## Tur HaArokh, Exodus

###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:1:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:1:1)

**בחדש השלישי.**היה ראוי לומר ויסעו מרפידים ויחנו במדבר סיני בחדש השלישי לצאתם מארץ מצרים כדרך שאומר בשאר המסעות אלא בשביל שביאתם לסיני היתה שמחה להם ומצפים לו כי היו יודעים שהיה להם לקבל התורה בעבור זה התחיל בחדש השלישי לומר שבאו מדבר סיני כאשר היו מצפים ואח"כ חוזר לומר כשאר המסעות:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
בחודש השלישי, “in the third month;” actually we would have expected the chapter to begin with the words: “they journeyed from *Refidim* and came to the desert of Sinai, where they encamped on the first day of the third month after having departed from the land of Egypt.” The reason why the syntax of the Torah was changed in this instance is the fact that arrival at the desert of Sinai, where the Torah was to be given, was a joyous occasion for the people. The manner of reporting this arrival reflects that it was something the people had been looking forward to.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:1:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:1:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:1:2)

**ביום הזה.**פי' ביום שהתחיל החדש. ור' אברהם כתב אולי היה המרחק בין הר סיני ובין רפידים רב יותר ממרחק כל מסע ולכך הוצרך לומר שבו ביום באו להר סיני:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ביום הזה, “on this day, etc.” The day referred to was the first of the month. Ibn Ezra suggests that possibly the distance between Mount Sinai and *Refidim* was greater than the distance covered in all their combined journeys up to that time, so that there was a need to report precisely when the people arrived at this otherwise unremarkable spot.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:2:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:2:1)

**ויסעו מרפידים ויבאו מדבר סיני.**הי' ראוי לומר ויסעו מרפידים ויחנו במדבר ואמר ויבואו לומר מיד כשבאו להר סיני בראותם ההר חנו שם במדבר ולא המתינו עד שיכנסו בו לבקש מקום טוב לנוח אלא חנו במדבר או בחורב שממה לפני ההר וזה טעם ויחנו במדבר:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויסעו מרפידים ויבואו מדבר סיני, “they journeyed from *Refidim,* and they arrived at the desert of Sinai.” According to the Torah’s syntax which we have grown accustomed to, the Torah should have written: “they journeyed from *Refidim* and they encamped at the desert of Sinai.” The reason why the Torah chose to write ויבואו instead of ויחנו, is to convey to the reader that as soon as the people saw Mount Sinai they were so happy that they decided to encamp forthwith instead of scouting around for what they considered a suitable area for putting up their camp. This is why the Torah adds the words ויחנו במדבר, ”they made camp in the desert, normally not an appropriate site for making camp.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:2:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:2:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:2:2)

**ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר.**הזכיר בני ישראל לומר כשהבדילו האספסוף והערב רב מתוכם חנו הן נגד ההר ואפשר שאפי' הם בעצמם לא חנו כולם כנגדו אלא הזקנים והשופטים ולכך אמר ויחן לשון יחיד. מה שפירש"י מה הוצרך לומר ויסעו מרפידים לידע מהיכן נסעו הקשה הרמב"ן והלא דרך הפסוק לומר כן בכל המסעות ופי' הוא שכך רוצה לומר מפני שכל המסעות שסיפר בהן כאן אלים ורפידים נשנו באלה מסעי בשביל דברים שנתחדשו בהם שם אבל המסע הזה סיפר אותו כאן וכאן בשוה על זה הוצרך לדרוש ההיקש:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר, “Israel encamped there facing the Mountain.” The people are here referred to as “Israel,” (in the singular mode) instead of as plain “the people,” to tell us that when the riffraff and the fellow travelers, the ערב רב, had chosen to locate some short distance away, the elite, the main body of Israelites, chose to encamp facing the Mountain. [we need to remember that until the building of the Tabernacle, the signal for breaking camp and making camp was not the overhead cloud of G’d’s glory that the Torah describes in Numbers Ed.] It is possible that not the entire people positioned their tents facing the Mountain but only the elders and most distinguished members of the people. This may be the reason why the Torah wrote ויחן, singular mode, instead of ויחנו, in the plural mode.
 Nachmanides questions what *Rashi* wrote as the reason for the Torah having written ויסעו מרפידים, i.e. we needed to know from where the Israelites arrived at the desert of Sinai. He draws our attention to the fact that the Torah normally reports the Israelites’ departure from a certain location prior to reporting their arrival at a new location; so what is so special here? (compare: the pattern of ויסעו מ...ויחנו ב... in dozens of examples in Numbers chapter 33)
 In answering his query, Nachmanides suggests that what *Rashi* had in mind was, that seeing that all the other journeys mentioned here have been repeated in the list in Numbers 33, something new occurred at each location, whereas both here and in *Massey* this journey is described with identical words, without any change in nuance even, *Rashi* felt impelled make the comment he did, i.e. that just as the people were in a mood of penitence when they departed from *Refidim*, they were still in that mood when they arrived at the desert of Sinai.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:3:1)

