In the original Hebrew, the Ten Commandments are all addressed in the singular.
On the one hand, the Ten Commandments had to be addressed to the Jewish people as a collective whole, for if even one person was missing the Torah could not have been given.
On the other hand, however, they were addressed to every person as an individual, independently of anyone else. Each individual received the Torah in a unique, personal way tailored to his or her internal, spiritual and psychological needs.
When something affects us in the inner, personal dimension -- it touches our core. We cannot do one thing yet think another. We become indifferent to external factors and everything we do is done with sincerity and wholeheartedness.
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