Lee Hebrew Lesson 3/17

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Goal: To read the Ten Commandments, to understand their meaning, and to understand what place that they had in early Israelite society. To understand, too, which of these original commandments still have meaning for us today.

The leadup: Exodus 19:14-25

Moses came down from the mountain to the people and warned the people to stay pure, and they washed their clothes.

And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day: do not go near a woman.”

On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the LORD had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountaintrembled violently.

The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.

The LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.

The LORD said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people not to break through to the LORD to gaze, lest many of them perish.

The priests also, who come near the LORD, must stay pure, lest the LORD break out against them.”

But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and sanctify it.’”

So the LORD said to him, “Go down, and come back together with Aaron; but let not the priests or the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.”

And Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:1-14.

God spoke all these words, saying:

I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage:

You shall have no other gods besides Me.

You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the LORD your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me,

but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not swear falsely by the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

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.

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the LORD your God is assigning to you.

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

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.

Background: For the last several months, we have been envisioning the lives of the Israelites in Egypt. We have finally crossed the Sea of Reeds on our journey of freedom. We have spoken about our fears and have also spoken nostalgically about the good things about servitude – e.g., knowing where your next meal is coming from, not worrying about the future, or making plans for a summer vacation. We have also enacted our reactions to Moses when he first suggested that we leave. But now, as Israelites, we find ourselves moving forward, some of us enthusiastically and others of us reluctantly. And now the question: what do we need to establish ourselves as a free people in a society of our own.

We noted that the first recorded stop on our new journey was Mount Sinai. Why? What happened there? You might read the biblical account from Exodus 19:16-24 for the narrative. So what did Moses receive on the mountain?

Tasks: Different rabbis have different opinions about what Moses got. Some say that Moses received the entire Torah. Others say that he received the Torah, the Mishna, the Talmud, and all the teachings that came after. The Exodus story explicitly states that he received the Ten Commandments.

Read and analyze the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-14). Can these commandments be grouped in any way? Be sure that you understand the meaning of each commandment. Now read these commandments through the eyes of these newly freed Israelites. Speculate as to why God/Moses felt that they were necessary to establish the new and free society? How did he think each commandment could help? Which three commandments do you think were most important to observe? Which commandment do you think would be most difficult to obey? Why?

Please record your comments as a base for next week’s lesson.