פרשת יתרו

I am intrigued by many things in last week’s פרשה, including Buber's suggestion that in the beautiful metaphor of eagles' wings (Exodus 19:4) "we have election, deliverance, and education, all in one"; the debate among the rabbis about whether Exodus 20:2 (... אנכי) is itself a מצווה or just a bit of prefatory throat-clearing; the possibility of reading Exodus 20:2 literally as "you will not have other gods to my Face" (לא–יהיה לך ... על–פני); and Ibn Ezra's division of the מצוות into three categories: those of the heart ("feeling rules," in the sociology of emotions), speech, and doing.