10 Commandments

We in the United States live according to a secular government, but our personal laws stem from all the great religious and secular systems. Reading the Bedside Torah (Artson) today, I was reminded once again the significance of the Ten Commandments. Can we follow these commandments and make our society a more just one?

1. I am Adonai your God.

My viewpoint is simple. The Jews brought to our vision the system of ethical monotheism. There is one God. I refer myself to this pattern, pray to one God, do not ask Angels or Jesus or other people to bless me. I have a direct relationship to Adonai, the one God of the universe, according to my opinion.

2. Worship no idolatrous images.

People used to bow down to golden calves and incite some power or magic. I don't see this commandment relevant on a shallow level, but we are still slaves to our own corporations, governments, ideologies, homes, television, and other images possessing our interest more than the focus on the first commandment. "You cannot serve both God and money," it says. If a cell phone becomes more significant than my relationship with a divine, transcendental, and immanent being I refer to as the Supreme Mover of the Universe, then I must reject these materialistic "golden calves."

3. Do not swear falsely by the name of God.

Do not swear at all, because swearing is an oath. If we make a promise to another person, we must keep it. If we take the Lord's name in vain, then we are rejecting his authority of justice and freedom in our lives. Why drive away the very being that brings us rain and life to this earth? Uplift others positively because they are a representation of the divine image, too.

4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

I do not like participating in organized religion, and my friends and family realize this issue, but I do find time during the week when it is God and me alone in a room or in my brain talking to one another. Sometimes I just shake my head in solitary confinement because I do not know how to be holy, but I do my best. The Sabbath is also a time to honor the community and family, and I have yet to overcome my goal well because I like to be alone. I have no issues honoring God's glory, the natural elements, and my own life, but seeing the holiness in human beings and spending time with them is a goal I hope to reach soon. That holiness will be returned in the afterlife!

5. Honor your Father and Mother.

Honor your ancestors, too! We have lost this reality, to some degree. Do I respect the authority of my elders? I tend to buck the system and forget about the wisdom of people like Moses, who at the young age of 85, led the Israelites to a new settlement beyond Egypt. He was an old man and chief justice of the community. I must look to my elders for advice and direction. I must praise them fully. I plan to follow this commandment with more fervor and honesty.

6. You shall not murder.

Many people might say, "No problem." However, people die around the world. Food poisoning. Reckless driving due to DUIs. Drug overdoses leading to self-suicide. Anger at another country for bombing and retaliation pending. We are surrounded with such violence, yet on a personal level, I feel helpless to speak out on such an easy commandment. Respect one another. Love one another. We are all human beings with the same purpose for freedom. Do not place ideology above anybody's human life, including a starving child in another country. And, if you are having a child and your life is in trouble, know that abortion does not make you a murderer. Jewish law claims that the mother is more significant than the child. It is better to save the mother so that she can have more children. There are difficult questions to be asked under this commandment, I realize.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

I hope to keep off the television as long as possible. Every reality show I see breaks this commandment, and when I see a beautiful woman in a store, I lust as everybody does. I need to work on this commandment, too, and treat human beings as my brothers and sister and place my wife on a different level, for she represents a union manifested between two divine souls. We are one, and if I cannot bring this passion of unity within my marriage, then how do I create that same passion of unity between the Supreme Mover and me. Marriage is a sacred act or union between two human beings, and it should be treated as such. If two gay men find this unity as well, I see no reason why God will not place his hands upon them and love them, too!

8.You shall not steal.

This one drives me crazy because all I see surrounding the United States is greed. Corporate greed. Government greed. Ideological Greed. Everything is a negotiation, and even a negotiation itself is a form of greed to me. Let's stop negotiating rules to provide this country or that country with a little more or less until a compromise is reached. Let's look at what is right. Moses did not negotiate out of greed with the Pharaoh. He stuck to the terms. He said, "Let all of my people go." Men, women, elderly, and children. All slaves leave. All slaves deserve their opportunity for success. What a message of truth Moses brings to us today! How do we replicate that truth in a world that steals?

9. You shall not bear false witness.

Do not lie. Tell the truth. I follow this one closely, and I realize that people do not like to hear the truth. It hurts their feelings, but the truth may unravel a psychological pattern that needs to be evaluated. Telling the truth does not mean you do not love a fellow human being. It does not mean you are being critical. It simply means that you care about a person, but we must be careful catching ourselves in some game of ego madness. We should be asked our opinion and deliver it carefully to the other person with great thought. And, we should not gossip!

10. You shall not covet.

I mentioned materialism already, and I and the rest of the world struggles with this idea. I believe this idea of protecting the U.S. against terrorist threats can lead to a kind of coveting. We want to covet our freedom. Freedom, however, is a wonderful thing to protect, but we have to be careful how we talk about freedom to ourselves and other countries. Otherwise, we might end up in a war that seems endless where people die for a cause that could have been solved in different directions. We are coveting the stock market at the moment, too. We are coveting an economic recovery. Yes, people are out of work, and the richer of us needs to step up and give up their gold to the poor. This is our shining moment, but I am afraid we will always latch on to the current political environment instead of loving each person equally beyond corporate commodities.

--JINGLETT