“As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” (Is. lix., 21)
3. Teaching.—The gift of speech is of service also in communicating our thoughts, feelings, and convictions to our fellow-men. They who are able to read the Word of God and to understand it, ought to read and expound it to those who are less favoured; they who feel the presence of God, and comprehend His holiness, goodness, and unity, ought to direct the hearts of their brethren to God, His words and works. It is a special duty and privilege of the Jew to proclaim and teach the Existence and the Unity of God—יחוד הבורא.
“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up” (Deut. vi. 7).
“Happy are we! how goodly is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful our heritage! Happy are we who early and late, morning and [[287]]evening, twice every day, declare, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One’!” (Daily Prayers, Morning Service).
4. Reverence of the Name of God.—The mention of the name of God ought to make us most careful about that which we utter in connection with it. If a person makes a promise or statement on oath carelessly or with levity, he shows that he has no reverence of the name of God; no fear of God. It is only through such irreverence that a person is capable of breaking the third commandment. Blasphemy, a sin treated in the Bible as a capital crime, has likewise its source in want of due reverence of God’s name. In order to preserve and strengthen that reverence we must avoid pronouncing the Divine name too frequently. Hence arose the custom of substituting such words as השם “the Name,” המקום “the Omnipresent,” for the names of God, and employing in ordinary writing letters like ה or ד or יי instead of any of the Divine names. In writing single letters instead of the full names we also intend to guard ourselves against causing irreverence towards the name of God; as our writing is frequently destroyed or liable to be thrown among the refuse. This precaution, dictated by a feeling of reverence for God and His name, serves at the same time to strengthen that feeling.[6]
From the same reason, the word which is exclusively [[288]]used as a name of God, the Tetragrammaton,[7] was rarely pronounced, and in reading the Bible the word Adonai, “My Lord,” is substituted wherever it occurs. It was only pronounced in the Temple by the High-priest on the Day of Atonement, in the Confession of Sins, and in the Prayer for Forgiveness; and by the ordinary priests when they blessed the people in accordance with the Divine precepts (Num. vi. 24–26). Since the destruction of the Temple the Tetragrammaton has not been pronounced, and thus it has come about that the right pronunciation of the word is at present unknown.
5. The consciousness that we frequently address the Almighty with our lips, and read His Holy Word, ought to make us strive for the utmost purity and holiness in our speech. When the prophet Isaiah, in a Divine vision, perceived the majesty of the Most High, and heard the sound of His ministering angels proclaiming His holiness, a sense of his own failings forced even from this chosen messenger of God the confession, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man, unclean in lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people unclean in lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. vi. 5).
Duties towards God: In our Actions.
Rabbi Jose teaches, “Let all thy deeds be in the service of heaven,” כל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים (Sayings of the Fathers, ii. 12).
The feeling of love and fear of God which fills our [[289]]heart and soul, and to which we frequently give expression in words, must also be visible in our actions. Our whole life must be devoted to His service, and ought to be one continuous worship of God. Every act of ours must aim at the sanctification of His name. He has revealed unto us His Will, and shown us the way in which we should walk; unconditional submission to His guidance and strict obedience to His command should distinguish the people of the Lord. True love of God and faith in His goodness make us “bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a stag, and strong as a lion to carry out the will of our Father in heaven” (Sayings of the Fathers, v. 20). For what could be the value of our professions of love for God, if we refused to listen attentively to His voice, to walk in the way He has prepared for us, or to observe His statutes? From this point of view we may consider all our duties as duties towards God, since their fulfilment implies obedience to His Will. But there are certain duties which chiefly or exclusively concern our relations to God. Such duties are: the observance of Sabbath and Festivals, providing reminders of God’s Presence, establishing and supporting Public Worship, sanctifying God’s Name (קדוש השם), and imitating His ways. Of these duties, the first three will be fully treated in special sections.