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The People Israel:
A Spiritual Nature

ANDREA TEEPLE

Special to The Jewish News

T

his week's Torah por-
tion, Yitro, is named
after one of the
characters in this particular
parsha. Yitro, or Jethro, was
the Midianite father-in-law of
Moses. The portion begins as
Jethro is visiting Moses in
the wilderness, after Moses
and the Israelites have de-
feated Pharaoh and have
escaped from Egypt. Upon
viewing the responsibilities
Moses had undertaken on
behalf of the Israelites, Jethro
advises Moses to delegate
responsibilities among the
more capable of the men in
his group. Thus begins our
weekly sedra and the start of
an organized system of
leadership.
With the deliverance ac-
complished and the physical
nation of Israel coming into
being, the experiences yet to
come will cultivate the
spiritual nature of the people
Israel.
We are about to reach the
climax of Exodus — when God
is revealed to Israel. All was
silent; the forces of nature re-
mained calm, this calm being
a harbinger to the divine
glory. Out of this quietude
came the words of the Lord,
making known to the people
Israel the fundamentals of
the Torah.
It has several names: Aseret
ha devarim — a decade of
words and "Decalogue,"
which was first used by a
Greek Church Father, Cle-
ment of Alexandria, about
200 C.E. In its most common
form we know it as the 1bn
Commandments.
The Ten Commandments
were somewhat common; they
showed no new or profund
philosophical insights into
ethics and law. Yet it was the
first time in history that the
formation of a community
took place based on common
obligations rather than on
common interests: on ethics
rather than on envy. This
covenant was necessary to
bring together a group who
were a mixed multitude of
people from different tribes.
Their only commonality was
the Exodus from Egypt which
they had just endured. Yet the
giving of the Ten Command-

Andrea Teeple is
religious/education vice
president of Temple Emanu-
El. She also holds a
certificate from the Rabbinic
Aide Program of UAHC.

ments on Mt. Sinai has such
far-reaching impact it is still
felt today.
There are many theories as
to the exact manner in which
the commandments were
given to the people. Tradi-
tionally speaking, God is said
to have told Moses to prepare
the people to receive the cove-
nant. Moses warned the peo-
ple to stay pure and they
washed their clothes. Exodus
19:16-17 tells of the people be-
ing led by Moses out of their
camp toward God at the foot
of the mountain. The people
trembled at the sound of the
thunder and the blast of the
horn. Torah tells us, in Ex-
odus 20:1, "God spoke all
these words" — and the law is
then given by God to all the

Shabbat Yitro
Exodus 18:1-20:73
Isaiah 6:1-7:6
9:5, 6

people assembled and for all
generations to come.
There is also a rabbinic
awareness that the Ten Com-
mandments may not be total-
ly attributed directly to God.
Some suggest that Moses
possibly authored parts of it
himself. The basis of this
theory comes from Scripture.
The first two commandments
are written in the first per-
son, "I am the Lord your God
. . ." and "You shall have no
other gods beside Me." (Ex-
odus 20:2). The remaining
eight commandments are se-
cond person commands. The
Talmud (Makkot 24a) sug-
gests that after God spoke the
first two commandments the
people became so terrified of
God they asked Moses to in-
tervene, and Moses spoke the
last eight commandments.
Some rabbis believed that on-
ly the first two command-
ments are the words of God.
After reading all the
Decalogue it is apparent the
first five commandments
show man's relationship with
the Divine, while the second
five teach the fundamentals
of human society. This is
what makes the 'Ibn Com-
mandments so fascinating.
These laws rest upon the
foundations of ethical and
moral principals and they are
equally binding, upon an in-
dividual as well as on society
as a whole. The command-
ments, as given, are not ac-
companied by penalties or
punishments; they are a self-
enforcing document. The
motivation to fulfill the re-

