On the holiday of Shabuot, which is celebrated from the night of May 16th to the evening of May 18th, the Jews remember the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It was a glorious moment in the history of the Jewish people: when receiving the norms that govern their religious life, they constituted themselves as a people and affirmed their values.

With the delivery of the Ten Commandments, according to the biblical story, the Jewish people reaffirm their love relationship with God: between them, they make a deal that details the rights and obligations of each of the parties.

The Jewish people are committed to complying with the ethical and religious standards that make their way of life and God, as sovereign of the universe, promises that they will be treated with benevolence.

This pact is the model of the social contract, which is the theoretical origin of modern states: two parts choose, by mutual agreement, to enter into a contractual relationship, by which one of them waives some of its rights in order to maintain the social order.

In today’s society, the concept of rights prevails over the concept of obligations. Individuals and pressure groups focus almost exclusively on what they can obtain from society: each group cares more about its own well-being than about the collective well-being. When a person only considers his own convenience, he tends to forget the needs of his fellow men and becomes selfish and self-centered. The result is inevitable: the social order disintegrates because each one is looking for his own interest, neglecting his neighbor (which is also bad for himself)

Perhaps returning to the biblical concept of the pact will help us solve this problem: in that moment, the focus iwas placed on the duties of each one, and not on the rights that correspond to them. When a person understands that his duties precede his rights, then he focuses on what he should do, not on what he would like to receive. 

Thinking about our obligations before our rights allows us to build a society based on respect for rules and justice. When a person considers the welfare of the other, and not only his own welfare, when he understands that the laws have a logic and a meaning, then a fairer and more democratic society can be constituted.

That’s why, the fundamental commandment of God to the Hebrew People, in this pact was:

¨Love your neighbor as yourself¨. 

If we want a fair and democratic society , it is necessary to put oneself in the place of the other. the empathy and love of the neighbor are the necessary conditions for us to build a society of equals, with individuals who respect themselves.

The commandments were written on two tablets. A table with the first five commandments summoned obligations to God and the other table with the second five commandments summoned obligations to others.

The message is clear: focusing on the obligations of each one with the same conviction that we focus on our rights allows us to recreate a fairer, more democratic and caring society.