**ומשה עלה אל האלהים.**פי' אל קצה ההר כי מיום בואם לסיני היתה שכינה בראש ההר והוא עלה בקצה ההר להזדמן לפניו ולא בא אל הערפל אשר שם האלהים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ומשה עלה אל האלוקים, “and Moses had ascended to G’d,” this means he had proceeded to the edge of the Mountain. Clearly, there had been evidence that G’d’s presence was resting above the top of that Mountain ever since the day that the Israelites had arrived at that location. Moses’ purpose was to keep in readiness to enter the ערפל, the thick cloud, behind which a manifestation of G’d could be found. (compare 20,18)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:3:2)

**ויקרא אליו ה' מן ההר לאמר.**פי' ר' אברהם וכבר קרא אליו קודם שעלה. והרמב"ן פי' לאחר שעלה קרא לו לאמר כה תאמר לבית יעקב ותגיד לבני ישראל והקריאה היא כה תאמר לבית יעקב וגו':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויקרא אליו ה' מן ההר לאמור, “*Hashem* called out to him from the Mountain, saying:” 
 According to Ibn Ezra G’d had called to Moses already before he ascended, but had not given him any specific instructions. 
 Nachmanides writes that Moses did not receive any call until after he had ascended, at which time G’d told him:כה תאמר לבית יעקב,”you shall say to the house of Yaakov, using precisely these words, etc.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:3
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:3:3)

**לבית יעקב.**אלו הנשים

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
לבית יעקב, “to the house of Yaakov.” This was a reference to the Jewish women.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:4
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:3:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:3:4)

**ולבני ישראל**אלו האנשים והקדים נשים לאנשים לפי שחוה על שלא צוה לה הקב"ה על אכילת עץ הדעת אכלתו והאכילתו לבעלה ולכן הקדים במתן תורה להזהיר הנשים תחלה ובשביל שחלק כבוד זה לנשים להקדימן תחלה לא רצו לפרוק נזמיהן בעשיית העגל. וי"מ לבית יעקב אלו הנמצאים היום ולבני ישראל אלו שנולדו אחרי כן:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ולבני ישראל, “and to the Children of Israel.” This was a reference to the men. The reason why the women, in this case, have been mentioned first, is that at the dawn of history, Chavah, the first woman, who had not personally been warned by G’d not to eat from the tree of knowledge, not only ate from it but also gave her husband to eat from it. By telling Moses now to address the legislation to the women first, G’d wanted to ensure that the communication failure in *Gan Eden* would not be repeated. Seeing that the women had been honored to receive their share of the information before their husbands, this would make them more fiercely loyal to observe the commandments in every detail. The fact that this psychology worked was demonstrated about 43 days later when the women refused to hand over their gold jewelry to help in making the golden calf.
 Another possible way of explaining the difference in meaning between the expression בית יעקב and בני ישראל is that the former refers to the people presently at Mount Sinai, whereas the latter refers to as yet unborn generations of Jews.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:4:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:4:1)

**ואביא אתכם אלי.**אל מקום כבודי ההר הזה אשר שכינתי שם עמכם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואביא אתכם אלי, “I have brought you to Me.” To the location where My glory its manifest, this Mountain where My presence is presently in residence.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:5:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:5:1)

**ושמרתם את בריתי.**פי' ר' אברהם על הברית שיכרות משה עמהם אחר מתן תורה כמו שנאמר הנה דם הברית אשר כרת ה' עמכם. והרמב"ן פי' על הברית אשר כרת את אבותיהם להיות להם לאלהים ולזרעם אחריהם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ושמרתם את בריתי, “you are to observe My covenant.” According to Ibn Ezra this is a reference to the covenant that would be concluded right after the revelation at the Mountain, as we read in 24,8 [part of the description of Moses spending 40 days on the Mountain. Ed.] הנה דם הברית אשר כרת ה' עמכם על כל הדברים האלה, “here is the blood of the covenant which the Lord sealed with you concerning all these matters”. (Ten Commandments) 
 Nachmanides understands the word בריתי as referring to an existing covenant, the one entered into by G’d with the patriarchs that He was to be not only their G’d, but also the G’d of their descendants.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:5:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:5:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:5:2)

