Why the noise?

The Ten Commandments on the Walls of a Public School

A federal appeals court this week heard arguments regarding laws in Louisiana and Texas that require the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom of public schools. The laws have, for now, been blocked by lower courts, which ruled that they violate the principle of separation of church and state.

The states argue that the Ten Commandments are not being presented as a religious document, but rather as a foundational historical and legal text that shaped the constitutional tradition of the United States. On the other side, the plaintiffs,  parents and civil-rights organizations ,  maintain that the very requirement to hang the text in every classroom is inherently a religious act.

During the hearing, a judge posed a fundamental question to the plaintiffs’ attorney: where is the boundary between permissible historical content and impermissible religious content in a public school? As an example, she mentioned Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail ,  a text that is commonly displayed and taught, even though it includes extensive references to the Bible. (This is a public letter written by Martin Luther King in 1963 while imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama, after being arrested during a non-violent struggle against racial segregation.)

When the attorney replied that such a text is not automatically disqualified, the judge pressed further, emphasizing how saturated it is with religious content, thereby challenging the claim that the religious character of a document alone renders it unsuitable for educational display.

The governor of Louisiana and the attorney general expressed confidence that the court would uphold the law,  and if not, they intend to appeal to the Supreme Court. In short, the story is far from over.

I do not wish to enter into the public debate surrounding the display of the Ten Commandments. That is not the issue right now. What I want to share with you is how the Jewish people relate to the Ten Commandments,  and how we ensure that everyone, children and adults alike, knows them and lives with them.

Engraved not Displayed

At the beginning of the 1940s, the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe instructed the chassid Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, of blessed memory, to travel to Chicago to visit the Chabad chassidim living there. In those years, Chabad’s greatest supporters resided in Chicago, and therefore it was very important that he visit.

Before his departure, he entered the Rebbe’s room to receive instructions and a farewell blessing. The Rebbe told him that when he arrived in Chicago, he should make an effort to meet Mr. Yechezkel Lisner.

Yechezkel Lisner was a descendant of a chassidic family dating back to the time of the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya. His surname, Lisner, came from the town of Liozna,  the city of the Alter Rebbe. The Rebbe asked Rabbi Shmuel to remind him of his roots and lineage, and to try to influence him to draw closer to Judaism.

When Rabbi Shmuel Levitin arrived in Chicago, as soon as he stepped off the train he told those who came to greet him that he must go visit Mr. Lisner.  After many efforts, they finally reached him at his business. When they entered his office, Mr. Lisner was very surprised. Rabbi Shmuel told him he had known his father and grandfather; they spoke about his family and roots. It was a very warm and heartfelt conversation. Toward the end of the visit, Yechezkel pulled out his checkbook and asked, “To whose order should I write the check?”

Rabbi Shmuel Levitin replied that they had not come to ask for a donation. Mr. Lisner responded, “An elderly Jew drags himself from New York to Chicago just to drink a cup of tea in my office?!” Rabbi Levitin said he would give him a parable.

He explained that in the shtetl in Europe a small town could not support a Torah scribe. Therefore, to support himself, the scribe would travel from town to town checking Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot, and if he discovered a letter that had faded, he would repair it.

“Yisrael,” Rabbi Shmuel continued, “is an acronym for There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah. Every Jew is a letter in the Torah scroll. Sometimes a Jew appears to have a faded letter,  Shabbat, kashrut, and so on, and I was sent by the Rebbe to repair the faded letters.”

Yechezkel was deeply moved by these words, and they parted warmly. From that day onward, he began a period of drawing closer to a life of Torah and mitzvot.

When Rabbi Shmuel returned to New York, he entered the Rebbe’s room to report on the visit. Immediately, the Rebbe asked, “Did you go to Lisner?” He described everything that had happened, including the dialogue. Yet he quickly noticed that the Rebbe was not satisfied with the explanation he had given. He asked what was incorrect.

The Rebbe explained: there are two types of letters ,  written letters and engraved letters. The letters written in a Torah scroll are “letters of writing”: there is parchment and ink, two separate things joined together through writing, and therefore a letter can fade.

But, said the Rebbe, the connection of a Jew to Torah is like the Ten Commandments engraved on the tablets. These are “letters of engraving.” In such a case, it is impossible for a letter to fade. The only thing that can happen is that it becomes covered with a layer of dust. All that is required is to remove the dust so that the connection with G-d and His Torah is revealed again. The task is to clean away the dust clinging to the letter, and uncover and strengthen the deep and eternal bond between every Jew and the Torah and G-d.

Therefore it is not enough for it to hang on the wall ,  the goal is that it should be engraved in the heart.

Chassidim and Rebbe are one

This week we read in Parshat Yitro the story of the giving of the Torah. And here an almost obvious question arises: why all the noise?

G-d gives the Ten Commandments with thunder and lightning, fire, cloud, and thick mist. Mount Sinai is filled with smoke; the mountain trembles and shakes. One might ask: why all this upheaval? Could G-d not have given the Torah quietly and calmly?

After all, before the giving of the Torah, Moses asked the people of Israel if they were ready to accept it, and they answered as one: “We will do and we will hear.” What, then, was lacking? Why not simply call the people and tell them in a calm way: believe in G-d, do not worship idols, observe Shabbat, honor your parents, do not steal, and so on? Regarding the first tablets, Rashi says that because they were given “amid rejoicing, voices, and assemblies, the evil eye had power over them” (Ki Tisa 33:3). So why all this?

They tell of a Jew standing at the Western Wall praying loudly and shouting. Someone approached him and said, “Jew,  why the shouting? Perhaps try first in a gentler way.”

The answer is simple. The giving of the Torah was not meant only so that Israel would hear and accept commandments at that moment. G-d wanted something engraved ,  not in the ears, but in the soul.

He wanted the Ten Commandments not to be merely a system of laws, but a powerful experience, a moment that shakes a person ,  something that remains forever.

And not only Israel. The Sages say in the Midrash that when G-d declared, “I am the Lord your G-d,” the entire world trembled. It was a deep imprint upon souls,  of Israel and of all humanity. Therefore there was fire, cloud, and mist ,  so that the Ten Commandments would not remain on stone tablets, but be engraved in the heart of Israel.

A famous Chassid known as the Volper, was initially among the foremost disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch. In his early years he was the greatest among them,  so much so that all the students would go hear him repeat the Maggid’s teachings, because he conveyed them precisely and beautifully. Later he underwent a spiritual crisis.

It is told that once chassidim encountered him at an inn. When he stepped away briefly, one of them began rummaging through his bag. Volper noticed and asked what he was looking for,  had he taken something from him? The chassid admitted he was searching for some “written chassidic teaching” of the Maggid. Volper replied: among you, the Rebbe and the Torah are one thing, and the chassidim are another,  therefore you need writings. But among us, the Rebbe, the Torah, and the chassidim are one.

The Torah is engraved in the heart of every Jew,  we only need to clean away the dust.