הים יעננו בקול-משה ידבר והאלו, “Moses would speak and G’d would respond to him with a voice” Shmos 19.19
The fact that the Israelites could hear both Moses and G’d’s response at a distance of 12-13 miles away where the Israelites had their camp was in itself already a miracle. Every Israelite was able to hear Moses clearly. Seeing the simultaneously the blast of the shofar is reported to have been constant though intermittent but did not interfere with Moses’ voice being heard, this clearly added to the magnitude of the miracle. This is why the Torah considered it as appropriate to mention this miracle along with other miraculous happenings on that occasion. The word יעננו, is similar to the verse in Hoseah 2,23 אענה נאם ה’, אענה את השמים, “In that day I will respond declares the Lord; I will respond to the sky.” The word reflects someone’s preparedness to extend assistance.
היך-אנכי ה' אלו, “I am the L-rd your G’d,” Shmos 20,2
This is a commandment to be carried out by the heart (compare Chovot Halevavot beginning of the first chapter); it therefore is not counted except as an obligation of the heart to believe with complete and absolute faith that there is a Creator who preceded any phenomena in the universe that we are either aware of or will ever become aware of. We must similarly believe that He is alone, has no partners. (Deut. 4,35). The word אנכי always refers to a presence and the letter א at the beginning of the word alludes both to His existence and to His preceding all. The other letters (נכי) are all multiples of ten which itself is a dimension of the number 1, i.e the א. The entire word conveys “oneness, unity.” [the letter י is to multiples of the number 10 what the letter א is to multiples of the number 1 The number 1 spelled as a word, אחד, equals 81 when squared (1x1 plus 8x8 plus 4x4). This is the numerical value of the letters in the word אנכי. Furthermore, the word אנכי alludes to all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The א represents the three letters known as אמות (א,מ,ש); the נ represents the 12 letters known as פשוטות (ה,ו,ז,ח,ט,י,ל,נ,ס,ע,צ,ק); the letter כ represents the seven letters known as כפולות. (ב,ג,ד,כ,פ,ר,ת). This means all 22 letters are accounted for. The last letter is the י which is one of the so-called נעלמות (i.e. the letters א-ה -ו-י, letters not usually heard when a word containing them is uttered).
לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים על פני, “You are not to have any other deities in My presence.” Shmos 20,3
We are not to accept any of G’d’s agents, forces, known as Elohim as deities for ourselves, nor any of the horoscopes as guiding our fates. The word אחרים “others,” [which might suggest that there are such] is explained in Sifri (Eikev 43) as justified by the fact that they are “different, false” to those who serve them. Another explanation of the meaning of the word אחרים: the deities whom people serve differ from day to day or from year to year. One day they worship gold, another day they worship silver, a third day they worship wood. The principal reason they are called אחרים is that they derive whatever power they are presumed to possess from אחרים, from “other” sources, they have absolutely no power of their own. This is spelled out in Exodus 34,14, לא תשתחוה לאל אחר, “do not worship a deity which derives its power from another (alien) source!” You are to bow down, i.e. worship only the true source of power, the G’d of Israel who does not derive His power from an external source. This is also the way our sages (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1,45) interpret Isaiah 44,6 ומבלעדי אין אלו-הים, “there is no god that exists independently of Me.”
'כי ששת ימים עשה ה', “for during six days the L-rd made, etc.” Shmos 20,11
The plain meaning of the text is the same as if the Torah had written בששת ימים, “during the course of six days, etc.” we find a similar construction in Genesis 14,4 where the words מרדוושלש עשרה שנה do not mean that “they rebelled for 13 years,” but that “they rebelled during the course of the 13th year,” i.e. בשנה השלוש עשרה. A more rational approach to the wording in this verse: G’d “made” these six days, i.e. they were part of His creative activity. Basically, the verse teaches that the concept of “time” was created during these days. Had the Torah written the words בששת ימים this would have taught that “time” preceded creation of the universe. A Kabbalistic approach: the words כי ששת ימים are a reference to the period of time the universe will continue to function according to the rules established for it by G’d. During this period there will be interaction and reciprocal input by celestial forces on earth and man’s conduct will have its impact on the celestial regions.
Shmos 20,14
The reason why there are precisely Ten Commandments which were deemed fit to be engraved on these Tablets: according to the plain meaning the number 10 is a number which symbolizes a closed circle, i.e. something complete. There is not a single number which does not somehow derive from the י the number represented by the number 10. [Even when we count beyond the number 10 we have to begin again with the number 1, etc. i.e. we repeat ourselves to some extent.]
A Midrashic approach: the reason that Ten Commandments were inscribed on the Tablets was that prior to the revelation mankind had known seven basic G’d-given laws which were the guidelines for man’s conduct on earth. This original number had already been increased to nine prior to the revelation. At this point G’d wanted to enable the people of Israel to earn credit for performing additional commandments; this is why He decided to reveal all the commandments starting now (Ma k k o t 2 3).
The matter is explained in Shi r H a s hir im Ra b ba h 1 ,4 by means of a parable: A king had a large cellar wherein he stored many barrels of good wine. One of the king’s friends came to visit and the king presented him with a barrel of wine. A second friend came to visit the king, and and the king presented him also with a barrel of wine. A third friend came to visit and the king presented him with yet another barrel of wine. Eventually, the king’s son came to visit and the king was so overjoyed that he gave him the entire stock of wine in the cellar. The parable mirrors the sequence in which G’d handed out His commandments to man. When Adam had been created he had been given six commandments. They were designed to ensure the ability of the universe to endure, i.e. each commandment symbolized one of the six points of the globe known in aggadic terms as קצוות העולם (the extreme ends of the world). Fulfillment of each commandment would prevent those ends of the universe from disintegrating [due to their distance from the center.]. With the appearance of Noach on earth and his having survived the deluge due to meticulous observance of these six commandments, G’d rewarded him with a seventh commandment, not to consume tissue of a living animal. Avraham, who led the life of a model human being, was rewarded with an eighth commandment, that of circumcision. Yaakov, another “friend of the king,” was rewarded with a ninth commandment, that of גיד הנשה, not to eat the sinew of the femoral vein.
When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai in their multitudes, G’d decided to reward them with the Ten Commandments which contained within them the gist of all the 613 commandments of the Torah. In order to allude to this concept the Torah writes in connection with the offerings of the princes on the occasion of the consecration of the Holy Tabernacle (N um ber s 7 ,1 4) כף אחת, עשרה זהב, מלאה קטרת, “one (gold) ladle of ten (shekel weight) filled with incense.”
In an allegorical sense, the verse speaks of the Ten Commandments which are represented by the golden ladle and which are filled with the balance of the 613 commandments described as “incense.” Actually, the letter ק in the word קטרת is interchangeable with the letter ד, so that the numerical value of the letter in the word קטרת would amount to a total of 613. (compare Ba m i d ba r Ra bba h 1 3 ,1 6. It is pointed out there also that the number of letters in the Ten Commandments commencing with the word אנכי, excluding the last two words אשר לרעך total 613. The seven letters in the last two words would represent the seven Noachide laws to which all of mankind was obligated after the deluge. (All of this reinforces the idea that the Ten Commandments are the gist of all the commandments in the Torah.)
Shmos 20,20: One may also interpret the words לא תעשון אתי וגו' (do not make with Me) to mean that “while you are engaged in prayer to Me, “do not think of your gold, your silver, etc”.; in other words, when you address Me I expect to have your full attention, do not share Me in your thoughts with anything else at such a time. If you were to do that, I would consider it as equivalent to your having made competing deities.”
