The Yidden prepared for Matan Torah, and are now gathered around Har Sinai to receive it.

Hashem brought Shomayim down so it was on Har Sinai!

This was the most the Yidden would ever be able to see Hashem, and Hashem told Moshe to make sure none of them tried to come closer to Har Sinai to see better, because they can’t touch Har Sinai.

Moshe didn’t think the Yidden needed to be told again not to touch Har Sinai, because they were already told before. Hashem told Moshe to tell them again because there needs to be a warning before, and a warning at the actual time of Matan Torah too.

Finally, after all the preparations, Hashem was going to give the Torah, and now every Yid would have the zechus and achrayus to keep all of its mitzvos.

Hashem said all of the Aseres Hadibros all at once! Then Hashem said them again, one at a time.

1) Anochi — I am Hashem Who took you out of Mitzrayim!

2) Lo Yihiyeh — don’t have or serve idols

3) Lo Sisa — Don’t promise something silly or not true in Hashem’s name

4) Zachor — Remember and keep Shabbos

5) Kabeid — Honor your parents — Kibbud Av Va’eim

6) Lo Sirtzach — don’t kill

7) Lo Sinaf — don’t marry someone who is already married to someone else

8) Lo Signov — don’t kidnap

9) Lo Saaneh — don’t lie about someone in Beis Din

10) Lo Sachmod — don’t be jealous of other people’s things

Even though the Yidden only heard ten mitzvos, really, the whole Torah is hinted to in these Aseres Hadibros!

Something amazing happened at Matan Torah! It used to be that Ruchnius and Gashmius were always two separate things. Even though the Avos used Gashmius to do mitzvos, it never got kedusha! So the sticks that Yaakov Avinu used to do the mitzvah of tefillin with did not become holy afterwards! But as we learned in today’s Chumash, at Matan Torah, Shomayim came down to the world. After Matan Torah, even a Gashmius thing can become full of kedusha when we use it for mitzvos!

That’s also the reason why we see that some of the mitzvos in the Aseres Hadibros seem very obvious. Everyone understands on their own that it’s not right to kidnap! But after Matan Torah, these mitzvos also become full of kedusha! So when we don’t kidnap, we’re not just doing it because it makes sense, but because it’s a mitzvah that Hashem told us to do!

Throughout history, we see that many nations go against the Aseres Hadibros, even the mitzvos that make so much sense. They decided, when it was better for them, that it makes sense to do cruel things! The same thing is true with all of us! We can’t be sure that we will behave in the right way with other people if we do it only because it makes sense. The only way that we will keep these mitzvos of not hurting another person, even when it is hard, is if we do them with Kabolas Ol — because it is a mitzvah from Hashem. (See Likutei Sichos chelek Gimmel parshas Yisro, and many other places)