ספר דברים

Deuteronomy 27,9. “Moses and the priests, members ‎of the tribe of Levi, addressed all the Israelites, saying: ‘on ‎this day you have become a nation for the Lord your ‎G’d.’” Rashi, [keenly aware that this statement ‎after 40 years in the desert as G’d’s people, a people whom He had ‎redeemed from slavery in Egypt, must sound puzzling to the ‎reader, Ed.] understands the word ‎היום‎, “this day,” as a ‎reminder to the people that each and every day should be viewed ‎by each one of us as a new opportunity to become a servant of ‎the Lord, or to deepen that commitment. In fact, each breath we ‎draw presents us with new opportunities to do so. It is as if the ‎call from Sinai, several thousand years ago, still rings in our ears, ‎and we are invited to respond to it. This is why Moses continues ‎in verse 10 with the words: ‎ושמעת בקול ה' אלוקיך ועשית את מצותיו ‏ואת חקותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום‎, “you shall hearken to the voice of ‎the Lord your G’d, and perform His commandments and His ‎statutes which I command you this day. [No new ‎commandments had been issued on this day. Ed.] The ‎thrust of the verse is that the commandments are to be as if you ‎had heard them on this day for the first time. You should feel as if ‎you had heard them at Mount Sinai.‎