The morning after party had just begun and the Jewish people were reveling in the aftermath of the dramatic events of Mount Sinai. Never before they felt so close to G-d, as the mountain shuddered and G-d communicated to them the Ten Commandments.
It was an epiphany unlike anything else they had experienced until that point.
Yet in the portion we read tomorrow which follows these dramatic events, there is no spiritual party. Instead Moses begins to convey to the Jewish people, the nitty gritty of what an ethical and moral life that reflects the Torah's teachings will look like. In a series of 53 commandments, Moses lays out commandments that govern the way we lend money, the way we judge people in court, the tremendous damage of bribery or treating one party better than another, the laws of damages, responsibility for the possessions of others and so many more.
Indeed, the party was going to continue, but not quite in some transcendent manner, but in a much more tangible and practical manner.
When you help someone who is stuck on the side of the road, that is the continuation of the values of Mount Sinai.
Honesty and integrity in business, are a continuation of the values of Mount Sinai.
Not causing harm and being responsible about your possessions, your work, and even what your animals do to others, are all continuation of the values of Sinai.
Indeed, Mount Sinai as great as it was, was only the beginning of the journey. After the dramatic launch of the project, the goal was now to take the inspiration and power of this powerful event, and harness it for practical living, so that our lives, values and the way we treat others, are all an extension of the larger purpose and goal that G-d laid out at Mount Sinai.
Unidentified objects in the upper hemisphere may have been in the news plenty this week, but the bottom line is and will always be, our responsibility is to plant our feet firmly on the ground and make sure that the details of our day to day living and choices, reflect our Divine design and collective purpose.
Shabbat Shalom / Good Shabbos
Yisroel