Va-Etchanan no.2 Deuteronomy 5:1-6:3 (19 July, 2013, Av 12, 5773)
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The Ten Commandments are:
1. No other gods but GOD!
2 God is Not A Man or any Creature
3. Do Not Utter the Name of God in Vain!
4. Keep the Sabbath
5. Honor your father and mother. 6. Do not kill.
7. Do not take a woman who pertains to someone else.
9. Do not bear false witness.
10. Do not desire or seek to gain what rightfully belongs to others.
Dwelling in the Land of Israel Requires Keeping the Commandments!
Contents:
The Ten Commandments . The First Seven.
The Ten Commandments. The Last Three.
Entering the Land of Israel Requires Keeping the Commandments!
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s4. Deuteronomy 5:1-18
The Ten Commandments . The First Seven.
[Deuteronomy 5:5] (I STOOD BETWEEN THE LORD AND YOU AT THAT TIME, TOÂ SHEW YOU THE WORD OF THEÂ LORD: FOR YE WERE AFRAID BY REASON OF THE FIRE, AND WENT NOT UP INTO THE MOUNT;) SAYING,
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Here come the Ten Commandments that are both specific injunctions and general declarations of Principle.
An overriding rule of thumb for understanding the specific commandment aspect is that it had to involve a crime for which the death penalty could be applied. All of the commandments fit this rule except the tenth one.
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Another list of the Ten Commandments is found in Exodus (20:1-14 Weekly Portion Yitro).
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Commandment no.1
No other gods but GOD!
[Deuteronomy 5:6] I AM THE LORD THY GOD, WHICH BROUGHT THEE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, FROM THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE.   Â
This is a general statement or the First Commandment depending on how one counts it.
There are Ten Commandments but different ways of counting them. Everyone agrees on what was said but there is disagreement as to where one injunction ends and another begins. Our way of counting below is not that which is generally given.
Technically speaking according to one counting it is not the first commandment but serves as a kind of Preamble!
Know that GOD is your God!
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[Deuteronomy 5:7] THOU SHALT HAVE NONE OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.   Â
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Commandment no.2Â God is Not A Man or any Creature
 [Deuteronomy 5:8] THOU SHALT NOT MAKE THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE, OR ANY LIKENESS OF ANY THING THAT IS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, OR THAT IS IN THE EARTH BENEATH, OR THAT IS IN THE WATERS BENEATH THE EARTH:
No not attribute godlike qualities to any other being even on a lower level.
We are forbidden to worship images as God and this would include depictions we create in our own mind. Some could count this commandment as an aspect of no.1, count no.1 as 2, and count the Preamble as no.1
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[Deuteronomy 5:9] THOU SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF UNTO THEM, NOR SERVE THEM: FOR I THE LORD THY GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME,           Â
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[Deuteronomy 5:10] AND SHEWING MERCY UNTO THOUSANDS OF THEM THAT LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.                   Â
We are liable to be punished for 4 generations for our sins. Some of the problems some of us have may be due to the sins of our forefathers that we are still paying for. Our children, grandchildren, and great-grand children may have to suffer difficulties due to our own frailties and transgressions.
On the other hand by virtue of the good that do do we shall ensure a blessing on our descendants for a thousand generations!
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Commandment no. 3. Do Not Utter the Name of God in Vain!
[Deuteronomy 5:11] THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN: FOR THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN.
This commandment is primarily against false oaths but it also applies to blasphemy, and the improper use of the Holy Names.
One should not utter the name of God. Some Ephraimites have allowed themselves to get caught up in one or other the Holy Name Heresies. They should get out of them.
See:
The Holy Name of God. A Series of Articles Discussing the Ineffable Name of God.
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Commandment no. 4Â Keep the Sabbath
[Deuteronomy 5:12] KEEP THE SABBATH DAY TO SANCTIFY IT, AS THE LORD THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THEE.
We have to keep the Sabbath day which according to the Bible begins at sunset on Friday Night and ends at Sun down on Saturday.
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[Deuteronomy 5:13] SIX DAYS THOU SHALT LABOUR, AND DO ALL THY WORK:
One should work every day except for the Sabbath. If you have a holiday on another do something, even a little bit, that would be considered work.
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[Deuteronomy 5:14] BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD: IN IT THOU SHALT NOT DO ANY WORK, THOU, NOR THY SON, NOR THY DAUGHTER, NOR THY MANSERVANT, NOR THY MAIDSERVANT, NORÂ Â THINE OX, NOR THINE ASS, NOR ANY OF THY CATTLE, NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES; THAT THYÂ Â Â MANSERVANT AND THY MAIDSERVANT MAY REST AS WELL AS THOU.Â
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[Deuteronomy 5:15] AND REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SERVANT IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND THAT THE LORDÂ THY GOD BROUGHT THEE OUT THENCE THROUGH A MIGHTY HAND AND BY A STRETCHED OUT ARM: THEREFOREÂ THE LORD THY GOD COMMANDED THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY.
Remember you were servants. The Hebrew word here is "avodim" meaning slaves. That is what we were. We should remember it and treat others who at present may be leess fortunate than ourselves and perhaps under our authority with sensitivity.
 The Sabbath Day is a Covenant Between the People of Israel and the God of Israel. Non-Israelites Should Not Keep the Sabbath.
Exodus 31:
12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Descendants of the Ten Tribes Have Now the temporary status of non-Israelites have the point of view of religious identification. Therefore they too should not keep the Sabbath in the manner that Orthodox Jews keep it.
Gentile Descendants of the Ten Tribes sometimes get offended when we tell them that they have been suspended from Keeping the Law and are for the time being not obligated by it.
