{"id":2200,"date":"2014-02-17T11:42:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T17:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/?p=2200"},"modified":"2014-02-17T11:42:32","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T17:42:32","slug":"the-tablets-of-the-ten-commandments-were-written-on-both-sides-with-the-writing-visible-from-either-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/?p=2200","title":{"rendered":"“THE TABLETS (OF THE ‘TEN COMMANDMENTS’) … WERE WRITTEN ON BOTH SIDES, WITH THE WRITING VISIBLE FROM EITHER SIDE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tablet\"1. “MOSES CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE TABLETS IN HIS HAND. THEY WERE WRITTEN ON BOTH SIDES, WITH THE WRITING VISIBLE FROM EITHER SIDE. (32:15)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have the picture in our minds.<\/p>\n

Moses comes down from Mount Sinai with the Tablets.<\/p>\n

The Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n

And he presents them to the people.<\/p>\n

\u2026 But the Torah tells us something very interesting.<\/p>\n

That the writing could be seen from both sides.<\/p>\n

That means, that the very same words faced Moshe.<\/p>\n

And were directed to him.<\/p>\n

An important lesson for Moshe. The teacher of the Jewish People.<\/p>\n

And for each of us. Because we are all teachers.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s to our children. We try to teach them Jewish values. Encourage them to be involved Jews.<\/p>\n

We want them to be honest. Generous. And considerate of others.<\/p>\n

Or when we sometimes correct a friend. Because we care.<\/p>\n

Whenever we teach. We must first be sure of one thing.<\/p>\n

That we are not just preaching.<\/p>\n

But that we make the same demands of ourselves.<\/p>\n

And that we live up to them.<\/p>\n

Because let\u2019s face it. No one listens to preaching.<\/p>\n

But most people are willing to follow a good example.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. “G-D GAVE MOSES TWO TABLETS OF STONE.(31:18)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n

The basis of Western values and morality.<\/p>\n

Think about what we are told about them.<\/p>\n

What were they written on?<\/p>\n

Stone tablets.<\/p>\n

Where were they kept?<\/p>\n

In the Jewish Temple. Inside the Ark.<\/p>\n

Made of wood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s symbolic.<\/p>\n

Stone represents that which is unchanging. Constant.<\/p>\n

Wood on the other hand? From trees. It\u2019s symbolic of growth. Change. Adaptability.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very important message.<\/p>\n

Because, Jewish values aren\u2019t always popular. And they aren\u2019t always easy.<\/p>\n

But they are absolute.<\/p>\n

And they challenge us to change. To improve.<\/p>\n

ONE EXAMPLE: TAKE GOSSIP. LASHON HARA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s everywhere.<\/p>\n

The media. The boardroom. And the simple telephone call to a friend.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s hard to resist.<\/p>\n

And left to ourselves, we would probably justify it:<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all: It\u2019s true \u2026 everyone knows about it \u2026 I don\u2019t mean anything by it \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026 But the Torah says: No! It\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n

And that it doesn\u2019t matter what society has accepted.<\/p>\n

There are absolutes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. STORY OF THE WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Rabbi was about to give an informal class on Jewish ethics and values to his students.<\/p>\n

The group met in his office. And as the students walked in carrying their chairs, he told them the following:<\/p>\n

“\u2026 When you bring in a chair for yourself, what are you?<\/p>\n

A ‘shlepper’. A guy carrying something from one place to another.<\/p>\n

\u2026 But what about, if each of you would bring in a chair for someone else?<\/p>\n

It’s the same amount of effort. And each of you still ends up with a chair.<\/p>\n

But now, you’re doing a chessed. An act of kindness.”<\/p>\n

\u2026 It’s an interesting thought.<\/p>\n

How sometimes we can take a simple act.<\/p>\n

And make it something special.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. “MOSES CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE TABLETS IN HIS HAND. THEY WERE WRITTEN ON BOTH SIDES, WITH THE WRITING VISIBLE FROM EITHER SIDE. (32:15) We have the picture in our minds. Moses comes down from Mount Sinai with the Tablets. The Ten Commandments. And he presents them to the people. \u2026 But the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-chicago-torah-network-shabbat-fax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2200"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2205,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions\/2205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}