**והייתם לי סגולה וגו' כי לי כל הארץ.**פי' כל הארץ שלי ובחרתי בכם ואתם לבדכם שלי ואיני מעמיד ומשליט בכם אלא אני לא כשאר האומות שממונים עליהם צבא השמים כענין שנאמר אשר חלק ה' אלהיך אותם לכל העמים ואתכם לקח ה' וגו':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים כי לי כל הארץ, “you will be for Me a most beloved treasure, more than any other nation, for the whole earth belongs to Me.” Although the entire earth belongs to me, I have chosen you alone to relate to as exclusively Mine, i.e. I personally supervise your fates, and I have not delegated this task to various natural forces at My command, such as constellations of stars, etc. The Torah refers to the latter point in greater detail in Deuteronomy 4,19 אשר חלק ה' אלוקיך אותם לכל העמים תחת כל השמים, “which the Lord your G’d assigned to all the other nations under the entire heaven.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:6:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:6:1)

**ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש.**פי' הרמב"ן ממלכת כהנים שתהיו ממלכת משמרתי וגוי קדוש לדבקה באל הקדוש כמו שנאמר קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלהיכם הנה שהבטיחם בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, “a Kingdom of Priests, a holy nation.” Nachmanides understands the termממלכת כהנים as a kingdom that takes care and preserves intact My statutes, A nation that cleaves to the Holy G’d, as stipulated in Leviticus 19,2 “be holy, for I, the Lord, your G’d am holy.” This implies a promise by G’d to His people covering its existence both on earth and beyond.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:7:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:7:1)

**וישם לפניהם.**כתב ר' אברהם בפה. וי"א בספר. ורבינו סעדי' פי' כמו שימה בפיהם. והרמב"ן פי' שאמר להם הנה נתתי לפניכם הדברים בחרו לכם אם תעשו כן ולכן ענוהו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע כענין שנאמר הנה נתתי לפניכם החיים והמות וכן ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם שיאמרו אם יבחרו עליהם לעשותם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וישם לפניהם. “He presented it before them in clear terms, etc.” According to Ibn Ezra, Moses did this verbally. Some people claim that Moses presented all this to the people in book form. Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon, says that the meaning is similar to שימו בפיהם, (Deut 31,19) where it means that G’d had asked Moses to make the people thoroughly familiar with His admonitions. Nachmanides says that G’d (Moses) told the people: “I have set out all these precepts for you to choose if you undertake to take these obligations upon yourselves.” The people responded by saying that everything G’d had said they were willing to carry out, just as is reported in Exodus


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:8:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:8:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:8:1)

**ויענו כל העם יחדו.**כי משה קרא לזקני העם חכמיהם ושוטריהם ושם לפניהם הבחירה שיבחרו והיה זה במעמד כל העם כי על כולם נצטוה כה תאמר לבית יעקב והם לא המתינו לעצה ובחירה ויענו כל העם למקטן ועד גדול כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויענו כל העם יחדו, “all the people answered simultaneously, etc.“ Moses had called all the leaders, the judges, the law enforcers, etc., in the presence of all the people and had submitted to them all that G’d had told him, and had offered them the choice whether to accept all these commandments. Seeing the commandments concerned the entire nation, acceptance was also required by the entire nation. The people did not even wait until Moses had posed the question to them if they were willing to accept all this, but the Torah testifies that they interrupted Moses to indicate their ready acceptance.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:9:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:9:1)

**הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן.**כתב ר' אברהם כי' הי' בישראל שהיו מסתפקין בנבואה אע"פ שכתוב ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו שם אומר וירא ישראל ולא אמר כל ישראל וזהו שאמרו היום ראינו כי ידבר אלהים את האדם וחי כי לא היו מאמינים בו תחלה ואמר גם בך יאמינו לעולם שאתה נביאי כי מעתה יתאמת אצלם ענין הנבואה. וכתב הרמב"ן שאינו נכון כי לא הסתפקו כלל בנבואה כי האמינו בה מאבותיהם אלא אמר הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן שתגש אתה אל הערפל בעבור שישמעו דברי ויהיו הם בעצמם נביאים ולא שיאמינו מפי אחרים כמו שנאמר הקהל לי את העם ואשמיעם את דברי למען ישמעו וילמדו ליראה אותי כל הימים וגם בך יאמינו לעולם בכל הדורות ואם יקום חולם חלום או נביא וירצה להכחיש דברי שיכחישוהו לאמר שכבר ראו בעיניהם שהגעת למעלה עליונה בנבואה ולכן אמר בעבור שישמע העם בדברי עמך כי ישמעו דברי מתוך האש וידעו כי אני ה' מדבר עמך ויאמינו בדברי עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם וזהו שאמרו היום ראינו כי ידבר אלהים את האדם וחי כלומר שנתקיים הדבר אצלינו בראיית עינינו כאשר היה חפץ האלהים ומעתה שידענו בך שהגעת למעלה העליונה קרב ושמע כל אשר יאמר השם ושמענו מפיך ועשינו שכבר נאמנה נבואתך שהיא עליונה על כל הנביאים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן, “Here, I am about to come to you, within a thick layer of cloud.” Ibn Ezra writes that among the Israelites there were some who had ambiguous feelings about the existence of prophecy and the extent of it, or if indeed some people had been endowed with such powers. This was in spite of the Torah itself having testified that when at the edge of the Sea of Reeds the people appear to have been described as believers, i.e. ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, “they believed in G’d and in His servant Moses.” (Exodus 14,31) The Torah had refrained from describing all of the people as sharing this absolute faith. Even after the crossing of the sea when the bodies of the dead Egyptians had become visible, the Torah does write “the Israelites saw Egypt dead on the edge of the sea,” (Exodus 14,30) again the Torah had omitted the crucial word כל, “all”, when describing who saw what. This is what is meant when after the revelation at Mount Sinai (Deut. 5,21) the people acknowledge היום ראינו, “on this day we have seen that the Lord has spoken to man and yet man has remained alive.” The fact that they had originally not believed completely in G’d, according to Ibn Ezra, is supported in that G’d had told Moses that as the result of His miracles not only would they have faith in Him but in Moses also. (compare וגם בך יאמינו, “they will also believe in you forever (our verse).” 
 Nachmanides disagrees, saying that the Israelites never doubted either the existence of prophetic powers, as they had the tradition that their patriarchs had all been endowed with such powers. When G’d told Moses to approach him into the thick cloud, this was designed to reinforce the people’s belief in Moses’ superior prophetic powers, a level of prophecy never before attained by any human being. Exodus 4,31 is already testimony that the people had complete faith in G’d. In fact, to a certain degree, all the Israelites had been endowed with some prophetic powers as proven by the fact that they were bidden by G’d to approach as testified by Moses in Deuteronomy 4,10, i.e. that instead of having to depend on hearing G’d’s words through the mouth of a prophet they themselves would hear it directly. This would teach them to relate to G’d with the appropriate degree of awe, as is spelled out there. Once they would do this it would be easy for them to have full confidence in everything Moses would tell them in the name of the Lord. The words וגם בך יאמינו לעולם, mean that not only the present generation would have full faith in what Moses had related in the name of the Lord, but all future generations who had not known Moses personally, would have a similar degree of faith in the words Moses had handed down. This would have the effect that if there were to arise in the future someone claiming that G’d had appeared to him in a dream, or spoken to him while he was fully awake and that the message he had received would contradict the teachings handed down in the name of Moses, such a person would have proven himself to be a liar, a fake, someone totally fraudulent. The people’s experience of Moses’ superiority as a confidant of G’d would guarantee that they would not lend credence to anyone who would attempt to countermand G’d’s orders as conveyed by Moses. The people, because they had prophetic powers themselves, would know for a fact that Gd had spoken directly to Moses. At the conclusion of the revelation, as recorded by Moses to the next generation in Deuteronomy 4, they are quoted as having said that as of that day they had seen with their own eyes that G’d had communicated directly with Moses, and that just as they themselves had survived their own experience during the revelation, they had no longer any doubt that Moses had survived many such direct communications from G’d during his waking hours. Once this degree of trust in Moses had been established, they asked him to approach G’d on their behalf and to relate His words to them as they had become overawed by their own experience, and were afraid that they could not endure any more such experiences and remain alive. (compare Deut. 5,24 where they told Moses to become their intermediary.)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:9:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:9:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:9:2)

