Hidden Meanings in Ki Tissa Torah Portion

Verse 31:18 states that God’s finger composed the two tablets of stone containing the Decalogue. The word “Decalogue” is Greek for “Ten Statements.” The tablets are commonly misunderstood as the Ten Commandments,” even though the Torah does not say it contains ten commands but ten statements, the meaning of the word Decalogue.

The tablets have about twenty commands, but scholars differ in the count.

The words “finger of God” instead of “hand of God” emphasize that every statement in the Decalogue and the entire Torah was carefully written to contain many important messages to help people be all they can be and do the same for all that God provided.

It is like the soft, loving stroke a wife gives her husband, which promises much. It is the opposite of the firm handshake that her husband gives his friends, which only shows friendship.

The metaphoric language in verse 33:11, “The Lord spoke to Moses face to face,” also highlights the careful composition and importance of the Torah’s words. Loving couples seek to communicate face to face, rather than by letter or telephone, because so much more is revealed in close encounters.

The Torah wording reveals that Moses’s understanding of God’s Will far exceeded that of others before and after him. This is one reason Moses is called Moshe Rabbenu, “Moses our teacher,” for he was the best of those who taught us. Many also say, “No one was like Moses from Moses to Moses.” The first Moses is Moshe Rabbenu. The second was Maimonides.

Verse 31:14 reveals much when it calls the Shabbat “holy.” The Hebrew word for “holy” is kodesh, meaning “unique,” “set apart,” and “dedicated for or having a special, important purpose.”

The Shabbat is more important than the Tabernacle, Temple, and Synagogue — even more important than the Land of Israel. Its significance is seen in that it is the only “holy” matter mentioned in the Decalogue.

Mystics use the word Shabbat to refer to the messianic age because that age is the ultimate Shabbat, the time of peace, the ultimate period of rest.[1]

Many Jews stand for at least the first half of the prayer over wine, the kiddush, that precedes the Shabbat meal. The first part of the kiddush is a quote from the Torah that states God created the world. Traditional Judaism requires witnesses to stand when they testify. Jews emphasize that they are testifying to an important matter, the creation and its completion before the first Shabbat.

Unlike much else, the Shabbat does not rely on the physical. It focuses on the significance of time.

It reminds us of the time that God created and formed the world in six metaphorically speaking days. On the seventh day, God ceased creating and let the forces of nature that God created function, needing no further adjustments. So, too, on Shabbat, Jews cease creative acts to recall and highlight the supreme creation.

Like a married couple celebrating their anniversary by focusing on each other, the Jew does not focus on outside interests on Shabbat but on God’s activity in ancient times.

As the couple thinks of love, Jews think of time’s importance. They realize that wasting time violates what is most holy and is one of the most significant misdeeds.

Understanding the lessons of this biblical tradition proves the brilliance of my dad, who, 68 years ago, drove me to the airport to report to my first military assignment. He said, “Israel, remember to keep the Shabbat, for more than you keeping the Shabbat, the Shabbat will keep you.”

[1] An example is the mystical poem Lecha dodi, which is a significant part of the Friday night service. It starts by saying, “Come, my beloved, toward the bride, toward the Shabbat.” The author is referring to the messianic period, not the seventh day.