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On Chol HaMoed Sukkos, I took my family to visit an old neighbor – in fact, a very old neighbor. I had never met the neighbor before, but my wife and I felt it was worth a visit. Although the neighbor doesn’t say anything and just stands around staring into space, people travel from far and wide to see her. The fact that she’s completely green doesn’t seem to deter them at all.

The Aseres HaDibros are an expression of the oneness of Torah and the root of our connection to Hashem in this world. As we mentioned in our previous article, there is a powerful connection between the specific commandments on each side, as well. Each individual dibrah on the right parallels the corresponding dibrah on the left. Together, they make up a unified whole of connection to both Hashem and one’s fellow man. While we already explained the unique connection between the first four pairs of dibros, we still need to understand the deep and unique connection between the last pair.

One night, four students stayed out late, completely disregarding the test they had the next day. Before school the next morning, they hatched a brilliant plan to avoid taking the test. They covered themselves with grease and dirt and went to the principal’s office. They told him all about how their car had gotten a flat tire the previous night on their way home from a wedding, and how they had to spend the whole night pushing it home.

The screen flipped on, and the film began. It was a documentary about an exceptional human being who had achieved his ultimate perfection. He faced enormous challenges in his youth, but they made him stronger and pushed him to live a life of idealism, centered around learning and spreading Torah wisdom. He built an idealistic community designed to help everyone achieve his/her unique mission in this world. He married a true tzadekes, raised a beautiful family, and devoted his entire life to connecting with Hashem and contributing to the lives of others. He wrote books, finished projects, built up organizations, and changed the world.

The Luchos are an expression of the oneness of Torah and the root of our connection to Hashem in this world. As we previously mentioned, Rashi explains that the Aseres HaDibros include the rest of the mitzvos within them (Sh’mos 24:12). These Ten Commandments are the fundamental root mitzvos, and the other 603 mitzvos emanate from these ten root categories. An obvious question then arises: Why are the Dibros split into two separate groups, the right side and the left side? Why fragment the ultimate expression of oneness into two separate pieces?

There is a strange recurring phenomenon throughout the Torah’s story of creation: The Torah first describes one model of creation and then proceeds to depict a completely different, even contradictory picture of the same creation. For example: