The Ten Commandments are so closely interwoven, that the breaking of
one leads to the breaking of another. But there is a particularly
strong bond of union between the first five commandments, which are
written on one table, and the last five, which were on the other table.
The first commandment: "I am the Lord, thy God," corresponds to the
sixth: "Thou shalt not kill," for the murderer slays the image of God.
The second: "Thou shalt have no strange gods before me," corresponds to
the seventh: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," for conjugal
faithlessness is as grave a sin as idolatry, which is faithlessness to
God. The third commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
in vain," corresponds to the eighth: "Thou shalt not steal," for theft
leads to false oath. The fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy," corresponds to the ninth: "Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbor," for he who bears false witness against
his neighbor commits as grave a sin as if he had borne false witness
against God, saying that He had not created the world in six days and
rested on the seventh, the Sabbath. The fifth commandment: "Honor thy
father and thy mother," corresponds to the tenth: "Covet not thy
neighbor's wife," for one who indulges this lust produces children who
will not honor their true father, but will consider a stranger their
father. [236]
The Ten Commandments, which God first revealed on Mount Sinai,
correspond in their character to the ten words of which He had made use
at the creation of the world. The first commandment: "I am the Lord,
thy God," corresponds to the first word at the creation: "Let there be
light," for God is the eternal light. The second commandment: "Thou
shalt have no strange gods before me," corresponds to the second word:
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide
the waters from the waters." For God said: "Choose between Me and the
idols; between Me, the fountain of living waters, and the idols, the
stagnant waters." The third commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name
of thy God in vain" corresponds to the word: "Let the waters be
gathered together," for as little as water can be gathered in a cracked
vessel, so can a man maintain his possession which he has obtained
through false oaths. The fourth commandment: "Remember to keep the
Sabbath holy," corresponds to the word: "Let the earth bring forth
grass," for he who truly observes the Sabbath will receive good things
from God without having to labor for them, just as the earth produces
grass that need not be sown. For at the creation of man it was God's
intention that he be free from sin, immortal, and capable of supporting
himself by the products of the soil without toil. The fifth
commandment: "Honor thy father and thy mother," corresponds to the
word: "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven," for God
said to man: "I gave thee two lights, thy father and thy mother, treat
them with care." The sixth commandment: "Thou shalt not kill,"
corresponds to the word: "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the
moving creature," for God said: "Be not like the fish, among whom the
great swallow the small." The seventh commandment: "Thou shalt not
commit adultery," corresponds to the word: "Let the earth bring forth
the living creature after his kind," for God said: "I chose for thee a
spouse, abide with her." The eighth commandment: "Thou shalt not
steal," corresponds to the word: "Behold, I have given you every
herb-bearing seed," for none, said God, should touch his neighbor's
goods, but only that which grows free as the grass, which is the common
property of all. The ninth commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbor," corresponds to the word: "Let us make
man in our image." Thou, like thy neighbor, art made in My image, hence
bear not false witness against thy neighbor. The tenth commandment:
"Thou shalt not covet the wife of thy neighbor," corresponds to the
tenth word of the creation: "It is not good for man to be alone," for
God said: "I created thee a spouse, and let not one among ye covet his
neighbor's wife." [237]