What does the Mitzvah of "Anochi Hashem Elokecha ... " entail?
Rashi (in Shir Hashirim, 5:15): Hashem is inviting us to accept His Kingship over ourselves, before issuing decrees upon us. 1
Ramban and Seforno: To know that Hashem alone is G-d, the One who preceded the world and who created it, 2 and, since we accepted Him as our G-d without a medium, He has undertaken to be our G-d without a medium, and therefore we are obligated to Daven to Him alone and to serve Him directly - not through a medium. 3
Da'as Zekenim: To know that Hashem is the Creator and Chief, and that He is reliable to pay and punish.
What is the gist of "Anochi" as the first of the Aseres ha'Dibros?
Rashi #1: Refer to 20:2:3:1.
Rashi #2: Because they heard voices coming from all four directions, from the Heaven 1 and from the earth, in order that they should not think that there are many Powers, Hashem said "Anochi", to make it clear to them that there is only One G-d.
Rashi #3 (in Shir ha'Shirim, 5:15): Hashem first showed them that He is their King, and then He issued them with Mitzvos. 2
Da'as Zekenim and Hadar Zekenim #1: Hashem appeared on the day of Matan Torah with myriads of angels, and Yisrael were astounded - therefore He said, 'I am Hashem; I am one', and He opened up Shamayim and showed them that He is alone.
Hadar Zekenim #2: Hashem spoke to them in Mitzri; in Mitzri, 'I' is Anach. Anochi is Notrikun - Aleph, Nun-Chaf is 70 (its Gematriya), Yud (Aseres ha'Dibros were given in 70 languages).
Shabbos 105a: "Anochi" is Notrikun 3 (the acronym of) - 'Ana Nafshi Kesivas Yehavis' (I wrote and gave Myself - together with the Torah) 4 . Some say 'Amirah Ne'imah Kesivas Yehavis. (a pleasant utterance was written and given), 5 whereas others Darshen it backwards - 'Yehivah Kesivah Ne'emanim Amarehah'. 6
Da'as Zekenim: Initially they heard Hashem from the east; but when they went to the east, they heard Him from the west; when they went to the west, and heard Him from the north; they went to the north, and heard Him from the south, and when they went to the south, they heard Him from the Heaven, as the Pasuk writes in Va'eschanan Devarim, 4:36 - "Min ha'Shamayim Hishmi'acha es Kolo Leyasreka."
Refer also to 20:3:1:1**.
See Torah Temimah, note 2, who elaborates.
See also Torah Temimah, note 3.
See Torah Temimah, note 4.
See Torah Temimah, note 5..
Why did Hashem say "Elokecha" (singular) and not "Elokeichem"?
Rashi: To give Moshe the opportunity, after Yisrael worshipped the Golden Calf, to claim that the prohibition against idolatry was confined to him alone. 1
Ramban: All the Aseres ha'Dibros were said in the singular, to implicate the individual who sins. 2
Hadar Zekenim (citing a Midrash,) and Moshav Zekenim #1: Because Hashem saw individuals who would transgress them: Michah transgressed "Anochi"; Yarav'am - "Lo Yih'yeh l'cha"; the son of the Yisre'elis (Sh'lomis bas Divri) - "Lo Sisa"; Tz'lofchad - "Zachor"; Ashalom - "Kabeid Es Avicha"; Yo'av - "Lo Tirtzach"; Amnon - "Lo Tin'af"; Achan - "Lo Tignov"; Tziva - "Lo Sa'aneh"; Achav -"Lo Sachmod".
Moshav Zekenim #2: Because some Mitzvos depend on the heart [and are not visible to others].
Oznayim la'Torah: Hashem was asking of each and every individual to accept upon himself the yoke of Malchus Shamayim and the yoke of His Torah; to stand firm even of at times, it entails standing against many who deny His existence - just as our founding father Avraham stood on one side, whilst the rest of the world stood on the other.
Which explains why Moshe stated below (32:11) in defense of Yisrael "Why Hashem, are you angry with your people?" You did not command them; you commanded me! (Rashi).
So that nobody should think that reward and punishment go after the majority, and if Yisrael are worthy, he will be spared from punishment (Ramban).
What are the connotations of "Anochi Hashem Elokecha"?
Rashi: At the Yam-Suf, Hashem appeared to Yisrael in the guise of a mighty Man of War; whereas here He appeared to them like a sage overflowing with mercy. So He began the Aseres ha'Dibros with "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" assuring them that He is One.
