Stand or Sit
The Ten Commandments stand out amongst all the other commandments. Yet there is controversy if one should stand while the Ten Commandments are read. PARSHAS YISRO PARSHAS YISRO
The Dispute
The Ten Commandments are featured in this week’s parsha.
There is a dispute among the legal authorities on the custom to stand while the Ten Commandments are read in public. Maimonides was queried about this question and he strongly discouraged this practice. He bases himself on the statement in the Talmud that the Sages sought to include the recitation of the Ten Commandments as part of the daily liturgy alongside the recitation of the Shema. The rabbis negated this practice because of the fear that the heretics would use the highlighting of the Ten Commandments as a suggestion that Judaism PARSHAS YISRO consists of only these ten statements, to the exclusion of all the other teachings of Judaism.
To have everyone stand for the reading of this section only, Maimonides reasoned, would lend support to the erroneous belief that only these Ten Commandments are important.
Other authorities take issue with Maimonides’ comparison and make the distinction between including only the Ten Commandments in the daily liturgy and standing for the reading of the Ten Commandments. In the latter situation, since the entire Torah portion is read aloud, everyone will realize that the Ten Commandments, notwithstanding their singular importance, did not preclude the other parts of the Torah.
To this day there are variant customs on this matter of sitting or standing while the Ten Commandments are read.
That’s Our Custom!
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A humorous story is told of a young rabbi who assumed his position as rabbi during the week when the Ten Commandments were read in the synagogue. No sooner do they reach the Ten Commandments, and pandemonium breaks loose. Half of the crowd stood while the other half defiantly remained seated; each side shouting and hurling insults at the other side.
The young rabbi decided to seek out the retired and aged rabbi of the synagogue to determine its original custom. He described the chaotic situation and the arguing that prevailed in the synagogue to this senior rabbi, and asked him, what the original custom of the shul was. The rabbi’s answer was: “That was precisely the custom of our synagogue; half would stand and the other half would sit and they would all be shouting at each other.”
The Irony of Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith?
PARSHAS YISRO
It is interesting to note that Maimonides was the one who formulated the Thirteen Principles of Faith, for which he was criticized. One of the criticisms was that he had singled out certain beliefs from the rest of Judaism. This was akin to promoting the Ten Commandments at the expense of all the others.
Isn’t it ironic that Maimonides, who took such a strong stance against standing for the reading of the Ten Commandments, was the one who formulated these 13 fundamental principles? Why wasn’t Maimonides concerned that the people might consider these 13 principles as exclusionary as he was with the Ten Commandments?
Two explanations come to mind.
First, among the thirteen principles one finds two that speak of the Divine origin of the entire Torah—Written and Oral—and that the Torah can never be abrogated. No sane person after reading this list of principles would then go out and declare that one does not have to follow the rest of the Torah!
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A Foundation and a Structure
Second, Maimonides formulation of Thirteen Principles of Faith was intended to provide us with a foundation for Judaism.
While Judaism is a religion primarily of action, one cannot expect these actions to have meaning and endure if they are not based on a firm footing.
It is like a person who builds a home, but tells the contractor that in the interest of speed he should skimp on the foundation. While the structure has a function, it will not last very long. The slightest seismic event will undermine the structure.
Conversely, if we were to build only a foundation it would defeat the entire purpose of building the structure in the first place.
Thus, Maimonides wanted us to have both a solid foundation as well as an appreciation for the integrity of the structure of Judaism itself. To this end Maimonides strongly criticized any attempt to accord more importance to any one collection of teachings, including the Ten Commandments. On the PARSHAS YISRO other hand, Maimonides wanted that we should understand that Judaism consists of an elaborate edifice that was built on solid foundations. And when one closely examines these foundations one sees how they demand and encompass the totality of Judaism.
Belief in Moshiach is Belief in All of Judaism
One of the Thirteen Principle (the 12th one) is the belief in the imminent coming of Moshiach.
When one examines the belief in Moshiach one sees how it leads to the acceptance of and appreciation for all of Judaism. In Maimonides’ own words in his Mishneh Torah, Moshiach’s task is to usher in a world that will facilitate the observance of all of the Commandments without any impediments or distractions.
Not only is this knowledge not suggestive of a belief that excludes other tenets and practices of Judaism, but, on the contrary, the very definition of a Messianic Age is one where PARSHAS YISRO the integrity of the entire Torah is ensured and enhanced.
The Thirteenth Principle of Faith actually incorporates all the preceding within it. IN the Messianic Age we will all be exposed to the reality of One incorporeal Creator who communicated His Torah to us so that we transform the world into a dwelling place for G-d.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Yisro by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
