Let us begin with an important distinction: the message of Judaism is not the same as the culture of the Jews. The message of Judaism is a set of universal principles providing the basis for a global civilization. The culture of the Jews is the way in which Jews live out those principles. Judaism’s ideal is a world of diverse cultures grounded in a common set of universal principles which are themselves grounded in God; that is to say, they are not subject to human whim or political wrangling.

What are these principles? They are the Ten Commandments found in The Book of Exodus, chapter 20, verses 1 through 14. It is my goal in this essay to set forth the universal implications of the Ten Commandments.

© The Vedanta Kesari, December 2001.  Reprinted with permission.

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