All Questions
Tagged with ten-commandments or aseres-hadibros
120 questions
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Why do the tablets say "זכור את" and "כבד את" instead of "זכור" and "כבד"?
In the common representation of the Mosaic Tablets, why do they say "זכור את" and "כבד את" instead of "זכור" and "כבד"?
- 5,104
3
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1
answer
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Punishment for false testimony favoring the accused
One of the Ten Commandments is: "Don't give false testimony". This is generally understood as falsely testifying the accused is guilty, when he is innocent. One penalty is that the false ...
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4
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1
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What was given on Mt. Sinai at each of the 40-day intervals
It's known that Moshe was on the mountain for 120 days and nights total, although I personally am not sure exactly what was given when.
(I'm aware of this question How is the story of the Torah being ...
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2
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How were the ten commandments relayed technically?
It says in parsha Vo'eschanan that after the first two commandments, the Jews went to Moshe and said that it was too much and God said okay, (essentially,) "tell them to go to their tents and you ...
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Why the Har Sinai revelation only included commandments?
During the Har Sinai revelation, God spoke to the nation only the Ten Commandments. He could, for example, give a very different speech, for example, include theology, as He did with Job (38.1):
&...
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Why the prohibition of idolatry doesn't stem from the Mitzvah of loving God?
The second commandment of the Ten, prohibits idolatry out of God's jealousy and harsh multi-generational punishment.
In the current era of romanticism, jealousy usually arises from deep love and ...
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2
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What was actually written on the two tablets?
The two versions of the 10 Commandments (one in Yitro and the 2nd in Va'etchanan) have different phrasing, most notably in commandments 4, 5 and 10.
What was actually written on the two tablets?
Some ...
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Why "לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים" uses singular יִהְיֶה?
Regarding singular יהיה in "לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים" in both versions of the Ten COmmandments.
Does it mean that "אלוהים אחרים" is singular as in "כִּי מִי־גוֹי ...
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0
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Textual non-uniformity of the Ten Commandments
The first apparent impression of reading the Ten Commandments is how they vary in phrasing:
some are just two words, links "don't murder", "don't [commit] adultery", or "don'...
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Who else says the Jews violated the Ten Commandments during the first Temple
I always understood, based on the gemarra in Yoma 9b, that the Jews were guilty of the three cardinal sins during the First Temple period (murder, illicit relations, and idol worship). However, I ...
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3
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Prosecuting for the prohibition of coveting
In the times of the Sanhedrin and when courts existed in Eretz Yisrael, how were people found guilty of violating the commandment, 'לֹא תַחְמֹד בֵּית רֵעֶךָ לֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ וְעַבְדּוֹ ...
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1
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Why does Rambam learn the prohibition for adultery from Parashat Acharei Mot and not Yitro?
Yitro contains 16 mitzvos according to Rambam. Most of them are linked to the 10 commandments but notably one commandment is missing: adultery.
Instead he learns this prohibition from Acharei Mot:
...
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1
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What is the holiest "thing" ever? [closed]
Obviously besides for God Himself, and also perhaps the greatest tzadiqim (righteous people) in history, what else is considered the holiest "thing" ever? (Is it the two luhoth (tablets)? If ...
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Prophetic status of all Israelites in the wilderness
Given the traditional understanding that God spoke the Ten Commandments directly to the entirety of the people of Israel at Mount Sinai (Deut 5.19), two questions arise:
is the Exodus generation that ...
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Why were the broken Luchos not in the Aron that was in the Kodesh Hakodoshim
in Bamidbar 10:33 the Pasuk says:
וַיִּסְעוּ֙ מֵהַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה דֶּ֖רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַאֲר֨וֹן בְּרִית־יְהֹוָ֜ה נֹסֵ֣עַ לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם דֶּ֚רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים לָת֥וּר לָהֶ֖ם מְנוּחָֽה׃
They ...
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2
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Is the 3rd commandment of "uttering God's name in vain" referenced anywhere in the Tanakh?
I'm looking for any signs of the awareness of this prohibition in the Tanakh. Note that there are additional explicit Biblical prohibitions such as "You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so ...
