Aseres HaDibros — Hashem’s Revelation at Har Sinai

There is one moment in all of history when Hashem spoke aloud to an entire people at once. It was on Shavuos, at the foot of a desert mountain, and what was heard there became the foundation of everything that followed. Each year on Shavuos we return to that mountain. The Sefer Torah is opened to Parshas Yisro, the congregation rises to its feet, and the Aseres HaDibros — the Ten Statements given at Har Sinai — are read aloud with a special cantillation that recreates the way they were first received.

These ten utterances are commonly called the Ten Commandments, though the Torah itself calls them Aseres HaDevarim, the Ten Words, and Chazal understood them as the headings beneath which the whole of the Torah is organized. To stand at Sinai again, we begin with what the Aseres HaDibros are.

Understanding the Aseres HaDibros

The Aseres HaDibros (עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, “the Ten Statements”) are the ten utterances Hashem spoke to Klal Yisroel at Har Sinai, recorded in the Torah in two places — Parshas Yisro (Shemos 20) and, with slight variation, Parshas Va’eschanan (Devarim 5). The Torah refers to them as Aseres HaDevarim (Shemos 34:28; Devarim 4:13, 10:4), literally “the Ten Words” or “Ten Statements.” The familiar English rendering “the Ten Commandments” is imprecise, because several of the ten contain more than one mitzvah and the grouping is by statement rather than by count of commandments. Rashi on Shemos 24:12 writes that all 613 mitzvos were included within the Aseres HaDibros, and notes that Rav Saadia Gaon explained in his Azharos which mitzvos depend on each dibbur.

When were they given? Shavuos is observed on the sixth of Sivan, in the second year measured from the Exodus — the year 2448 from creation; the Gemara itself discusses whether Matan Torah occurred on the sixth or the seventh of Sivan (Shabbos 86b).

Who received them? All of Klal Yisroel — men, women, and children — stood together at the foot of the mountain. Sinai was a national revelation witnessed by all Israel. In addition, the covenant is understood by Chazal to include even future generations — and, in Midrash, even future souls — based on Devarim 29:14 and Rashi there. Chazal further distinguish the first two dibros as having been heard directly from Hashem, with the remaining statements taught through Moshe Rabbeinu (Makkos 24a).

Where do they sit in the Jewish year and in the structure of Torah? In the Jewish year, the Aseres HaDibros are commemorated on Shavuos, the sixth of Sivan, marking the day they were given at Har Sinai. But their significance extends far beyond a single holiday: they are the structural foundation of all Torah and mitzvos. Every one of the 613 commandments is rooted in one of the ten dibros. They are not ten separate laws, but ten categories—ten domains of Jewish life. The first five speak to our relationship with Hashem; the last five, our obligations to one another. This means that when you keep Shabbos, give tzedakah, honor your parents, or speak truth, you are living out what was spoken at Sinai. The Aseres HaDibros don’t belong to ancient history; they are woven into every day of our lives as Jews.

The History and Origins of the Aseres HaDibros at Har Sinai

The account of Matan Torah is given in the Torah itself. After leaving Mitzrayim and journeying through the wilderness, Klal Yisroel encamped before Har Sinai. The Torah describes the third day: thunder and lightning, a heavy cloud upon the mountain, the sound of a shofar growing ever stronger, and the mountain wrapped in smoke and fire as Hashem descended upon it. From that fire the people heard the Divine voice at the mountain, as the Aseres HaDibros were given. The Torah was given there and then received by the people, who answered na’aseh v’nishma, “we will do and we will hear” — accepting the covenant before knowing its full contents, an acceptance Chazal praise as the height of emunah.

The Torah was given by Hashem at Sinai and received by Israel; it was not composed, invented, reimagined, or assembled by human beings. The mesorah, the unbroken transmission from Sinai through Moshe Rabbeinu to Yehoshua, the Zekeinim, the Nevi’im, and the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah (as the Mishnah opens in Avos 1:1), preserved and transmitted what was received; it did not modernize or democratize it. The grandeur of Shavuos rests entirely on this: that the Torah’s authority comes from its Divine origin, witnessed by an entire nation, not from later human endorsement.

The reading of the Aseres HaDibros on Shavuos developed as the natural way to mark the day. The Shulchan Aruch rules that on Shavuos we read the portion of Parshas Yisro that contains the Aseres HaDibros (Orach Chaim 494). A distinctive cantillation tradition grew up around the reading, and the custom to stand during it spread across most communities, though, as we will see, it was the subject of careful discussion by the poskim. What did not change across the generations is the meaning of the day: each Shavuos, we do not merely recall Matan Torah; we reenact it, hearing the same words our ancestors heard at the mountain.

The Prayers, Readings, and Customs of Matan Torah on Shavuos

What the Aseres HaDibros Mean: A Deeper Look

Four of the ten, read closely, reveal how much the Torah folds into a single statement.

