Parasha Yitro
SAN DIEGO — In this week’s parasha, Yitro, one of the six portions named for an individual, the Ten Commandments, the Aseret HaDib’rot, are revealed to Moses and to the Israelites in the wilderness. We may learn from this pinnacle experience that the Torah can be learned anywhere, even in the wilderness, by anyone with a receptive heart and open mind.
We are told of these ten commandments, not suggestions, to aid us in leading an optimal life, culminating in one very clear summary to help us live right, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:14).
When we covet, when we feel an inordinate desire for what belongs to another, we may create within ourselves resentment, anger, jealousy, and judgment, all feelings that lead to an unhappy, constricted life. Coveting here is a focused feeling according to the Ibn Ezra and the Radak, (some believe action, see Maimonides in Sefer HaMitzvot, Prohibitions 265, 266) specifically on those things that belong to others. It leads to prohibited actions. But how can we follow the other nine commandments, how can we love the Lord our G-d with all of our hearts, when we feel an overriding desire for that which He gave to others, not to ourselves? Thus, this 10th commandment encapsulates all of the others. Coveting is ultimately a rejection of a closeness to Hashem and to the life He gave specifically to you. After all, when we covet anything more than Hashem, isn’t that idolatry?
Further, coveting that which He gave to others is damaging and hazardous since it may serve as motivation to transgress against another, renouncing the other 9 commandments. “You shall not covet…” thus serves as a summary of these other commandments, a central message for living a more spiritual, less material, life. Indulging in physical pleasure leaves little serenity for spiritual strivings. It hinders our generosity, our tzedakah, towards others. The Rambam sees this commandment as a “fence” that averts a torrent of Torah-based transgressions. Indeed, we learn in Avot 4:21, “Envy, lust and seeking honor remove a person from this world.” And the Talmud in Sotah 9a, teaches, “Whoever sets his eyes on what is not his, loses also what is his.”
Pirke Avot (4:1), asks us, “Who is rich?” We are tested to respond gratefully for that which He gave to us. Loving Hashem, with all our hearts, helps us avoid becoming overly attached to physical pleasures and materialism.
Perhaps this is why “Do not covet…” is actually the anchor commandment, as it comes as the base upon which the Aseret HaDib’rot stand. So let’s stop wasting time wishing for what we don’t have, in order to fully appreciate what we do have, B’H.
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Michael Mantell, Ph.D writes a d’var Torah each week for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family worship.