This Shabbat is the Shabbat of the Reading of the Ten Commandments; the dramatic encounter of Israel with her G-d. The Written Torah emphasizes the overwhelming nature of that religious experience. Israel was overpowered by the confrontation with the divine. In fact, the experience is so traumatic that Israel requests that Moses acts as her intercessor. The people cannot bear the power of the encounter.

However, the Oral Torah contrasts that experience with a softer, quieter experience of transcendence. The overpowering experience of revelation to Israel is held in tension with a private religious experience that is adapted to each person. Psalm 29, the psalm we chant before Lecha Dodi tonight, and the psalm that punctuates the Torah procession, addresses that personal experience. "Kol Adonai Bakoach", "The voice of G-d is in strength." Our sages remark that the Scriptures do not assert that the voice of G-d is in His strength, but rather according to the strength of each and every individual." Revelation, the experience of G-d, is tailor made to the ability of each and every one of the six hundred thousand at Sinai according to their ability.

The religious message of Sinai is shaped by the capabilities of men, women, and children to absorb it. Similarly, the Torah teaches that when Israel was at Sinai that "all the people saw the voices." Our sages note that the text speaks of "many voices of G-d", not "one voice". In this midrashic understanding, the voice adjusted itself to the various types of personalities among the people.

Interestingly, this understanding of the voice of G-d was utilized in the animated film the "Prince of Egypt". For some strange reason, probably because of the film, "The Ten Commandments", the voice of G-d is perceived as being a strong, loud male voice. The voice of G-d is booming, like the meanest version of an elementary school principal one could imagine. Maybe we have watched that film too many times. However, for the "Prince of Egypt", the voice of G-d was conceived as a blending of many different types of voices. This blending of sounds is much closer to the midrashic understanding. The voice of Sinai was not a loud, shouting voice, but a voice that was heard authentically by each individual present.

In its approach to religious life, Judaism has always recognized the diverse needs of its adherents. Perhaps the four children at the Seder table is the most well known example of this approach. Each child is responded to according to his or her ability or interest. A "one-size fits all" approach will not work. The personal needs of the child must be taken into account.

The sages offer similar counsel to husbands in marriage. "If your wife is short, bend down to speak to her." This teaching implies that marriage can succeed only when the needs of the other partner are understood. Relationship is a process of "bending over" to make our message clear to the other. Just as G-d modulated the divine voice for his communication to Israel, so all of us must learn appropriate communication skills as well.

Those of us who remember the sixties, recall that famous phrase, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Communication of course involves three elements, the speaker, the listener, and the message itself. All are of equal significance in the delivery of the message.

Our sages teach us that the quality of the communication is as essential as the message itself. Perhaps they were pre-dating that famous phrase by Marshall McCluhan, "The medium is the message." The way in which we communicate our message is often as important as its content. That perhaps is why communication is an art. Good teaching is also a successful mastery of the art of communication as well.

In the contemporary world, our children and we hear many messages and many voices. The voice that will be heard is that which communicates powerfully and effectively. Power does not necessarily mean loud (although I know I am very loud sometimes). If we wish to communicate the message of our tradition, we must learn the lesson of the Torah. The divine voice must be heard at the level appropriate to each and every individual.