Back the future – Va’et’channan
Parashat Va’et’channan contains a repetition (with some changes) of the Ten Commandments, which we encountered for the first time in Parashat Yitro.
Moses & Aaron with the Ten Commandments, by Aron de Chavez c.1675
The natural question is why we need the repeat.
One of the many answers is suggested by the commandments themselves. The more we repeat the crucial words, “Do not kill”, the more likely the thought is to become natural to our thinking. The more we speak of honouring our parents, the more the rule becomes second nature.
Having a second version of the Ten Commandments helps to fix them in our mind.
The more we look back at these basic Biblical duties, the more we will bear them with us on our progress to the future.
