Here's a great tip:
Oh, and don't forget to like our facebook page too!
Printed from
All Departments
Jewish Holidays
Jewish.TV - Video
Jewish Audio
Kabbalah Online
Kids Zone
How the First Commandment, "I Am the L-rd your G-d", and the Sixth Commandment, 'Do not kill", are one and the same

The First Commandment

The First Commandment


Almost everyone has heard of the Ten Commandments, and many can name at least three or four; in fact, there must be a good few million who can list all ten, in order. Less common, however, is the knowledge that this 10-point encapsulation of G‑d's message to man reads in two directions: from top to bottom, and from side to side.

What do I mean? The Ten Commandments were given to Moses engraved on two stone tablets -- five commandments on each stone -- like this:

1) I am the L‑rd your G‑d...

2) You shall have no other gods...

3) Do not take G‑d's name in vain...

4) Remember the Shabbat...

5) Honor your father and your mother...

6) Do not kill

7) Do not commit adultery

8) Do not steal

9) Do not bear false witness...

10) Do not covet... anything of your fellow's

Why on two tablets? And why are the first five Commandments on one stone and the second five on the other? (5/5 may seem an even division, but it's really not: the first five Commandments total 146 words in the original Hebrew, the second five 26.) One of the reasons given by our sages is that the five latter Commandments are actually a reiteration of the first five. In other words, we're supposed to place these two tablets side by side and read across, like this:

1) I am the L‑rd your G‑d / Do not kill

2) You shall have no other gods / Do not commit adultery

3) Do not take G‑d's name in vain / Do not steal

4) Remember the Shabbat / Do not bear false witness

5) Honor your father and your mother / Do not covet anything of your fellow's

This means that, in essence, there are only five Commandments. "Do not kill" is another way of saying "I am the L‑rd your G‑d"; the prohibition against adultery is the prohibition against idolatry; keeping Shabbat means being a truthful witness; and so on.

The Midrash explains the correlations of each of these five sets, but for starters, we'll look at the connection between Commandments #1 and #6. Why is "Do not kill" the flip side of "I am the L‑rd your G‑d"? Because, say the Sages, to murder a fellow man is to murder G‑d:


Now there are murderers who say they believe in G‑d. And there are people who are dead-set against murder who claim not to believe in a higher power. They're both wrong.

If you truly believe in G‑d, you are incapable of murder. And if you truly believe that taking the life of another human is wrong -- not just because you lack the means or motive to do so or are afraid of ending up in jail, but because you recognize the transcendent, inviolable value of life -- that's just another way of saying you believe in G‑d. Even if you're not one of those religious types who put it in those terms.

By Yanki Tauber; based on the teachings of the Rebbe.
1000 characters remaining
Email me when new comments are posted.
Sort By:
Discussion (21)
February 23, 2014
The Ten Commandments
Murder and kill is the same thing, it take life away from the one being killed or murder. To murder or kill a human being cannot be correlated with the slaughter of a animal for food or a offering as in the Tanakh.
Kempton Park, R.S.A.
December 30, 2012
teacher by "Anonymous"
Are you just a sponge that absorbs mindlessly? Whatever one teaches should be scrutinized by the listener. This is called using your intelligence. Radical Muslim imams teach that Jews are descendents of apes and pigs. Does it follow that just because he is "teaching" that he is correct and that we aught to accept his "teachings" as truth? How can one learn if one only absorbs and does not think about what he is "learning". Again, words have meaning, and before we teach or learn, we should use the words as they were meant, and said, originally.

Though the end result is the same, "murder" and "kill" have different meanings. Use them accordingly; one may be acceptable, the other definitely not.
Morton Bodanis
Montreal, Canada
December 27, 2012
the teacher is teaching , we should be listening,taking notes, not saying this is not true? If you teach you also must be correct, with G-d's knowledge!
Kansas city, Kansas
May 31, 2012
6th commandment & Yanki Tauber


I appreciate so many people taking the time and effort to write comments. Most are groping. Yanki uses the words "kill" & "murder" intrerchangeably. He is either not thinking or he is not paying attention to what he is reading or saying. I would like to hear from him, or another sage, the reason for this interchangeability. Words have meaning, and when Hashem stated the commandments, He meant what He meant, not for a human to use the words frivolously I would like a definitive explanation. Though all comments are heart-felt, I want a professional explanation that will teach me, take me out of, not leave me in, the dark. I want to learn, but if all you do is to cast me adrift to look for my own answer, I will never know, just drift and drift.
Morton Bodanis
Montreal, Canada
May 26, 2012
The 3rd Commandment
Actually, this is not a comment but a question. What about the 3rd commandment? How is it related to 8th commandment, and also the rest of it? I was looking for a further explanations about the 4th to the 9th and the 5th to the last but I couldn't find it.


'Hope to hear from you soon!

May 21, 2012
Very Nice!
Where is this Medrash brought down?
March 1, 2012
Ten commandments on two tablets
One item that was missed here is that scripture says God wrote the commandments on both sides of the two tablets. Kind of makes you question the 'read across' interpretation.
St Petersburg, FL/USA
April 27, 2011
This is why I am a vegan.
WOW. 1&6 go alongside each other. incredible. so proud to be a vegan. It's not my job to take life. love Yanki's line "if you truly believe in G-d, you are incapable of murder." Although he then goes on to specify taking HUMAN life is wrong, I believe taking ALL life is wrong. G-d may have made us in his image, but we didn't make cows&sheep..I truly believe that what G-d does is incredible & I am no one to murder it.
Los Anglees, CA
May 28, 2009
instead of listing the Ten like this
1) I am L-rd G-d... 6) Do not kill
2) no other gods 7) no adultery
3) no G-d's name in vain 8) Do not steal
4) Shabbat... 9) No false witness
5) Honorfather mother 10) Do not covet

Why not like this: I see more continuity this way.
1) I am L-rd G-d... 2) no other gods
3) no G-d's name in vain 4) Shabbat...
5) Honorfather mother 6) Do not kill
7) no adultery 8) Do not steal
9) No false witness 10) Do not covet
Brighton, MA
August 26, 2008
Actually, I am sorry I didn't stick to the topic- just posting "food" for thought, and thoughts about food.
The interest was in the origin of making the kill a Sabbath mitzvah!I meant, according to Piny the Elder, that originally, Egyptian Habiru did not eat too well.
I notice that it sure seems easier to rationalize the taking of lives for human consumption when a whole darn health rule accepts this for the Sabbath. Of course, once could not light a fire (what they used to cook on, in the old days) resulting in bad pitas and/or raw foods on the holy day. I say take the 10 commandments more seriously.
Kanata, On
Show all comments