[Avodah] Luchos

[Lawrence Teitelman]

R'n Toby Katz wrote (as quoted by R' Chaim Manaster):

"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."

in response to which RCM cites a parallelism between the n-th dibrah in each of the respective luchos with each other and with the n-th sefer in Chumash.

Two cents about the two luchos (in honor of the Rosh Chodesh Elul, anniversary of Moshe's trip to get the replacement set):

(1) The majority opinion in some traditional sources (e.g. Mekhilta) - even if not the one accepted in synagogue art - is that all ten of the Ten Commandments were written on
/each/ of the two "tablets".

(2) Even working within the standard five by five model, if we are willing to get philosophical, one can also argue that the distinction between the "Lamakom" and "Lechavero" is not as obvious as it may seem. Honoring one's parents is the most famous problem, with its equally famous answer a la the Gemara in Yevamos that the honor due to parents is alikened to that due to G-d. But there are others: Shabbos, for example, is a day of rest also for one's slaves and animals, in remembrance of the slavery in Egypt, a form of
"Lechavero" (and "Livhemto"). Adultery may be an offense against a married couple but the punishment which is not compensating the victim but rather capital punishment may reflect an inherent indecency and such a violation of kedusha (much like one who commits beastiality is not being punished for the adverse effect on the animal). Similary, murder may be punishable because of the Tzelem Elokim that he has destroyed. False testimony is much more than a slight of another person; it undermines one of the pillars of G-d's world (emes). Of course, the willingness to transgress any sin even against another human - is on some level a rejection of the Commander, i.e. every "Lechavero" is also a "Lamakom".