If G-d is the exclusive source of life, then your life, by definition, is defined by your connection with G‑d. Thus, a life of disconnection from G‑d is a life disconnected from its source – a psuedo-life — a life devoid of meaning and purpose, except for its most superficial illusory form (from the Chassidic Masters).
In fact:
There is none else beside Him (4:35)
If, for one moment, our minds could see the spiritual vitality flowing from the breath of G‑d’s mouth into every creation, the materiality, grossness and tangibility of the creation would melt away as if utterly irrelevant in relation to this divine life-force.
N: It is like a finite number becoming aware of the infinite source of numbers from which it is “created”.
You shall know today (4:39)
The foundation of all foundations, and the pillar of all wisdom, is to know that there is a First Existence, who brings all existences into being; that all existences of heaven and earth, and between them, derive existence only from the truth of His existence.
N: This is the font from which all true religions are nourished. This is the foundational rock upon which all spiritual quests are based.
You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal (5:17)
This verse brings up a lovely midrash that explains the need for the Torah amongst us. Moses ascends to heaven and has to argue with the angels as to why those who have sin should receive such a pure teaching. Here is a “modernised” scifi/fantasy version of the classic midrash called The Sinai Files from Chabad.
When Moses ascended to heaven, the angels protested to G‑d: "What is a human being doing among us?"
Said He to them: “He has come to receive the Torah.”
Said they to Him: “This esoteric treasure, which was hidden with You for nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created, You wish to give to flesh and blood? . . . 'What is man, that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You take notice of him? . . . ‘Place Your glory upon the heavens!’” (Psalms 8:2–5)
Said G‑d to Moses: “Answer them.”
Said Moses: “Master of the Universe! I fear they might consume me with the breath of their mouths.”
Said G‑d: “Hold on to the Throne of Glory, and return them an answer.”
Said Moses: “Master of the Universe! This Torah that You are giving to me, what is written in it? ‘I am the L‑rd your G‑d, who has taken you out from the land of Egypt.’”
“Have you descended to Egypt?” asked Moses of the angels. “Have you been enslaved to Pharaoh? So why should the Torah be yours?”
“What else does it say? ‘You shall have no other gods.’ Do you dwell amongst idol-worshipping nations?
What else does it say? ‘Remember the Shabbat day.’ Do you work?
What else does it say? ‘Do not swear falsely.’ Do you do business?
What else does it say? ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ Do you have parents?
What else does it say? ‘You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal.’ Is there jealousy among you? Do you have an evil inclination?”
Straightaway the angels conceded to G‑d, and each one was moved to befriend Moses and transmit something to him. Even the Angel of Death, too, confided his secret to him . . .
With a great voice which was not again (5:19)
The Hebrew phrase velo yasaf, which we have translated “which was not again,” can also mean “which did not cease.” Thus there are various meanings to this verse. One meaning is that the revelation at Sinai was a one-time event, never to be repeated in history (Rashi; Ibn Ezra). Other meanings are: that it was an extremely powerful voice that spoke without interruption—unlike a human voice, which must pause for breath (Targum; Rashi)—that it did not cease, in the sense that all subsequent prophets prophesied from that voice, or in the sense that it did not confine itself to the Holy Tongue but reverberated in mankind’s seventy languages (Midrash Rabbah); that it did not “repeat”—i.e., it had no echo (Midrash Rabbah).
// Go into Judaica, as “The World to Come”
olam hazeh and olam haba
We have “the present world” (olam hazeh) and “the world to come” (olam haba) — two entirely different modes of existence, each confined to a world all its own. Our “present world” is the stage for deed and achievement, but without the possibility to enjoy the true fruits of our labour. On the other hand, the “world to come” is a place of ultimate reward, bliss and perfection, but one that precludes any further achievement on the part of man. The Talmud goes so far as to declare, “There is no reward for mitzvot in this world,” and regarding the world to come it quotes the verse (Ecclesiastes 12:1), “There will come years of which you will say: I have no desire in them,” and says: “This refers to the days of the messianic era, in which there is neither merit nor obligation.”
Why this dichotomy? Because a world in which the benefits of obeying G‑d’s commandments are self-evident would lack the challenge which makes their observance meaningful and worthy of reward. Conversely, a world in which the goodness of G‑d is manifest precludes truly meaningful accomplishment on the part of man. Thus our sages have said: “A single moment of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is greater than all of the world to come. And a single moment of bliss in the world to come is greater than all of this world”
N: Here we have a dichotomy of two worlds, the present world and the world to come. It is presented as if they live in two different places and we proceed from the one to the other. When in fact, I would propose that the present world is a partial form of the world to come. They are not separate, but are intertwined, like the Tao, or the double helix. There is also the the possibility that this world is a subset of the world to come, which can only be perceived as a partial form of the Form which pervades everything.