Jews read the books of Moses not just as history but as divine command. The question to which they are an answer is not 'What happened?' but rather 'How then shall I live?' And it's only with the exodus that the life of the commands really begins.
In morals what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness in religion what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear either as a principle or a motive is the beginning of all evil.
