On Shabbat morning it’s happening. We will stand again at the foot of Mount Sinai and receive the Ten Commandments from God. Our commentators explain that this is not just a historical story we read in the weekly portion, Parashat Yitro. Every year anew on this Shabbat we commit again to the eternal and foundational covenant that began at Mount Sinai. Here is what will be read in all synagogues throughout the Jewish world:
1. ”I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” God didn't just create the world, He is involved in history, from the Exodus from Egypt until today. Our sages explain: The first principle doesn't require any action, only internalization. To believe that there is direction to everything that happens, there is purpose for each individual person, for the people of Israel and for the entire world. In the past two years we have written an important chapter in this history, in which we continue to go out from Egypt.
2. ”You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” The second principle is a direct continuation of the first: since there is a God, we are forbidden to enslave ourselves to anything else and turn it into a god. We saw in the previous century ideas like communism, fascism and Nazism become dangerous idols. What are the idols of this century?
3. ”You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” In the new era, artificial intelligence sometimes appears all-knowing, all-powerful, present everywhere and overseeing everything. We must not confuse the tool with the Creator. AI cannot be the source of moral or spiritual authority. There is something above all the algorithms. We were created in the image of God, not in the image of the chat.
Recently it was revealed that a popular rabbi on Instagram was actually a bot. He encouraged and moved people who followed him and even bought content from him, but he didn't exist in reality at all. This week it was also published that AI agents who entered a shared network created a new religion within less than 24 hours. Not as a joke, but seriously. A religion with a name, holy scriptures and principles of faith. In an era when it's very easy to fake religious content, to generate "words of Torah" at the click of a button, we return to the basics – to intention, to the soul, to truth. There are real righteous people, there is Torah and commandments.
And by the way, in the meantime one must also be careful with the most basic halachic questions. AI often makes mistakes with the simplest request about Shabbat candle lighting time or the end time of a fast.
4. ”Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” I have the privilege of recently accompanying groups of Israelis who have begun to keep Shabbat, or at least initially – to add a bit more Shabbat to their lives. I didn't know the scope of the phenomenon. It seems that the upheaval we went through causes people to take things in the most personal way, into the kitchen and living room, to Kiddush and Havdalah. Omer Adam recently shared a viral video in which he said he keeps Shabbat, reads books quietly for the first time, and that on Saturday night he simply doesn't want to open his cell phone. Last Shabbat in Jerusalem, with such a group, I heard this again and again. Shabbat Shalom.
5. ”Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.” When the world flies forward, we need to remember to look back. Without roots there is no meaning to knowledge, it has no direction. Honoring the previous generation is our anchor in the dizzying and new reality. Respect for grandparents, for parents, for previous generations, is actually respect for ourselves, and it is also the foundation for the respect we will receive from our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, God willing.
6. "You shall not murder." If the Torah doesn't explain, we won't elaborate either. How simple, and yet still not understood by all humanity. We have enemies who still educate: murder.
7. "You shall not commit adultery." In a confusing, dizzying era, this is a reminder: relationships of loyalty and commitment are sacred. There are commentators who explain that "you shall not commit adultery" also refers to God. That is, to our loyalty to Jewish identity. That we not betray it. If we are reading the Ten Commandments again thousands of years after we received them, it's a sign we haven't become confused.
8. "You shall not steal." This principle also presents a boundary, in a world that is sometimes without boundaries. Note that the word that repeats most often in the Ten Commandments is "not" (lo). This is not a declaration of human rights, it is a declaration of human obligations. This is how we build a better world.
9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Truth is the foundation. Sometimes we're told that everyone has their own story, everyone and their narrative, and it's not at all certain that there is truth. In a post-modern era of post-truth, of interpretations and feelings. The ninth principle says: it is forbidden to give false testimony in court, and of course in life in general, one must adhere to the attribute of truth.
10. "You shall not covet." Sometimes it seems that an entire culture of algorithms is screaming at us: covet! You need more, more, now. The last commandment reminds us to fight this envy. The neighbor's story is always greener. We must succeed in internalizing the saying: "Who is rich? One who is happy with their portion."
The giving of the Torah 5786. Good luck to us all. Shabbat Shalom.