“Anochi Hashem Elokecha” — the first word is a relationship, not a rule. The opening statement is phrased not as a command but as a self-introduction: I am Hashem your G-d, Who took you out of Mitzrayim. The commentators explain that this establishes the foundation of emunah and the obligation to know that Hashem exists and rules the world; everything else rests on it. They note, too, that Hashem identifies Himself by the redemption from Mitzrayim, a kindness already done, rather than by His creation of the universe — He earns our loyalty by what He did for us.

“Zachor es yom haShabbos” — building holiness into time. The fourth statement commands the keeping of Shabbos, and Chazal famously teach that the two versions of the Aseres HaDibros — “zachor” (remember) in Yisro and “shamor” (guard) in Va’eschanan — were spoken by Hashem in a single utterance, beyond the reach of human speech (see Rashi, Shemos 20:8). The commentators explain that Shabbos is the testimony that Hashem created the world and continues to govern it. The lesson is that kedushah is not only found in special places but built into time itself, available every seventh day to anyone who guards it.

“Kabeid es avicha v’es imecha” — the bridge between the two luchos. The fifth statement, honoring father and mother, sits at the end of the first luchos, among the mitzvos between a person and Hashem, even though it concerns other people. The meforshim explain that honoring parents is the gateway to honoring Hashem, since it is through our parents that we receive life, tradition, and the very knowledge of the Torah. The placement teaches that respect for the people who transmitted our mesorah to us is itself part of our service of Hashem. You can read more about this mitzvah in our article on Kibud Av V’Em.

“Lo sachmod” — the commandment that reaches into the heart. The final statement forbids coveting what belongs to another. The Ibn Ezra raises the obvious difficulty: how can the Torah command a feeling? He answers with a parable — a wise person does not covet something he knows to be utterly beyond his reach, and so we are to train ourselves to see another’s portion as Divinely allotted and therefore not ours to desire. The Aseres HaDibros thus begin with belief in Hashem and end inside the human heart, teaching that Torah is meant to reshape not only what we do but what we want.

The Laws and Customs of Reading the Aseres HaDibros

Two practical matters surrounding the reading carry real halachic discussion, and both are worth understanding.

The custom to stand is old and widespread, and it is also the subject of a famous machlokes. In a responsum, the Rambam ruled that one who is already seated should not rise specifically for the Aseres HaDibros, out of concern that singling out these ten might suggest that only they were given by Hashem — the very concern that led Chazal to remove the daily recitation of the Aseres HaDibros because of the claim of the sectarians (Berachos 12a). On these grounds, Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yechaveh Da’as 1:29) is widely cited as discouraging standing only for the ten. On the other side, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim 4:22) is widely cited as upholding the widespread custom to stand, while recommending that one not appear to rise only for the ten. A further explanation offered by later writers is that reading the passage with the ta’am elyon on Shavuos presents it not merely as ordinary krias haTorah but as a commemoration of Matan Torah. The practical result is that many communities stand and face the Sefer Torah; one who belongs to a community with a different practice follows his own minhag, and where the congregation stands, an individual generally stands with them.

The cantillation, as noted, is read with the ta’am elyon on Shavuos, dividing the text by the ten statements. In some communities, the aliyah containing the Aseres HaDibros is treated with special honor. A further widespread practice is to bring the entire household — men, women, and children — to shul to hear the reading, based on the idea that the annual reading is treated as a reliving of Matan Torah and on the broader model of communal Torah-hearing that includes the whole household.

The Spiritual Power of Tefillah and Tzedakah

The Torah given at Sinai is not only a code of law; it is, as Chazal teach, a Torah of chesed from beginning to end (Sotah 14a). The Torah we received at Sinai shapes us into people through whom His kindness flows into the world.

This is the deep tie between Matan Torah and the work of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. To accept the Torah is to accept responsibility for its most vulnerable — the widow, the orphan, the poor of Eretz Yisroel. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness pledged to intercede in Heaven for those who give to the needy in his memory. When you support a Torah scholar or a struggling family in Yerushalayim, you are fulfilling the very Torah whose giving Shavuos celebrates, and you are standing, in the truest sense, at the foot of the mountain once again.

Give Tzedakah in the Merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness The Torah we received at Har Sinai begins with knowing Hashem and never stops commanding us to care for His children. Your gift to the poor of Eretz Yisroel, in the merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, brings the words of Sinai to life.

About Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, is one of the oldest and most trusted tzedakah organizations serving the poor of Eretz Yisroel, upholding Rabbi Meir Baal Haness’s legacy that those who give to the needy in his memory find heavenly intercession in their time of need.

Today it distributes funds to Torah scholars, widows, orphans, and needy families throughout Eretz Yisroel — an unbroken chain of compassion and a zechus for the giver and their family.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Aseres HaDibros

Closing

At Sinai, the Jewish nation stood “as one person with one heart,” as Rashi says on “ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר” (Rashi to Shemos 19:2). Each Shavuos brings us back to zman matan Toraseinu (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 494:1), and the Torah we received there asks us to carry one another, including the poor, with special precedence given to the poor of Eretz Yisroel (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 251:3). May we merit to receive the Torah anew this year with joy, and to live as a people that still stands together at the mountain.