ב"ה

I Am the L-rd Your G-d

The First Commandment

Aaron L. Raskin

ChabadU

You Shall Have No Other Gods

PDF

Autoplay Next

I Am the L-rd Your G-d: The First Commandment

"I am the Lord your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Handouts:	Ten Commandments 1
Related Text:	Belief in G-d
Audio:	Listen to Audio \| Download this MP3
Topics:	Giving of the Torah, Knowledge of G-d, Faith; Belief in G-d, Ten Commandments

You Shall Have No Other Gods

Aaron L. Raskin

Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin is the official Chabad emissary to downtown Brooklyn, rabbi of Congregation B’nai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights, New York and Dean of Brooklyn Heights Jewish Academy. He is the author of the books, “Thank You God for Making Me a Woman", "Letters of Light", "By Divine Design", and "Guardian of Israel", and the co-author of "The Rabbi & The CEO".

Join the Discussion

Sort By:

NewestOldest

10 Comments

Aaron Raskin Bklyn hts June 20, 2018

Dear Jean,
Good points, thank you for bringing them to my attention. Reply

Mark USA June 20, 2018

He's right. G-d genuinely cares about all of us as individuals. G-d is personal. G-d has proven to me without me asking that he loves me unconditionally and cares about me and what happens to me. At the same time, I must live and learn on my own. Mistakes will be made, suffering will happen, but G-d will always be there watching over me (and you). I've had many dark periods in my life. At the depths of despair and hopelessness, G-d has shown to me his love and compassion. If it were not for this love, I wouldn't have been able to carry on many times. Human love is nice, but the love of G-d can't be put into words. Reply

Sherie-Don Noel HONOLULU May 26, 2023

in response to Mark:

I concur Reply

Jean du Plessis Cape Town January 9, 2018

I humbly submit to you Rabbi Raskin something that bothers me about your informative talk on the first commandment. In the beginning you mention the 3 million Jews in the desert at Sinai. Would it not be more correct to say 3 million Hebrews, or children of Yisra'el? There were of course 13 tribes there (let's include the house of Levi here), with the house of Judah being only one of them. Not to mention the fact that the house of Judah was hundreds of years away from being called Jews. The exact same argument can be said of your statement that the Torah was given to the Jews. This surely cannot be the case, as there were another 12 tribes, plus the strangers among them. Yes, the Jews have been obedient in carrying out the Torah, and they surely have been blessed for that. I stand to be corrected here, and I am at your service. Blessings Reply

Rabbi Raskin Bklyn hts May 30, 2023

in response to Jean du Plessis:

Yes you are correct biblically we were known as Israelites at the time of Sinai. Around the story of Purim we were called Jews…
However it is acceptable to call the Israelites, Yidin or Jews even before.
Ty for pointing it out! Reply

amy rubenstein Elkhorn April 24, 2016

beautiful Reply

Paul Shapshak, PhD South Carolina February 28, 2016

2-27-16
Hi Rabbi,
How wonderful and inspiring.
Thank you. Thank you.
Shalom. Reply

Rhonda New Jersey January 20, 2014

First Commandment I am so thankful for your insights and revelation of the Torah and its personal application to daily life. Reply

Anonymous England May 13, 2013

Enjoying your dvar torah Thank you so much for all your insights, I listen to you alot and really enjoy your shiurim. Have a lovely shavous. Reply

Irene Glen Burnie, MD USA May 12, 2013

First Commandment What I understood of this lesson was great, but forgive me for saying this, when you would start saying things in Hebrew, I would get lost on what you were saying.

This is the first time I heard you do this, which is fine for those who know the language. But it was alittle hard for me as you spoke in Hebrew so fast and went right into the English that I lost some of the meaning of what you were saying. But I did catch some of it. The meaning that is.

Still love your teachings though. G-d's blessings be upon you Rabbi. Reply

I Am the L-rd Your G-d: The First Commandment

More in this section

You may also be interested in...

Join the Discussion