<b>And God spoke (Exod. 20:1).</b> May it please our master to teach us: What things have their reward in the world-to-come? Thus do our masters teach us: These are the things whose interest a man enjoys in this world but whose principal is stored up for him in the world-to-come: Honoring one’s father and mother, performing good deeds, advancing the laws of peace between man and his fellow man, and the study of the Torah, which is equal to all the others.
Observe that the law is so precious that the world was created for its sake. Hence it says: <i>And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: “Thou art My people”</i> (Isa. 51:16).
You find that when the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to give the law to Israel, He offered it first to the nations of the world, but they would not accept it. Whereupon He determined to return the world to its original state, as it is said: <i>He standeth, and shaketh the earth; He beholdeth, and maketh the nations to tremble</i> (Hab. 3:16). But after Israel accepted the law, the world was permitted to endure. Therefore, <i>And God spoke</i>.