They should realize however that this is how the Almighty wants it.
They too would not want to be obligated to incur the death penalty for lighting fires etc on the Sabbath even though the penalty is no longer being put into effect.
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Commandment no. 5 Honor your father and mother.
[Deuteronomy 5:16] HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER, AS THE LORD THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THEE; THAT THY DAYS MAY BE PROLONGED, AND THAT IT MAY GO WELL WITH THEE, IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETHÂ THEE.
A lot of us have some kind of resentment against our parents. This may be justified. We should however avoid recriminations and accusations. Give your parents respect because their honor is your own. Try to always think well of them.
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Commandment no. 6 Do not kill.
[Deuteronomy 5:17] THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
One should avoid violence if possible. Keep away from unnecessary confrontations.
Be responsible, drive carefully. Avoid accidents. If you do drink alcohol avoid driving or doing anything dangerous to yourselves or others. Do not put others in danger. Take safety measures. Do not perform or tolerate abortions. Do not hurt the feelings of other people. Be polite and considerate.
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 Commandment no. 7 Do not commit adultery.
[Deuteronomy 5:18] NEITHER SHALT THOU COMMIT ADULTERY.     Â
This injunction has many different applications. A non-Jew should not take the woman of anyone else. Any woman who lives with a man is considered his woman as long as she is living with him. A Jew should not take any woman he is not legally married to.
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s.5 Deuteronomy 5:19-6:3
The Ten Commandments. The Last Three
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Commandment no. 8 Do not steal [a human being].
[Deuteronomy 5:19] NEITHER SHALT THOU STEAL.
Here the commandment refers primarily to kidnapping and forcing another to work for oneself against their will. It also refers to stealing in general.
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Commandment no. 9 Do not bear false witness.
[Deuteronomy 5:20] NEITHER SHALT THOU BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR.
The commandment tells us not to give untrue testimony against others.
Do not tell lies in general. Avoid saying things about others that are not so or that may be misinterpreted or that are unnecessarily harmful even if there is some truth to them. Our mouths sometimes have tendency to run away with us, to take on a life of their own, we may find ourselves saying things we do not mean and do not really want to say. We must take control of our tongues.
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Commandment no. 10Â Do not desire or seek to gain what rightfully belongs to others.
[Deuteronomy 5:21] NEITHER SHALT THOU DESIRE THY NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE, NEITHER SHALT THOU COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE, HIS FIELD, OR HIS MANSERVANT, OR HIS MAIDSERVANT, HIS OX, OR HIS ASS, OR ANY THING THAT IS THY NEIGHBOUR'S.
Here DESIRE means not only feeling a need and yearning for but also pressuring another person to give or sell us something that he does not really want to part with.
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Entering the Land of Israel Requires Keeping the Commandments!
[Deuteronomy 5:33] YE SHALL WALK IN ALL THE WAYS WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD HATH COMMANDED YOU, THAT YE MAY LIVE, AND THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YE MAY PROLONG YOUR DAYS IN THE LAND WHICH YE SHALL POSSESS.           Â
In order to enter the Land of Israel and to dwell within it we need to keep the Torah.
Nachmanides: The Connection Between Law and Land
The Ten Tribes when they return may not be keeping the Torah at first but they will have to begin to do so.
http://www.britam.org/Ezekiel11to15.html
 [Ezekiel 11:18] AND THEY SHALL COME THITHER, AND THEY SHALL TAKE AWAY ALL THE DETESTABLE THINGS THEREOF AND ALL THE ABOMINATIONS THEREOF FROM THENCE.
The exiles (from the Ten Tribes) will remove their idols and cease their paganism in their places of exile. OR ELSE:
They shall first come back to the land and then they shall cast aside their idols"Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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[Ezekiel 11:19] AND I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART, AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; AND I WILL TAKE THE STONY HEART OUT OF THEIR FLESH, AND WILL GIVE THEM AN HEART OF FLESH:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
They will be given one heart, a spirit of unity, awareness of the truth, willingness and ability to fulfill God's will, and the awareness that they capable of doing so and want to do so.
[Ezekiel 11:20] THAT THEY MAY WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND KEEP MINE ORDINANCES, AND DO THEM: AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD.
Deuteronomy 6:1] NOW THESE ARE THE COMMANDMENTS, THE STATUTES, AND THE JUDGMENTS, WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD COMMANDED TO TEACH YOU, THAT YE MIGHT DO THEM IN THE LAND WHITHER YE GO TOÂ POSSESS IT:
 The Israelites had to have the intention to possess the Land. We are forbidden to leave the land in the hands of non-Israelites. At the moment only Judah represents the Israelites in the Land of Israel since only Judah has the unbroken tradition of Israelite ancestry. Judah did not get Lost! Judah at present in attempting to repossess at least a portion of the Promised Land is acting as a representative of all Israel and as a pioneer going before the other Tribes!
 See our Commentary to the Book of Hosea, chapter six.
The Third Redemption with the building of the Third Temple will be final and there will be no more exiles after that. Religious leaders must acknowledge the truth and be respected. The People of Gilead and Manasseh had a propensity to violence which is still apparent today. A portion of Judah will prepare the way in the Land of Israel for the rest of Judah and for all the Ten Tribes. The USA and other Israelite Nations should support the State of Israel and encourage the settlements instead of doing the opposite as they have been.
Rabbi Zevi Kalisher on Hosea 6:11 explained that Judah will precede the Ten Tribes and prepare the way for them.
[HOSEA 6:11] ALSO, O JUDAH, HE HATH SET AN HARVEST FOR THEE, WHEN I RETURNED THE CAPTIVITY OF MY PEOPLE.