New YouGov research (2017)
reveals that only six of the original Ten Commandments are still seen by most British people as important principles to live by. This is even true of Britain’s Christians, although they are more likely than the general population as a whole to think any given Commandment remains important.
How many people actually think the 10 'Commandments' are still relevant?
1. Don't kill - 93% - still important
2. Don't steal - 93% still important
3. Don't bear false witness - 87% still important - 6% not important
4. Don't commit adultery - 73% still important - 19% not important
5. Honour your father and mother -69% still important - 22% not important
6. Don't covet - 66% still important - 28% not important
9. I am the Lrd your Gd - 20% still important, 68% not important
10. Keep the Sabbath - 19% still important, 73% not important
Interesting to note:
Why is there is a split ben adom lemakon and ben adam lechavero
Because of each of first five mention Gd.
In fact, it isn't even a commandment!
Is it?
(2) I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage:
(ב) אנכי ה' אלקיך. מאי דבור הוא זה ומה מצוה ומה אזהרה היא זו. וי"ל אנכי ה' אלקיך ואני מצוך שתדעו ידיעה ברורה כי הוא הבורא וכי אני הוא המצוה כל המצות ונאמן ליפרע הטוב והרע וידיעת השם שחייב אדם לדעת שהוא הבורא יתברך וית'
(Tosafot 13th Century)
(2) אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G–d;” how can we understand this utterance as a “commandment?” In which way does it represent an order to the listener? We must understand the words: “I am the Lord your G–d,” as implying that this is something that you must accept as fact, not merely as an article of faith, i.e. “you know, you do not merely believe.”
It follows from accepting this as a fact that there is a system of reward and punishment for your actions, as He is capable of meting out reward and punishment as a result of being the Creator - a message that we can share both as Jews and non Jews
אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים בפעולות מתנגדות לפעולות כל אמצעי שהם הטבע והמערכת, וזה כאשר קבלת באמרך אז זה אלי ואנוהו וכו': (ה) מבית עבדים להסיר כל אונס, שאין עמו מקום לשום מצוה כתקנה:
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno - Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. (d.1550)
אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים
G-d says "I had to overcome all the obstacles that intermediaries (forces of nature, also My creatures and appointed by Me to perform My will) had tried to use to block My efforts - eg Pharoah and the Egyptian army. I am the One Whom you accepted as such when you said (Exodus 15,2) “this is My G-d and I want to glorify Him.”
מבית עבדים, from all exterior coercion in order for you to be free to worship Me, exclusively - as free people in the desert, outside of Egypt
If we understand the centrality of Gd as the One who redeemed us from slavery (as per the first commandment) to give us by extension the world, the Torah, we can then look at the some of the other commandments as a template by which to lead our lives:
For example:
#2 Don't worship other gods - whether they be sports heroes, participants on Love Island or wealthy magnates.
'#3 Think about the words that leave our mouths - try to make them G-dly. The pen is mightier than the sword. The mouth deadlier than the pen.
In the lives we lead, if we bring G-dliness into ourselves, from the words we speak, to the work we do, to the way we spend our time, to the behaviour we exhibit within our community and to the wider society
- without the belief in Gd, as an Entity who created the world and gave the Torah to that world - the other commandments, beyond being a basis to establishing a just society (eg don't murder, steal, etc) - don't have a reasoning beyond that.
3,331 years ago, today, Gd handed down the 10 principles that provide the groundwork to a society that is grounded in moral principles and justice.
I would even add that if all 10 commandments are adhered to, by our Gentile neighbours
- think about how different Britain was when Sunday was indeed a day of rest and families spent time together instead of going to the local supermarket
- the society that we live in, would be a superior environment in which we can lives our lives and raise our families.
Let us hope that, when the survey is taken again, at least one more commandment will be added to the six - the idea that whatever one's belief in Gd, whether small or large, His role in our lives leads to a society that we can all be proud of.