Parshat Yitro; Exodus 18: 1 - 20:23; By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s Torah portion is the major highlight of the Exodus story and the liberation from Egypt. For the past several weeks the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt has been center stage. The miracles of the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Yam Suf and the safe passage of the Israelites have occupied the unfolding story of our people. But now this week’s parasha, Yitro takes our people to the foot of Mt. Sinai where they are to receive that defining revelation of our people’s relationship with the Holy One of Blessing. This week’s portion describes the giving of the Ten Commandments. Amid smoke and thundering flashes of light, God’s voice emanates from the top of Mt. Sinai. God speaks the verses of loyalty, commitment and morality. The people hear it and proclaim their loyalty and commitment to this new morality.

These are more than just commands. These verses outline our responsibilities to God and one another. The Ten Commandments help this group of newly freed slaves begin to carve out a new existence. These verses of covenantal promise would help transform a group of slaves into a true People. At least that is the hope.
But Moses and Aaron quickly learn that receiving the Revelation from God and hearing it doesn’t change people. For in a couple of week’s we will see as Moses’ returns from Mt. Sinai that the people, although they experienced the Divine Revelation and accepted the terms of the covenantal promises, quickly reverted to idolatry as they made and worshipped at the feet of the Golden Calf.
The Ten Commandments as the core of our Torah tradition of obligations and responsibilities help to shape us into moral beings. The Ten Commandments help to elevate us and provide and shape a society of human beings who are aware of themselves, their fellow beings and are aware of the Holy Divine One! But hearing them revealed and living them are two separate moments.
The challenge for the Israelites then and for Jews now is to understand that these verses help to shape our soul and our humanity. Once we were slaves in Egypt. We were degraded and treated not as human beings but as pack animals. Ultimately, The Ten Commandments helped to take slaves and make them into free people who can be responsible for themselves. Not whipped by a taskmaster into submission. But it took time and it took practice.
In our day and time we can say no less. We are blessed with freedom of many choices but our society is unfortunately still structured in a way that much of it is dehumanizing and degrading. The Ten Commandments still at our core remind us that we are human and that to be a truly free one must be able to fulfill her or his basic responsibilities all the while uplifting the spirit of oneself and others. This is no easy task. It takes tremendous effort. It takes practice. It is always easier to tear down than do the hard work of building.
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They knew about building. They built the garrison cities for Pharaoh. But they didn’t know about soul building. How could they? The Israelites were in so much physical and emotional pain. They lived with fear every day. Their souls cried out the Torah teaches. This is the scream God heard.
The Ten Commandments was the road map to recovery for them and yes, for us. The Ten Commandments and our Jewish way of life help us build our soul, our resolve, our minds and our spirits and elevate our way of life from that of mere workers and pack animals to a life of meaning and holiness. But again, it takes practice. We can build the soul if we ignore the basic premises of our tradition.
In our day and time the search for meaning is rampant. Perhaps we just need to look once again at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Perhaps it was there all along!