**ויגד משה את דברי העם אל ה'.**פי' רבינו אברהם וכבר הגיד. והרמב"ן פי' מתחלה שאמר וישב משה דברי העם אל ה' לא שאמר לו מיד תשובתם אלא ששב לפניו אל ההר עם מענה העם שבידו לאמרם והנה הכל גלוי לפניו ולא שאלו מה ענה לך העם אלא אמר לו מיד הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן ואז הגיד משה דברי העם ואמר רבונו של עולם בניך הם מאמינים ויקבלו עליהם את אשר תאמר. ורבותינו דרשו אותו על מצות הגבלה שכשעלה בשלישי ואמר דברי העם אל ה' שאמרו נעשה ונשמע אז אמר לו מצות הגבלה וירד בו ביום ואמרה לעם ועלה ביום הרביעי והגיד לה' תשובת העם על מצות הגבלה ואע"פ שהיא כתובה אחר כן אין מוקדם ומאוחר. וי"מ שמתחלה אמר לשם דברי העם שאמרו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה והקב"ה שהוא מבין סתרים הבין שהי' דעתו של משה לומר שלא יאמינו אלא מה שישמעו דברי השם בעצמו ולא שישמעו מזולתו ועל כן אמר לו הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן כדי שישמעו ממני ואז הגיד משה דברי העם כי כן הי' דעתם תחלה אלא שלא רצה הוא לפרש:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויגד משה את דברי העם אל ה', “Moses told G’d what the people had said.” Ibn Ezra feels that this is one of many verses in the Torah that should have been written previously but have not, and we must understand them as referring to events which had already occurred and which the reader may already know about.
 Nachmanides does not agree that we are dealing with such a verse here, as he does not understand the line (verse 8) וישב משה את דברי העם אל ה' as referring to Moses having reported the people’s words to G’d immediately, but that Moses had to return first to the Mountain taking the people’s reply with him, so to speak. We must remember that G’d is omniscient, and He did not need Moses to tell Him how the people had reacted to what He had bidden Moses to tell them. On the contrary, as soon as G’d had become aware of the people’s reaction, He immediately told Moses to enter the thick cloud surrounding the Mountain, etc. Upon setting out, Moses told G’d what the people had said to him, assuring G’d that His children had perfect faith in Him and welcomed all the instructions He either had issued already or would issue in the future.
 Our sages interpret these verses as dealing with the boundaries erected around the Mountain, to protect overenthusiastic Israelites in their desire to come close to G’d from becoming victims instead. Moses had ascended on the third of the month, and reported the famous נעשה ונשמע, “we will do as soon as we will know what to do,” to G’d. G’d immediately instructed him to draw boundaries around the Mountain beyond which the people were not to approach. Moses descended on the same day and relayed this information. He ascended again on the fourth, informing G’d of the people’s reaction in response to the boundaries. Even though the Torah reports this only later, the fact is that the Torah is under no obligation to narrate events in their chronological order. 
 Some commentators say that initially, Moses told G’d that the people had said to him that whatever G’d would say they would do. G’d, Who can read between the lines, i.e. knows how to interpret what had not been spelled out. He realised that Moses was under the impression that the people referred only to what G’d Himself would say to them, but that they had not obligated themselves to carry out automatically everything they would only hear through Moses. He told Moses of the nature of the revelation, which would have as a by-product that henceforth the people would relate with the same degree of faith and trust to what they would hear from Moses’ lips, as they related to what they would hear from G’d directly. Subsequently, Moses confirmed to G’d that the people had indeed made such a commitment, i.e. that this had been their intention already when they had said that all G’d had commanded they would do.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:10:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:10:1)

**וקדשתם.**פירש"י וזמנתם. ור' אברהם פי' שירחצו במים. והרמב"ן פי' שיהיו קדושים ולא יגשו אל אשה ואל כל טומאה כי הנשמר מכל טומאה נקרא קדוש:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וקדשתם, “you will sanctify, etc.” according to *Rashi* the word here means: “you will make preparations.”
 According to Ibn Ezra the meaning is that the people are to wash themselves with water.
 According to Nachmanides the meaning is that the men should refrain from sexual intercourse with their wives, and should also refrain from contact with anything else that confers ritual impurity upon them. Any person who makes a point of refraining from contact with ritual impurity is described as “holy.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:11:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:11:1)

**ירד ה' לעיני כל העם.**פי' שכלם יראו ברדתו שם בראותם כאש אוכלת בראש ההר ולא שיראו את ה' דכתיב כי לא יראני האדם וחי:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ירד ה' לעיני כל העם, “*Hashem* will descend in full view of all the people.” This means that the fiery spectacle of G’d’s descent to the top of the Mountain will be perceived as a spectacle of consuming fire. The people will obviously not see the essence of G’d, as we have been told in Exodus 33,20 כי לא יראני האדם וחי, “it is inherently impossible for a living human being to see Me.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:13:1)

