Broken Tablets

Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves

Rachel S. Mikvah, Rachel S. Mikvah

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781580237024
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

Let the Ten Commandments command your imagination … and enrich your life.

When the Holy One gave the Torah, no bird chirped, no fowl flew, no ox lowed, not one angel stirred its wing or sang its song. The sea did not roar, creatures did not speak—the whole world was hushed into breathless silence; it was then that the voice went forth: "I am the Lord your God…"
—Exodus Rabba 29: 9

Even people who claim not to be "religious" will generally maintain that they do observe the Ten Commandments. Why is it that these ten statements, thousands of years old, continue to have such a special hold on us?

Here, twelve outstanding spiritual leaders from across the spectrum of Jewish thought bring us to the life and soul of the Ten Commandments' unusual power. In voices that are personal and diverse, they help us take a closer look at the ten utterances that not only touch every aspect of our lives, but also present each of us with a profound challenge.

Contributors include:

Eugene B. Borowitz • Leonard Fein • Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer • Laura Geller •
Lawrence A. Hoffman • Menachem Kellner • Peter S. Knobel • Richard N. Levy • Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi • Levi Weiman-Kelman

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: BY RABBI LAWRENCE KUSHNER
• Perspectives on the Ten Words: BY RABBI RACHEL S. MIKVA
• 1. The First Commandment: I, Adonai your God, [am the one] who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from a slavehouse.
• 2. The Second Commandment: Have no other god before Me….
• 3. The Third Commandment: You shall not lift up the name of Adonai your God for vain purpose, for Adonai will not clear one who uses the Name in vain.
• 4. The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy….
• 5. The Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged on the soil that Adonai your God is giving you.
• 6. The Sixth Commandment: You shall not murder.
• 7. The Seventh Commandment: You shall not commit adultery.
• 8. The Eighth Commandment: You shall not steal.
• 9. The Ninth Commandment: You shall not answer against your neighbor as a false witness.
• 10. The Tenth Commandment: 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.
• Sources and Notes
• About the Contributors
• About the Editor
• Copyright
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