Jewish Musings Sunday, August 11

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you that stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[hollygail]

Shavua tov! I'm "up," looking forward to this week's Torah portion. It's the week in which we read the second telling of the Ten Commandments, although the Hebrew words translate more accurately as the Ten Words, or the Ten Statements, or the Ten Declarations. I myself have no interest in which is most accurate; I'm more concerned with what they are, the tachliss, or the "meat and potatoes" of them. For those congregations that follow the triennial cycle of Torah reading, this year the first aliyah contains all ten. Apparently, not all Abrahamic paths count them the same way, but frankly, I'm interested most in the way Jews count them.

The first five verses are the introduction to all ten. The remaining ten verses actually contain all the Ten, although they're not arranged so that one verse talks about only one (which would make so many people so much happier to be able to count where any one of them begins and ends!). However, here is an overview, regardless of how many verses describe any one of them, nor how many of the following are in the same verse as each other:

1) I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
2) You shall have no other gods before Me.
3) You shalt not take the name of Adonai your God in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5) Honor your parents.
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10) You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Waddaya think? Can you come up with anything not covered? Does any one of them mean more to you (or in your life) than any other ones? Overall, how do you feel about living a life according to these ten?

[louise]

1&2 seems to be part of the same. Being honest is I guess caught up in 8 & 9 but not exactly - there's more to it than that e.g. there are lies other than bearing false witness against your neighbor. There is more to living a good life I think. Being considerate, etc. I can't say I truly honor shabbat but there is a lot else I do that is only peripherally covered.

[lee058]

Good afternoon everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

Re today's topic: It's good to be reminded of what civilization is based on.

When's our next zoom meeting?

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[peachymom1]

I would add prohibitions against rape, torture, and using power to control/exploit people. As with the Torah in general and the Ten Commandments in particular, this is the beginning of the discussion, not the end.