Words that hurt, words that heal. By Rabbanit Coty Bittón

Balak, king of Moab, feels threatened by Israel’s presence in the area. He knows that conventional weapons will not be enough to combat this people who counts with the help of HaShem and an army of 600,000 soldiers. Balak decides to use a more sophisticated strategy. He hires Bil’am, a famous wizard, for the power of his words. Bil’am knows how to invoke curses and use magic words that supposedly destroy the enemy. Nothing more suited to defeat this unconventional enemy. But God intervenes and does not allow Bil’am to curse Israel. On the contrary, Bil’am is forced to pronounce blessings for Israel. Some of them so beautiful that we have incorporated them into our daily Tefilot.
Words are very powerful. Human beings were granted the incredible ability of language. HaShem gave us this gift that allows us to communicate with each other and express our ideas, thoughts and feelings.
A person’s speech reflects his or her intellectual and spiritual level. An educated and refined person will stay away from bad words and negative language. We have a number of Mitsvot in the Tora warning us about the pain that negative words can cause others.
As parents we must take every opportunity we have to teach our children to stay away from using toxic language. For example, if I hear my daughter talk to her friends about another friend, I must remind her the damaging effects of Leshon haRa. Obviously, the most effective teaching process happens when my children observe that my husband and I, in our conversations, stay away from negative comments.
But it is not all about being careful with negative speech. We must also realize the power of positive speech. For some reason, Balak did not think that the best way to help his army would be to bless them, instead of looking to curse the enemy. Bil’am and Balak were only able to think of cursing and criticizing.
We are different. We know that good words, blessings, praise, have enormous power to do good to others. When someone is having a hard time, is sad or depressed, the words of support from a friend give him courage and lift his spirit. Same with words of gratitude and recognition to the efforts made by others. Sometimes doing Hesed with others it’s so easy! All you need is only a handful of positive words that can do so much good.
Once again, in this area we must teach our children by example as well. We criticize them when they do something wrong, right? Well, we must learn to praise them when they do something right!. The power of praising is amazing. And we need to use it. Usually we correct the negative behavior of our children and very often we forget to praise. No doubt there are so many positive actions we can acknowledge. If our children only receive criticism they will likely suffer from low self-esteem. And it is quite possible that they would also become critics. 
We must learn to find a balance between constructive criticism, which as parents we have to exercise, and praise, words of encouragement and appreciation to our children that will nurture their self-esteem and will allow them to become good people, men and women who know how to use positive language.


THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: The two aspects of Shabbat.

זכר ליציאת מצרים  The notion of “rest” associated with Shabbat can be a bit confusing. The vast majority of translations of the Bible have the Shabbat as a “day of rest” that the Almighty granted to Am Israel. But, is the Shabbat really a weekly day of rest that our Almighty CEO granted His employees so they can work more efficiently over the next week? This could be the idea of rest in a slave society (or in an extremely materialistic society) where the reason for human existence is “work”,  and the objective of “resting” is to improve productivity.
As we have already explained, the Fourth Commandment, the observance of Shabbat, tells us “refrain” from our work. But this lack of activity is not intended for physical rest, but to express, through our inaction, the conviction that our livelihood comes, ultimately from HaShem. From this point of view, Shabbat reminds us Yetsiat Mitsrayim, our coming out from Egypt. Once out of Egypt, as we learned from the manna, we are no longer under the jurisdiction of Pharaoh, and we entered under the wings of the Divine Supervision. Shabbat is not the means (= resting) to an end (=working better). Quite the contrary: Shabbat is the end/main goal of the week. We work hard all week to celebrate and fully enjoy Shabbat. This is the meaning of the blessing of the Seventh Day in Genesis 2: 3: HaShem “blessed the seventh day and made it holly it” i.e., established it as the most important day of the week.
זכר למעשה בראשית In the context of Bereshit, on the other hand, Shabbat expresses a different notion, the culmination of the process of Creation. The main idea conveyed in Bereshit is that on the Seventh Day God “ended” (vayikhal) His creative work and stopped (vayishbot) forever the creation process.
RaDaQ explained very clearly that Shabbat marks the end of the Creation process. ונגמרו כולם ביום הששי ומכאן ואילך אין כל חדש … שלא ברא אחר יום הששי דבר , “And from this time [after the Sixth Day] there were no new creations … because [God] did not create anything new after the Sixth Day “(Genesis 2: 1-2)”.
Let us  explore the deeper meaning of the words of RaDaQ.
Why Christians celebrate Creation on Sunday, Muslims on Friday and we Jews on Shabbat? At first glance, it seems that it makes more sense to commemorate Creation on the first day of the week, celebrating the beginning of Creation. Or in the Sixth Day, the last day of Creation. The Tora, however, indicates that we should celebrate the act of creation on the Seventh Day when God “ceased” His Creation. A day with no creation to celebrate Creation? Why? What is the difference between the Divine process of Creation and nature? If matter and life would have been produced by nature, nature could not stop to keep creating. Nature cannot stop its “natural” course. Nature, should have continued the production of atoms and cells, matter, and living beings. Despite what some secular scientists might say, when an event occurs only once, it cannot be considered or viewed as a “natural” event. It is rather a “supernatural” event. In this sense, as explained by the rabbis of the Talmud, Shabbat observance is our testimony that God, and NOT nature, created the universe. Nothing was originated spontaneously or naturally.
The discontinuity of the creative process, i.e., the Sabbath, is what makes Creation a unique and unrepeatable phenomenon, something that only happened once during a particular and unique period called “The Six Days of Creation.”    Shabbat, is“zekher lema’ase Bereshit” because it celebrates the act of Creation. Our testimony that God, and NOT nature, brought our world to its existence.


THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Shabbat, what I want vs. what I need.

 

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day [is a day of] rest [dedicated] to HaShem your God… you shall not do any work (Exodus, Shemot, 20: 8-11)

Of all the Ten Commandments, Shabbat seems to be the most far-reaching in its practical application. We must stop working, stop taking care of our livelihood, one-seventh of our lives. Bearing in mind, also when we work, our dependency with HaShem. In this way, we make from Shabbat a “sacred”, special, different and spiritual day.

The spirituality of Shabbat begins by understanding why we should refrain from work on this day. And the key, I think, is in the text that tells us about the “Man,” the first indication we had as a people about the essence of Shabbat.

Let’s see. After leaving Egypt, the people of Israel suffered shortages of food and water in the desert. HaShem makes the manna (in Hebrew “Man”, a special food that had all the necessary nutritional properties) descend from heaven. And He tells the people of Israel how to behave with respect to the “Man.” These instructions are primarily educational. They teach the Jewish people how to manage with the material assets.

There are three basic instructions about gathering the “Man”, from which we can learn a great lesson in Jewish spiritual economy. And all these lessons are related to Shabbat.

WHERE DO I GET MY FOOD FROM? First, the manna teaches us that food, the satisfaction of our material needs, comes from heaven (= God). That does not mean that we should not work to earn our bread. In fact, the fourth commandment virtually commands us to work. What the Tora wants, then, it is to educate us on the fundamental idea that ultimately our sustenance (parnasa) is determined from “heaven”. The farmer can work from sunup to sundown sowing his land, but if “heaven” does not provide rain, he will not have what to eat. An entrepreneur can be very intelligent and hardworking, but if he has an accident, or is the victim of a terminal illness, he cannot continue working. Our work must be accompanied by the Emuna (=conviction) that ultimately is HaShem who determines what I’ll have. This is the main idea of Shabbat: our livelihood, same as the manna, depends on HaShem’s will.

YOU SHALL NOT ACCUMULATE: The second lesson has to do with the rejection of a compulsive accumulation of material goods. In the desert, it was forbidden to accumulate “Man”. Each person had to pick only the “Man” needed for him/her and their family for that day. If someone picked up more “Man” than he needed, the extra “Man” rotted. This lesson is extremely important: in the world, there is food for everyone. As a Jew, I do not need to look at my neighbor as my rival, as if the more he has, the less I will have, or vice versa. Abandoning the idea of accumulating disproportionate supplies represents an expression of trust, appreciation, and gratitude for the generosity of HaShem. We must work to collect the “Man”, but knowing that the “Man” we gather is a gift from heaven.

NOT DURING SHABBAT : On Friday people collected a double portion of Man, for Friday and for Shabbat. Why? Because the Man did not descend during Shabbat. People did not have to come out (and could not come out) to work / collect their food on Shabbat. Every Jew who observes the Shabbat knows very well the importance of this lesson. One can lose many job offers, only for not being willing to work on the Seventh day of the week. In many cases, a Jewish businessman must sacrifice potentially 20% or 25% (or sometimes more) of his sells during the week, because on Shabbat he cannot continue his business. Shabbat, as once observed by the Romans, is not a genius “commercial” idea. But, is there a better way to express my confidence in HaShem’s capacity to bless me? Is there a better way to show my conviction that by working one day more I’ll not necessarily have more than what HaShem will determine for myself and my family?

