At the conclusion of Parshat Mishpatim, perhaps the most halachically diverse and wide-ranging of parshiyot, the Torah (24:12) records that Hashem invites Moshe to ascend the mountain to receive the comprehensive mesorah of Torah: "vayomer Hashem el Moshe alei eilai haharah veheyeh sham; vietnah lecha et luchot ha-even vehaTorah vehamitzvah asher katavti lehorotam." Chazal (Berachot 5a) understood that these multiple references constitute diverse genre of Torah - "luchot ha-even- eilu aseret hadibrot, Torah- zu mikra, vehamitzavah- zu mishneh, asher katavti- zu neviim uketuvim, lehorotam- zu gemara, melamed she-kulam nitnu lemoshe misinai." It is striking that the "luchot ha-even", signifying the aseret ha-dibrot, is delineated discretely, though the ten commandments are obviously an integral component of Torah-mikra. This, and other evidence, indicates that aseret ha-dibrot have a dual status that is related to but also appears to transcend the fact that they were focal point of the Revelation itself. Indeed, the Talmud (Berachot 12a) reports that aseret ha-dibrot were incorporated into daily prayer until the fear of "taaromet ha-minim" (see Rashi, Geonim and responsa of Rambam, no. 263) determined its exclusion lest its singular status and stature be misconstrued as implying either greater axiological value or an exclusive Divine origin relative to the rest of the Torah. The fact that the aseret ha-diborot are sometimes read as individual pesukim with taam tachton, consistent with the rest of mikra, but also occasionally is rendered as dibrot by means of taam elyon, further accentuates its dual status. [see Magen Avraham, introduction to Orach Chaim 494].
What accounts for this special stature? Rashi on this very verse (See Ramban and Maharal, Gur Aryeh), cites the view of R' Saadia Gaon that the ten commandments encapsulate all of the 613 mitzvot. Rashi (20:1), in his introductory comments to the aseret hadibrot themselves, conveys the insight of the Mechilta that the aseret hadibrot, apparently wide ranging and discrete, were themselves unified and integrated by the inimitable Divine utterance- "melamed sheamar Hakadosh Baruch Hu aseret hadibrot bedibur echad mah shei efshar leadam lomar kein. Im kein mah Talmud lomar od Anochi ve-lo yihyeh' shechazar upiresh al kol dibur vedibur bifnei atzmo." The Mechilta and R' Saadia highlight that the aseret hadibrot have a crucial integrative and mediating function, notwithstanding and because of the independence and divergence of each mitzvah. Precisely this capacity to place the comprehensive substance and divergent genres of Torah in proper perspective as the single and singular will of Hashem distinguishes aseret hadibrot as a discrete genre, even as it is necessarily also an integral part of mikra. This integrative and mediating role may also explain why aseret ha-dibrot precedes "Torah- zu mikra" in the order of genres, in addition to its historical priority. Moreover, the aseret ha-dibrot establish at the outset the unity theme that defines the purpose of this multiple delineation- "melamed she-kulam nitnu le-Moshe miiSinai".
It is conceivable that this integrative motif also uniquely qualifies the aseret ha-dibrot as the cornerstone of the foundational brit with Hashem. Indeed, the Torah depicts it in precisely these terms (Devarim 4:13): "vayaged lachem et berito asher tzivah etchem laasot, aseret hadevarim; vayichtevaim al shenei luchot avanim." The luchot are commonly referred to as "luchot habrit" for this reason. On this basis, Rav Chaim of Brisk (Rinat Yitzchak, Shemot 24:12) explained a difficult passage in the shemonah esreh of Shabbat shacharit: "ushetei luchot avanim horid beyado vekatuv bahem shemirat Shabbat vechein katuv betoratecha - veshameru Benei Yisrael et haShabbat laasot et haShabbat ledorotam brit olam..." While this formulation reinforces the impression that the luchot constitute a genre discrete from Torah, it also spotlights some link between the two parshiyot of Shabbat specifically invoked - one by virtue of its location in the aseret hadibrot, the other specifically explicated. Rav Chaim explained that the common theme is Shabbat's status as a brit- explicated in the ve-shameru (Shemot 31:) verses- "brit olam", and implicit by its very inclusion in the aseret ha-dibrot, as previously noted. [See, also, Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 30:15] The hallmark of "brit"- covenant is precisely the mediation and integration of mutual multiple commitments that stem from and further enhance a reciprocal bond that is more than the sum of its parts, and that is elevated and enriched by both its breadth and unity.
Indeed, for this reason, brit milah achieves its singular status in kedushat Yisrael. It is no coincidence that milah, atypically among mitzvot, requires an additional berachah beyond the "al ha-milah" that focuses on the specific mitzvah. The second berachah, "lehachniso be-briso shel Avraham Avinu" conceivably refers to the full range of diverse mitzvot that stem from but are also balanced and integrated by the brit milah covenant! [I hope to expand elsewhere on this theme according to the different halachic perspectives and to elaborate how the specific theme of milah - see Shabbat 106a- particularly embodies this dimension of brit. Rambam's controversial view regarding the delay of karet for neglecting milah is relevant to this perspective as well, as are other phenomena connected with this singular and foundational mitzvah.]
We may now further appreciate why the factor of "taaromet haminim" justified excluding aseret ha-dibrot from daily prayer. The very notion that valuing, cherishing the dibrot may be a catalyst for the (even relative) denigration of other dimensions of Torah was perceived as fundamentally incompatible with the unique status and function of this special cheftza shel Torah. Consistent with its own special character, not simply as a concession to other, external considerations, it was excised from the tefillah.
At the conclusion of Mishpatim, precisely because of its wide and diverse range, the Torah revisits the aseret hadibrot, and hints at its prominence as an independent Torah category-genre. By also emphasizing its prior role, the Torah projects the dibrot as the embodiment of principles that unify, organize, and even integrate the vast mesorah repository.