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2
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1
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Punishment for making a statue of YHWH and worshipping/bowing to it
After reading "The Origins of Judaism, An Archaeological Historical Reappraisal" by Dr. Yonathan Adler, I understood that the practice of not making images of God/gods changed rather ...
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Why is the prohibition against coveting (לא תחמוד) considered to be the greatest and most difficult commandment?
While writing an answer to the question of whether the War of Gog and Magog has occurred already (https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/143162/7303), a very significant idea was mentioned, which ...
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Does Lying, Except in Court Testimony, Violate the Ninth Commandment?
Am I transgressing the ninth of the 10 Commandments of Moses if I lie, except when giving testimony in court?
In Exodus 20:13 it reads
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
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Why Weren't Zachor and Shamor Written in Each Set of Tablets?
There were two sets of tablets. The text of the first set is recorded in Exodus 20. The Second set is in Deuteronomy 5. The first set states:
זָכוֹר אֶת-יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, לְקַדְּשׁוֹ. Remember the ...
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What happened on the first and third stay of Moshe on Har Sinai?
I understand that Moshe ascended Har Sinai 3 times.
The 1st time was on 6th of Sivan
The 2nd time seems to have occurred after the sin of the Golden Calf, starting on 18 Tamuz and he spent 40 days ...
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Why 2 sets of cantillation marks for the 10 commandments? [duplicate]
There are two sets of ta'amim for the Aseres Hadibros. (We read in the synagogue using Taamei Elyon.) But the ta'amim are supposed to be an aid to understanding. So, what differences in ...
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What did Israel hear at Sinai according to Rambam?
Rambam writes in MT (Yesodei haTorah 8:1 & 8:3) that Israel heard the actual words of the aseres hadibros on par with Moshe.
In the Moreh (2:33) he writes that they only heard an undifferentiated ...
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181
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10 Commandments and Non-Jews
Are there any sources that discuss the non-Jew's connection to and/or obligations regarding the 10 Commandments (i.e. the 10 Dibrot)
I've heard from rather learned (if not conventional) people claim ...
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0
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71
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Do the sages speak on the possibility that the original tablets Moshe Rabbeinu broke may have had different laws on them than the second set?
We're taught that when Moshe descended from Mt. Sinai, he carried with him a first set of tablets which he shattered on the ground at the sight of the Israelites worshipping a golden calf idol.
I have ...
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2
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59
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What was Plan A for the Luchos?
In Devarim we see that the Aron was made for the purpose of storing the Luchos, but those were for the 2nd Luchos (after Moshe broke the first ones). My question is what was Plan A? Meaning when Moshe ...
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Who wrote the second tablets, God or Moshe?
I was reading in the Torah that in one place it says that God wrote the second tablets while other verses says Moshe did Ex 34:27 and Deut 10:1.
What is the explanation to this, since others claim it'...
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The Luchos Connected or separate
Were the Luchos two separate stones or were they connected somehow?
If we look at the versers that discuss the tablets it uses plural and singular language
שמות כ״ד:יב
ויאמר יהוה אל משה עלה אלי ההרה ...
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How many stones of the Luchos were there?
We know there were two sets of tablets that Moshe got. We know that each tablet was double-sided. How many actual side-by-side stones were there in each set? The pictures usually show there were two ...
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1
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Lo Tirtzach: Kamatz or Patach?
Minchat Shai at the beginning of Shemot 20 describes a version of the text of the Decalogue where the tzadi in the word תרצח has both a kamatz and a patach under it. He explains that the kamatz ...
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Source for "Ben Adam Lemakom" and "Ben Adam Lechavero"
Where does the concept of Ben Adam Lemakom and Ben Adam Lechavero come from?
I know there is a concept of the first five of the ten commandments being between 'man and his friend' and the second ...
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1
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Difference between the First and Second Commandments
In the Ten Commandments, the First Commandment prohibits having false gods. The Second Commandment prohibits making carved images. Is the problem with carved images that they can be worshiped? If so, ...
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How do Jewish people understand the commandment not to make or worship idols?
The first commandment given to Moses on the mountain is clear and unambiguous. In English it reads "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall ...
