A. Mitzvot in Your Home – Ethical
1. Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigned to you. (Ex. 20:12)
Show special honor or consideration to your parents.
2. Six days you shall labor and do all your work (Ex. 20:9)
Assume a special job or responsibility in your home.
3. You shall neither side with the mighty to do a wrong — you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the might. (Ex. 23:2)
Work to free your home of a harmful or corrupting practice.
4. When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them, you may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (Deut. 20:19)
Plant and care for a vegetable garden to fruit trees.
5. When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them, you may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (Deut. 20:19)
Care for or beautify your garden and its flowers.
6. If, along the road, you chance upon a birds nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. (Deut. 22:6)
Care for your pet animal.
7. When you build a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it. (Deut. 22:8)
Exercise care against negligence (introduce the regular use of seat belts, work out a technique for
safety at home, etc.)
8. Impress them upon your children. Recite then when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut. 6:7)
Introduce themes and ideas of Jewish interest to be discussed by the family at the Sabbath Eve meal.
9. Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you and you eat of the bread of the land you shall set some aside as a gift to the Lord: as the first yield if your baking, you shall set aside a loaf as a gift; you shall set it aside as a gift from the threshing floor. (Num. 15:18-20)
Learn to bake challah, learn the mitzvah of “taking challah†and practice this skill.
10. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. (Ex. 20:8)
Light the Shabbat candles regularly.