From the Ten Commandments to the Top Ten Lists

Ten Commandments seem to be an unranked list. However, in the rabbinic literature there are different interpretations whether or not some items have higher rank than others. Say, Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi said: Be as scrupulous in observing a minor commandment as a major commandment, because you do not know the value of each commandment; (Pirkei Avot 2:1). (Pirkei Avot is generally translated as Ethics of the Fathers.) Actually the situation is more complicated. In the rabbinical Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments (mitzvah) given in the Torah at biblical Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later for a total of 620. ”There IS a value to each mitzvah; we just don’t know what it is. A specific mitzvah may be worth dozens of other mitzvot. Only the Master of Opinions knows how the comparison between sins and merits is made; (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:1-2). Our obsession with chart rankings, top ten list etc. might be considered as some secular echo of the litanies of faith.