To be continued.

 

 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: You shall not invoke His name in vain

“You shall not invoke the name of HaShem your God in vain, for HaShem will not forgive those who  invoke His name in vain.”

For Maimonides, invoking the name of God in vain is limited to four categories, all related to “trivial” oaths made in the name of God.

MT, Hilkhot Shebu’ot 1: 4-7:

1. One invokes the name of Gd in vain when swears by the name of HaShem about something that is visibly false: for example if one swears that something black is white, or something white is black.

2. When one swear about something that is obvious and visible, then the oath is superfluous: for example, if one would swear that something white is white.

3. When one swears that a Mitzva of the Tora will not apply to him anymore. For example, one swears by HaShem that he will never wear the tefillin, etc. The Mitzvot remain applicable for him.

4. When one swears by the name of HaShem to do something that is humanly impossible: one who swears that he will not drink water or any other liquid for a week. This would be a trivial oath.

Rabbi Hayim Pereira Mendes, a great Sephardic rabbi of the last century, extended the scope of this commandment to the scenarios of modern society:

1. We are invoking the name of God in vain when we pronounce His name disrespectfully. And when we say His name or we refer to Him in our prayers, without thinking about what we are saying.

2. We are invoking His name in vain when we say that God is good, just, merciful, etc., but we do not behave to be good, just, merciful, etc. Because if we “really” believe what we say about God, which represents the highest degree of morality, we should make every effort to imitate His qualities. To act otherwise would be considered as if what we said about God was “in vain.” Therefore, we must develop a positive and noble disposition towards others. Be flexible, understanding and tolerant. Being forgiving with others as HaShem is with us.

3. As God’s chosen people, we Jews are called by His name: the people of HaShem. And when we do something wrong, we dishonor and defile His name. Besides, in the same way all family members feel ashamed when any of them incurs an offense when a Yehudi does something wrong, the pain is felt by all Jews.

4. We are invoking His name in vain when we call ourselves “Jews”, but we act like pagans. We trivialize our condition as the people of HaShem. For example, when we do not pray to HaShem, recognizing His power, or declaring to Him our needs, or thanking Him for everything He gives us. Another example: when we adopt the moral standards that do not belong to the people of HaShem.

5. We are invoking His name in vain when we make up excuses to justify our negligence or disobedience to His laws as if our wisdom is greater than His. In the latter two cases, there is an inconsistency between what we say and what we do, and that is considered invoking His name in vain.

Inspired in Rabbi Pereira-Mendes book “Jewish Religion Ethically Presented”, (New York, 1905)

 

 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not misrepresent Me

“You shall not invoke the name of HaShem your God in vain, for HaShem will not forgive those who carry / invoke His name in vain.”

Previously, we presented two explanations of the third commandment. In short, we could say that the two explanations differ as to the translation (or extent) of the Hebrew word “TISA”. First, we explored what is learned from the Third Commandment when we understand LO TISA as “You shall not ‘invoke’ the name of God in vain, in the context of an oath, promise, berakha, etc.  Second, we explain LO TISA as “do not ‘carry” the name of God in vain” and the responsibility that this mission demands (see here).

Following this same topic today, talking to my mom who lives in Buenos Aires, I heard some news of what is happening these days in Argentina, where many corruption cases from the previous government are finally unmasked. The last scandal involves a former government official who was found hiding 9 million dollars in a church. And today’s news was about the complicity of some church ministers with this act of corruption.

When a CEO of a company defrauds his company, using the firm’s funds for personal gain, he is deceiving his company, its partners, his customers and his employers. But when a religious leader uses public funds inappropriately or participates in an economic fraud, he is not just deceiving his “employers”, but above all, he is hurting the religion he or she represents. In Argentina, the nuns allegedly helped that thief entering their church in the middle of the night and hiding the ill-gotten money there. If this is confirmed, then, first of all, we would have a sad but very real example, although not within a Jewish context, of religious leaders who are using “in vain” or for material purposes the “prestige of a religious institution” that suppose to work in the name of God.