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2
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Is killing a gentile also forbidden with the לאו of לא תרצח?
Is killing a gentile also forbidden with the לאו of לא תרצח just in terms of this commandment ? And if so, how can it be permissible to go to war against a nation (מלחמת רשות / discretionary war) ...
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2
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Maimonides mentioning Esav
I am trying to find a source where Maimonides allegedly says that there are no parts of the Torah that are any holier than the other. That the passages transmitting the Ten Commandments are just as ...
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2
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265
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Ana Nafshi Ketivat Yehavit - G-d in the Torah
In the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 105a), Rabbi Yochanan teaches that Anochi is an acronym for: “Ana Nafshi Ketivat Yehavit”.
This can be understood as that G-d Himself wrote and gave the Torah ...
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All of the Torah contained within the Ten Commandments [duplicate]
I have heard (read?) that all of the Torah is contained within the Aseret HaDibrot. Where is this from?
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4
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Are the ten commandments more important than other mitzvot?
I heard this said by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. I doubt that it's correct. Are there mitzvot more important than others? I know that all 613 are contained in them but that doesn't make the 10 more ...
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When, how and why did עשרת הדברים turn into עשרת הדברות?
God clearly spoke of עשרת הדברים in the Torah (Exodus.34.28, see also Deut.4.13) or 10.4):
וַיְהִי־שָׁם עִם־ה'אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לַיְלָה... וַיִּכְתֹּב עַל־הַלֻּחֹת אֵת דִּבְרֵי הַבְּרִית ...
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Does G-d equate women to objects?
In Exodus 20:14 it reads:
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife...or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s
Does G-d equate women to ...
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Does the בְ in לֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר only mean against?
Does the בְ in לֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר
only mean against or can it mean about with the idea of claiming the innocence of a guilty person as well as accusing an innocent person? Or, maybe ...
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Source for dividing the ten commandments into Ben Adam Lamakom and Ben Adam Lechavero
This is something that I have heard and been taught many times, but I can't find it sourced anywhere. I do see this concept quoted often in various articles (via Google searches). The question on this ...
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3
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Is there a deeper significance of squares and cubes?
I've noticed that many of the structures in the Mishkan as well as elsewhere in Judaism are cubes and squares, or multiples of cubes and squares.
The luchot are two half-cubes which combine to make a ...
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Which groups of people read the 10 Commandments using the "lower" trope?
See this M.Y. question for a brief description of "upper" vs. "lower" trope for the 10 Commandments.
Most Nusach Ashkenaz shuls that I have attended use the upper trope while reading the 10 ...
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2
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You shall not have any other gods
In Exodus 20:3 the words lo yihyeh (לֹא יִהְיֶה־לְךָ) are often translated as: 'you shall not have'. The base word is היה (hayah) meaning "to exist." Which reminded me of the Adon Olam ...
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Were all of each of the dibrot said in one dibbur?
When discussing the discrepancy between the use of the words Shamor and Zachor in the two versions of the Aseret Hadevarim, commentators explain that the two words were said at Sinai simultaneously.
...
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Looking for the origin of custom to decorate the Aron Hakodesh with 10 Commandments
Many synagogues have the custom to decorate the Peroches (curtain covering the Ark) with imagery of the 10 Commandments or Luchos in some form.
When did this custom originate?
Is there any source for ...
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1
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79
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Why a Stumah Break Between Coveting Another's Wife and Other Possessions, if they are the Same Commandment?
In the Jewish way of numbering the 10 commandments, all the "do not covets" are part of the same commandment (that is, the 10th commandment.) However, in the text there is a stuma break ...
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1
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What does "נגללים" mean about the tablets?
The commentary of the Rav (R. Ovadya) to Avos chapter 5 "והלחות" reads:
של סנפרינון היו ארכן ששה ורחבן ששה ועבין שלשה כאבן אחת שארכה ורחבה ועביה שוין ונחלקה לשנים ונגללים היו וחצובים מגלגל ...
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Lo Yiyheh is the first of the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments, or more accurately the Ten Statements (עשרת הדברות), are pretty well known. The first is (I believe universally) understood as the statement אנכי השם אלקים, I am the Hashem your ...
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