Grasping the Essence - יתרו

Grasping the Essence 

"I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt”, is the opening statement of the ten commandments. 

The common word in Hebrew for “I” is ani, yet the first word employed in the ten commandments is the far less common word anochi.

There are various explanations as to why the less common anochi is used. One interpretation is that ani is used when the “I” relates to something outside of the self.“I went”, “I spoke” etc. expresses how the person interacts with the world around him. Anochi, by contrast, refers to the “I” in relation to self, as anochi refers to the essence of self. “I am the L-rd your G-d”, then, tells us that G-d’s relates to us with the essence of his being. 

The Talmud explains that anochi is an acronym for “I myself wrote and gave . . The Kabbalaists explain the deeper meaning of this Talmudic passage, which, read literally, states: “I wrote and gave myself . This means that G-d invested himself, his own will and wisdom, within the Torah. Therefore when we study and grasp the Torah we are not just grasping a law dictating how to respond in a given situation, but rather we are grasping the will and wisdom of G-d, in which His essence is invested. When we grasp the Torah we grasp G-d’s essence which is invested within the Torah. 

Understanding Torah in this light explains the value of studying all parts of Torah, including the scenarios that are unlikely to ever occur. The study of Torah is not only for a utilitarian purpose, to know what to do, but rather it is a glimpse into the wisdom of G-d. In the words of the Tanya, the foundational book of Chabad Philosophy: 

Even if it never did nor ever will come to pass that litigation occur over these arguments and claims, yet, since it arose thus in G‑d’s will and wisdom that if one person would claim this way and the other that way, the verdict be such and such, therefore, when one knows and comprehends this verdict as a Halachah set forth in the Mishnah or Gemara or Poskim (the halachic codifiers), he then actually comprehends and grasps the will and wisdom of G‑d,