**לא תגע בו יד.**י"מ דאונוגע בהר קאי שאם יגע בהר וחייב מיתה לא תגע בו יד לומר אלך אחריו ואמיתהו אלא לא תגע בו יד רק ישליך לו אבנים ויסקל ואם יברח עוד אל ההר ירה יירה יורוהו המורים בחצים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
לא תגע בו יד, “a hand shall not touch it” (the fence) some commentators believe that the word בו in our verse refers to the Mountain itself; and that a person doing this is liable to the death penalty, but that the execution must not involve that the person being executed be touched by a human hand in the process. Rather he should be stoned to death, by throwing the stones at him. If the victim escapes the stones by running away, he is to be shot dead by arrows.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:13:2)

**במשוך היובל.**פי' ר' אברהם שופר שיתרעו בו בשנת היובל. והמעתיקים אמרו שפי' יובל כבש. ומה שהביא רש"י הדרש שדרשו בו שהוא מאילו של יצחק כתב הרמב"ן לא הבנתי והלא אותו הי' עולה ונשרף קרניו והכל וכתב ואולי צבר את עפרו והחזירו למה שהי':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
במשוך היובל, “upon a prolonged blast of the *shofar*, etc.” Ibn Ezra says that the word יובל is another word for the horn we know as *shofar*. It is the horn being blown in the Jubilee year, the שנת היובל. 
 Translators generally [Bible scholars viewed as heretics by Ibn Ezra in his introduction to the Book of Genesis. Ed.] refer to יובל as a sheep, כבש.
 As to the allegorical explanation offered by *Rashi,* according to which the sound of the *shofar* at the revelation was the horn which had been part of the ram which Avraham had offered on the altar after G’d had stopped him from slaughtering Yitzchok, Nachmanides writes [as the plain meaning of the text. Ed.] that he does not understand that commentary, seeing that the entire ram had been offered as a burnt offering, i.e. including the horns which were burnt up at that time. He speculates that possibly Avraham or G’d had gathered up the ash from that horn and it had been resurrected to its former condition. [these speculations are pursued already in commentaries on the oldest text of *Pirke* de Rabbi Eliezer. Ed.]


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:3
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:13:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:13:3)

**המה יעלו בהר.**כתב ר' אברהם על זקנים ולא אחרים ולא ידעתי למה לא יעלו כלם כיון שניתנה רשות ונסתלקה שכינה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
המה יעלו בהר,”they may ascend the Mountain.” According to Ibn Ezra permission to ascend the Mountain after the revelation was granted only to the elders but not to the people at large. Personally, I do not understand why the ordinary people should not have been allowed to ascend the Mountain after G’d’s glory had departed from it. [I do not understand the author’s reservations, as in my edition of Ibn Ezra a very plausible case is made for the word המה being restrictive, and referring only to Aaron and the elders who already prior to the revelation had been permitted to approach more closely than the ordinary people. Ed.]


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:14:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:14:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:14:1)

**וירד משה מן ההר.**לומר שגם הדבור שאמר לו השם לך אל העם וקדשתם היום הי' בהר שהי' משה עולה בכל פעם לדבר אתו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וירד משה מן ההר, “Moses descended from the Mountain, etc.” This is mentioned so that we the readers will know that even the instruction to Moses to ensure that the people sanctify themselves on that day and the following day were issued to Moses while he was on the Mountain. Moses ascended the Mountain every time that G’d spoke to him.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:17:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:17:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:17:1)

**ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר.**מלמד שכפה עליהם ההר כגיגית ואע"פ שמעצמם נתרצו ואמרו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע י"מ שלא נתרצו אלא על תורה שבכתב ולא על תורה שבעל פה מדכתיב כל אשר דבר ה' ולא כתיב כל אשר ידבר ה'. ור' יוסף קמחי פי' ודאי כבר נתרצו ואמרו נעשה ונשמע ואחר כך כפה עליהם ההר להראות חיבתו ואמר להם בטוב עשיתם שנתרציתם שאם היית' מסרבים לא הייתי מניחכם כאשר הנחתי לשאר האומות:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, “they positioned themselves (beneath), at the base of the Mountain.” This teaches-as our sages have taught us- that G’d had made the Mountain assume a threatening posture, such as an inverted bucket above one’s head. This exerted psychological pressure on the people to declare their willingness to accept the Torah, as they felt that unless they did so the Mountain would crush them. There are sages who feel that in spite of the previously expressed willingness of the people to accept the Torah, this referred only to the written Torah and not to the oral Torah. The threatening posture of the Mountain persuaded the people to also accept the oral Torah. The background to that interpretation is the wording of the people who had said כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע, “everything that *Hashem* has said we will do and learn to do.” They had not said: “everything G’d is going to say we will do, etc.”
 Rabbi Joseph Kimchi disagrees, claiming that the people’s acceptance had been comprehensive. The posture of the Mountain is to be understood as something after the event, G’d hinting that the people had done well to accept the Torah already, as a refusal might have had dire consequences, to wit the mountain collapsing upon them. G’d hinted that although He could put up with the refusal of the other nations to accept His Torah, He would not have come to terms with the Israelites’ refusal.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:19:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:19:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:19:1)

