Commandment One

In Yitro, Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Each year as Yitro comes, I intend to analyse the Ten Commandments. Over the next ten years, I will dissect them for every meaning they may have.

To start the Ten Commandments off, God says, "I, Adonai, am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage"(Exodus 20:2). Controversy has come about whether this is actually one of the commandments. Jews have come to agree that God meant this one verse to be its own commandment. Some Christians believe that this is a preface for what is to come. Why should such a statement be one of the Israelite's first and most important laws? Just as the preamble of our constitution starts with "We the people," God declares, "I, Adonai am your God". This one verse is so obvious, yet it seems as though it is necessary for it to be said.

At the time that Moses ascends to Mount Sinai, the Israelites are not the God praising people they were at the sea. They are hungry, thirsty, and stuck in the middle of the wilderness. Some even wanted to return as slaves in Egypt. God feels that all of Adonai's people should know what happened in Egypt. Israel needed to know that Moses was just God's messenger. God parted the sea, Moses held up the staff. God brought the plagues. Before the people elevate to Israel, they must realize that God liberated them. Perhaps, God wanted anyone who studies the Ten Commandments to realize what Adonai just did for the Israelites. It took a lot of power to free the tribes of Israel.

Judaism, at its core, is a monotheistic religion of faith. Over the past year, I have been taking a course on Reform Judaism. I believe in God. My belief is probably a combination of my mother's and father's beliefs. My father believes that God creates, but does not intervene. Once a human is created, God shines through that human. My mother is of the belief that God gives each of us free will. We have a choice of right and wrong. In my opinion, God creates new life and watches over the world. God hears and grants our prayers, but also gave humans the ability to think. Unlike animals, humans can choose how they live. They can live in any place and be friends with anybody. Unfortunately, God's gift of freedom can cause just as much evil as it does good. Belief in God is a beautiful concept.

Why not believe in God? God can be anything to anybody. God can be the weatherman, but God could also be the healer. God can bring change in our lives, or punish our misdeeds. To some, God could be like the "force" in Star Wars. God is the one thing that binds the universe together. When tragedy strikes, we either affirm our faith or curse it. We stop believing because we feel "God stopped protecting us". Maybe God just cannot help the actions of every human. To me, God created humans with freedom and officially restores our freedom. God firmly commands that we acknowledge that we were taken out of Egypt by Godself. Although I do, it does not matter if we believe it or not. We just have to acknowledge it.