We also think the Ten Commandments are consistently understood across cultural and religious communities, they are not. Within Christianity, the first commandment is “You shall have no other God before Me”, while in Judaism, the first commandment is “I am the Lord, your God.” What is viewed as an introductory statement to most of the world is presented in the Torah as an actual commandment to be fulfilled.
This first commandment begins with the word ‘Anochi’, ‘I am’, which is a commandment of self-awareness and engagement. Judaism demands that we struggle with our concept and understanding of God. We are not commanded towards a conclusion of this struggle, we are commanded to engage with it. “I am the Lord, your God”– what does that mean to each of us?
The Torah says that God is the source and humanity is the image. Therefore, I cannot fully explore, or understand the image, unless I struggle with seeking the source. I cannot reach self-awareness without understanding from where I originated. I will never exhaust my understanding of God, but as Rabbi Tarfon taught us in Pirkei Avot, ‘your job is not to complete the task, but neither are you free to avoid it’.
This Shabbat we stand in shul together when we read the Ten Commandments, just as we stood together at Mount Sinai when we received them. The first commandment, “I am the Lord, your God”, continues to invite us into the greatest of explorations, the push to grapple with both the inward and outward thresholds of the infinite. An appropriate commandment to begin a list of laws that will change the world.
I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.
Shabbat shalom,
Rachael