**משה ידבר והאלהים יעננו בקול.**פירש"י על י' דברות שאמרם לישראל והאלהים יעננו בקול שמסייעו לתת בו כח להשמיע הקול. וי"מ יעננו בקול כי מתחלה קודם שיצא הקול היה משה מודיע הדבור לישראל ואומר להם כוונו דעתיכם כי עתה תשמעו קול בענין כך ומיד האלהים יעננו באותו הקול ומשמיעו לעם כענין שאמר להם משה תחלה שישמעוהו. ופי' הרמב"ן דלאו אעשרת הדברות קאמר אלא ביום השלישי ירד ה' אל ההר ויתיצבו הם בתחתית ההר ומשה עלה למעלה קרוב לראש ההר ומדבר עם ישראל להורותם מה יעשו וישראל שומעים קול השם שעונהו ומצוהו על מה שכתוב אחר כך בפרשת רד העד בהם והם אינם מבינים מה מדבר עמו והוא מפרשו להם והי' זה קודם מתן תורה וגם בשעת הדברות כי משה לא עלה אל הערפל אשר שם האלהים עד לאחר מתן תורה. ור' אברהם כתב אע"פ שהי' קול השופר חזק וכל השומעו יחרד הי' באות' שעה מדבר והאלהים עונהו בקול שהי' שומע הוא לבדו ולא ימנענו השופר מלשמעו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
משה ידבר והאלוקים יעננו בקול, “whenever Moses would speak, G’d would answer in an audible voice.” *Rashi* understands this line as referring to the Ten Commandments, the ones inscribed subsequently on the Tablets. G’d lent extra power to Moses’ voice [who proclaimed the last eight of these Commandments. Ed.] so that all the people could hear it.
 Other commentators understand the words יעננו בקול to mean that Moses had prepared the people beforehand that they should concentrate, as they were about to hear the sound of G’d’s voice. Immediately thereafter Moses concluded saying this, G’d would intone the Ten Commandments.
 Nachmanides does not consider our verse as referring to the Ten Commandments, but to the message that G’d would descend onto the Mountain on the third day (6th of Sivan) at which time the people were to be positioned at the bottom of the Mountain, whereas Moses would have ascended close to the summit of the Mountain and would speak to the Israelites from that position to instruct them what to do next. The Israelites would hear the sound of G’d’s voice as He answered Moses and instructed him in what is recorded later in the Torah commencing with the words רד העד בעם, in verse 21. Whereas the people hear G’d speaking to Moses, they did not understand what G’d was saying to him. This is why Moses explained to them what he had been told. All of this took place before the giving of the Torah. At the time the Ten Commandments were being given, things were not materially different, as Moses had entered the thick cloud behind which G’d’s glory was hidden, only after the conclusion of the giving of the Ten Commandments. In the interval he had been standing within full view of the people, though partly up the Mountain.
 Ibn Ezra writes that although the sound of the blast of the *shofar* was overpoweringly strong, so much so that all who heard it were trembling, at the time when G’d spoke to Moses and the people, he alone could hear [understand] the voice of G’d and was not distracted by the sound of the *shofar* blasts.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:21:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:21:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:21:1)

**רד וגו'.**זה היה קודם מ"ת ואף בשעת מ"ת לא עלה אל הערפל אשר שם האלקים רק לאחר מ"ת וכן כתיב אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
רד, “descend!” this happened prior to the giving of the Torah, and also when the Torah was given Moses did not ascend into the thick cloud where G’d was manifest. He did so only after the conclusion of the Ten Commandments having been given. This is why he refers to himself as אנכי עומד בין ה' ובינכם, “I was standing between you and *Hashem.”* (Deut. 5.5)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:23:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 19:23:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/19:23:1)