This, of course, can happen in any religion, and the effect of frustration and disappointment that these scandals can cause in the congregation is devastating. Those who represent God are supposed to set an example of honesty and moral integrity.

If something like this would have happened in a Jewish community, this will be considered Hillul HaShem, the desecration “of the name of HaShem” . And why is it called that way?

We Jews carry, bear, the name of HaShem in our personas, and we are therefore responsible for not defrauding or trivializing His name.

Imagine that you work for Federal Express. You wear the FedEx uniform, the cap and the badge that identifies you as Federal Express employee. Working for this company also means that you represent this company. If you treat customers with respect and effectiveness, customers are not going to say or write in Yelp that YOU treated them well, rather they will say that the Federal Express’s customer service is excellent. The credit goes mainly to the company, not to the individual. The same would happen if you treat the customers poorly: the company’s NAME and reputation is going to suffer a great damage.

In a similar manner, we Jews represent HaShem. We “work” (or maybe are His partners) in His company. We even wear a uniform that identifies us with HaShem: Kippa, Tseniut and above all, Tallit and tefillin. The latter represent a badge, with the actual name of the company CEO. As the pasuq say כי שם ה ‘נקרא עליך , the world is a witness that every Jew bears the Divine Name within him or her.

The third Commandment refers not only to the case in which by our words we trivialize or desecrate the name of HaShem. Our actions have a much longer and intense effect in the prestige and reputation of the name of HaShem that every Jew carries.

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THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: On being an observant Jew

מה תלמוד לומר לא תשא את שם ה ‘אלהיך לשוא, שלא תהא תפילין נושא וטלית עוטף והולך ועובר עבירות

“You shall take (carry, invoke) the name of HaShem your God in vain, for HaShem will not forgive anyone who takes His name in vain.”

The Third Commandment is perhaps the least known of all of the Ten. First, we will expose the traditional explanation of this commandment and then, based on an article by Rabbi Amar, we will explore the Third Commandment from a different perspective.

1. TO INVOKE: The third of the Ten Commandments “LO TISA” refers to the prohibition of swearing in God’s name falsely or unnecessarily (shebu’at shav). Jewish tradition understands the word “TISA” in this context as invoking, “you shall not invoke the name of God in vain” (in other contexts the word TISA or NOSE can be translated as “taking”, “carrying”, etc.). According to Maimonides, the prohibition on invoking the name of HaShem also extends to reciting a blessing, berakha, in vain. Why? Because a shebu’a, an oath, is basically a statement. The affirmation of a belief or a fact. A ritual blessing, when we say a berakha before eating, for example, is also a statement. We affirm an idea or a belief about HaShem pronouncing his name. For example, when I say the blessing “Bore feri ha’ets” I’m not saying “Thank God for this fruit,” I’m saying, “Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, (that YOU are the) Creator of the fruit of the tree “. In other words, I am stating, acknowledging that HaShem is the creator of this fruit. Therefore, if I pronounce this or another similar statement unnecessarily, “invoking the name of God in vain,” it would be considered as transgressing the third commandment. This is by the way, the origin of the Halachic principle: “Safeq berakhot lehaqel” in a situation where I’m not sure if I should or should not say a berakha, the right thing is to abstain, to not risk saying a berakha unnecessarily (lebatala) and transgress the third commandment “LO TISA”.

2. TO CARRY: Rabbi Shlomo Amar, today Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, exposes this commandment in a different way. He explains the prohibition of LO TISA as a warning not to “carry” the name of God in vain or falsely, pretending to be more religious or pious than I am. The Midrash brings the story of a Jewish merchant who traveled from city to city. Once, he came to a town on a Friday carrying a lot of money with him. What did he do? He went to the synagogue and saw a man praying and wearing the Tefillin on his head. Without much hesitation, he gave the money to the man and asked him to take care of it until the end of Shabbat. When Shabbat ended, the merchant went to the house of this man to withdraw his money. But to his surprise, the man deceived him and told him that he had never seen him and that he never received any money from him… The merchant went to the synagogue and prayed. And in his prayer, he said to God: “Master of the world, when I saw that man in the Synagogue, I did not trust him, as I never before saw him before, I trusted YOUR name that he was carrying in his head [in his Tefillin] “. The story has a happy ending. Eliyahu Hanabi revealed to the merchant in his dreams a secret code-word that allowed him access to the property of the thief and he recovered his money.
The Hakhamim brought the case of this man who pretended to be pious as an illustration of the third commandment: “You shall not “carry” the name of God in vain,” falsely, for you on personal benefit. Carrying the name of HaShem, in this case through the tefillin that man wore on his head (and I believe the same idea could be applied to a Kippa or any other symbol that identifies me as an observant Jew) implies a tremendous responsibility that we should be very careful to honor. And if ח”ו we behave inappropriately, betraying the name of HaShem that we carry with us, we will be transgressing the commandment that explicitly says: “… for HaShem will not forgive anyone who takes His name in vain.”
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THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not be superstitious”

