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Many question the placement of the commandment to honor parents in the first half of the asseret hadibrot. Assuming the dibrot divide evenly between commandments between man and God and interpersonal mitzvot, why does honoring parents appear in the first category? While R. Yosef Bechor Shor does not explicitly pose this question, his comments prove relevant (see his commentary on Shemot 20:11). He explains the prohibition against worshiping other gods might erroneously lead to the conclusion that honoring parents is theologically problematic; after all, it means honoring beings other than God. The Torah emphasizes that God directs us to honor parents and does not view this as a diminution of divine honor. Quite the contrary! The ability to show gratitude to parents for giving birth and ongoing care means a parallel ability to express thanks to God for all He does for us. Conversely, difficulty with gratitude does not bode well for a successful relationship with the Holy One, blessed be He.

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In the introduction to his eighth century Halachot Gedolot, one of the earliest compendia of Jewish law we have, the author (known as Behag, the acronym for Baal Halachot Gedolot, author of Halachot Gedolot) provided one of the earliest extant listings of the 613 mitzvot, and grouped them by punishment, so that a part of his list gives us exactly the subset of prohibitions we were seeking. While some of his choices were subjected to later critique, particularly by Maimonides, enough of his list is universally accepted that we can use it without abandoning our search for unanimity.

Behag notes eighteen commandments punishable by stoning. Just before I begin, let me note and reiterate that Judaism never favored the wholesale, or even infrequent, use of the death penalty. These penalties would only be administered in the most extreme cases, where the sinner flagrantly and willfully flouted communal mores. We are here looking at these penalties only as markers of the severity of the transgression involved.

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Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel would say: The world stands on three things: justice, truth, and peace as it says ‘Execute the judgment of truth, justice and peace in your gates’ (Zekharya 8:16).

What do R. Shimon’s three categories refer to and how does his list relate to the statement of Shimon haTzaddik that the world stands upon Torah, avoda and gemilut chassadim ? R. Ovadia Bartenura and the Tosafot Yom Tov explain that the earlier mishna referred to those things for which the world was created whereas our mishna speaks of those items that preserve society. The two need not go hand in hand. Individuals can excel at Torah study, prayer and benevolence but they cannot establish a flourishing society lacking truth or peace.

Rambam connects this list with his view on the goals of human life. In several places, Rambam writes that humanity should strive towards intellectual and ethical perfection and that achieving those goals depends upon a stable and just society (Moreh Nevuchim 3:27, 54, Shemoneh Perakim chapters 2, 4). According to his interpretation, “truth” refers to intellectual cognition, “peace” to moral greatness, and “justice” to a society enabling such flourishing.

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This week’s parsha begins with a visit from Moshe’s father-in-law, the Midianite priest, Yitro. The Torah tells us that after Yitro heard about the miraculous events surrounding the exodus from Egypt, he took Moshe’s wife and children, whom Moshe had left behind in Midian when he went to free the Jewish people from Egypt, and brought them to the Israelite camp in the desert. Moshe comes out to greet him, and then tells him about all of the tribulations the Israelites had gone through, and how God had, again and again, saved them. The Torah records Yitro’s response to this miraculous tale - “va’yichad Yitro” - “And Yitro was happy for all the good which God had done for Israel, that he saved them from the hands of Egypt.” Va’yichad is a rare word, which appears only a handful of times in the Bible, and apparently means to rejoice or be jubilant. Rashi, in his commentary says that that is, in fact, the simple meaning of the word here.

The strangeness of the word, however, seems to prompt the Rabbis to see another implication here, which Rashi also quotes: “His flesh became chidudin chidudin [a play on the word va'yichad, and which means his skin was full of sharp points, i.e., he had goosebumps], as he was upset over the loss of Egypt. This is what people mean when they say ‘Do not, even after ten generations, insult a non-Jew in front of a convert.’” On one level, this Rabbinic understanding of the rare word va’yichad teaches us about sensitivity. People carry their backgrounds and histories around with them. Yitro, as a non-Jew from Midian, identifies and sympathizes, on some level, with Egypt. Even though he is now more closely identified with the people of his son-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren, he still retains some measure of identification with the Egyptians, and is upset by news of their defeat.

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