To Tweet, Divine

A week ago Saturday, in synagogues from Beijing to Bellingham, the Torah scroll was unrolled to the Book of Exodus, chapter 20, verses 1-14: the Ten Commandments.

That title is a misnomer; the word translated as “commandments” actually means something closer to “utterances.”

In Philadelphia, at my socially-conscious/spiritually-creative Reconstructionist synagogue housed in a former felt factory, I was the one leaning over the Hebrew, chanting the ancient, tweet-length counsel: Do not murder; do not betray; do not steal. Honor your parents. Remember to rest.