Commento su Deuteronomio 5:7

על פני BEFORE ME — i.e. in any place where I am, and that is the entire world. Another explanation: so long as I exist (i.e. always) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:3:2). — The Ten Commandments — I have already explained them (Exodus 20:1-14).

על פני. I believe that G’d’s point is that even if you believe in Him absolutely and exclusively, you must not make any tangible symbol, anything that you would use as a charm, such as Bileam who did believe in G’d but used charms to help him establish communication with G’d, much as mediums use techniques involving bodily contact. Lavan even called such tangible symbols as his teraphim: “e-lohay,” (Genesis 31,30)

In any place where I am, etc. This explanation is problematic, for the verse should have said בפני (in My Presence). Therefore Rashi says, “Another explanation.” Yet the second explanation is problematic, for the verse should have said לעולם (forever). [According to the second explanation] it is possible to err, God forbid [and think that idolatry is only forbidden on Har Sinai where Hashem revealed Himself. Therefore Rashi also says the first explanation. See above in Parshas Yisro (Shmos 20:3), where I explained why Rashi gives two reasons here, yet above he only says one. Also see the Gur Aryeh.

The prohibition in Exodus 20,22 not to make “gods of silver or gold,” is not intended to suggest that Jews would consider such man made objects as being divine, but they are a form of establishing indirect rather than direct contact with G’d, contact without resorting to anything physical tangible. G’d made the same point repeatedly, such as in Exodus 22,19.