Shalom, Mitspacha!
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.”
- Shemot 20:17
“Neither shall you covet your neighbour’s wife; neither shall you desire your neighbour’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.”
- Devarim 5:21
Coveting begins in the hidden chambers of the heart and often graduates into schemes and plots to obtain what is not ours. Torah calls us to guard desire before it becomes action, for the inner life determines the outward life. To covet is to reject YHVH’s provision and to place our hope in taking rather than trusting. The commandment against coveting therefore protects community, inheritance, and the dignity of every neighbour.
The mitzvot against coveting teach that holiness must be cultivated inwardly. Protect your heart from the stealthy poison of comparison and yearning. When temptation to plot or manipulate arises, repent quickly and replace that desire with gratitude and praise. Celebrate your neighbour’s blessings as if they were your own, and practice contentment as a discipline of the spirit.
Application for today: each morning this week, speak aloud one blessing for another person’s provision. When a thought of envy appears, immediately turn it into a prayer of thanks. Refuse schemes that promise gain at another’s cost; choose instead the narrow path of honest work and generous rejoicing.
Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has sanctified the seventh day and called it holy. Tonight when the candles are kindled, may our homes be filled with peace and our hearts with joy.
We pray for the peace of Yerushalayim - let righteousness and truth flourish within her walls.
We pray for the farmers and labourers - may their hands be strengthened and their harvests blessed. Protect them from every side with a host of angels.
We pray for leaders and elders among Your people - fill them with humility, discernment, and justice.
We pray for the sick and weary - grant healing and comfort through the Ru'ach HaQodesh.
We pray for families - restore unity and love where strife has divided.
We pray for the poor, the widow, and the orphan - provide abundantly and stir our hearts to acts of compassion.
We pray for the nations - that mercy may triumph over judgment and truth be established in every land.
We pray for those proclaiming Your Word - sustain them, strengthen them, and make their witness fruitful. Protect them from every side with a host of angels.
We pray for ourselves - purify our thoughts and desires, that covetousness may find no root within us.
Baruch YHVH.
May YHVH bless you and guard you.
May YHVH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May YHVH lift up His countenance upon you and give you shalom.
Baruch YHVH.
Shalom until tomorrow!