המניח ספר תורה או תפילין על התינוק כדי שיישן

We are analyzing the second commandment, “Thou shalt have NO other gods before Me.” The Tora warns us not to believe in other gods or objects, or people or forces with supernatural powers.
While most of the modern world has overcome the traditional beliefs in idolatry, i.e., worshiping gods of stone or wood, certain habits, intimately connected with idolatrous practices, still survive. I’m referring more specifically to superstitions.

What do I mean by superstitions? A belief or faith in the supernatural power of something that is not HaShem, or under His control: a perfect illustration of the warning of the second commandment.
Examples: the belief in the power –to do good or evil– of certain objects. Say, a broken mirror, a ring or a book with superpowers, a red string, water blessed by a “holy” person, etc.

Humanity, especially the less educated sectors of the population, was always tempted to believe in superstitions and attribute certain powers to objects or natural phenomena. As already explained, it is much easier to serve an object, which does not require anything of us, than serving HaShem Who demands that we learn and study, and requires us to exert discipline and integrity, practice generosity, etc.

There is also the “control” factor. When I buy a “red string” I might have the feeling that I possess and control its power, as the ring in “Lord of the Rings.”

Out of a total of 613 commandments, the Tora devoted more than 50 to the denial of idolatry, to teach the Jewish people to reject all beliefs in magical or superstitious powers, or as the Tora calls it: Aboda Zara.

The second commandment teaches us that no-one and no-thing has a “power” or a supernatural influence on our lives, other than HaShem.

We must recognize that unfortunately, even some observant Jews might fall into the trap of superstition. It might seem to them that it is compatible to believe in God and be superstitious at the same time. Especially if the objects supposedly endowed with superpowers are ritual objects.

This phenomenon is not new. Here is an example. Tefillin, the phylacteries that Jewish men wear every day to pray. The Tefillin has obviously QEDUSHA, “holiness”, which means that it should be treated with great care, i.e., can not be introduced in inappropriate places, etc.

But we should not confuse “qedusha” which as exemplified by the case of tefillin, it demands us to take great care of these articles, with the false belief that the Tefillin, as a ritual object, might possess some superpowers… Maimonides wrote about this subject: a small child cries without stopping. And we try everything to calm him. The question Maimonides explores is the following: can we place the Tefillin in the bed of this child, so that with the “power of the sanctity of the Tefillin” the baby would stop crying and would fall asleep? The same could be said about a Sefer Tora, a Tora scroll, the most sacred religious article, higher than the tefillin. The idea is: if the sanctity of a religious object implies that these articles should possess some supernatural power, then these two items should be at the top of the list of effectiveness.

Maimonides, who mentions explicitly these two religiousarticles, considers this practice as a form of idolatry and condemns this act with extremely harsh words:
MT, Aboda Zara 11:12: “… also, if someone places a Tefillin or a Sefer Tora [in the bed of ] a small child to fall asleep, this person is not only guilty of [two forms of idolatry: ] enchantment and sorcery, but he is also guilty of heresy …. “.

As we can see, some people might be a little confused and be tempted to “use” ritual items for superstitious practices. This is not a new phenomenon.

The second commandment teaches us that there are no other “powers” independent of HaShem. No matter how sacred those objects might be.

Far from appealing to objects or amulets, what we should do in cases of illness ח”ו or when we face any other problem, is first of all, do our best effort to solve the problem, and simultaneously PRAY, asking HaShem directly for His help. Knowing that ultimately everything is EXCLUSIVELY in His power.

 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not displace”

לא יהיה לך

The second commandment contains four precepts. 1. The prohibition of believing in any god or entity, mythological or natural, which has an autonomous intelligence or divine power. 2. The prohibition of making idols. 3. The prohibition of prostrating to idols. 4. The prohibition of worshiping idols or false gods.

