[Avodah] What was actually written on the luchos, zachor

[Michael Makovi]

>I don't know "who" says it but it is commonly said that the first five >are
> bein adam laMokom and the second five are bein adam lachaveiro, strongly
> suggesting a parallel structure that wouldn't be obvious if, say, four
> dibros  were
> actually written on one luach and six on the other.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, perhaps following Rav Hirsch in his Collected
Writings (I forget which essay), says that each of the bein adam
l'chavero has a corresponding bein adam l'makom.

(1) Hashem is one <--> (6) Don't murder someone *in His image*
(2) Don't commit idolatry <--> (7) Don't commit adultery
(3) Don't use His name vainly <--> (8) Don't steal ("abduct") - I
cannot remember the relationship between these two. Can anyone figure
one out? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that a thief
thinks Hashem isn't looking, and a vain oath-taker thinks Hashem isn't
there to give a dang? This seems weak, and I cannot remember what
Rabbi Blech says.
(4) Keep Shabbat <--> (9) Don't bear false witness (Shabbat =
testimony that Hashem created world, and violating Shabbat is thus
false testimony)
(5) Honor your parents <--> (10) Don't covet (I also cannot remember
this relationship either)

Regarding number three, I saw an interesting Pesikta d'Rab Kahana
quoted in Everyman's Talmud (A. Cohen) that interprets the prohibition
to mean not using His actual name vainly, but rather it interprets it
to prohibit a chillul hashem. The midrash says, when wearing tefillin
( = physically bearing His name) , don't do anything unbecoming of
their (or His) sanctity. Obviously, this command has nothing to do
with tefillin per se, so I'm interpreting this midrash loosely to
prohibit chillul hashem in general, with tefillin as a descriptive
example. Especially, one could say that a Jew is always bearing His
name, as a representative of His people, and thus at all times a Jew
must avoid anything unbecoming of His people. This then fits very well
with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, who says he could never understand why
pronouncing His name unnecessarily was worthy of never being forgiven
(side note, interpreting this commandment to refer exclusively to vain
oaths, would seem to avoid this difficulty, as it is quite obvious why
Hashem would not take kindly to His name being used verbally in
pursuit of deceit), until his friend Dennis Prager said that the
literal Hebrew seemed to say, don't use Hashem to justify ( = bear His
name) an immoral deed of yours; = chillul hashem.

Mikha'el Makovi