Replies

I love the stats on Yitro, which points out that there are more than 10 mitzvot in the so-called “Ten Commandments”:

http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5767/yitro67/stats.htm

Yitro STATS
17th of 54 sedras; 5th of 11 in Sh’mot
Written on 138 lines in a Sefer Torah, ranks 46th
15 Parshiyot; 4 open, 11 closed
75* p’sukim - ranks 47th (only 7 sedras have fewer p’sukim)
1105 words, 4022 letters - ranks 46th
Yitro is the smallest sedra in Sh’mot
*Tradition is that Yitro has 72 p’sukim, not 75. This is indicated right after the last word of the sedra in many Chumashim. If we take the 13 p’sukim of the Aseret HaDibrot and count them as 10 (the way they are read sometimes as Commandments rather than p’sukim), the number will work out.

MITZVOT
Yitro contains 17 of the 613 mitzvot;
3 positive and 14 prohibitions;
(14 of the 17 are within the Aseret HaDibrot)

Rabbi Yosef B. Friedman
on behalf of the Kehot Publication Society

The Ten Commandments, which will be read on Shabbat are all couched in the singular.

Our sages offer two seemingly contradictory explanations for this fact:

* The Ten Commandments had to be addressed to the Jewish people as a collective whole, for if even one Jew was missing, the Torah could not have been given. This implies that each individual received the Torah in the same way.
* The Ten Commandments were addressed to each and every Jew as individuals. This implies that each individual received the Torah in a unique, personal way, tailored to his or her spiritual and psychological makeup.

Both explanations are valid. The written text of the Torah itself, its authoritative interpretation (the Oral Torah), and the commandments it contains apply equally to every Jew. In these areas there can be no differentiation, and the entire Jewish people can therefore be viewed as one homogenous entity. However, one of the commandments that devolve on every Jew is the obligation to study the Torah. Study is unique in that the student must understand the Torah within his own intellect, and no two people’s capacities for study are alike—quantitatively or qualitatively. In this respect, therefore, the Torah was given to each person individually and distinctively, and every person must approach it in his or her own way.

The tenth commandment: You shall not desire

G-d provides each of us with all the resources—possessions, talents, and strengths—that we require to fulfill our unique mission in life. We each achieve our ultimate fulfillment by dedicating these resources to our Divine mission and utilizing them to heighten the awareness of G-d in the world.

Any resources G-d has not provided us with at any given moment are thus extraneous to our mission and sidetrack us from the development of our fullest potential. Genuine recognition of this truth precludes any envious desire.

—The Torah: Chumash Shemot, Kehot
Good Shabbos.

Rabbi Yosef B. Friedman
on behalf of the Kehot Publication Society