Which of the ten in holy writ
has most ‘small print’?
…Remember the Sabbath day…
Rest, it enjoins, for ox and camel,
goatherd and garment maker.
Each to their ease, basking in shalom.
To break Sabbath
it seems, is to oppress,
to steal hope and health
of a woman in the next tent
who stitches a new shirt for Moses.
Who makes my new shirt?
She seams in China, Honduras, Bangladesh.
Ask me tomorrow if I give her rest.
The bestowal of the Decalogue (or Ten Commandments) by Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, is represented twice in early texts. (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). The Deuteronomic version provides social justice elaboration for this particular commandment.