Wednesday May 24th, 2023, Buenos Aires, Argentina

According to tradition, on Shavuot we celebrate the delivery of the Ten Commandments and the formidable Divine revelation to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.

In the First Commandment, God presents himself as “Eloah”, “Your Lord”, “Your Sovereign”. That is to say, He is the One who orders what we must do and we are His subjects. He commands us to do certain things because they are good for us and abstain from others that are not.

“Serving” God is not like serving idols. The pagan gods do not require moral behavior from the human being: They do not expect the person to act ethically, but they only require gifts. In ancient temples, sacrifices were offered to appease the fury of the gods. The pagan mentality is simple: I am afraid of the gods because they are stronger than I am so I give them offerings so they don’t hurt me and do what I would like.

It is unfortunate to discover that many people continue to relate to God in the same way, as if He were an angry superman who must be reassured.

However, the reality is very different: All God wants is for us to be good people. For this reason, He summons us to follow His Torah, which reflects Divine wisdom. That is the entire message that He transmits to us: the fight against the low passions of the human being to refine ourselves and be better people.

On this Shavuot, let us remember that God does not want offerings, gifts or sacrifices. The only thing He wants is our hearts and our moral conduct.