Redemption and Torah
R. Bechaye writes that when God’s presence filled the Tabernacle, He said: "Today I am causing My Presence to rest among you; if you sin, My Presence will leave you. But when Messiah comes, My Presence will remain with you permanently. Now you see the Divine Presence through fire, but with the advent of the Messiah you will see it clearly revealed, as it is written: "For eye to eye shall they see when God returns to Zion." (Tz’enah Ur’enah)
Commentary: Then God spoke all these words, saying, "I am HaShem your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Exodus 20:1-2)
The Festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah and the giving of the Holy Spirit. As part of the commemoration, the Ten Commandments are read publicly in the Assembly on the Feast of Shavuot.
According to the traditional reckoning, the first commandment is simply, "I am HaShem your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Shemot / Exodus 20:1-2)
The first commandment is to believe in God and to accept His claim of ownership over us. Unless we accept the basic premise of God’s existence, no number of commandments will have any authority or meaning for us. The need for such a command demonstrates the incongruity of ascribing to morality without believing in a moral authority. If we accept the premise of objective morality, we must accept that there is a higher authority issuing that objective standard.
We also learn from this that redemption must precede commandments. Before we can receive the Torah, we must already be ‘saved.’ Israel’s salvation from Egypt was not accorded to her on the basis of her obedience to the commandments. She was already redeemed (on no merit of her own) before the laws at Sinai were given to her. Thus the first declaration at Sinai is a reminder of their redeemed status. Only BECAUSE they are already saved are they able to receive the commands of God.
True legalism continually attempts to reverse this process by claiming that one’s obedience to certain commandments (or all the commandments) is the mechanism by which salvation is earned. The first of the Ten Commandments directly contradicts this notion. Salvation and relationship with God precedes the Torah.
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Filed Under: Haggim, Mashiach, Shavuot, Torah
Tags: commemoration, divine presence, enah, exodus, eye to eye, first commandment, Holy Spirit, house of slavery, incongruity, Mashiach, matan Torah, Messiah, moral authority, obedience, objective morality, pentecost, premise, Redemption, Ruach HaKodesh, Shavuot, tabernacle, ten commandments, Torah, zion
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