The first words spoken by God to the
Children of Israel as they stood at Mount Sinai were: ”I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servitude.”
[Exodus 20:2]
Our Sages explain that the purpose of
Israel’s redemption from Egypt was to reach Sinai, to accept God’s mastery over
them and to serve Him. In essence, Israel’s servitude to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians was replaced by their servitude to the Almighty. In place of physical
servitude to other men, Israel accepted spiritual servitude to the divine will,
and in so doing, completed their freedom, as our Sages taught: “None is free,
save he who deals with Torah.” Israel’s acceptance of Torah at Mount Sinai
guaranteed that the exodus resulted in freedom, rather than anarchy.
The great Or haḤayyim (Rabbi Ḥayyim
ben Attar, 1696 – 1743) signed the introduction to his commentary on Ḥumash: “servant of God, servant of Torah, servant of
Israel.” Or haḤayyim’s order is significant: first and foremost, he is a
servant of God, and that servitude is defined by his servitude to Torah, the
expression of God’s will. In turn, the commitment to Torah makes one a servant
to Israel, since the Torah regulates man’s relations with his fellow man as
well as his relations with the Creator.
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