Brennan Manning writes, “The law is for the unjust. The Spirit does not dwell within the unjust man, so he needs other laws to guide him. The commandments of God and the precepts of the Church make the sinner conscious of his sinfulness. The awareness of his miserable, unhappy existence leads him to grope for God. Thus, the purpose of external law is to lead the sinner to the internal law of love.”
I recently read an article by a Jewish philosopher, Michael Lerner, who writes the Ten Commitments rather than Ten Commandments. As a society we are fearful or tend to steer clear of “laws” and regulations because they act as a hindrance from our own, “deserved” freedom. However, community cannot be built upon “living for the moment”- we need a sense of responsibility, to acquire a sense of right and wrong, appropriate and not, and to take a stance against the suffering that wrong doings can cause.
What Lerner does is that he takes each commandment and first, becomes aware of the suffering that it can cause, then he makes a vow to himself to recognize the need for the right and then a form of action- something that he will do (action, words, service, prayer, etc) to bring on positive change. This ensures that he follows through with the specific “commitment”. By doing this, it makes the commandments personal. You are then changing something about your own lifestyle/daily habits that will benefit your own personal relationship with God as well as the community around you.
1. YHVH, God, the Power of Transformation and Healing, is the Ultimate Reality of the Universe and the Source of Transcendent Unity
Aware of the suffering caused by not acknowledging the ultimate Unity of All Being, I vow to recognize every human being as a manifestation of the Divine and to spend more time each day in awe and wonder at the grandeur of Creation.
Aware of the suffering that is caused when we unconsciously pass on to others the pain, cruelty, depression and despair that has been inflicted upon us, I vow to become conscious and then act upon all the possibilities for healing and transforming my own life and being involved in healing and transforming the larger world.
2. Idolatry
Aware of the suffering caused by taking existing social realities, economic security, ideologies, religious beliefs, national commitments, or the gratification of our current desires as the highest value, I vow to recognize only God as the ultimate, and to look at the universe and each part of my life as an evolving part of a larger Totality whose ultimate worth is measured by how close it brings us to God and to love of each other. To stay in touch with this reality, I vow to meditate each day for at least ten minutes and to contemplate the totality of the universe and my humble place in it.
3. Do not take God in Vain
Aware of the suffering caused by religious or spiritual fanaticism, I vow to be respectful of all religious traditions which preach love and respect for the Other, and to recognize that there are many possible paths to God. I vow to acknowledge that we as Jews are not better than others and our path is only one of the many ways that people have heard God’s voice. I vow to remain aware of the distortions in our own traditions, and the ways that I myself necessarily bring my own limitations to every encounter with the Divine. So I will practice spiritual humility. Yet I will enthusiastically advocate for what I find compelling in the Jewish tradition and encourage others to explore that which has moved me.
4. Observe the Sabbath
Aware of the suffering produced by excessive focus on “making it” and obtaining material satisfactions, I vow to regularly observe Shabbat (one 25 hour period each week in which we stop all connection with work, money, buying, dominating the world, and focus exclusively on celebration and joy at the grandeur of the universe) as a day in which I focus on celebrating the world rather than trying to control it or maximize my own advantage within it. I will build Shabbat with a community and enjoy loving connection with others. I will use some Shabbat time to renew my commitment to social justice and healing. I will also set aside significant amounts of time for inner spiritual development, personal renewal, reflection, and pleasure.
5. Honor your mother and father
Aware of the suffering caused by aging, disease, and death, I vow to provide care and support for my parents.
Aware that every parent has faults and has inflicted pain on their children, I vow to forgive my parents and to allow myself to see them as human beings with the same kinds of limitations as every other human being on the planet. And I vow to remember the moments of kindness and nurturance, and to let them play a larger role in my memory as I develop a sense of compassion for them and for myself.
6. Do not murder
Aware of the suffering caused by wars, environmental irresponsibility, and eruptions of violence, I vow to recognize the sanctify of life and not to passively participate in social practices that are destructive of the lives of others. I will resist the perpetrators of violence and oppression of others, the poisoners of our environment, and those who demean others or encourage acts of violence. Aware that much violence is the irrational and often self-destructive response to the absence of love and caring, I vow to show more loving and caring energy to everyone around me, to take the time to know others more deeply, and to struggle for a world which provides everyone with recognition and spiritual nourishment.
7. Do not engage in sexual exploitation
Aware of the suffering caused when people break their commitments of sexual loyalty to each other, and the suffering caused by using other people for our own sexual purposes, I vow to keep my commitments and to be fully honest and open in my sexual dealings with others, avoiding deceit or manipulation to obtain my own ends. I will rejoice in my body and the bodies of others, will treat them as embodiments of Divine energy, and will seek to enhance my own pleasure and the pleasure of others around me, joyfully celebrating sex as an opportunity for encounter with the holy. I will do all I can to prevent sexual abuse in adults and children, the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases, and the misuse of sexuality to further domination or control of others. I will respect the diversity of non-expletive sexual expression and lifestyles and will not seek to impose sexual orthodoxies on others.
8. Do not steal
Aware of the suffering caused by an unjust distribution of the world’s resources, exploitation, and theft, I vow to practice generosity, to share what I have, and to not keep anything that should belong to others while working for a wise use of the goods and services that are available. I will not horde what I have, and especially will not horde love. I will support a fairer redistribution of the wealth of the planet so that everyone has adequate material well-being, recognizing that contemporary global inequalities in wealth are often the resultant of colonialism, genocide, slavery, theft and the imposition of monetary and trade policies by the powerful on the powerless. In the meantime, I will do my best to support the homeless and others who are in need.
Aware that others sometimes contribute much energy to keeping this community functioning, I will give time and energy to the tasks of building the Tikkun community or some other community of people dedicated to healing and transforming the world, and, when possible, will donate generously of my financial resources and my talents and time.
9. Do not lie
Aware of the suffering caused by wrongful speech, I vow to cultivate a practice of holy speech in which my words are directed to increasing the love and caring in the world. I vow to avoid words that are misleading or manipulative, and avoid spreading stories that I do not know to be true, or which might cause unnecessary divisiveness or harm, and instead will use my speech to increase harmony, social justice, kindness, hopefulness, trust and solidarity. I will be generous in praise and support for others. To heighten my awareness of this commitment, I will dedicate one day a week to full and total holiness of words, refraining from any speech that day which does not hallow God’s name or bring joy to others.
10. Do not covet
Aware of the suffering caused by excessive consumption of the world’s resources, I vow to rejoice in what I have and to live a life of ethical consumption governed by a recognition that the world’s resources are already strained and by a desire to promote ecological sustainability and material modesty. I vow to see the success of others as an inspiration rather than as detracting from my own sufficiency and to cultivate in myself and others the sense that I have enough and that I am enough and that there is enough for everyone.
