The Aseret Hadibrot are a central part of Judaism. They are the only mitzvot that were given by Hashem Himself. Moreover, they were given in a fashion in which every member of the Jewish nation personally experienced a Divine Revelation. When one examines the Aseret Hadibrot, one is struck with the realization that the common translation of “The Ten Commandments” is a misnomer. There are actually not ten mitzvot or commandments in the Aseret Hadibrot but rather fourteen. Additionally, the word Hadibrot translates as “the speeches,” hence the Aseret Hadibrot should be translated as “The Ten Speeches.” Indeed, when God revealed Himself to the Jewish people at Har Sinai, He said ten different speeches or dibrot. Each was a different topic but two included more than one mitzvah. Therefore, the total of the dibrot are ten, while the total number of mitzvot are fourteen. Perhaps over the years, these two concepts became confused and the Aseret Hadibrot were mistranslated.
    In order to explain the count of fourteen mitzvot we must examine two of the dibrot. The second dibra, dealing with idol worship, encompasses four mitzvot. These mitzvot are:  we are forbidden to believe that another “god” exists aside from Hashem, we are not to make an idol, we are not to bow down or serve an avodah zarah the way we serve Hashem and we are not to serve an avodah zarah in the manner practiced by its devotees. This brings the count up to thirteen. The fourth dibra that speaks about Shabbat provides the remaining extra mitzvah. The Torah tells us to “remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it.” This is fulfilled by making kiddush on Friday night and havdalah after shabbat. This dibra also includes the mitzvah to refrain from melacha, forbidden activities, on Shabbat.
    Each Yom Tov can be called by many names. Shavuot is also known as zeman matan Torahteinu which translates as, “the time of the giving of our Torah.” There is much discussion as to what Bnei Yisrael actually received on that day. There are some rishonim who say that although we accepted upon ourselves to do the mitzvot and keep the Torah, we only actually received the Aseret Hadibrot on that day. There are other rishonim who explain that we did indeed receive the entire Torah on that day but it was in a brief, shortened form. The Torah and its mitzvot were then re-taught to Moshe on Har Sinai. Parenthetically, this explains the well known custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuot. When Bnei Yisrael heard the mitzvah that requires all meat to be ritually slaughtered, they realized that their meat was not fit to eat. The only foods they had that did not need long preparation were dairy products. Hence, to commemorate this, we have the custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuot.
    Given the importance of the Aseret Hadibrot and the central role that they play in Judaism, it would seem fitting that they should be recited as part of the daily tefillot. Indeed, in the time of the Beit Hamikdash the Aseret Hadibrot were recited immediately before Shema. In fact, the Gemara tells us that at that time the people who prayed outside the Beit Hamikdash wanted to mandate that the Aseret Hadibrot be included in their tefillot. The Rabbis stopped them because of the insinuations of the Minim. Rashi explains this to mean that certain unlearned people might come to say that the rest of the Torah is not true, bringing as proof the fact that only the mitzvot that God personally spoke, the Aseret Hadibrot, are recited.
    It is interesting to note that although our Rabbis tell us that reading the Aseret Hadibrot will strengthen a person’s belief in Hashem and His Torah, our Rabbis felt that ensuring the validity of the entire Torah outweighed the benefits of daily recital. The Mishnah Berurah however, rules that one may say them privately after tefila.
    May we all witness, soon in our days, the rebuilding of our Beit Hamikdash when we will once again resume the daily public recitation of the Aseret Hadibrot.