Torah lifts Yisrael above nature

בענין עשרת הדיברות נתייחדו בנ"י לשמוע דבר ה'.

Regarding the Aseres HaDibros (Ten Commandments), Bnei Yisrael were singled out to hear the word of Hashem.

At Har Sinai, Bnei Yisrael were uniquely set apart to hear Hashem's word directly — an experience granted to no other nation.

וע"ז מבקשין ישקני מנשיקות פיהו דהנה כל העולם ומלואו נבראו ונשתלשלו מעשרה מאמרות.

And concerning this we request, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth" (Shir HaShirim 1:2) — for behold, the entire world and its fullness were created and came down in chain through the Ten Utterances.

The plea "let Him kiss me" expresses the longing to receive Hashem's word directly "from His mouth." All of creation came into being only indirectly, through the Ten Utterances of Bereishis.

כמ"ש בדבר ה' שמים נעשו.

As it is written, "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made" (Tehillim 33:6).

Creation itself is the product of Hashem's spoken word, the divine "utterances" that brought all things into existence.

וכל מעשה בראשית והטבע שמחים לעשות רצון קונם.

And all the works of Creation and of nature rejoice to do the will of their Maker.

The natural world receives its life from Hashem's word at a remove, yet it gladly carries out the ratzon Hashem embedded within it.

ובנ"י בעצמם זכו לשמוע דבר ה' והוא כמ"ש במד' מפיו דעת ותבונה.

But Bnei Yisrael themselves merited to hear the word of Hashem directly, and this is as the Midrash says on "From His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Mishlei 2:6).

Unlike the rest of creation, Bnei Yisrael received Hashem's word straight "from His mouth" — an immediate, unmediated bestowal of divine knowledge.

בא בנו של מלך ונתן לו מתוך פיו.

The king's son came, and he gave to him directly from his own mouth.

The Midrash's parable: just as a king feeds his beloved son directly from his own mouth, so Hashem gave Torah to His "son," Bnei Yisrael, without any intermediary.

לכן נתעלו בנ"י מן הטבע.

Therefore Bnei Yisrael were elevated above nature.

Because they receive Hashem's word directly rather than through the chain of creation, Bnei Yisrael rise above the natural order.

כמ"ש אנכי ה"א כו' הוצאתיך מא"מ מבית עבדים.

As it is written, "I am Hashem your God... who took you out of the land of Mitzrayim, from the house of bondage."

The first of the Dibros declares that Hashem freed Bnei Yisrael from the "house of slaves," lifting them out of bondage to nature.

כי כל הנמשכים אחר הטבע נק' בית עבדים.

For all who are drawn after nature are called "the house of bondage."

To be enslaved to the natural world and its forces is itself a kind of "house of slaves," a spiritual servitude.

אבל בנ"י בהם עצמם כ' לי בנ"י עבדים שהם עבדי ה' שצוה אותם לקיים מצותיו.

But of Bnei Yisrael themselves it is written, "For unto Me Bnei Yisrael are servants" — they are servants of Hashem, whom He commanded to fulfill His mitzvos.

Bnei Yisrael are not slaves to nature but servants of Hashem alone, bound directly to Him through His mitzvos.

א"כ עבדי הם ולא עבדים לעבדים.

If so, they are My servants, and not servants of servants.

Since they serve Hashem directly, Bnei Yisrael are not subservient to the created forces of nature, which are themselves merely Hashem's "servants."

ואינם משועבדים אל הטבע שהם מושכין חיות ממדרגה למדרגה אחר עצם כח המאמרות.

And they are not subjugated to nature, which draws its life force from level to level after the essential power of the Utterances.

The natural world draws its vitality only indirectly, descending step by step from the Ten Utterances — but Bnei Yisrael are not bound to that chain.

ובנ"י הם עצמם מקבלים דבר ה'.

But Bnei Yisrael themselves receive the word of Hashem directly.

Bnei Yisrael draw straight from the source — Hashem's living word — rather than through the diluted chain of nature.

ולכן העוסק בתורה הוא בן חורין שהרי הוא עוסק בדבר ה' עצמו שהוא כח כל הנבראים וז"ש כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו:

And therefore one who occupies himself with Torah is a free man, for he engages with the word of Hashem itself, which is the power of all created things; and this is the meaning of "He told the power of His works to His people" (Tehillim 111:6).

Studying Torah connects a person to Hashem's very word — the force underlying all creation — and so the Torah scholar is truly free, no longer subject to nature. This is why Hashem revealed to His people the inner "power" behind His works.

Summary: While the whole world was created indirectly through the Ten Utterances, Bnei Yisrael merited at Sinai to receive Hashem's word directly "from His mouth," like a son fed by his father. This elevates them above nature: they are servants of Hashem alone, not slaves to the natural order, and through Torah — which is the very word and power behind all creation — a Jew becomes truly free.