The first of these four precepts, in Hebrew לא יהיה לך, is defined by the Rambam (Mishne Tora 1: 6) as the prohibition to “conceive” that there are other divine powers, independent of HaShem.

To be clear, this precept or Mitsva is not about believing or not believing in God or worshipping other gods or idols (that will come in the next three precepts of this commandment). This Mitsva, like the first commandment, is limited to the universe of ideas and beliefs. In this case, accepting, conceiving , declaring that there is another god or other powers independent of HaShem.

In the historical context of the Tora, the pagan peoples of antiquity accepted and declared the existence of multiple “divine” powers, endowed with intelligence and autonomy. For example, in the pagan world, astrologers claimed that the planets exert an influence on the events of human life. The Greeks and Romans represented anthropomorphic gods who supposedly ruled the sea, the land, fertility, etc.

One might think that today, modern man has reached a very advanced knowledge, enabling us to understand reality without medieval prejudices. Although, that does not mean that humanity has fully overcome the temptation to replace God. That temptation, as we tried to explain yesterday, is not due to a desire to not “believing” in God. The biggest challenge of a liberal person is to accept what the first commandment declares: the “authority” of God. In ancient times, as in the famous case of King Nimrod, accepting the authority of God implied a significant limitation to the power of the king. There was a keen interest to displace God and replace Him with the leadership of the monarch of the day. But this displacement is not a phenomenon that occurred only in the past. Individuals who have a problem with the concept of God as the supreme authority will make every effort to keep “displacing HaShem” and replacing Him with other “gods” who demand nothing of our behavior.

I was watching a fantastic documentary by PBS’s “Nature”, Natural Born Hustlers, episode 1, presenting the amazing tricks that certain animals develop to deceive their predators and staying alive. I think it’s worth seeing because it strengthens our Emunah in the infinite wisdom of God, who allows each species to develop a different strategy changing their colors, disguising their scent, or faking their own death (see here the trailer).

A PBS production, loyal to its liberal philosophy, will not be saying what King David said in Tehillim when he spoke of nature, ” מה רבו מעשיך ה “,” How great are Your works, HaShem! “. PBS is careful to clarify when presenting any of these amazing tricks (some of which PBS ironically calls “miracle”) that these incredible skills are the result of “millions of years of evolution.” As if evolution were an intelligent, self-sufficient entity, independent of God, “guided” by random mechanisms to handle all the ecological systems of our planet.

I think the attribution of this Wisdom and Intelligence to nature is a modern example of the displacement of God and His replacement by a supposed superpower that is not called “God” or “Creator”  but is treated as such.

 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT and the Golden Calf

אנכי ה’ אלקיך

When the people of Israel thought that Moses was not returning from Mount Sinai, they made an idol, a golden calf. At the official opening of the new “religion”, which was similar to the religion of the Egyptians who worshiped animals, the people said: “Ele ELOQEJA Israel,” “This is your God, Israel.”

It is interesting to note that, consciously or unconsciously, the mob used the same expression that HaShem used in the First Commandment when He said “Anokhi HaShem, ELOQEJA” I am HaShem, your God. ”

Obviously, their intention was NOT to replace HaShem by a golden calf. The Jewish people still believed in God. But not everyone was satisfied with the fact that HaShem was also “ELOQEJA”. A God that one must “serve” behaving with integrity and with a blameless moral conduct …

The Golden Calf was an entirely different type of “ELOQEJA”. To “serve” the calf the people got drunk and indulged in lust and promiscuity. That was the way pagan idols were worshiped.

This detail is revealing and very relevant to understanding the nature of our Emuna or Jewish faith. Beyond the obvious, the main difference between serving HaShem and serving the calf is that the golden calf does not speak, it demands nothing, and it does not get involved in what I do or do not do. While HaShem requires that we practice qedusha, obeying His commandment controlling our impulses, the golden calf is worshiped by obeying one’s own basic instincts. The Golden Calf did not meddle in people’s private life. It had no ethical or spiritual demands. Like the Greek or Roman gods, the calf only asked that occasionally its worshippers would offer it some sacrifice to satisfy its own appetites.

