The Midrash tells us that when G-d wanted to give the Torah to Israel, he said to them, "Do you accept My Torah?"
"Yes," replied the Jewish people.

"Give Me a guarantor who will uphold it," demanded G-d.
"Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be our guarantors."

"Not good enough."
"Our prophets will be our guarantors."

G-d was still not satisfied.
"Our children will be our guarantors."

G-d accepted them immediately [as guarantors] and gave the Torah to Israel.

Although the Torah is the source of Jewish pride, there is still a danger that our involvement with other concerns will cause us to be lax in this regard. As with every loan where there is a danger of default, G-d required some form of guarantee that the Torah would be upheld.

At first the Jews offered their parents as guarantors. We have older parents. They are already retired and can comfortably study the Torah, and they will be our guarantors.

G-d did not accept this, so the Jews offered their prophets as guarantors. The word for "prophet" (navi) actually means "orator." The Jews said: "Our rabbis will keep Judaism alive! We will hire rabbis, and it will be their job to study on our behalf."

G-d wasn’t satisfied with this solution either. His intent is that every Jew have access to Torah, not only the rabbis or the elders.

That is why the when they finally offered the children, G-d was satisfied. Like anything else, the only way to pass on Judaism is to be sure that the next generation, the children, our future – know about it.

'Personal G-d'

The Ten Commandments are all addressed in the singular.

On the one hand, the Ten Commandments had to be addressed to the Jewish people as a collective whole, for if even one Jew was missing the Torah could not have been given.

On the other hand, they were addressed to every Jew as an individual, independently of anyone else. Each individual received the Torah in a unique, personal way tailored to his spiritual and psychological needs.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe always wished people a ‘Kabbalas Hatorah b’simcha u’v’pnimiyus’ – that a person should receive the Torah amidst joy and inner inspiration".

When something affects us in the ‘pnimiyus’ – the inner dimension – it touches our core. We cannot do one thing yet think another. We become indifferent to external factors and everything we do is done with sincerity and wholeheartedness.

In Control

The Tenth Commandment is somewhat difficult - it tells us not to envy somebody else.  Most other commandments involve abstention from actual physical acts - this one encroaches on our very thoughts.

There are three categories of expression - thought, speech and deed.  In Jewish tradition, controlling one's actions is the simplest level of self-control and observance. Speech is a little harder.  Thought, such an internal, personal level of expression, is the hardest of all.  In Chassidic philosophy great emphasis is placed on the mind - the intellect - ruling over the heart - the emotions.

By giving us this Commandment, G-d is telling us that yes, we can control our very thoughts and direct them for good purposes.  We are given the gift of human intelligence in order to be able to sift out the good from the bad, even deep in our own thoughts. By doing so, we are utilizing the advantage of human intelligence toward the true positive, constructive goals for which it was intended.

Wishing everyone a Chag Sameach and a Kabbalas Hatorah b’simcha u’v’pnimiyus