Powtórzonego Prawa 5:6 Komentarz: Rav Hirsch & Tze'enah Ure'enah

VV. 6-18. Wir haben diese Grundzüge des Gesetzes und der damit gegebenen jüdischen Lebenspflichtbestimmung bereits ausführlich zu Schmot 20, 1-14 betrachtet und haben dort auch zugleich die Erläuterungen erwogen, welche die Sätze vom שבת, von לא תענה ,כבוד אב ואם und לא תחמוד hier bei der Wiederholung derselben erhielten. Wir verweisen hierauf und fügen nur noch einiges nach.

“I the Lord am your God” [5:6]. The Ten Statements are like a king who builds a new land and placed the people in it. The king writes permits about what the people are obligated to do for the king, and how the people should behave to one another. Therefore, the Holy One gave the Ten Statements on two tablets. On one Tablet was written how the people should relate to the Holy One. On the second Tablet was written how the people should relate to each other. The first Statement is “I the Lord am your God” [5:6]. This means, know that I am God who took you out of Egypt where you were in captivity. Therefore, keep me as your Lord, who has given you this land. If you want to have me as your Lord and will say, I want another Lord like Me, therefore the second Statement was written, “you shall have no other gods” [5:7]. This means, you should have no God other than Me. You shall not serve anyone but Me alone. Afterwards, the king said to the people. When you accept me as your lord, then you should honor me honestly. Therefore, the Holy One wrote the third Statement, “you shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God” [5:11]. This means, you should not swear falsely by My name, not to keep what you say. With this, he desecrates his name and is as if he considers Me as nothing. Afterwards, the king says to his people. Make a memorial that I have given you this land. You shall not forget to honor Me, and make a day of rest, to be joyous that I have given you this land. Therefore, the Holy One said the fourth Statement, “observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy” [5:12]. This means, rest on the Sabbath to make it holy. You should remember that I took you out of Egypt and I gave you the land of Israel. Afterwards, the king said to the people. You are people who die, and who will know after your death that I gave you the land? Your children will accept another king. Therefore, I command you that the son should honor the father, and he should keep what he promised. Therefore, your children should also say that I gave the land. Therefore, the Holy One said the fifth Statement, “honor your father and your mother” [5:16]. This means, honor your father and mother and do what they tell you, that I created the world and I took you out of Egypt. These five Statements were written on one Tablet, on which was written how the person should relate to the Holy One. On the other Tablet was written how one friend should relate to the other one. First, He wrote, do nothing to your friend’s body to kill him. This is, “you shall not murder” [5:17]. Afterwards, he said, do not touch your friend’s wife, who was given to him by God. The wife is also a part of the husband, like his body. This is the second Statement, “you shall not commit adultery” [5:17]. If you will remember that I will not do anything to his body, and I will not take his money. Therefore, the Holy One wrote the third Statement, “you shall not steal” [5:7]. This means, do not steal his money and if you will remember that I will not take his money, but I can hurt him with my words, to give false witness about a friend. Therefore, the Holy One wrote, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” [5:17]. This means, do not give false witness against any friend. The fifth Statement the Holy One said: if you would say, I will not damage my friend with my mouth, but in my thoughts, in my heart, I might do him damage, to envy him or give him an evil eye on his goods. Therefore the Holy One wrote, “you shall not covet” [5:18]. This means, you should not covet something of your friend’s, like a wife or his house, or his ox, or his donkey. An evil eye comes from this lust. You can bring him harm with an evil eye.