Portion of the Week / Prenuptial anxiety

"Why don't the Ten Commandments appear at the beginning of the Torah? This parable explains why: To what can we compare the granting of the Torah? To someone who, on entering a state, asks its inhabitants, 'Will you accept me as your king?' They reply, 'Why should we accept you? What benefits have you brought us?' What does the stranger do? He builds them a protective wall, provides them with water, wages wars on their behalf. Then he again asks them: 'Will you accept me as your king?' They answer, 'Yes, surely we will!' Similarly, after taking the Israelites out of Egypt, splitting the Red Sea for them, bringing them a well to supply them with water, sending them quails and waging war against Amalek on their behalf, God asks: 'Will you accept me as your king?' They answer, 'Yes, surely we will!'" (Mekhilta, Tractate Bahodesh 5).

Monarchs must do things that benefit their subjects, who must in turn confirm the legitimacy of the monarch's rule. God treats the Jews with kindness and mercy, rescuing them from Egypt. However, before they can confirm his dominion over them, they must be "introduced" to God.

Like a medieval knight who saves a damsel in distress from the dragon's cave, God rescues Israel from Egypt. He does not speak to the nation because the setting in Egypt is not appropriate, but now that the storm has passed, the time has come for a meeting, at which rescuer and rescued can talk.

The Israelites are nervous about this encounter, they feel a mixture of anxiety and joy. Although they want to approach Mount Sinai and long to be in direct contact with God, he commands Moses to keep them at a safe distance from the mountain (Exodus 19:21-22). Despite their enthusiasm, the voices, torches and smoking mountain frighten them; they tell Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exod. 20:19).

The Israelites understand that direct contact with God would not be a meeting between equals. Whereas, in a meeting between human beings, both parties are independent, independence is ruled out when the other party is God. His presence is so powerful that no mortal can maintain a position of independence in such an encounter - which is a total, pulverizing experience. In a meeting with the omnipotent King of the Universe, his absoluteness would obliterate the Jewish nation's selfhood. Nonetheless, the Jews want to exercise the right of choosing their monarch, of deciding for themselves whether they can reply "Yes, surely we will!" to the monarch's question, "Will you accept me as your king?"

Just before this dramatic moment of the giving of the law, the Israelites cry out, "We can endure this situation no longer! If our selfhood is obliterated, to what other nation could God give his Torah? How can we meet God if his omnipotent presence will render us mute?" They are thus saying, in effect: "To enable a real meeting between ourselves and God, there must be substantial distance between the two parties."

Actually, the entire divine system of reward and punishment is built on the principle of distance, which allows Jews to exercise their right to choose whether or not they want to walk in God's path. In this system, Jews loyal to God are rewarded, while punishment is meted out to those who rebel against him.

In this week's reading, the Israelites have only recently emerged from bondage in Egypt; they are still stretching their limbs, enjoying the taste of freedom. The small window of opportunity that will remain open between the splitting of the Red Sea and the granting of the Torah on Mount Sinai enables them to briefly relish the joy of freedom before entering a holy state of matrimony - to savor the absolute freedom of standing on their own two feet and making their own decisions. At this point, they feel truly independent. No responsibilities weigh them down.

As they approach Mount Sinai, they perceive the imminent meeting with God as a threat to their freedom. However, God will not relent. "A meeting with me carries a price tag," he in effect tells the Jews. "After rescuing you from Egypt, I expect something in return. At Mount Sinai, you will not meet a messenger or a seraph; you will meet the King of the Universe himself." The absoluteness of the divine revelation on Mount Sinai eliminates any possibility of a decision by the Jews concerning acceptance of God's law: Israel does not have the luxury of deciding whether or not to accept her suitor - God himself.

Although no longer independent, Israel the bride has been given a unique opportunity: to enter the inner chambers of the palace of the King of the Universe, to hear his words and to become part of God. Israel is swallowed up in God's all-encompassing presence, becoming incorporated in that presence. Israel becomes one of God's organs, an organ that can never be removed, as the Talmud says, "Even a Jew who sins always remains a Jew" (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Eruvin, page 19a).

In any meeting, the first step consists of introductions. Thus, God "introduces" himself: "I am the Lord thy God" (Exod. 20:2). His absolute presence denies the other party - Israel, the bride - any possibility of distancing herself, and the meeting instantly becomes a wedding ceremony: "The Lord came from Sinai" (Deuteronomy 33:2) to welcome his bride, Israel, like any mortal bridegroom (Mekhilta, ibid., 3). The wedding ceremony will end in Parashat Ki Tissa, which will be read in another four weeks, with the bridegroom shattering the wine cup.