Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
We usually translate עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת (Aseret Ha-Dibrot) as the “Ten Commandments,” even though it literally means “Ten Statements.” But take a look at the first of the dibrot:
אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֧ר הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם מִבֵּ֣֥ית עֲבָדִ֑͏ֽים׃
I am the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.
Is anything actually being commanded here?
מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹן הִיא הַצִּוּוּי אֲשֶׁר צִוָּנוּ בְּהַאֲמָנַת הָאֱלוֹקוּת, וְהוּא שֶׁנַּאֲמִין שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם עִלָּה וְסִבָּה הוּא פּוֹעֵל לְכָל הַנִּמְצָאִים, וְהוּא אָמָרוֹ "אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ".
The first mitzvah is the command to believe in God; to believe that there is an Origin and Cause, that God is the power of all that exists. And the source is, "I am the Lord your God."
לֹא יְצֻיַּר מִצְוָה בְּזוּלַת מְצַוֶּה יָדוּעַ.
וְלָזֶה, כַּאֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה אֱמוּנַת מְצִיאוּת הָאֵ-ל מִצְוָה, כְּבָר נַנִּיחַ אֱמוּנַת מְצִיאוּת הָאֵ-ל יִתְבָּרַךְ...
it is not possible to have commandments without someone who issues the commands.
And if you consider belief in the existence of God a mitzvah, you are already assuming the existence of God…
Rambam argues that the first דִּיבּור (dibbur, statement) really is a mitzvah, and a very important one at that. Rabbi Crescas, however, believes that this dibbur is a statement, perhaps an introduction, but it isn’t actually commanding anything. Both of these positions raise some very deep questions!
- When you think about the Rambam, ask yourself: can faith be commanded? Why?
- When you think about Rabbi Crescas, ask yourself: Is it logical for God to command something to people who don’t already believe in God? If they don’t believe in God, what would they think about those mitzvot? Does doing a mitzvah always mean that a person already believes in God? Why?
- Does one of these interpretations seem more logical to you? Which one do you think is more convincing when you look at the Aseret Ha-Dibrot?
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