You're a 10

The purpose of this blog is to get the kids and folks talking. Please print and share.



Today's question for your table is something that I know has been bothering you for a long time.

You've probably laid awake at night wondering this.

Maybe you've googled it a few times. Google doesn't know.

Psychologists have discovered that we're wired for the number 7.

But for some reason when listing the "top" of any category, we love 10.

Why is this?

Similarly, when we do a countdown, it's always from ten; we never start at nine or eleven.

Why????

Why do weight-lifters do sets of ten?

[pause for discussion around your table]

So here's an experiment I've done numerous times.

Practically everyone in the world has heard of the Ten Commandments.

Some people (anyone at your table?) can actually name them.

There are even a few who can name them in order.

Even some who saw the movie.

Here's the problem - when you look at the text of the Torah - in any language - is it clear that there are exactly ten?

Try it yourself. Here's the text - print it out and pass it around the table - don't tell everyone there are ten - just ask them, how many commandments are there?

(Exodus Ch. 20:1-14)
1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2  I am the Lord your God, who have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for you any engraved image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And showing mercy to thousands of those who love me, and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shall you labor, and do all your work; 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and made it holy. 12 Honor your father and your mother; that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you. 13 You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 14 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.

And what's even more interesting is that although we seem to agree that there are supposed to be ten, others count them differently than we do.

Hmm....

Now I'm assuming by now I've convinced you that there could easily be eleven or twelve commandments on that list.

So here's the question:

Does that sit OK with you - "The 12 Commandments" - ??

If not, why not?

And finally - aren't there supposed to be 613 commandments? (proof that we're not addicted to round numbers?)

So what's up with these ten?

Let me know what you and your table-mates come up with, would you please?


Shabbat Shalom 

PS - Parenting is a lot harder than a simple to-do list, great parenting needs great coaching.

Simi Yellen is one of the best out there. Here's the info on her new phone-class starting next week.

If you have a 2-15-year-old, this is for you. If you know someone who does, please let them know.

Great parents will benefit too.



If you enjoyed this post, please "like" it, "tweet" it, or simply forward it or the online link to others who may enjoy it.

Radiant

When Moses descended from Mount Sinai after 80 days of learning the Torah directly from God, his face was karan-ohr - radiating light. Since Torah scrolls are written without vowels, a Christian translator (St Jerome) made an understandable error: he misread the word karan as keren - horn!

Consequently, Michelangelo's monumental sculpture of Moses, seen to this day in Rome, includes a pair of horns jutting from his head.

(Excerpted from the Amazing Jewish-Fact-a-Day Calendar)

Here's a pic in case you don't believe me! (You may want to print this to share at the dinner table...)

Wait a sec - when the chuckling dies down at your table, try asking these 2 questions:

Question 1 - How is a man's face shining with rays of light (so brightly that he had to wear a veil) less plausible than him growing horns?

Question 2 - Would you say the translator was WRONG or is it truthfully a matter of interpretation?

Shabbat Shalom


PS - If you think about it, everything is subject to this kind of debate around interpretation. Think about the US Constitution, think about the word "freedom".... For something meaningful and memorable to do with the family on President's Day, check out Freedom's Feast.

Meltdown

Dedicated to the memory of Miriam bas Simcha (Rudick), who passed away last week. She was an extraordinarily loyal wife and mother who taught her children the art of lovingkindness.
(To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.)


Please print this page for your dinner table....


A story, a question, an enigma and a question.

The story – remember the sukka rain cover that I blogged about a few weeks ago? (here’s a photo)

So last weekend, a fairly strong (but not unusual) wind blew off one of the plastic roof panels. It looked to me that this specific panel had been improperly secured in the first place.

When I phoned the carpenter on Sunday to tell him what happened, the conversation went something like this:

“Hi Mike (not his real name)? How are you?”

“Fine Mr. Seinfeld, what can I do for you?”

“Well, unfortunately, one of the roof panels came off.”

“How did this happen?”

“Well, I think I know exactly how it happened, but I want you to come look at it. I think it was the wind.”

“The wind?! Then it’s not my fault! I cannot be responsible for wind! You expect if a tree falls on your roof that I will be responsible for it? This is not my fault!”

“Mike, it wasn’t a hurricane. It was a regular wind. Are you saying that you didn’t build the roof strong enough to stand in a regular wind?”

“Of course I did. There’s no way a regular wind could have blown off one of those panels. They had plenty of screws. If one blew off, it’s not my fault!”

“Mike, I think that the way this panel was attached was the problem, but I want you to come look at it. Will you please come look at it?”


This leads to my first question: We all have our bad moments, our moments of anger or frustration – what creates the tipping point?

+ + + +

The Enigma – A married guy calls to ask how to deal with his anger problem (actually, this happened several times recently; is it a trend?)

After we discussed the roots of anger and certain strategies, I told him the midrash about Moses.

In the Torah, Moses is described as both the “greatest” person who ever lived and the “most humble.” Yet the midrash describes him differently, as having an angry nature, burning with an intense and ugly wrath.

How do these two versions of Moses fit together?

My answer is that greatness is not defined by your natural abilities. It is in fact defined by your natural shortcomings, and what you do in this very short lifetime to transcend them.

In other words, Moses wasn't great in spite of his anger. He was great because of his anger. Conquering his anger was the key to his personal shleimus (spiritual completion). His anger was a gift.

Which leads to my second question – since I’m confident that only good people read this blog, I’m wondering if there are any wanna-be great ones out there? If so, would you mind sharing your secret?


Shabbat Shalom.


Some anger vids 4 U...