To thank before we think.

The Ten Commandments are the most famous, religious and moral code in history.

Until recently, they adorned American courtrooms.

They still adorn most synagogue arcs.

Rembrandt gave them their classic artistic expression in his portrait of Moses,

about to break the tablets on seeing the golden calf.

John Rogers Herbert's massive painting of Moses bringing down the tablets of law dominates the main committee room of the

House of Lords. The twin tablets with their ten commands are the enduring symbol of eternal law

under the sovereignty of God. It's worth remembering, of course, that the Ten Commandments

are not Ten Commandments. The Terror calls them Aseret Hadavarim, and tradition calls them

Aserita Dibrot, meaning the ten words or utterances. And we can understand this better.

In the light of documentary discoveries in the 20th century,

especially Hittite covenants or suzerainty treaties, dating back to 1400 to 1200 BCE, that is,

around the time of Moses and the Exodus.

These treaties often contained a twofold statement of the laws laid down in the treaty first in general outline,

then in specific detail. That is precisely the relationship between the Azareda di Brod,

the ten utterances, and the detailed commandments of Parachat Mishpatim. The former are the general outline,

the basic principles of the law. Now, of course, usually they're

portrayed graphically and substantively as two sets of five, the first dealing with relations between

us and God, including honoring our parents, since they, like God, brought us into being,

and the second with relations between us and our

fellow humans however it also makes sense to see them as three groups of three

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