Ex. 18:1 - 20:23
Précis: Following last week’s trip through the Red Sea, Moses is reunited with his father-in-law Jethro (“Yitro”) and with his family. Yitro acknowledges God, gives wise advice to Moses about delegating responsibility, and Moses appoints assistants (judges). The Israelites come to the foot of Mount Sinai where, in the ultimate transcendental experience, Revelation takes place as the “Ten Utterances” (Commandments) are spoken to the People by the very Voice of God.
Ex. 20:14 “You shall not covet…”
This last of the 10 Commandments we read this week is a powerful statement about the human condition.
I admit I covet much. I covet those whose families enjoy complete health. I covet those who freely travel around the world. I covet those who seem to be care-free.
Most of us covert things: relationships, prosperity, success and many other matters which others seem to have. Most of the commandments relate to actions between God and humans, or between humans; this command is one which relates to an individual’s internal need to believe and act in a certain, highly difficult way.
Coveting is explicitly banned, even though it is part of human nature. While we may feel guilty about being covetous, what can (and should) disturb us most is that one is the victim of one’s coveting. In so doing, one robs oneself from the joy and satisfaction one can feel in one’s life. As noted in Pirke Avot (4:1), “Who is wealthy? One who is happy with one’s portion.” But how do we achieve this?
In my life, I find satisfaction in my contributions to my shul and to my community, in my own health, in the love of my wife and children, in my relative financial security, and in my ability to study and write. I find satisfaction with the guys I work out at the gym, and with my softball teammates. While I am certainly not looking at life through rose-colored glasses, and while I do face real challenges, I can also be "wealthy" in the words of Pirke Avot, being happy with what blessings I do have.
Our Biblical tradition is thick with coveting, from Adam and Eve through the sibling rivalries of Genesis, to the rivalries between the kings of Judah and Israel and their descendants. Coveting begets unhappiness and leads to a host of dangerous if not fatal consequences. We need to recognize that much unhappiness is self-imposed through failing to abide by this commandment. We need to find the things in life (great or small) in which we can rejoice. We need to find joy.
This, too, is not an easy task, especially when so much of the world poses dangers to the Jewish People. But finding joy in our lives is the only way in which this important mitzvah can be observed.
