Outside Influences

" What is further written therein? You shall not have other gods; do you dwell among nations that engage in idol worship? ...What is further written therein, Honor your father and mother; have you fathers and mothers? What is further written therein? You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal; is there jealousy among you; is the yetzer hara among you? " (Talmud, Shabbos 88b )

The Talmud records how Moshe made the case that the Torah was not intended to remain with the angels on high. On a simple level, Moshe systematically addressed the applicability of each of the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people of flesh and blood vs. the celestial angels.

One can observe, however, two main points in Moshe’s argument: the Torah’s commands can only be fulfilled by physical creations and its warnings are only necessary for those who could be tempted to behave otherwise. Upon careful analysis, Moshe’s points also teach us about the nature of the Jew and his challenges.

Vestment in a corporeal body and its accompanying slew of bodily needs hampers the spirituality and holiness of the Jew’s G-dly soul. Nevertheless, even the physical body of a Jew is holy, each body being chosen by G-d to be a part of His people (Tanya, Chapter 49). Therefore, Moshe only refers to the physicality of the body as a means to fulfill the physical commandments: honor your parents, observe Shabbos, etc., but not as an explanation for why the Torah’s (negative) warnings are necessary.

The temptation to succumb to murder, adultery or thievery is only a result of “the yetzer hara among you,” the animal soul that further challenge the Jew’s G-dly soul. Yet, even the yetzer hara has limits; the temptation for idolatry forever remains entirely foreign to a Jew. If the Torah was intended for the Jewish people, it can only be due to our “dwelling among the nations” that this warning is even necessary… Likutei Sichos vol. 8 pp. 17–19