Thank you for the phone conversation. Attached is a short summary of the two sides:
You argued that it is reasonable to infer that there is a purpose to creation with free choice, and that the purpose is probably the observance of the commandments—together with the tradition about the giving of the Torah,

Question:
Why not divide the giving of the Torah into two:
1. “I am” and “You shall have no other” (monotheistic creationism)
2. The other 611 commandments that Moses added? And why should we obligate ourselves to say that God wanted practical commands?
Answer:
Why should we make such a split statement of that kind?

Question:
This is a simple and basic split: God commanded one thing in a miraculous revelation, and the man Moses said many additional details, either in an event close to it or long after it,
Answer:
One has to examine the combination of factors. Moses our teacher brought us to Mount Sinai, where the revelation took place (something that testifies to the connection between him and the Creator — “and they will also believe in you forever”), and after the revelation he commanded us the details. The plausibilities have to be considered together (Notebook 5, Chapter 6), and therefore “it is reasonable to infer from here that there must be some revelation that clarifies for us our goals and purposes as created beings” and “that this purpose is specifically connected to our decisions and our choice.”

And I still stand by my plausibility test:
1. It is certainly comfortable to say that we were created so that He could watch us, or to achieve some purpose that is beyond our comprehension,
2. It is certainly comfortable to say that God commanded belief in Him, and Moses our teacher ‘drove behind the ambulance’ in the lane that opened up, and on his own commanded the people of Israel the other 611, close to the event or long after it, since that is how it appeared to him in his prophecy.
3. The historical arguments certainly are not all that strong. And they also fit fairly well with the above claim (they do not prove specifically a commanding God any more than a special nation)
Taken together, it is reasonable to conclude that there is no logical reason to assume that there is Torah and commandments.

Huge thanks for all the writings and articles. Be strong and courageous!

Greetings.
If you accept the revelation regarding the first two commandments, then your split seems strange to me—that the rest is an invention of Moses, with no logic and no basis. Why would he do such a thing, and immediately after the divine revelation no less? Especially given that he is the prophet whom the Holy One, blessed be He, sent to bring us to Mount Sinai?
A conspiracy theory, like proving a criminal offense, requires motive, opportunity, and ability.
By the same token, you could say that every even-numbered commandment was invented and the rest were not. You could also say that the first commandment is from Heaven and the second is an illusion, or vice versa. All this is certainly possible, like countless other possibilities. When you receive a unified tradition, there is no logic in splitting it into fictitious and real parts without reason or cause. Moses our teacher himself transmitted commandments of his own, and he could have written in the Torah that they too were given at Sinai, and then he would have deceived us even more effectively.
By contrast, you are inventing a theory that does not have the slightest basis (that only the first two commandments are from Heaven and the rest are made up; originally the Holy One, blessed be He, only wanted to watch us in an aquarium), and you are willing to cling to it just like that. Why does that not require justification?
In short, it really sounds completely bizarre to me.

There are several indications that the majority certainly is not a conspiracy:
* The Hebrew Bible and the Torah are full of criticism of the people and of Moses in particular. If Moses had been trying to deceive, that text would not have made it in.
* The figure of Moses is that of a stammering man with unimpressive leadership ability. The chance that he managed to deceive everyone seems low to me.
* Moses does not pass leadership on to his sons, but to Joshua.
* Much of the wonder of the influence and survival of the people of Israel stems not from faith but from the character of Jewish law (for example, the obligation to study from a young age), and from this it follows that these laws really are special. This is in addition to especially wise laws (the Sabbath). They are not at all trivial to invent.
* The Torah is full of laws that do not clearly benefit anyone, and it is not likely that Moses would command them for no reason (the Red Heifer and others). Some of them would even endanger Moses’ standing (the Sabbatical year).
* Some of the miracles attested to by the entire people are themselves violations of Torah commandments (the daughters of Midian).
* The purpose of the commandments according to the Torah itself is: “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” There is no doubt that the character of the laws brought about the fulfillment of this “prophecy.”

Beyond that, I am not sure anyone knows exactly that only 2 commandments were heard from the mouth of the Almighty (maybe one or 3?). The source for this is the Talmudic tradition, and it is not clear why you accept its words at one precise point and not at others.