By Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried

Dear Rabbi,

I was wondering why the Ten Commandments were given on two separate tablets, rather than on one. Is there any significance to this?

Karen L., Plano

Dear Karen,

There is a profound message in the commandments being given on two tablets rather than on one stone. The Ten Commandments consist of five between man and G-d, such as belief in G-d, not worshipping idols, observing the Sabbath, etc. The other five are between man and his fellow man, such as not bearing false witness, kidnapping or coveting another’s possessions.

If the 10 were listed on one tablet, one would conclude that the first commandments are most important as they come first, and the later ones less important, as they appear last.

G-d was out to teach us a different lesson. The first five and the second five are on equal footing, equally crucial in the eyes of the Al-mighty. If one is only good to her fellow man but skips over those between man and G-d, the behavior is un-Jewish. And if one is only pious in man to G-d aspects but forgets Torah principles when it comes to business or relationships, he is equally un-Jewish in his behavior.

For this reason the commandments were given on parallel tablets, to show there is parallel importance to both the service of G-d and the interaction to fellow man.

This is the lesson of two tablets, standing equally side-by-side. Only by absorbing the messages of both tablets does one lead a whole Jewish life, with all the pieces of the puzzle in place showing the beautiful picture of Judaism. 

There is another profound message in putting the commandments side by side, that each commandment between man and G-d parallels the man-to-man commandment adjacent to it. The very parallel teaches a deep lesson about each of the commandments and how they interact together. Perhaps we will try to cover this in future column. 

Rabbi Yerachmiel Fried is the dean of Dallas Area Torah Association.