Aseres HaDibros - Hidden in Plain Sight

Parshat Va'Etchanan 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

How many times are the Aseres Hadibros (Ten Statements*) referenced in the parsha? 

 According to the Vilna Gaon the answer would be four times. The first and third are more obvious. In 4:13, Moshe says וַיַּגֵּ֨ד לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־בְּרִית֗וֹ אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֤ה אֶתְכֶם֙ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת עֲשֶׂ֖רֶת הַדְּבָרִ֑ים וַֽיִּכְתְּבֵ֔ם עַל־שְׁנֵ֖י לֻח֥וֹת אֲבָנִֽים - “God told you about His covenant that He commanded you to do, the Ten Statements, which He then wrote onto 2 stone tablets.” 

The third reference is the recounting of the Ten Statements, with two more significant changes (in the presentation of Shabbos and in the last one – לא תחמד) and a number of minor changes/adjustments.

The second reference is in 4:33 הֲשָׁ֣מַֽע עָם֩ ק֨וֹל אֱ-לֹקים מְדַבֵּ֧ר מִתּוֹךְ־הָאֵ֛שׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֥עְתָּ אַתָּ֖ה וַיֶּֽחִי: Has a nation heard the voice of God speaking from a fire - as you heard - and lived?

Where is the fourth reference? In his analysis of the first paragraph of the Shema, which is in the beginning of Chapter 6, he notes how each of the Ten Statements is acknowledged in that famous paragraph. To be intellectually honest, he looks at the Tefillah aspect of that paragraph more than simply the verses in the Torah, as will be noted when it comes to the third of the statements. 

Explanation	Translation of Shema	שמע	עשרת הדברות	#
[obvious]	The Lord our God	ה' א-לקינו	אנכי ה' א-לקיך	1
There is no other God	The Lord is One	ה' אחד	לא יהיה לך א' אחרים	2
The statement from our prayers is what we say in other contexts when God’s name is used in vain	Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever	ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד	לא תשא את שם ה' לשוא	3
Weekdays are defined by יראה (reverence) whereas Shabbos is defined by אהבה (love). A proof to this connection can be found in Kiddush and every time we reference Shabbos in Yom Tov davening, when we mention אהבה, such as באהבה וברצון הנחלתנו	You shall love the Lord your God	ואהבת את ה' א-לקיך	זכור את יום השבת	4
במה אתה מכבדהו בדברי תורה How do you honor Him? With words of Torah	And all of these words that I command you… should be on your heart	והיו הדברים האלה ... על לבבך	כבד את אביך ואת אמך	5
כל שאינו מלמד את בנו תורה כאילו רצחו – whoever hasn’t taught his child Torah is as if he has murdered him	You shall review them with your children	ושננתם לבניך	לא תרצח	6
Mishlei 2:11, 6:22 מזמה תשמור עליך. - thought shall watch over you  ואומר בהתהלכך תנחה אותך בשכבך תשמור עליך - When you walk, it shall lead you; when you lie down, it shall guard you, and when you awaken, it shall speak for you. These verses indicate how Torah and the pursuit of spiritual knowledge can protect a person from licentiousness	And you shall speak of them [in your home] and when you travel	ודברת בם... ובלכתך בדרך	לא תנאף	7
One is enjoined not to steal with one’s hand	You shall bind them as a sign on your hand	וקשרתם לאות על ידיך	לא תגנב	8
Witnesses give testimony based on what they claim to have seen with their eyes	And they shall be a sign between your eyes	והיו לטטפת בין עיניך	לא תענה ברעך עד שקר	9
Each of these references how to keep your own household safe with the comparison of בית רעך to ביתך	And you shall write them on the doorposts of your homes and gates	וכתבתם על מזזות ביתך ובשעריך	לא תחמד	10

 This is not an anomaly! Vayikra Rabba, Yalkut Shimoni, and commentators who jump on their example (Ramban, Chizkuni, etc) do the same thing at the beginning of Parshas Kedoshim, finding references to the 10 Statements in the opening verses of that parsha. 

 So what gives? Why this emphasizing of the Aseres HaDibros, even in this mysterious and cryptic way? 

While we are well aware of the fact that there are far more than 10 commandments in the Torah (see footnote below), there is a special attachment associated with these Ten Statements that are reflective of the totality of the Torah hidden within them.

Is there a common theme among them? Perhaps respecting and honoring the other, whether it be God or other people in our lives. That would seem to be the thread that runs through the Between-Man-And-Creator component, and the Between-Man-and-Man component. 

 One of the more fascinating challenges a person can take when studying the Torah is looking at each of the Statements here as a general category of Mitzvos, and seeing into which category any mitzvah we come across fits.

All rules related to idolatry will be subsumed under Statement #2. All rules related to honoring and respecting God, not causing a “Chillul Hashem” would be in the rubric of Statement #3. All holiday rules would be in Statement #4. There are many rules related to respecting parents, elders, teachers, siblings – all of that is in Statement#5. All laws of damages, property rights, business, and everything related to situations that may come to court for adjudication are covered in one form or another in Statements #6-10, with an additional component of interpersonal relationships included specifically in Statements #7 & 10. 

The Ten Statements are also most significant because, at least according to one view, they were what God Himself said to all of Israel, at the time that the people were all privy to prophesy through the event we refer to as Revelation in that one time in history. [The other view says everyone heard the first two statements from God and Moshe reported the rest to them after hearing them himself from the Almighty.] 

While some people view the Ten Statements as their beginning and end, we must always strengthen our knowledge and our commitment to see that we do not stop with the Ten Statements. They are a Table of Contents for life, a playbook that gives important, yet minimal information. But they are a beginning – of the first things God conveyed to Israel (not to the exclusion of the Marah experience). 

 Their connection to the Shema, from the Vilna Gaon’s vantage point, perhaps brings both segments from the Torah up a notch. Shema is famously the section in which we declare and accept the yoke of Heaven upon ourselves. The Aseres HaDibros is where God makes His initial presence known to man most directly, in which He highlights, among other things, His role in creation, the need for there to be a Shabbos, and His love for the Jewish people, those he brought out of Egyptian bondage with a mighty hand. 

 This is the legacy from which we come, and the connection to God for which we should be most proud. 

------------Footnote ----------------

 * Commonly known as the “Ten Commandments.” While that parlance is mainstream in English, the fact is that the term עשרת המצוות (which would be the Hebrew for ‘Ten Commandments’) can not be found in any Biblical or rabbinic space. They are referred as עשרת הדברים or עשרת הדברות, which can be translated as 10 utterances, statements, or things. The Sefer HaChinukh counts 14 Commandments in the “Ten Commandments.” Therefore it is better to refer to what was on the tablets as “Aseres HaDibros” or “Ten Statements”