Last week I shared a quote from Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo that addressed the issue of what was given at Sinai.  While ideally there should have been as many texts given as there were Jews who received it, only one was given.

Rabbi Cardozo attributed this to the need for unity among Jews and shaping the Jewish people.  Being that we are people of deed rather than creed, Rabbi Cardozo expanded upon this idea with regard to the mitzvot.  

It could even been argued that not all Jews were in need of the same mitzvot.  It was only for the sake of comradeship and for the common destiny of the Jewish people and their mission to the world that they all had to commit themselves to all of the mitzvot.  (Jewish Law as Rebellion by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo, pg. 69)

This idea reminds me of another Cardozo quote: The deed shows man who he really is and not what he would like to be.  Here his own self is exposed: what man does not dare to think, he shows in his deeds. The “real” heart of man is revealed in his deeds.  Man may have lofty ideas but behave like a criminal.(Crisis, Covenant and Creativity by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo, pg. 156)

We are what we do.