I read a little bit about the life of Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist of last century. I was always interested in understanding the religious philosophy of this great man. What I learned is that Einstein believed in God, but in his own way. He did not believe in the God of Abraham Itshaq and Yaaqob, a “personal” God, i.e., a God that tells us what we should do with our lives. The God of Einstein, and of many progressive or liberal individuals, might be the wise Creator of the world, but he would not get into what I do or do not do. Like the god of Aristotle, who created the world and then abandoned it to its fate. Or the passive God of Spinoza, who is everything (= nothing) , but does not have a specific will, or if he has, he did not reveal it to humankind. Millions of people might believe in God, but they relate to Him ח”ו as if He was a golden calf: an entity which we do not need to obey, or listen to.
The first commandment, on the other hand, makes it clear that HaShem is not only the Creator of the world. He defines what is right and what is wrong. The Jewish way of relating to God passes first through the obedience of His commandments. Observing the code of conduct that He has established. Our relationship with HaShem, as the relationship between spouses or between parents and children, is a series of rights andobligations.

Following the First Commandment, we, the people of Israel demonstrate our belief and love for God by obeying His will.


THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: What is the First Commandment really saying?

אנכי ה ‘אלקיך

Yesterday, we explained that the opening statement of the Ten Commandments “I am HaShem your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Ex. 20: 2) can be seen as an introduction to the 10 Commandments, or as an independent precept, a Mitsva. Following this second opinion, the Rambam’s, we must ask, what exactly is the particular obligation that this commandment is indicating us to do or to believe?

Traditionally, it is understood that this commandment expresses our duty to believe in the “existence” of God. Which, as we saw, was questioned by some rabbis who felt that our belief in God should not be the subject of a biblical “ordinance.”

 

There may be, however, a slightly deeper way of understanding this commandment which I believe will help us to understand it better, and it would make easier for us to harmonize between the two conflicting opinions.

To begin with, we must read carefully the brief but very precise words of the Rambam in Sefer HaMitsvot and in MT, Yesode HaTora 1: 5-6, which shows that Maimonides refers to the belief in God’s existence as an ‘iqar, a principle of our faith, rather than as an “order” to fulfill. We, the Jewish people have acquired the knowledge of the existence of God, first, by our ancestors, who were eyewitnesses to the revelation of God at Mount Sinai. We “inherited” their experience, and we became “witnesses” of His existence. Based on this experience that we inherited, we also develop our own intellectual perception and our personal experience of God’s existence.
If so, if this command does not express the order to believe in the “existence” of God, what is this commanding ordering us?

We should examine in depth two words. The first, is the verb “to be” in the present tense (I am) and the second, is the Hebrew word ELOQEJA (conventionally translated as “your God”).

I AM
Let us read again the first three words of the First Commandment: “אנכי ה אלקיך”. Traditionally they are translated as “I am HaShem ELOQEJA (= your God)”. But here we can identify an ambiguity. In Hebrew, the verb “to be” in the present tense is never written. The word “am” (=I am) in Hebrew, does not exist, it is rather implicit in the sentence. This, therefore, gives us some room to try a different translation, without straying at all from the literal meaning of this verse. Instead of “I am HaShem ELOQEJA” we could translate it as “I, HaShem, I am ELOQEJA”.
What is the difference?

When understood as a commandment, “I am HaShem ELOQEJA” would seemingly indicate the obligation to believe in the existence of God. While “I, HaShem, am ELOQEJA” would be saying that HaShem, Whom we already know and believe in Him, He is our ELOQEJA. In this second reading, God’s existence is a given, a known fact. And the obligation that follows here is to affirm and behave knowing that HaShem is our ELOQEJA.

ELOQEJA
Now, the million dollar question is what does “ELOQEJA” mean? The name Eloqim, usually translated as “God”, actually means “Supreme and Sovereign Judge,” in other words: the Highest Authority. Thus, this commandment would NOT be indicating our obligation to believe in the “existence” of God but to accept Him as the supreme authority which governs our lives; our Sovereign.

The difference between these two readings of the First Commandment may seem insignificant. But think about this: many people with liberal values might believe in the existence of a Creator, but might still be unwilling to accept Him as Someone they must obey. Saying that HaShem is our ELOQIM, is asserting that He has the authority to establish what is right and what is wrong.
To conclude, we could rephrase the first Commandment as follows: “You must know that I, HaShem, I am your ELOQEJA, your Sovereign. I freed you from slavery in Egypt, and now you are no longer under the authority of Pharaoh. Now you are exclusively under MY jurisdiction.”