Meditation of the Sad Soul

We will now return to the main topic. The Holy One divided His holy Torah according to the three classes of believers mentioned above.¹ He gave every class its own straight path and statutes, so that they might hold to the route that lies directly before them, and not leave it, and it will benefit them, and they will have no need of anything else.

The beginning of His Torah and commandments, which He commanded to His people, is the Ten Commandments, which were heard from the mouth of the Almighty. They encompass all the commandments and statutes to which a person is obligated, in the form of major general principles that are sufficient [in themselves] for the person who has set himself aside for the One above [i.e., the first class of believers] and who does not need [to be instructed about] their particular [details], and through those [principles] he will merit the life of the world to come.

To clarify this matter properly, I will introduce some ideas that will be useful for our explanations. All one’s dealings in the world that befall one, and those items one uses and requires, can be divided into three broad categories. Some are matters between a man and his Maker, others involve a man and his household, while yet others are between a man and the rest of the members of his society. A person makes use of each and every one of these three, in three forms, or in three ways, or by three orders, however you wish to call it. These three are matters in the heart, matters expressed verbally, and matters accompanied by actions of the limbs.

If you fully perfect each of these three categories, you will attain nine things that incorporate all the different paths that people take in this world, and their dealings, which they must correct and straighten out in the world. This correction is divided into two orders.

[The first] can be achieved through people’s thought and their knowledge and through the consensus among them that they use safeguards and fences, which they will follow and from which they will not depart in all their dealings in this world, and all the norms of the [non-Jewish] nations, through which they regulate all their actions and business in this world. They provide no benefit for [attaining] the world to come, as they and their wise men admit. You thus find that all the issues of the nations can be divided into nine parts, if you count their ways together with their gods. This is the first order.

The second order is not a correction achieved by humans and their thought, and it cannot be established and constructed on the basis of their deficient and limited knowledge. Rather, this correction is from the wellsprings of pure wisdom, pronounced from the mouth of the Almighty, which means that it is effective both for this world and for the world to come. Certainly, this correction divides into the nine aforementioned parts, and one should neither add to nor subtract from them. However, we must proclaim them, publicize the source of their rectification, and teach the secret of their structure. In this manner, the nine parts will increase to ten, and the tenth is the most important of all; they all depend upon it and are named after it.

Thus, we have arrived at the number of ten matters, as through logical reasoning there cannot be less or more than ten. These include the 613 specified commandments. They were originally incorporated in the Ten Commandments because they are sufficient for [the first class of believers, namely,] faithful, wise, God-fearing men, who set themselves aside and separate themselves for His name. Subsequently, they were specified and elucidated over and again, in order to lead the rest of the people and serve as a reminder to them. We will explain how these incorporated all of the commandments, and in what way they are sufficient for every God-fearing person who distances himself from the ways of the world to be separated in his place.

We maintain that the first commandment informs us that all the nine ensuing ones are from the mouth of the Almighty, and that it is proper to observe and perform all of His great command and His upright counsel. The first three detail all matters between a man and his Maker. The first of these teaches the order of the faith of the heart. This commandment includes all the commandments that concern the service of God, and the fear and love of Him. The second commandment clarifies the order of faith as expressed verbally, which are oaths, vows, mentioning the name of strange gods, and similar commandments. The third commandment delineates the order of faith that involves action, including Sabbaths, the festivals, the New Moons, and the like.

You thus find that the first three commandments establish all matters between a man and his Maker, while the next three include things that are between a man and his household. The first of these is honoring one’s father and mother, which takes pride of place in all issues that are between a man and the members of his household. This matter depends on one’s heart, since if the word or the utterance does not come from the heart, this is not considered honoring. Rather, it should be called weight or effort and not honor or glory. This commandment includes, together with the honoring of parents, the honoring of Torah scholars and all God-fearing individuals.

The second is “you shall not murder,” a commandment that refers to the killing of a person, everything that is akin to such a deed, and anything that depends upon it. This commandment is placed in the category “between a man and the members of his household,” even though it is something that one must guard against with regard to all people. This is because a person takes greater care to avoid harming the members of his household and his dear ones than in harming others. Since scripture warns against harming them in general terms, we understand that it includes the entire world, together with the members of his household.

The third is from the commandments that involve action, and it is the commandment “you shall not commit adultery.” This includes all the commandments that refer to forbidden relations, licentiousness, and all similar matters. It is clear that this is in the category of matters between a man and the members of his household.

We are left with the third category, which concerns matters between a man and the rest of the people in his society, as detailed in the last three commandments. The first of these is “you shall not steal,” which includes all types of stealing, robbery, exploitation, and all underhanded dealings between a man and his peers, those who are not members of his household. For stealing and the like result from what a person does with his house and his money. This category begins with things that involve actions, because these are the most severe when it comes to matters between a man and the rest of the world, in contrast to matters between a man and his Maker, where the most severe is what lies in the heart.

The second is the commandment “you shall not bear false witness,” which means all of the commandments involving speech between a man and his contemporaries. These include the laws of lying, false witnesses, slanderers, and so on. The third is the commandment “you shall not covet,” which lays out all the commandments that depend on the musings of the heart and one’s thoughts that affect the relationship between a man and his peers. These include coveting, taking vengeance, bearing a grudge, baseless hatred, and other such sins, which the sages have set down in their books. There is no need for us to enumerate and detail them at this juncture.