Seven lamps
The seven laws.
Six of them are restraints. The seventh asks a society to build something. Each has a page, and each page has the same eight parts, so the rhythm becomes familiar by the third one.
- 1Recognise the One G-d, and worship nothing elseThere is one G-d who made everything, and nothing inside the world is to be served as though it made you.עבודה זרהAvodah Zarahforeign servicerestrains
- 2Treat the Name of G-d with reverenceThe Name of G-d is not to be used as a weapon, a curse, or a throwaway, and reverence in speech is the first place reverence becomes real.ברכת השםBirkas Hashemblessing the Namerestrains
- 3Do not murderA human life is not yours to take, because a human being is not a thing that belongs to anyone.שפיכות דמיםShefichus Damimspilling of bloodrestrains
- 4Guard the boundaries of sex and familyThere are lines around sex, and they exist so that a household can be a place a child is safe to arrive into.גילוי עריותGilui Arayosuncovering nakednessrestrains
- 5Do not stealWhat is not yours stays not yours, whether you take it by force, by stealth, by contract, or by simply never paying for it.גזלGezelrobberyrestrains
- 6Do not eat flesh torn from a living animalYou may eat meat, and you may not tear it from an animal that is still alive.אבר מן החיEiver Min HaChaia limb from the livingrestrains
- 7Establish courts of justiceEvery society is obliged to set up real courts, so that the other six are not merely opinions.דיניםDinimjudgmentsbuilds
The seventh is set apart on purpose. Six laws clear a space, and one raises walls inside it. Why there are seven, and why this one came last.