“And now, write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Children of Israel…”
-Devarim 31:19

The final of the 613 mitzvos is in this week’s parsha – the mitzvah to write a Sefer Torah. Ever wonder why we need so many mitzvos? Six hundred and thirteen is really a lot of commandments! Some people might think it would be better if they were a non-Jew, as non-Jews only have 7 commandments (the seven Noahide laws). Why do we need the extra 606 mitzvos? If G-d really loves us, why does He give us all of these extra stringencies?

A few years ago, my family and I drove through Washington, D.C. and decided to spend a morning walking through the Smithsonian Museums. Since my son liked dinosaurs, we decided to go to the Museum of Natural History. After seeing the bones of these huge creatures, we walked upstairs and came to an area with beautiful gems. In one room, there was a diamond called the Hope Diamond. This jewel is worth between $200 and $250 Million. Since it is so precious, it has a thick glass case around it, which is heavily alarmed. Security cameras are pointed directly at it and there is even a security guard who constantly paces the room to watch to see if anything suspicious is occuring. For something this important and precious, extremely strict security measures are kept.

In the Shemone Esray said during every prayer service on the Festivals, we state “You have chosen us from all nations… and sanctified us with Your commandments.” The commandments we have were given to us to make us holy. This is because, in G-d’s eyes, the Jews are the most precious people. This is because throughout our history, our service to G-d has gone above and beyond any other nation’s service, and therefore, G-d wants to ensure our safety by giving us His commandments. In this world, the Hope Diamond holds great importance and therefore, top security is given to it. In G-d’s world, the Jewish nation is of extreme significance so G-d has blessed us with 613 commandments. Of course, every diamond is important, so some security is in place in every jewelry store, and so too, every person is important, and therefore, all of the other nations have 7 commandments from G-d that they must obey. The Jews, though, are extremely precious, and therefore, we have been given these extra mitzvos. So when we look at how many mitzvos we have compared to the other nations, we should remember we are like the Hope Diamond with much more security and be proud of how great we are.

Good Shabbos and Shana Tova!
-yes
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