God Asks Israel for Love, Honor, and Awe

Another interpretation: "And God spoke all these words, saying: I am the LORD your God" (Exodus 20:1-2). Blessed is the Omnipresent, blessed be He, who chose them, Israel, more than all the idolaters, and acquired them as a complete acquisition, and called them sons and servants to His name. And sometimes He speaks with them in the plural, and sometimes He speaks with them in the singular. And why all this? Because of the love with which He loves Israel, and the joy in which He rejoices over them. And thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: My children, I am the One who sat nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created, until I expounded and investigated and refined and examined all the words of this Torah. And from the day the world was created until that hour I sit upon My throne of glory: a third of the day I read and study, a third of the day I judge the whole world entirely, and a third of the day I do charity and feed and sustain and provide for the whole world and all the work of My hands. I am the One who set aside all the seventy tongues that are on the earth and came and cleaved to you, and called you "gods," and made your name equal to My great name, and called you My brothers and My companions. I am He before the world was created, and I am He from the time the world was created; I am He in this world, and I am He in the world to come. "I, even I, am He; I put to death and I make alive; I have wounded and I will heal" (Deuteronomy 32:39), as it is said, "So that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He: before Me no god was formed, and after Me there shall be none. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:10-11). And it is said, "Am I not the LORD, and there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a savior; there is none besides Me" (Isaiah 45:21). And it is said, "For I am God, and there is no other; God, and there is none like Me" (Isaiah 46:9). Another interpretation: "I am the LORD your God." This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, looked over the whole world from the beginning of the world to the end of the world, and He foresaw ten men who would spurn Him. And these are they: first, Micah; second, Jeroboam; third, the son of the Israelite woman; fourth, the wood-gatherer; fifth, Absalom; sixth, Joab; seventh, Samson; eighth, Achan; ninth, the witness against Naboth; tenth, Ahab. "I am the LORD your God": Micah spurned. "You shall have no other gods": Jeroboam spurned. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain": the son of the Israelite woman spurned. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy": the wood-gatherer spurned. "Honor your father and your mother": Absalom spurned. "You shall not murder": Joab spurned. "You shall not commit adultery": Samson spurned. "You shall not steal": Achan spurned. "You shall not bear false witness": the witness against Naboth spurned. "You shall not covet": Ahab spurned. Another interpretation: "I am the LORD your God." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: If you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "I said: You are gods" and so forth (Psalms 82:6); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "Nevertheless you shall die like men" (Psalms 82:7). "You shall have none": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and establish My covenant with you" (Leviticus 26:9); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "And I will set My face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies" (Leviticus 26:17). "You shall not take": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength: I will no more give your grain as food to your enemies" and so forth (Isaiah 62:8); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "And the anger of the LORD be kindled against you" (Deuteronomy 11:17). "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "Then you shall take delight in the LORD" and so forth (Isaiah 58:14); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "Then the land shall be appeased for its sabbaths" and so forth (Leviticus 26:34). "Honor your father and your mother" and so forth: if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "And nations shall see your righteousness" (Isaiah 62:2); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "Therefore fathers shall eat sons" and so forth (Ezekiel 5:10). "You shall not murder": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "And the sword shall not pass through your land" (Leviticus 26:6); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "And I will draw out the sword after you" and so forth (Leviticus 26:33). "You shall not commit adultery": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and young men and old together" (Jeremiah 31:13); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery" and so forth (Hosea 4:14). "You shall not steal": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "And you shall consume all the peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:16); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me" and so forth (Jeremiah 51:34). "You shall not bear false witness": if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "And you are My witnesses, says the LORD" (Isaiah 43:12); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "What shall I take to witness for you? To what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I compare you, that I may comfort you?" and so forth (Lamentations 2:13). "You shall not covet your neighbor's house" and so forth: if you uphold it, there will be fulfilled in you, "And no man shall covet your land" and so forth (Exodus 34:24); now that you have transgressed it, there is fulfilled in you, "And they covet fields and seize them" and so forth (Micah 2:2). Another interpretation: "I am the LORD your God," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "And Joseph said to them: Do not fear, for am I in place of God?" (Genesis 50:19). "You shall have no" and so forth, Jacob upheld, as it is said, "And Jacob said to his household" and so forth, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you" and so forth (Genesis 35:2). "You shall not take," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here" (Genesis 42:15); and is this not a matter of inference from minor to major: if when he swore by a mortal king he kept his oath, then if one swears by the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, how much more so. