Furthermore, the fact that the commandments are repeated further emphasises the importance of them to Jewish people and hence Jewish life.
The Ten Commandments are the fundamental rules of the Jewish faith, the foundation of which is ethical monotheism.
The word monotheism means belief in one G-d and in order for the term to be considered as ‘Jewish’ the word ethical must be added to it. Dr Rabbi Louie Jacobs explains this as “there can be no religion without ethics and no ethics without religion”; they are each based upon each other. Furthermore he continues to say, “Unless ethics and religion are wedded together, neither constitutes the Jewish way” and this Jewish way is, ethical monotheism.
The commandments one, two and three are concerning belief in G-d, idolatry and taking the Lords name in vain.
It is debateable whether the first commandment “I am G-d your Lord…” is even a commandment at all, or if it is a statement. According to the Arbabanel (15th century Spain), it cannot be considered as a commandment as it is impossible to command someone to believe in something, therefore he sees this as an introduction to all the other commandments and that G-d is establishing his authority. However according to the Rambam (13th century Egypt), this is a commandment and he claims that if you look hard enough and you are sincere you will come to believe the commandment here is to search for the truth. Ethical monotheism is a essential element of Jewish life because it effects everything within the religion, the ten commandments highlight this point.
The second commandment, “do not have any other G-ds before me…” orders Jews not to worship idols. The commandment is extensively described and repeated later on in the Torah, emphasising its importance. In the commandment we are told “do not represent (such G-ds) by any carved statue or picture…” at first this seems irrelevant to society today as we do not seem tempted to bow down to idols on a regular basis. However, this could refer to putting something or someone in priority over Hashem and this could be seen as idolatry. For example if a person puts being rich as his main concern, he may worship material possessions. So this commandment is very important for Jewish life today.
The Decalogue also teaches us about the principle reward and punishment, which affects daily Jewish life. We are told that for every action we carry out, we shall be judged by G-d and if it is just and correct we shall be rewarded and loved by Him, “for those who love Me and keep My commandments, I show love for thousands (of generations)”. However, if we disobey His commandments, G-d will “keep in mind the sin of the fathers for (their) descendants”.
Another further example of this is the reward attached to the fifth commandment, “honour your father and mother” this is a commandment that has a substantial reward, “You will then live long on the land that G-d your Lord is giving you”. The reward here is long life, of course this commandment is one which is involved in daily life for all Jews and this shows the importance of family in the religion. Although the laws are split between ‘man and man’ and ‘man and G-d’, this law is an overlap between both, this shows us that G-d is also considered as a parent to us.
Commandment’s six to ten are ‘life lessons’, they instruct us not to commit murder, adultery, not to steal, be envious or bear false witness. These are all essentials for a moral and ethical life, not just in Jewish society, but modern society. They ensure that the Jewish people act as the “priestly nation” that they are and become a “light unto the nations”, which means they set an example for other nations to follow in order to become closer to G-d and become more righteous. These laws make us into good people, which is why they are so central to Jewish life.
Furthermore, they are central to Jewish life because they are our part of the (Siniatic) covenant which we accepted at Mount Sinai. In verse five of chapter nineteen G-d says “now if you obey Me and keep My covenant you shall be My special treasure among all nations”, the key word here is obey, we need to keep our side of the covenant and follow G-ds laws we are then the chosen people and in turn, rewarded.
In conclusion, the Ten Commandments are central to Jewish life because they guide and instruct us to lead a righteous, moral life.
