbinic opinions expressed throughout the 20 volume Talmud: This refers to a methodology of Jewish interpretation that consists of four levels of understanding: Peshat (simple meaning), Remez (hinted meaning), Drash (interpretative meaning), and Sod (secret or mystical meaning).
Pardes inductive logic – foundational to Talmudic reasoning. Pardes inductive logic stands on the opposite, so to speak, pole of Greek – Plato & Aristotle’s – 3 part syllogism deductive reasoning system. The assimilated Tzeddukim directly compare to the later Karaite Jews, in that both sects rejected the Oral Torah Pardes logic format. Both sought to replace Pardes inductive reasoning with Greek deductive reasoning to authoritatively interpret the intent of Torah commandments.
For example the Roman New Testament relies upon Greek logic to interpret T’NaCH verses that the Oral Torah Pardes logic system would never permit. The contrast between judicial common law and Greek/Roman statute law parallels deeper philosophical discussions about authority and interpretation within Jewish tradition. The historical struggles between different methodologies and influences shaped the legal and religious landscape, influencing how Jewish law understood and practiced through more than two millennia, since Moshe Rabbeinu first instructed Israel in this unique prophetic mussar legal system.
Justice Justice pursue defines the “FAITH” of Torah common law. Greek rhetoric by stark contrast employs theology and cults of personality as the basis of how the ancient Greek City State of Athens ruled the mob “democracy” of that particular ancient Greek polis/City State. The assimilated Tzeddukim Jews abandoned or “forgot” the Oral Torah which sparked the Hanukkah Civil War. Like the Xtians seek to convert Jews to believe in their 3 part Nicene Creed Gods so too the Tzeddukim sought to convert Jerusalem into a Greek polis and accept the Greek syllogism deductive reasoning as “the Way” (like Jesus described himself as such) to understand the T’NaCH. The Rambam Tur Shulkan Aruch halacha compare to the Shamash candle during Hanukkah.
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