The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Yisro

The Rebbe says:

1. In this weeks Torah portion Hashem gives the Jewish people his most prized possession- the Torah. Hashem came down on Mount Sinai and gave us the Ten Commandments (Exodus, Chapter 19, verse16 until Chapter 20, Verse 19).

Hashem’s first commandment to the Jewish people is “A’no’chee Ha’va’ya E’lo’kecha asher ho’tzay’sicha may’eretz mitz’rayim me’bais avodim – I am Hashem your G-d Who took you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves” (Chapter 20, Verse 2).

2. In the following paragraph the Rebbe introduces a teaching which will be the basis for a question:

The Midrash Tanchuma (teachings from our Sages in the Talmudic period) tells us that the first word of the Ten Commandments is from the Egyptian language. The word “ A’no’chee – I am” is taken from the Egyptian vocabulary.

3. In the following paragraph the Rebbe asks the question:

Question: Rashi (an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) tells us that when Hashem said the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai He included in them the whole Torah with all of its commandments. We see this clearly from the fact that the Ten Commandments are made up of 620 Hebrew letters which alludes to the 613 Commandments of the Torah and 7 Commandments enacted by the Sages (see Shaluh, beginning of Parshas Yisro). The Zohar even goes as far to say that the whole Torah is also included in the first word of the Ten Commandments (“ A’no’chee – I am”). If so, why is the first word of the Ten Commandments an Egyptian word???

4. In the following paragraph the Rebbe makes the question stronger:

We know that Hashem has many names and each one refers to a different level of

G-dliness. However when Hashem says “A’no’chee – I am” He means Him Himself, it is Hashem’s deepest way of referring to Himself. “I am who I am”.

Question: All of Hashem’s names are words from the Holy Tongue (Hebrew). Never-the-less when Hashem comes down on Mount Sinai and calls out to the Jewish people from His depths and refers to Him Himself (not a name of Hashem) He uses an Egyptian word! Names of Hashem which only refer to levels in Hashem are from the Holy Tongue, so why would the word which means Hashem Himself be in Egyptian??

5. In the following paragraph the Rebbe explains why the Egyptian language is considered a very low language:

The Rambam (an acronym for Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides) tells us that one of the reasons the Hebrew language is called the “Holy Tongue” (Lashon Kodesh) is because it does not have a word for man or woman’s nakedness.

The Egyptian language is the polar opposite. Not only is it not a holy language, it is a language of people that are steeped in lewdness (see Rashi in Genesis, Chapter 12, on Verse 19). Egypt was called “the nakedness of the earth” (Genesis, Chapter 42, Verse 9).

6. In the following paragraph the Rebbe answers the questions:

Until the time of the giving of the Torah Hashem did not reveal Him Himself to the world, He only revealed His names (which are levels within Him). Only now on Mount Sinai at the giving of the Torah did Hashem reveal Him Himself to the Jewish people. Therefore right away in His first word of the Ten Commandments (“A’no’chee – I am”) Hashem wants to hint to us what His reason is for giving us the Torah and revealing Him Himself to the world.

What does Hashem do? He uses an Egyptian word to describe Him Himself.

Hashem tells us that now He Himself is revealed to us and therefore we have the strength of Hashem Himself and we can bring G-dliness even into the lowest parts of the world. We now have the possibility to even permeate Egypt with G-dliness and this is what’s demanded of us.

Hashem is also explaining to us that the only way to connect to Him Himself is through elevating the coarse physicality of this world.

7. Now the Rebbe tells us the obvious lesson for each and every one of us:

We must “know Hashem in all our ways” (Proverbs, Chaper 3, Verse 6). Reb Yochanan tells us in the Talmud that the whole Torah is dependant on the verse “know Hashem in all your ways” (Tractate Berachos, Page 63, Side 1). It is not enough that while we Pray to Hashem and learn Torah we behave properly, we must bring G-dliness into all our actions.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos Chelek Gimmel, 2nd Sicha.