Ramban: It is a Mitzvas Asei, to believe that Hashem exists, who preceded time, and who created everything. He is our G-d and we are obligated to worship Him.
Why, according to the text of the Yerushalmi in Sukah, is the word "Hotzesicha" written without a 'Yud'?
Why did Hashem link the Aseres ha'Dibros with Yetzi'as Mitzrayim?
Rashi #1: If only for the fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt, we would have been obligated to become subservient to Him.
Rashi #2 (in Tehilim): To teach us the extent of the kindness that He performed with us, by taking us out of a house of slavery, and to therefore know that He is our Master and that we are obligated to accept Him as our G-d.
Ramban: Yetzi'as Mitzrayim proves a. Hashem's existence; b. that He knows what is happening and supervises it; c. that He created the world, 1 and d. that He can do anything, which in turn, is proof e. that He is Unique, 2 adding "Asher Hotzeisicha" to point out that Yisrael witnessed it firsthand.
Hadar Zekenim #1: To teach us that He is our Master, because He took us out of Egypt - something that He did not do for any other nation. 5
Riva: It is because seeing is greater than hearing - and they saw Yetzi'as Mitzrayim, but not the creation of the world.
Hadar Zekenim #2: To counter what Yisrael said to Moshe - in Beshalach, 17:3 "Why did you takes us out of Egypt?" Hashem is informing them that He took them out, and not Moshe.
Orchos Chayim (of the Rosh, Yom 1, 26): Because someone who does not believe in " ... asher Hotzesich me'Eretz Mitzrayim" 6 , does not believe in "Anochi Hashem Elokecha", since, without the one, the other is not a proper Yichud Hashem, since [Yetzi'as Mitzrayim] is the Segulah of Yisrael and the basis of the entire Torah.
Oznayim la'Torah: Had Hashem said "Asher Berasicha", they would have commented that Hashem created all the nations, so why place the yoke of Torah on their shoulders more than on any other nation. Hashem therefore explained that He gave them the Torah because He favored them over and above the other nations, proven by the fact that He had miraculously taken them, 'one nation from among another nation' 7 to become His Avadim rather Avdei Par'oh.
Because if it had evolved naturally, nature could not possibly have changed its course (as happened in Egypt [Ramban]).
As the Pasuk stated in Sh'mos, 9:14 (Ramban).
Without any intermediary - with reference to nature and to the celestial beings, as Yisrael declared after the drowning of the Egyptians (above, 15:27) "Zeh Keili ve'Anveihu" (Seforno).
Moshav Zekenim: And had He said ' ... asher Berasicha (that I created you)', they could have asked why He imposes on them more than on other nations'.
Lev Eliyahu (p.133): He thinks that we left naturally. Really, Hashem took us out to be the Am Segulah - via miraculous Hashgachah Pratis which the nation as a whole and with each person.
See Va'eschanan, Devarim, 4:34.
What are the implications of "mi'Beis Avadim"?
Rashi #1, Ramban and Riva: It implies that Hashem delivered Yisrael from the house of Par'oh, whose slaves they were 1 (and that they were therefore obligated to serve Him - Ramban). 2
Rashi #2 (in Tehilim), 3 Seforno, Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: 'from the house where you were slaves'. 4
Pesikta 5 (21, Aseres ha'Dibros): They were in a house (nation) of slaves - Mitzrayim, the son of Cham, and all families that descend from Cham are slaves.
Rashi: They were slaves of Par'oh and not of his slaves - as the Torah writes in Va'eschanan Devarim,7:8 "mi'Beis Avadim mi'Yad Par'oh".
Since He redeemed them from the slavery of Egypt, as the Pasuk writes in Vayikra, 25:55 (Ramban).
In their capacity as slaves, they would sometimes have been unable to perform Hashem's Mitzvos; now that Hashem took them out of the house of slaves, they no longer had an excuse not to perform them.
Even though Bereishis 9:25 said so only about Kena'an. It seems that this is the intent of Hadar Zekenim. (PF)
Why did Hashem not mention the fact that He had created the world?
Oznayim la'Torah #1: Refer to 20:2:5:9.
Oznayim la'Torah #2: Because the objective of Ma'amad Har Sinai was not to relate to Yisrael all Hashem's wonders but to atrengthen their Emunah, something that the mention of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim - which they had witmessed, could achieve, but the mention of B'ri'as ha'Olam, which they had not witnessed, could not. 1
