Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 138:4

אנכי ה' אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G–d;” how can we understand this utterance as a “commandment?” In which way does it represent an order to the listener? We must understand the words: “I am the Lord your G–d,” as implying that this is something that you must accept as fact, not merely as an article of faith, i.e. “you know, you do not merely believe.” It follows from accepting this as a fact that there is a system of reward and punishment for your actions, as He is capable of meting out reward and punishment as a result of being the Creator. Rabbi Tanchuma adds that this obligation of yours is the direct result of your having been allowed to see Him revealing Himself as a mighty warrior at the sea of reeds, when He saved you miraculously and meted out punishment to your pursuers. At the same time, He appeared to you in the guise of a merciful G–d at Mount Sinai. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Power that addressed you at Mount Sinai, is a different Power than the One which dealt with the Egyptians. You have merely witnessed G–d manifesting Himself as possessing multiple attributes. The word אנכי is best translated as “I and no one else.” (Mechilta, bachodesh, section 5) A different approach: seeing that at the revelation G–d had been accompanied by tens of thousands of spiritual beings, angels, it was necessary for Him to point out that only He is the Lord, all other beings are merely servants of His. He also used the opportunity to show them that heaven consists of seven layers of what are commonly known as “heaven,” but that only the highest layer is the domain in which His throne is to be found. This event has been recalled by Moses in Deuteronomy 4,35, i.e.אתה הראת לדעת כי ה' הוא אין עוד מלבדו האלו-הים, “you have been given a visual demonstration that only the Lord is the G–d, there is none other." This is also why the first two commandments are addressed in the singular mode, i.e. to each Israelite separately, a fact that Moses took advantage of when pleading on behalf of the people after they committed the sin of the golden calf, when he said to G–d: “I am the only human being to whom You have addressed the first two commandments. The people only heard it from me. Therefore they have not violated a commandment that they have heard from You.” The Midrash adds that this is also the reason why all the other eight commandments were addressed to the Israelites as individuals, not collectively as in Leviticus 25,2-7, for instance, or as in Leviticus 26,3-13. G–d foresaw that individual Israelites in the future, such as the false prophet Micah (Judges chapter 17) who tried to eliminate the first commandment, or King Jerobam (Kings I chapter 12) who tried to abolish the second commandment. The list can be lengthened showing that individuals acted in a way that showed they felt they could ignore one or another basic commandment of the Ten Commandments.” By wording these Commandments in the singular mode addressed to each Israelite individually, none could claim that it did not apply to them. When you count the letters in the Ten Commandments, commencing with the letter א in אנכי and concluding with the letter in ך in לרעך there are a total of 613 letters, signaling to us that all the 613 commandments of the Torah are in one way or another contained in these Ten Commandments which are a summary. In the first chapter of tractate Kidushin, in the Talmud we are told that when the gentile nations heard the first two of the Ten Commandments, they concluded that G–d was concerned only with establishing His own reputation. When they subsequently heard of the commandment to honour father and mother, they changed their mind and accepted also the first two commandments as valid. This is what David referred to in Psalms 138,4: יודוך ה' כל מלכי ארץ כי שמרו אמרי פיך, “all the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, for they have heard the words coming forth from Your mouth.”

With Moses’ own words did the process commence:
“Moses said to God:
‘When I come to the Israelites and say to them
“The God of your fathers has sent me to you,”
and they ask me “What is His name?”
what shall I say to them?’” [Exod. 3:13].
Israel’s fundamental question,
the essence of all mystical intentionality
and the mystery of faith,
is this very query:
“What is His Name?”
It is the desire to know its origin,
the manner in which the name
is bound to the Primal Cause.
In that holy place,
Moses received the knowledge of God,
learning that the divine possesses three names
composed of twelve letters,
faces within faces, ten sefirot,
existence within existences.
In verification of his mission,
God explained:
“Thus shall you say to the Israelites,
‘EHeYeH sent me to you.’”
Scripture further states:
“And God further said to Moses:
‘Thus shall you speak to the Israelites:
“YHVH, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob has sent me to you,”’”
placing the name EHeYeH aside
and commencing with YHVH,
adding and explicating:
“This shall be My name forever,
This is my appellation for all eternity” [Exod. 3:15].
And in that conversation God said:
“And when you have freed the people,
they shall worship God on this very mountain” [Exod. 3:12],
promising them that God would appear to them face to face,
and that they would see God’s glory with their very eyes.
To extricate some of the populace
from their darkness and doubt
concerning the veracity of Moses’ prophecy,
God said:
“Behold I will come to you in a thick cloud,
in order that the people might hear
when I speak with you
and so trust you ever after” [Exod. 19:9].
In that holy convocation
the people directly saw shekhinah’s glory,
viewing seven partitions of fire,
moving them to the fear of God and faith in His
goodness.
As soon as they heard that voice,
their souls almost departed from their bodies,
just as occurred among the nations,
as it says:
“Has any people heard the voice of God
speaking from amidst the fire
as you have and lived?” [Deut. 4:33].
And as it says:
“All the world’s kings acknowledged you,
for they heard the words of Your mouth” [Ps. 138:4].
During that holy convocation,
Moses and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu,
seventy of Israel’s elders and all of Israel
attained an illumination concerning God’s reality
and the essence of God’s glory,
each and every one in accord
with his perfection, ability, and power.
There were varied rungs among them,
some more inward, some outward,
some higher, some lower.

ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם, “between Me and the Children of Israel it is an everlasting symbol.” It is possible to understand that the word לעולם in this verse means that the Sabbath is a symbol attesting to the fact that G’d created the world out of nothing. This is why our verse describes how the Sabbath functions as a sign (proof) for the entire world. Cessation of creative activity signals that the person so refraining believes that G’d made the world in six days (without drawing on existing raw materials).
The words ביני ובין בני ישראל, “between Me and between the Children of Israel,” teaches that there was a hidden aspect which had been conveyed to the Israelites privately. There is a mystical, hidden aspect to the Sabbath.” When a king issues a command to a son or trusted servant, something not everyone knows about, he is apt to say to his son: “remember the thing that is between me and you.” These are the things which had been agreed upon between father and son without any written protocol having been made of them. This is the reason our sages explained in Beitzah 16 in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that G’d gave the Israelites all the commandments in public with the exception of the Sabbath. He based himself on the words in our verse [the word לעולם, derived from נעלם, “hidden, secret,” is probably the way Rabbi Shimon understood our verse. Ed.]. Seeing that the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and as such was certainly given to the Jewish people in public at Mount Sinai, what did the Rabbi mean when he spoke of the Sabbath having been given secretly, in private? Moreover, Isaiah 48,16 states specifically that “from the beginning I did not speak to you in secret, etc.” How do we reconcile his words with those of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai? Also, in Psalms 138,4 David exclaims: “All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, for they have heard the words You spoke.” What did Rabbi Shimon have in mind? The sages referred to a hidden, mystical element which is part of the entire complex of the Sabbath laws and concept, not to the actual positive and negative commandments which have all been spelled out in public.”