From Day One
Hashem put the world He created in man’s hands. He fashioned man in His own image and gave him the ability and responsibility to harness and drive the world (Bereishit 1:26-28). He imbued us with glory and splendor—on a level just below His own (Tehillim 8:6-7).
This glory and ability can easily go to our heads and cause us to view ourselves as the “gods” of this world—not dependent upon God (Rashi, ibid 2:18).
Mitzvot reminds us of our proper place and mission in the world. They remind us that we are God’s creations meant to serve Him by doing His bidding, following His will and glorifying His name. This is why Hashem’s first words to Adam were commandments (ibid, 2:16–17). Man needs to see himself as commanded by Hashem and beholden to His will.
Sadly, Adam violated Hashem’s instructions on his very first day of existence. His descendants did as well: Kayin killed his brother Hevel, the generation of the flood stole and murdered and the generation of the tower rebelled against Hashem.
Avraham Avinu:
The Model of Full Commitment
Finally, after 20 generations, Avraham emerged. Avraham was fully committed to Hashem and His commandments. Though Avraham had many special qualities, the Torah focuses on his commitment to Hashem’s commandments. It omits his first good deeds—his destroying idols, spreading Hashem’s name and entering the fiery furnace—and, instead, focuses on his fulfillment of Hashem’s directives.
Parshat Lech Lecha (12:1) opens with Hashem’s command to abandon his past—his land, birthplace and father’s home—and parshat Vayera closes with Hashem’s command to destroy his future by sacrificing his beloved only (remaining) son (22:1). Avraham followed Hashem’s instructions: he left his home and showed his willingness to sacrifice his son. He passed both tests and eight similar ones in between (Avot 5:3).
Though sacrificing his son was contrary to his beliefs and Hashem’s promises to him, Avraham followed Hashem’s directive. Avraham had previously questioned Hashem’s intended punishment of Sedom (Bereishit 18:25), but he dutifully obeyed Hashem’s command for him to act. He understood that his right and responsibility to question ended when Hashem called for his service. He was a true eved Hashem, fully committed to following Hashem’s instructions.
After Avraham showed this commitment, Hashem praised him as a “yireh Elokim,” (ibid, 22:12) which—in addition to referring to one who “fears” God—also connotes following Hashem’s directions.
Avraham expressed this trait in his response to Yitzchak, who—on the way up the mountain—asked his father where the sheep they would be sacrificing was. Avraham answered, “Hashem yireh lo haseh leolah beni—Hashem will show us the sheep for the offering, my son,” (ibid, 22:7-8). Avraham was not being evasive; he gave Yitzchak the true answer. The sheep would be whatever Hashem showed them. At that time, it was Yitzchak; later, it might become something else. Indeed, in the end, Hashem showed him the ram instead.
Because Avraham showed his commitment to Hashem’s directives, “yireh,” Hashem lauded him as a “yirei Elokim.”
Through the episode of the Akedah and many other experiences, Avraham modeled commitment for his son, Yitzchak. Avraham was not the first to follow Hashem, but he was the first to successfully pass on his beliefs and commitment to his son and household (ibid., 18:19).
It was this commitment that caused Hashem to continue His special relationship with Avraham’s descendants. He made this point to Yitzchak after Avraham’s death: “I will multiply your seed like the stars of the sky and give them all of God’s lands … Because Avraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My mitzvot, My statutes and My instructions,” (ibid., 26:4). The most significant of Avraham’s traits—the one which merited his seed to become God’s chosen people—was his commitment to observing Hashem’s mitzvot.
Yetziat Mitzrayim: Based
Upon and the Basis of Mitzvot
Like our forefather Avraham, our national and communal origins are also rooted in our mitzvah observance. We transitioned from a family to a people in Mitzrayim, which we entered as a family of 70 and exited as millions.
We left Mitzrayim through Hashem’s miraculous liberation, which expressed His special relationship with us. Hashem explained this to Moshe the first time he approached Pharaoh. He instructed Moshe to inform the Egyptian king that the Jewish people are His “firstborn child.” If Pharaoh refused to free them, Hashem would kill all the Egyptian firstborns (Shemot 4:22-23).
Of course, Hashem did not need Pharaoh’s consent to release the Jews. But He did need the Jews to take action by fulfilling mitzvot. Before makat bechorot commenced, Hashem commanded the Jewish people to sacrifice the Korban Pesach (ibid., 12). Based upon pesukim from sefer Yechezkel (Yechezkel 16:6-8), Chazal explain that—though the time for redemption had arrived—Hashem could not redeem the Jewish people because they were “naked” of mitzvot (Mechilta, Bo 5). To be redeemed, the Jewish people needed to show their commitment to and faith in their relationship with Hashem. They needed to affirm their status as Hashem’s people by fulfilling His commandments.
Mitzvot were not only a pre-condition of redemption. They were also its implication. Hashem’s deliverance made us beholden to Him. His salvation is the basis of our unique responsibility to serve Him—of our status as avdei Hashem. When he liberated us from servitude in Mitzrayim, we went from enslavement to Pharaoh to service of Hashem.
All people must observe Hashem’s seven basic commandments because they owe their existence to Him. We are responsible for keeping the full range of the 613 mitzvot because we owe Him our freedom as well.
Har Sinai: Our Commitment
Hashem did not want our relationship and commitment to be based on His actions alone. He, therefore, offered us the opportunity to choose for ourselves at Sinai. He gave us the chance to opt into our relationship with Him—emphasizing the importance of our personal agency in our faith (Shemot 19:4-6).
On the way to Har Sinai, Hashem used the need to provide us with food and water to teach the significance of mitzvah observance and test our readiness to do so.
After showing Moshe how to sweeten the bitter water at Marah, Hashem gave the Jewish people more laws to observe and explained that, like the water, their good health depended on following Hashem’s instructions (ibid., 15:25-26).
When Hashem provided the manna, He explained that it would be a test to see if the people were ready to follow Torah guidelines (ibid., 16:4). The laws of collecting and consuming the manna tested and trained us for mitzvah observance in general.
After seeing how mitzvah observance merited the Exodus—as well as food and water—the Jews arrived at Har Sinai ready to commit to the covenant with Hashem, by committing themselves to mitzvah observance. Their commitment is the basis of our eternal commitment and relationship with Hashem.
May studying the upcoming pieces about mitzvah observance strengthen this commitment by enhancing our appreciation of Hashem’s commandments.
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the dean of overseas students at Yeshivat HaKotel.
