We must believe that there is one G-d in the world, Who created all that exists, and in whose power and will everything came to be; that He has always been and will forever be, that He removed us from Egypt, and that He gave us the Torah. We derive this mitzvah from the verse," I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt"(Shemos 20:2), which means"know and believe that there is a G-d in the world"... By saying, " Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt," Hashem tells us, " Do not allow your heart to convince you that your removal from Egypt and the plagues that led to the defeat of the Egyptians were mere coincidences. Rather, know that I took you out with Divine intervention, as I pledged to your forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov."

We are not to believe in gods other than Hashem Himself, as the Torah states, " You shall not have other gods in My presence"(Shemos 20:3).

We are commanded to understand that Hashem blessed is He, is the Cause for all that exists, the Master of all, the One and Only, without any partnership whatsoever, as the verse state, " Hear, O Israel, Hashem, our G-d, Hashem is One"( Devarim 6:4).

We are commanded to love Hashem, blessed is He, as the verse states, "You shall love Hashem, your G-d"(Devarim 6:5). The idea of this Mitzvah is that we should think about and contemplate [Hashem's] commandments and creations, so that we appreciate them to the best of our ability, and take extreme pleasure in that understanding. This(pleasure) is the love of Hashem that we are obligated to have.

In the words of the Sifri:

" From the words ' You shall love,' one does not know how to come to love Hashem. Therefore, the Torah continues, 'And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart'(ibid:6). It is through this that you can recognize the One Who proclaimed and the world came to be.

This is to say that if you think into the Torah, the love of Hashem will inevitably become ingrained in your heart.

Our sages said that this love of Hashem will cause a person to inspire others to love Hashem and serve Him, as was the case with Avraham Avinu.

Fear of Hashem should be reflected on our countenance constantly, so that we do not sin. That is to say, we must fear His punishment, and we should never free our heart of Fear of Him for even a moment of the day, as the verse sates," Hashem, your G-d, you shall fear"(Devarim 10:20)

(1) We are not to stray after the thoughts of our heart and the sight of our eyes as stated in the verse, "Do not stray after your heart and your eyes after which you wander." (Num. 15:39)

The purpose of this prohibition is to prevent us from focusing our thoughts on philosophies that run counter to the understanding upon which the Torah is built, because one can come to heresy by doing so. Rather, if such thoughts encroach on one's mind, he should cut his thoughts short and begin to think about the true and perfect ways of the Torah. Similarly, one should not pursue the sights perceived by his eyes. This prohibition also preclude us from pursuing the temptations of this world, for their end is bad, and they are worthy of shame and anger.

These ideas are expressed in the words of Chazal (Sifri on this verse):

" Do not stray after your heart" refers to heresy, and " after your eyes" refers to lustful activities, as stated in the verse,

"Shimshon said to his father.' Take her for me, for she is fitting in my eyes'"(Shoftim 14:3)

(1) In the days of Enosh, humans made a great error and the sages of that generation gave ignorant advice and Enosh himself was one of those in error. This was their error. They said, since God created these stars and the spheres that guide the world and placed them in the heights and treat them with honor and they are the servants that serve before Him. It is fitting to praise them and to glorify them and treat them with honor. This is the will of God, blessed be He, that they make great and honor those whom God made great and honored like the king who desires to honor those who stand before him and this is the honor of the king. Since this matter arose in their hearts they began to build palaces to the stars and to make sacrifices to them and to praise and glorify them in words and to bow down before them in order to obtain favor of the creator. This is the essence of idolatry. And thus it is said its worshipers know its essence. They would not say that there is no God, other than a star. This is what Jeremiah says, "Who will not fear You, Sovereign of the nations, because to you is appropriate. Because among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood (Jeremiah 10:7-8)." That is to say, everyone knows that you are unique, but their mistake and their folly that they think of as emptiness is your will.