Moses stood before Israel and said: "You have been shown to know that the Lord, He is God; there is none beside Him" (Deuteronomy 4:35). Not told — shown. The plagues, the sea, the fire at Sinai, the manna in the wilderness — Israel was shown, not just instructed. The demonstration was the theology.
Before God chose Israel, the midrash says, no one in the world knew that He was the God of the world. "Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You" (Jeremiah 10:25) — the nations did not know because they had not been shown. They had their own gods, their own cosmologies, their own explanations for the world's order. Then the Exodus happened, and the nations who had watched from the outside — including those who fought against Israel — had to account for what they had seen.
The psalm places Judah at the center of this revelation: "God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel" (Psalm 76:2). The knowledge spreads outward from the specific to the general: first Judah, then Israel, then the nations. The revelation is not democratic — it begins with the particular covenant people and moves outward. Moses showed Israel first. The nations learned by watching what happened to the people God had chosen to show.
Chapter (73) 74: Prophets [1] "Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob" (Jeremiah 2:4). This means that just as the new heavens and the new earth (Isaiah 66:22), when the Lord speaks, they come into being, as it is said, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6). But you do not listen. "Hear the word of the Lord" and nullify all other words, "I am [the Lord your God]" (Exodus 20:2). They denied the Lord (Jeremiah 5:12). "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). "For your gods [Israel] were as numerous as your cities" (Jeremiah 2:28). "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7). "But if they swear falsely, then my oath to them is nullified" (Jeremiah 5:2). "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). "And they have desecrated my Sabbaths" (Ezekiel 22:8). "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). "Father and mother were treated lightly among you" (Ezekiel 22:7). "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal" (Exodus 20:13-15). "But you murder, commit adultery, and steal" (Hosea 4:2). "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). "For false witnesses rise up against me" (Psalms 27:12). "You shall not covet" (Exodus 20:17). "They covet fields and seize them" (Micah 2:2). Although you nullified all other commandments, one commandment remains, and I will forgive you. And what is that? The Sabbath, as Jeremiah said to Israel, "Do not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers" (Jeremiah 17:22). "And this city shall remain forever" (Jeremiah 17:25). "But if you do not listen to me" (Jeremiah 17:27), "I swear by myself," declares the Lord, "that this house will become a desolation" (Jeremiah 22:5). Therefore, it is said, "Hear the word of the Lord," and "Hear the word of the Lord" means only the Sabbath, as it is said, "From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," declares the Lord" (Isaiah 66:23). Similarly, the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them, 'You must observe my Sabbaths'" (Exodus 31:13). [2] Another explanation: they fulfilled the commandment of Hashem both in action and in hearing, as it says, "They heard the voice of Hashem as He was speaking the words" (Exodus 20:15), which means that they not only heard the words, but they also acted on them. This can be compared to a king who betrothed a woman from a prominent family, and he asked his advisors what kind of clothing she wears. They replied that she wears two fine stockings that are priceless. When the king saw them, one slipped off and was lost. The woman was ashamed to go to her husband with only one stocking, but the king heard about it and told her to keep the remaining one, and there was nothing wrong with that. Similarly, when the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, they accepted both the action and the hearing of the commandments, as it says, ‘All that the HaShem hath spoken will we do, and obey.’ (Exodus 24:7). The Holy One, blessed be He said, "You have done well in committing to action, and you will fulfill the hearing as well." They heard the word of Hashem. [3] Another interpretation: "Listen to the word of the Lord. Before you wander around and seek something but do not find it, as it is said 'They will wander from sea to sea and from north to east they will roam to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it' (Amos 8:12). And not only that, but I see how you turn away and do not find, and I play with you, saying that you did not hear me when I was living among you, when you are turning away from the whole world, just as Solomon says, 'Since I called out and you refused...' (Proverbs 1:24-25). Also, I will laugh at your calamity...when distress and trouble come upon you' (Proverbs 1:26-27). It is like a king who called his treasurer, but she did not answer him. He became angry and went to the land of the sea, and she started to travel by ship, through rivers, and in the desert, returning to see his image, but could not find him. The king hears about it and makes fun of her, saying, 'When I was with her in her smallness, I called her and she did not pay attention to me, but now she is turning away from the whole world, and I am not paying attention to her.' So said the Lord, 'When I was in my house with them, I said to them, 'Listen to the word of the Lord,' but they did not listen to me or turn their ear to me' (Jeremiah 7:26). I am leaving here, as it is said, 'Behold, there is no longer any healing in Zion' (Jeremiah 8:19), and they wander through the seas, rivers, and deserts, seeking something, as it is said, 'They will wander from sea to sea' (Amos 8:12). The Holy Spirit cries out and says, 'Since I called out and you refused' (Proverbs 1:24), listen to the word of the Lord. But if you listen, you will live in peace and thrive, as it says, 'Listen to the Lord and live' (Isaiah 55:3).
