And God spoke all these words, to say" (Exodus 20:1). The introduction of the Ten Commandments contains a fundamental concept regarding the role of the Jewish people in the land. "Everywhere in the Torah it appears that God speaks to say," the meaning is that God speaks to Moses or Aaron, and they are to transmit the words to the rest of the people. However, at the giving of the Torah, all the Jews of that generation were present; therefore, the words "to say" are meaningless.

It is impossible to say that these words teach us that we must transmit the Ten Commandments (as well as the rest of the Torah, since it is included and codified within the Ten Commandments) to the rest of the generations to come, who were not present at the Giving of the Torah, given that, as our sages recount in the Midrash, all the souls of all Jews of all generations were present at that time.

The Maggid of Mezritch, the second leader of the Hasidic Movement after Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, answers this question as follows: Kabbalah explains that each of the Ten Commandments corresponds to one of the Ten Phrases with which the universe was created. Therefore, the meaning of the words "to say" is that we must project the Ten Commandments onto the Ten Phrases with which the world was created.

Hasidic philosophy explains that one of the ideas in the concept of speech is the projection of ideas that are hidden in the mind of an individual towards another.

The explanation for this idea of projecting Torah into the world is that it requires Jews, both men and women, to apply Torah to their daily lives.

It is not appropriate to behave according to the rules of the Torah when one is involved in any action related to the Torah, such as praying, helping one's neighbor, etc., and to behave according to the rules of the world in general and of the local society in particular the rest of the time when one is not involved in holy matters.

The Jewish people in general, and each individual in particular, are expected to learn to think and feel as the Torah thinks and feels.

This is also the meaning of the verse from Psalms "My tears were my food day and night, when people said to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'".

Tears spring from the bitterness in one's heart. The psalmist felt such bitterness that his tears became his sustenance, for it is well known that when one feels bitterness, one loses one's appetite. What was the reason for such bitterness? That is why the verse continues, "when they said to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" "They said to me" refers to God, who demands "all day long" that one seek Him.

In other words, each person is required to feel in their heart, "all day long," the need to be connected to God. When we refer to "all day long," we mean both in time and in action; that is, in all actions one must feel that it is God who gives them the strength to exist and continues acting.

Extracted from Likutei Sijot vol 1 p. 148

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 − three =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.