EXOD926 What is remarkable, then, about the contents of the Decalogue is that more than half of the rules are moral in nature and refer to human relations. If the Decalogue constitutes "the words of the covenant" and expresses what it is that the Lord requires of Israel, then we have here the Torah's own view of the essence of Judaism, the founding principles of the covenant in the community. [Rashi, this verse]. Where are all the sacrifices? Why no mention of the Passover or of circumcision? The testimony of the Decalogue seems overwhelming: Moral rules regulating relations between human beings are primary. Morality is the essence of Judaism. According to David Tzevi Hoffmann, the later prophetic writings show a keen awareness of the startling nature of the theophany at Sinai in that it did not call for, nor was it accompanied by, votive sacrifices. (See his Commentary on Leviticus (Hebrew trans., Shefer and Liberman), vol. 2, pp. קסו-קסז. Hoffman points out that Moses, who has been told to expect a "service" at the mountain as the culmination and climax of the Exodus, was looking forward to a service that would include elaborate and unusual sacrifices (Exodus 3:12). This is evident from his reply to Pharaoh: "Thou must also give unto our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings that we shall sacrifice unto the Lord, for we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come hither." (Exodus 10:25-26). But much to their surprise, the God of Israel did not include in the Sinai covenant any request for sacrifices. This important disclosure as to what is really the essence of the divine command is alluded to in the well-known declaration of Jeremiah: "For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices; but this thing I commanded them, saying, 'Hearken unto to my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people.'" (Jeremiah 7:22)