God revealed the entire Torah, not just the 10 Commandments, at Mt. Sinai. This was bequeathed to not just one group of people. Revelation was a gift intended for the entire world.
Section (Parashah) Yitro (named for Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law) in the Book of Exodus is where this ultimate spiritual event is described in the Bible. There are different opinions on which constitute the 10 Laws. Whether there are even only ten. I see The Revelation as manifesting and bringing-to-light God.
The first word of God’s discourse is the Hebrew word for “I,” “A-no-chi.” The first letter is an Aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. An Aleph is silent. Therefore, the first instant of revelation is totally silent. Not only is there no sound or word expressed, nothing at all is transmitted on the physical plane. On the other hand, this moment contains a complete broadcast of the essence and entirety of the spiritual.
Accompanying the non-utterance of this Aleph was the entirety of Revelation. (This is not a new concept now being presented.) The spiritual and the material worlds found each other and became unified. This joining of the heavenly and earthly domains in this awesome encounter was perceived by everybody. It became known to all, in its unblemished clarity.
Eternity existed for each person – and humanity as a unified entity – in this instant. Every individual felt the reality and necessity of the conjoining of two planes of being. It was a purely objective experience.
Judgement, anxiety, fear, and anger dissipated in the face of absolute truth. Past, present, and future became one without distinction. They became a component of reality just as God Is. But it was different from God. The mixture also contained physical bodies. These added the ability to adjust. Limitation became combined with infinity. Subjectivity bounced up against pure truth and eternity. It was a totality with all contradictions resolved.
The entire Torah was laid plain. Expansive interrelationships transcending space, time, and the ethereal were, for the moment, revealed. Every person experienced this awesome encounter. Each individual became an integral part of the whole. Each became whole. Everything was One with God.
It was an instant to be cherished forever. It was to be embraced and engulfed. It was not to be feared or avoided. Instead of fleeing from this awesome encounter, people were drawn to it. This was truly the act of loving God in its purest sense. The marrying of the earthly and heavenly made anything resembling “purpose” clarified and glorified.
Nothing could be added. That moment could not be enhanced. The sense of ultimate elevation provided the epiphany that humanities seemingly conflicting natures were – in reality – in perfect harmony.
Old and new sensory awareness wakened, bonded, and harnessed to the non-sensory spirit. Rejoicing was the emotion.
Good and evil ceased to be a consideration. These evaluations lost their influence. Truth was clearly everything; everything was truth.
The obvious was that a physical world affects a soul. The heavenly is transformative by a body. The body is healed. None are static. It is active bliss.
God “felt” the joining of the material to the spiritual. It was not the purely spiritual existence that is God. Like the Creation, it was good.
The people bore this Revelation like a sigh of relief. Being replaced burden. It should never end. Like that first awareness of love. Like suddenly understanding a difficult problem. Like having the straight path opened up. It should continue forever.
Then God issued the first utterance of the first word of the first Commandment. The sensation was similar to a sound. The giving was no longer all-encompassing. The message ceased to be pure.
It was a downer from the preceding moment. Any movement from that peak would be to break its significance. The purest eternity of perfection cracked. Boundless joy, seamless lucidity, and never-ending contentment quickly eroded. Nobody wanted that. Not even God. They wanted Heaven to remain bound to Earth.
The Torah described the reaction as “fear.” They were not afraid of what was to come. They desponded of what they were apparently losing. “Fear” meant forfeiture of perfection. They longed for the total spiritual/physical symbiosis and threading together that Revelation provided. “Fearing God” (to be discussed in a future blog) is not taking advantage of opportunities to unite our Godly and Humanly powers.
The people asked Moses to intervene. They wanted him to get the rest of the message and teach them later. They knew that the closeness to God was receding and wanted to hold onto it as much as possible for as long as possible. Such a gift may never again be available to living mortals.
The moment of Revelation instilled in humanity the capacity to know ultimate potentials of life. Memory of the experience lingers forever within the makeup of human beings. An insightful pathway to spiritual awakening was given. Enlightened to the presence of a soul, a person can bring this heavenly power into the world.
While exposing the nature of life’s fulfillment, Mt. Sinai also demonstrated how to bridge the gap to its attainment. The lesson is to combine thorough awakening of the senses while focusing undistractedly on the spiritual. Allow stimulus reception as fact that does not give thought and alter the moment. At other times, practice clearing your mind of all thoughts. There are books, classes, and tapes to help you develop proficiency at mental self-discipline.
The task has no endpoint. It is a process of skill development. Learn to be cognizant of every physical sense. Train yourself to meditate. Work to master these earthly and heavenly powers separately. Periodically, attempts should be made to perform both together.
Does that seem difficult? Maybe. It’s a place to head towards. Consider it an exercise in experiencing life. Work at it now and then. The process is the reward. Such is the nature of life.
Health and Spirit by Dr. Jack Zoldan 