Smoking Mountain? Thunder and Lighnting? Big Deal

This is a big Shabbat this weekend - the reading of the Ten Commandments in Parshat Yitro. Like the 10 Plagues in Egypt and the Parting of the Red Sea, this is one of the big demonstrations of the Jews encountering the supernatural in a up-close and personal way. But as with the Star Wars prequels, special effects alone can't make a movie and also can't make a religious faith. In fact in both, what you need is a compelling story. As far as Star Wars goes, J J Abrams now gets to figure out a good story for them. For us as Jews, the compelling story is what the 10 Commandments and the other 603 commandments teach us about how to live our lives, how to show care and concern for others, and how to sanctify our time and our relationship with the Divine. So don't get caught up with the thunder and lightning - because the really good stuff comes after that. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Benson