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "And he said to the one over his house: Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and prepare it" and so forth (Genesis 43:16). And "prepare" means only for the Sabbath, as it is said, "And it shall be on the sixth day, that they shall prepare what they bring in" (Exodus 16:5). And what is "and slaughter an animal"? It teaches that Joseph said to the slaughterer: Uncover the place of slaughter before them and separate before them the sinew of the thigh-vein. Another interpretation: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah upheld, as it is said, "For thus says the LORD to the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths" (Isaiah 56:4). "Honor your father and your mother," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "And Israel said to Joseph: Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them" and so forth (Genesis 37:13). Another interpretation: "Honor your father and your mother," Isaac upheld, who was cast down before his father like a lamb to the slaughter. "You shall not murder," Joseph upheld, who did not heed Potiphar's wife to kill Potiphar. "You shall not commit adultery," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "And how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9). And what does "against God" come to teach? It teaches that he swore to his inclination by God and said: By God, I will not do this thing. Another interpretation: "You shall not commit adultery," Boaz upheld, as it is said, "Lie down for the night" and so forth (Ruth 3:13). "You shall not steal," Joseph upheld, as it is said, "And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt" and so forth (Genesis 47:14). Another interpretation: "You shall not steal," the tribes upheld, as it is said, "Behold, the money that we found in the mouth of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; how then should we steal silver or gold from your master's house?" (Genesis 44:8). "You shall not bear false witness" and so forth, and "You shall not covet," Abraham upheld, as it is said, "And Abram said to the king of Sodom: I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal-strap, nor anything that is yours" and so forth, "except only what the young men have eaten" and so forth (Genesis 14:22-24). Another interpretation: "I am the LORD your God," and "You shall have none," and "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain": what has this to do with that? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who is accustomed to vain oaths and false oaths, it is as though he worships idolatry, and he gives no satisfaction before the One who spoke and the world came into being, and he does not accept upon himself the complete yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who is not accustomed to vain oaths and false oaths gives satisfaction before the Holy One, blessed be He, and accepts upon himself the complete yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. Woe to the wicked, who through their corrupt deeds bring themselves to disqualification and become poor until the day of their death, as it is said, "I have brought it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall come into the house of the thief and into the house of him who swears falsely by My name, and it shall lodge within his house and consume it, both its timber and its stones" (Zechariah 5:4). "I have brought it forth" without delay, "and it shall come into the house of the thief," this is one who steals the minds of others; "and of him who swears falsely by My name," according to its plain meaning. For all the transgressions in the Torah, if one transgresses them, payment is exacted from him through his body, but for a vain oath payment is exacted from him through his body and through his money. Therefore it is said, "and consume it, both its timber and its stones." And not only that, but the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself testifies against him, as it is said, "And I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage of the hired worker, the widow, and the orphan" and so forth (Malachi 3:5). And it says, "And I am the One who knows and a witness, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 29:23). Another interpretation: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain," and "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy": what has this to do with that? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who is accustomed to vain and false oaths does not accept upon himself the complete yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, and one who is not accustomed to vain and false oaths accepts upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who is accustomed to vain and false oaths does not inherit the life of the world to come, and anyone who is not accustomed to vain and false oaths inherits the life of the world to come. Therefore let a person not say in his heart to himself: I will be God-fearing and love the Holy One, blessed be He, on the condition that I transgress one of all the commandments stated in the Torah; for this is a bad sign and a bad portion, and harsh decrees come upon him. Rather thus let a person say in his heart: I will be God-fearing and love the Holy One, blessed be He, on the condition that I do not transgress even one of all the commandments stated in the Torah; and this is a good sign and a good portion for him, and no sin comes about through him. Know that this is so: for when Israel were in the wilderness, what was said of them? "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day" (Numbers 15:32-33). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Why did this one profane the Sabbath? Moses said before Him: Master of the universe, I do not know. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: I will tell you. On all six weekdays Israel has phylacteries on his head and on his arm and sees them and turns back from his deeds; but now, on the Sabbath day, when he has no phylacteries on his head and on his arm, therefore this one profaned the Sabbath. At that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Moses, go and choose for them one commandment which they may observe on Sabbaths and festivals: this is the commandment of the fringes, as it is said, "Speak to the children of Israel" and so forth, "and they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations" and so forth, "and you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the LORD" and so forth (Numbers 15:38-39). And "throughout their generations" (le-dorotam, read as le-dor tam, "for the perfect generation") means only the perfect generation, and "the perfect one" (tam) means only Jacob, as it is said, "And Jacob was a perfect man" (Genesis 25:27): perfect from robbery, perfect from sexual immorality, perfect from bloodshed. Therefore they brought it and placed it beside the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, which is grave, for they begin "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one" and they conclude "and they shall make for themselves fringes" and so forth. From this you have learned that the light among the commandments is like the grave one, and the grave one is like the light. Another interpretation: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." With what do you sanctify it? With Scripture and Mishnah, with food and drink and clean clothing and rest; for anyone who delights in the Sabbath, it is as though he honors the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "And you shall call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable" (Isaiah 58:13), to teach you: if you have called the Sabbath a delight, then it is the holy day of the LORD honorable. And even though Rabbi Akiva said, "Make your Sabbath ordinary rather than be dependent on others," nonetheless a person should take a little meat and a little wine, and not increase meat and wine to excess; and if he increased meat and wine to excess, Scripture testifies against him: "Do not be among those who drink too much wine, among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty" (Proverbs 23:20-21). And if a person did not merit to ask for mercy concerning words of Torah, that they enter into his innards, nonetheless let him ask for mercy concerning excessive eating and drinking, that they not enter into his innards, as it is said, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10): just as this furnace, even if you put into it all the wood in the world, it burns it and ruins it, so a person's gullet, even if you put into it all the fine foods in the world, it swallows them and ruins them. There was an incident with Rabbi Judah the Prince, who said at the hour of his death: It is revealed and known before the Holy One, blessed be He, that I labored in Torah with all ten of my fingers, and I did not eat nor take pleasure in this world even with one of my smallest fingers; and never did I say, I will go and eat and drink and take pleasure from this world, and afterward go out from the pleasures of this world, departing from this world to the world to come; rather, I made for myself eating and drinking only as much as my life required, and I engaged in Torah all the days of my life. Therefore now grant me rest in my eternal home. What did they answer him? "He shall enter into peace; they shall rest on their couches, each one who walks straight" (Isaiah 57:2). And of everyone who does so, Scripture says, "Good is the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice" (Psalms 112:5). From here you have heard that the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, the holiness of the Sabbath, and the holiness of Israel, all three are reckoned as one. Concerning the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, what is written? "But You are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel; in You our fathers trusted" and so forth (Psalms 22:4-5). And concerning the holiness of the Sabbath, what is written? "And you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you" (Exodus 31:14). And concerning the holiness of Israel, what is written? "Israel is holy to the LORD, the first of His harvest" (Jeremiah 2:3). From here they said: In the time to come, in the days of the son of David, the teeth of Israel's eaters will be drawn out twenty-four cubits, and the Sages say thirty-three cubits. And why is thirty-three different from twenty-four? Rather, it corresponds to the nine months of a pregnant woman and the twenty-four of nursing women, a single cubit corresponding to each and every month. And why specifically corresponding to the pregnant and the nursing? Rather, it is to tell you: just as this infant has its strength because it nurses from its mother for the nine months of the days of her pregnancy and afterward nurses milk from its mother's breasts all those twenty-four months, and even if its mother dies it has no concern for her. Another interpretation: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," and "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long": and what has this to do with that? Rather, it is to teach you that as long as a person honors his father and his mother, no sin of profaning the Sabbath, nor any other sin at all, comes about through him; and if he sinned, it is forgiven him, as it is said, "Happy is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds fast to it, who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it" (Isaiah 56:2); do not read "from profaning it" (mehallelo) but "it is forgiven him" (mahul lo). And it says, "And the LORD said: Because this people draws near with its mouth and with its lips it honors Me, but its heart is far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote" and so forth (Isaiah 29:13).