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   To this day the Jews scrupulously avoid adulating Moses. No doubt this custom   
   grew out of the intense power struggle which raged between Moses and Aaron,   
   and which ultimately was won by Aaron or, if not by Aaron himself, by his   
   sons. Nevertheless the    
   contribution of Moses to the Jewish religion was surely monumental, whether or   
   not this contribution was all good, and even if perhaps much of it was derived   
   from Aaron's rather than from his own thinking. Of course, from this distance   
   in time, it is    
   quite hard to determine what came from Moses and what from Aaron and what from   
   Aaron's sons. Modern religious scholars are doubtful as to how much of the   
   Pentateuch (the Five Books of Moses), was in truth given by Moses. [51] It   
   would seem logical that    
   the moral code, the diverse secular laws and ordinances, and the military   
   strategy were at least largely developed by Moses himself, as those were the   
   areas of his specialized training. [52] Hence, let us examine briefly the   
   teachings of Moses rather    
   than the man himself for, in the final analysis, it is action, not lineage,   
   which determines one's greatness in social life. Whether or not Moses was a   
   Hebrew should not be a matter of great concern for an enlightened mind, though   
   clearly to a sectarian-   
   minded Jew or even to a fundamentalist Christian that point is of paramount   
   import.   
      
   Of Moses' teachings, first in importance would be the Ten Commandments. [53]   
   Though Western religion generally declares these ten principles to be the   
   foundation of all morality, a thoughtful analysis will show that they   
   constitute little more than a    
   primitive set of rules to define a particular society, and to keep the   
   individual members thereof from antagonizing one another to the point of   
   endangering the social integrity.   
      
   The first four of the Ten Commandments are crude religious dogmas defining the   
   Jews by their choice of a God, and the manner whereby they are to worship that   
   God. “I am the Lord thy God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the   
   house of bondage.    
   Thou shalt have no other gods before me.... thou shalt not make any graven   
   images.... thou shalt not take the name of your God in vain.... remember the   
   sabbath day and keep it holy” – these read a bit like the demands of a jealous   
   spouse for complete and    
   faithful attention. One very curious point, certainly worth noting here, is   
   that the first commandment, which defines the Hebrew God, omits any mention of   
   the Covenant made with Abraham. Perhaps Moses thought to create his own God –   
   the God of Moses as    
   opposed to the God of Abraham. [54] And it is equally interesting to note that   
   the first commandment, by its phraseology, accepts implicitly the existence of   
   other gods. Had there been a clear concept of monotheism, the final words of   
   that commandment    
   would have had to declare: there are no other gods except me. [55]   
      
   As for the last six commandments: “honour thy father and mother.... thou shalt   
   not kill.... thou shalt not commit adultery.... thou shalt not steal.... thou   
   shalt not bear false witness.... thou shalt not covet...”. these six   
   commandments clearly applied    
   only to the conduct which was expected from Jews among their own community.   
   And even with respect to their communal application, there were many   
   exceptions.   
      
   “Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land   
   which the Lord thy God giveth thee”. Indeed this was one commandment which the   
   early Jews took quite seriously. A child who honored her or his parents might   
   or might not live a    
   long life as prophesied, but a child who failed to honor her or his parents   
   was quite unlikely to survive long, considering that filial rebellion or even   
   mere disobedience was punishable by death. [56]   
      
   “Thou shalt not kill” seemed generally to connote “thou shalt not kill a   
   Hebrew;” for time and again the God of Abraham gave instruction through the   
   mouths of Moses, and especially Joshua, to kill every man, woman and child in   
   various cities of Canaan so    
   that the Hebrews might claim the land and possessions of the Canaanites. [57]   
   However, killing of Jews was also permissible from time to time under   
   circumstances for which capital punishment was prescribed, and killing of Jews   
   was also allowed when a    
   special lesson from their bloodthirsty God was demanded. For instance, after   
   the construction of the golden calf had failed to achieve its purpose, Aaron   
   sought to cover up his crime by making all the people stand “naked” while   
   Moses gathered and armed    
   the Levis, and sent them out to “slay every man his brother, and every man his   
   companion, and every man his neighbor” – all supposedly in obedience to the   
   command of God. About three thousand men were killed on that day. [58]   
      
    “Thou shalt not commit adultery” obviously did not preclude the rape of those   
   women belonging to the conquered Canaanite clans, who were fortunate enough to   
   be spared from slavery or death for that specific purpose. [59]   
      
   “Thou shalt not steal” requires no special consideration, as all the Canaanite   
   cities were obviously subject to looting. Yet there is one noteworthy incident   
   of theft which must be mentioned. Just before the Hebrews left Egypt, Moses   
   gave a special order    
   which, of course, he claimed came from God..”. and the children of Israel did   
   according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of   
   silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the Lord gave the people favor in   
   the sight of the    
   Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they   
   spoiled the Egyptians”. [60] Is it any wonder that the Pharaoh's “heart   
   hardened” against the Hebrews so that he went after them as they fled from   
   Egypt with their booty?    
   Moreover one must wonder whether or not the Pharaoh really granted the Hebrews   
   a full exit permit, for what reason could the Egyptians have found to “loan”   
   the Hebrews jewels and raiment if they had no expectation of the Hebrews'   
   return? More likely the    
   Pharaoh permitted Moses only to construct a new and separate city in which the   
   Hebrews would live. Moses, however, seized the opportunity to rob the   
   Egyptians and free the Hebrews. The Pharaoh's response was exactly what one   
   might expect under such    
   circumstances.   
      
   “Thou shalt not bear false witness” obviously did not apply to the activities   
   of spies who, even in those days, had the additional duty to spread   
   disinformation about the real position and strength of their own army.   
      
   And as for “Thou shalt not covet”, this commandment may have had relevance   
   with respect to small items but surely not to the bigger ones as, for example,   
   the land of Canaan (Israel) which was allegedly “flowing with milk and honey”.   
   In fact one may    
   postulate that the unrestrained covet for Israel – in a word, “Zionism” – was   
   and still is the basis for most of the greater and lesser crimes of the Jewish   
   people. In the end even God had to admit: “I have given you a land for which   
   ye did not labour,    
   and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and   
   oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.” [61] Somehow this just does not   
   seem moral, no matter how one tries to justify it.   
      
      
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