Yithro: the Ten Commandments

 

The ten commandments are the most catholic section of the Torah.  The idea of a set of fundamental rules with a Divine  origin underlies Jewish derived religion. Parshath Yithro gives the origin story.

 

Yithro had met Moses when he was a fugitive from a manslaughter that he had committed in Egypt. The prohibition on killing another person was one of the first laws, established by the uninformed counterexample of Cain. Societal retribution for murder was one of the laws that Gd had given Noah and his offspring after the flood ( the prior Divine declaration of civil law). Yithro now saw this outlaw (who had abandoned his wife can children [how the relationship is introduced]) as the great prophet and leader of a great multitude.  Yithro knew that Moses had a strange relationship with the rules. Moses’ violation of the regulations at the well brought Moses to his home and family.

 

Yithro suggests the law be democratized.

וְהִזְהַרְתָּ֣ה אֶתְהֶ֔ם אֶת־הַחֻקִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַתּוֹרֹ֑ת וְהוֹדַעְתָּ֣ לָהֶ֗ם אֶת־הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ יֵ֣לְכוּ בָ֔הּ וְאֶת־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲשֽׂוּן׃  

and enjoin upon them the laws and the teachings, and make known to them the way they are to go and the practices they are to follow.

Up until now, People did what they thought was right, balancing the self service with the common good as they saw fit.  They had been trained to follow the instructions of their masters. Now there were no masters. Conflicts arose. Moses, who channeled the powers of Gd, power that overthrew Pharaoh, could enforce his decisions. The people turned to him.  He could protect the weak from the strong, if he so chose. There was no guarantee of fairness, other than disinterest.  There was no assurance of kindness. The law was obscure; it was whatever Moses said. A clear statement of the law, at least the nature of the atoms (of Democritus) that underpinned it, could decrease conflict. An authoritative record of the rules would be available for all as reference. The last 5 commandments  address these issues.

 

Yithro  also suggested  a hierarchy of courts. Public knowledge of the law would not adequately reduce the burden of conflicts.  It might increase it.

The criterion for the judges:

וְאַתָּ֣ה תֶחֱזֶ֣ה מִכׇּל־הָ֠עָ֠ם אַנְשֵׁי־חַ֜יִל יִרְאֵ֧י אֱ אַנְשֵׁ֥י אֱמֶ֖ת שֹׂ֣נְאֵי בָ֑צַע וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ עֲלֵהֶ֗ם שָׂרֵ֤י אֲלָפִים֙ שָׂרֵ֣י מֵא֔וֹת שָׂרֵ֥י חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וְשָׂרֵ֥י עֲשָׂרֹֽת׃   

You shall also seek out from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens,

Truth and an aversion to bribery are the qualities to be selected. No politics.

Yithro supplies a reasoned approach to a problem that he sees.  Gd and Moses turn this into an eternal system. They add spectacle and ritual.

Sinai with its light, sound, earthquakes; the nation as spectators fenced off from the performance -  is the paradigm of the rock concert.  These extravaganzas unify the participants into a tribe, a group with an ineffable collectivity.  The shared experience binds them together. The wishful, terrifying memory of the cloud descending upon the erupting Sinai volcano remains in the dreams of Israel to this day.

The first five commandments do not involve civil law.  The first three deal with Gd and how humans are to relate to the Omnipotent. The declaration אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ , I , establishes the authorship of theses statements and relates the author to the power that brough the Israelites out of Egypt.   The prohibition of idols means that there is no outside source to turn to for appeals. No crazy ideas allowed.  The  name of Gd cannot be associated with falsehood, it may not be coopted.

 

The Sabbath is a revolutionary idea.  It resets priorities: work is not everything. It  limits the power of masters and bosses:

 אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָ֣͏ֽ־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ׃

but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.

It liberates the slaves!

 

Honoring parents is a belief in continuity.  The world changes but there is much to learned from the past.  It takes years to understand that previous generations were not foolish.

 

The brevity of statement of the next four commandments  

לֹ֥֖א תִּֿרְצָ֖͏ֽח׃ {ס}         לֹ֣֖א תִּֿנְאָ֑͏ֽף׃ {ס}         לֹ֣֖א תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ {ס}         לֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר׃ {ס}         

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Implies their equivalence. Each is as evil as murder.

The last commandment:

לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֑ךָ {ס}         לֹֽא־תַחְמֹ֞ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֗ךָ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ וְשׁוֹר֣וֹ וַחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ׃ {פ}

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Asks for an internal correction.  Life is more than a competition.

 

It is all mixed up: Authority, fairness, respect, ritual.  There is value in sorting them out.  There is value in keeping them together