Shabbat Shalom

What does God want from us?

For some people, the answer lies in the Torah, and for others, it makes more sense to intuit the answer from life’s experiences – perhaps some system of universal morality, for example (there are other ways, as well). If we look in the Torah, where do we find the answer? An easy first step is to read the Ten Commandments, which are part of last week’s Torah reading. This week, we read parashat Mishpatim, which consists of a very long list of instructions – mitzvot – that God instructs us to perform in our daily lives. The question is, how do these mitzvot rank in comparison to the Ten Commandments? Were they intended as clarification or elaboration, or possibly just as an afterthought?

At first glance, it appears that God delivers the instructions of just the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, but if so, where do the rest of these mitzvot come from? Rashi, citing earlier commentaries, notices the first words of this week’s Torah reading: “And these are the laws that you shall place before them…” (Exodus 21:1). Why, he wonders, does God begin speaking to Moses here with the word “and”? It is because the following laws are intended to supplement the first ten that were already enumerated. In other words, Revelation – which begins at Mount Sinai – continues throughout all generations. It is not a one-time event, but the beginning of a relationship that continues for all time. We look back on the experience of our ancestors at Mount Sinai as the basis for a continuing relationship with God as we strive constantly to know, understand, and draw nearer to God. The instructions – or mitzvot – form the basis of Jewish tradition, not because they are exhaustive in nature, but because they stimulate our quest for what is right and what is true in the world – things we sometimes attribute to God.

Therefore, God encourages us to enter into relationship. God initiates that relationship at Mount Sinai (actually, long before that, in many ways – but in a formal sense through the Revelation), and then the relationship evolves and matures through time. Where do the rest of the mitzvot come from – God or human beings who seek to elaborate upon the content of the original message? Either way, Jewish practice consists of much more than just the original Ten Commandments from last week’s parashah. In every generation, we seek to discover the meaning of God’s presence in our lives, and the choices that we make result in the further articulation of the mitzvot. Maybe they come from God, perhaps from us. Possibly from a partnership between us and God.

Whatever it is, the Torah and all the rest of Jewish tradition has come to us from the generations past. It is ours to cherish, to preserve and to pass on once again, because it encourages us to ponder exactly this question: what does God want from us? Our passion to discover the answer connects us to our ancestors, who asked the same question, and to our descendants, who will ask the same question in generations to come.

Sometimes, the magic is in the question, even if the answer is elusive.

Shabbat shalom.