**לא יוכל העם לעלות.**יש תמהין על דברי משה אל ה' לא יוכל העם לעלות ומפרשים שהוא כדרך שליח החוזר אל המשלח לומר עשיתי שליחותך כך חזר לשם לומר כבר הגבלתי ההר ולא יוכל העם לעלות כאשר צויתני. ור' אברהם פי' כי השם אמר למשה רד העד בעם ולא ידע משה מה צורך שיעיד בעם כי כבר העיד בהם על כן אמר לא יוכל העם לעלות ועל כן אמר לו השם כאשר צותיך שתעיד בהם כי השם לבדו יודע שצריך להעיד בהם שנית. וי"מ שבא עתה להוסיף ולאסור אפי' מרחוק וזהו שנאמר פן יהרסו לעלות אל ה' לראות ולא נהירא דהא בתר הכי כתיב אל יהרסו לעלות אם לא שנאמר השיבו בהר העידותה בם שלא לעלות ועל הראיי' אי אפשר להם לעמוד בה שלא לראות ואז אמר לו הקב"ה א"כ יהיה כדבריך ואל תעיד בם אלא על העלייה: **לשון א"א הרא"ש ז"ל.** פן יהרסו אל ה' לראות וגו'. קשה לי וכי הזהירם הקב"ה על הראיי' זו היא גזירה שאין הציבור יכול לעמוד בה וגם לא הזהירם למעלה כי אם על העליי' ועל הנגיעה וגם בתר הכי כתיב אל יהרסו לעלות ועוד הקב"ה אמר למשה פן יהרסו לראות ומשה השיב לא יוכל העם לעלות ונראה לי לפרש שאמר הקב"ה למשה שיוסיף להם התראה פן יהרסו מעצמם לעבור התחום מתוך שהם תאבים לראות ומתוך שמחתם בראיית זיו השכינה תנוח דעתם ויעברו בלי התבוננות וגם הכהנים אל יסמכו להתקרב ואמר משה לא יוכלו לעלות כי כבר ההר מוגבל סביב ואמר לו הקב"ה לך רד ועלית אתה ואהרן שיראו שאהרן עולה שמא יראו ויהיו סבורין שהותרו לעלות לכן הזהיר הכהנים והעם ע"כ:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
לא יוכל העם לעלות, “the people are unable to ascend, etc.” Some people have trouble understanding the words of Moses here, for who prevented the people from ascending if they wanted to? We must understand the words of Moses as being the words of a messenger who reports back to the sender that he had carried out his mission, in this instance, that as a result of Moses having carried out his mission to warn the people not to ascend the Mountain, they were as of that point in time unable to ascend the Mountain.
 Ibn Ezra explains that G’d told Moses to descend and to warn the people, but that Moses did not see the need to warn them about anything, seeing that he had already done so. This is why he said to G’d that the people are unable to ascend the Mountain. In response to Moses’ [naïve belief?. Ed.] ] that the warning received was sufficient, G’d told him that the warning had to be repeated. It was only G’d Who knew if the first warning had been sufficient.
 Some commentators feel that the warning at this time included an additional warning not even to approach the forbidden area too closely. This is the reason for the additional words פן יהרסו אל ה' לראות, “they shall not break through to behold, etc.” I do not believe that this interpretation is acceptable, seeing that the Torah writes later in verse 24 specifically אל יהרסו לעלות אל ה' פן יפרץ בם, “the people must not break trough in order to ascend, lest G’d in His turn will burst forth against them.” The last mentioned interpretation is tenable only if we assume that Moses had told G’d on his most recent ascent that he had warned the people not only not to ascend, but also not to behold what they thought was the manifestation of *Hashem.* Seeing that it is impossible for Moses to enforce a ban on looking at something from a distance, G’d would then have amended His command and told Moses to warn them only against ascending.
 An approach to these verses by my sainted father the רא'ש. The words פן יהרסו אל ה' לראות, (verse 21) are problematic, for how could G’d issue a decree that the people would in the main be unable to honour? Such a prohibition was also not included in the warning in verse 12 not to ascend the mountain or to touch its edge. The only thing which had been forbidden then was the ascent and the touching of the Mountain. We find the warning not to ascend the Mountain repeated once more in verse 24. G’d told Moses in addition that the people were not to look at the Mountain. Concerning the second prohibition not to ascend the Mountain, Moses said to G’d that this was impossible as the people had already been warned concerning this. To this G’d replied to Moses that it was necessary to warn them again so that in their understandable enthusiasm to get a glimpse of the revelation, they would not expose themselves to mortal danger. G’d told Moses to descend and to ensure this together with Aaron. When the people would see that Aaron had also descended before the revelation, even though he had previously been allowed to approach more closely to the Mountain, they would realise that if a closer approach spelled danger even for Aaron and the priests, it would certainly be very dangerous for them to expose themselves to G’d’s anger if they were to ignore the warning.