I would like to talk today about this first commandment, the one exclusive to us.

"I am Hashem, your God, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2)

To analyze in depth the words of the first of the Ten Commandments may take more than the time I have available today. However, I would like to call your attention to an apparent redundancy in the last part of this verse:

"I am Hashem, your God, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2)

If the verse tells us that Hashem has taken us out of "the land of Egypt", why do wee need the words "from the house of slavery". And if you say that the words "from the house of slavery", are necessary to establish a relationship of loyalty –such as ‘I liberated you, now you should obey my commandments’- why do we need the words "out of the land of Egypt"?

Beno Jacob (1862-1955), a German-Jewish Bible scholar, who wrote a magnificent commentary to the Torah and is quoted widely by Nechamah Leibowitz, "draws our attention to the contrast between the two phrases – "the land of Egypt" and "the house of slavery". Beno Jacob points out that the former -"the land of Egypt"- was the center of ancient culture, the home of the wise men, famed for its pyramids and art. But for Israel it was nothing more than a house of slavery". The whole grand superstructure was built on human slavery, on cruelty and murder. In Benno Jacob’s view, the last two words of the first commandment are meant to teach us that "if a land of culture has no room for freedom, the servants of God renounce culture" (Leibowitz, Nechama: New Studies in Shemot, pp. 310-311).

For many of us our first associations, when speaking about culture, are music and art, architecture and literature. Usually we speak about culture in positive terms, regarding someone who has no artistic or musical knowledge as an uncultivated person.

Civilizations from the past –like the Egyptian civilization or the Greco-Roman civilization, left behind them colossal works of architecture or masterpieces of art, which every civilized person can admire in the great museums of the world. On the other hand, when talking about great music –usually classic music- our first association will be Germany, Austria and France, since these countries gave to the world the great composers of all times.

Usually, in great cultures and civilizations, the public sphere has an important place. The way you look is very important, and so is the way you express your ideas, the way you dress, the way you eat and the people you know.

In Egypt, Greece and Rome, in the past, as well as in France, Germany and Austria during the last century, the decorum was very important. The word, decorum, sharing the same root with the word "decoration", refers to the way things look.

In all this regard, Egyptian society was a cultivated society, and it was also a cultivated society when the Jews were slaves there. The great pyramids, the gorgeous temples, the great hieroglyphics, date from the time our ancestors resided in Egypt.

Similar creations of art and architecture were developed by civilizations that oppressed the Jews, or other minorities, at the same time such oppression took place. The same emperor Hadrian who forbade the Jews to study Torah, to circumcise their children and to pray to one God, was one of the most prolific architects of the Roman Empire, German music and philosophy flourished during the Holocaust as well as before it.

We see that -surprisingly enough- culture does not imply moral standards.

Who knew that better than Benno Jacob, who grew up in the 19^th and 20^th century German culture, in the Germany of Goethe, Wagner and Beethoven. Benno Jacob knew how to read the Torah, but he also knew how to read reality. Who is better than Benno Jacob to tell us that culture does not imply morals; that good manners can live together with torture; that art, music, architecture and science can be the heritage of the greatest murderers of human history.

In our days, especially in America, we make a big deal about being "Politically correct". Instead of saying "Black", we say "African American" and instead of saying "Indians" we say "Native Americans". We are the masters of "neutral gender", of "he/she", of equal opportunity and of Christmas – Hanukkah - Kwanzaa" celebrations at school. Major companies won’t be able to sell their products unless the models who appear in their catalogs represent the "Caucasian, African American. Asian, Native American and Hispanic" population.

Being politically correct became the symbol of American culture. If you have it, you are "in". If not, you are "out".

However, our first commandment (that coincidentally was left out of the Christian "Big Ten"), reminds us that looking right is different than being right.

The Torah reminds us about something that we may not like to think about: that culture is not a synonym for righteousness and that political correctness does not imply kindness.

What will build a better society, a better congregation, a better home, is not the quality of its bricks, but the quality of its relationships. It is not if you refer to your black neighbor as "African American" that is important, but if you encourage your son to play with his son. It is not if you give Hanukkah stickers to your Jewish students in the public school, but if you will accept his right to be different and show honest interest in his culture. It is not if you volunteer to host homeless people, but if we will talk to them and interact with them

The Torah teaches us that "great Egypt" can still be a "houses of slavery" and reminds us that being politically correct is different from being correct.

May the holy words of the Ten Commandments help us to shape our lives, to become better Jews and better persons!

Shabbat Shalom!