In Parasha Yitro we find Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law coming to meet him in the wilderness thus reuniting Moshe with his wife, Tzipporah, and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Most probably, Tzipporah left Moshe and returned to her father after the circumcision incident of Shemot 4:25-26. Parasha Yitro also contains the excellent advice Yitro gives Moshe concerning judging the people. But most importantly it contains The Asseret HaDebrot (Ten Sayings/Commandments). I am going to focus solely on the first three Debrot (Sayings) for this d'var Torah.

Shemot {20:2} "I am HaShem your G-D, who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt), out of the house of bondage. {20:3} You shall have no other gods before me. {20:4} You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”

Now I would like to discuss these three Debrot individually because I believe they are the cornerstone of our faith.

Shemot {20:2} I am HaShem your G-D, who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim, out of the house of bondage: I believe this Debar (saying) represents G-d the Father. By this Debar G-d is instructing us to remember who He is and what He has done for us. To Moshe, G-d is saying, “I am the G-d who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim.” But He might just as well be talking to you and me, saying instead, “I am the G-d who brought you out of your bondage to drugs." "I am the G-d who brought you out of your bondage of homosexuality, pornography, gambling or whatever you were in bondage to." However, to all of us He is saying "I am the G-d who brought you out of your bondage to Satan and hell, into freedom and eternal life with me." In this Debar G-d is saying, “Remember who I am and what I did for you!”

Shemot {20:3} You shall have no other gods before me: I believe this Debar represents the true image of G-d. Yeshua is the true image of G-d, so much so that He said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father." What Yeshua was saying by this statement is that He is both supreme and unique. There is no one else like Him. He is G-d and there is no other G-d. The principle behind this Debar is that not only is G-d the only G-d, but He does not want to be vying for our attention with any other gods we may be worshipping, such as gods of possessions, pleasure, relaxation, sports, entertainment or even education. What He saying is that He requires all our attention, all our efforts and He will not share us with anyone or anything. In revealing Himself to Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) G-d was not afraid that they would not recognize Him as G-d. He was concerned that they would just add Him to the already 1200 existing gods of Mitzrayim. That is the danger for us, as well. G-d plus our work, G-d plus our pension plan, G-d plus our extra curricular activities. In this Debar G-d saying, "It does not work!"

Shemot {20:4} You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: I believe this passage speaks about the likeness of G-d, and that is the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). The Ruach HaKodesh in us is what makes us G-d like. We become His image here on earth. Images carved out of wood, metal or stone do not contain the Ruach of G-d and are, therefore, not in His likeness. They are an abomination to Him when worshipped. In addition, idolatry declares that there is another god, but there is no other G-d. The principle behind this Debar is give to us in:

Yochanan (John) {24: 4}: HaShem is Ruach (Spirit) and it is necessary for the ones worshipping Him to worship in the Ruach Hakodesh and emet (truth):

G-d is looking for spiritual obedience. I am sure that most of you want the likeness of G-d, His Ruach, but many are drawn to the likeness of the world - the idols of fame, financial prosperity and pleasure, to just name a few. G-d's goal is that we be conformed to His likeness, which is an internal, spiritual likeness. It is not our looks but our lives that make the difference.

Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada.

Copyright 2002