בחודש השלישי, “in the third month.” This was the month of Sivan. The words ביום הזה mean that it was the first day of the month. This is the day normally called חדש, such as in Samuel I 20,24 ויהי החדש וישב המלך אל הלחם לאכול, “It was on חדש and the King sat down to eat.” Another example of the word חדש referring to New Moon is found in the same chapter of the Book of Samuel three verses later: We read ויהי ממחרת החדש השני ויפקד מקום דוד, “It was on the second day of the New Moon celebration that David’s seat remained empty.” The verse teaches you amongst other things that they observed two days of New Moon. This is what King Saul referred to when he inquired speaking to his son Yonathan: “why did the son of Yishai not appear either yesterday or today for the meal?” Our sages in Shabbat 86 also state that the words ביום הזה mean that the Israelites arrived in the desert of Sinai on the first day of the month. They base this on the use of the word הזה in our verse here and the expression החדש הזה לכם in Exodus 12,2.

באו מדבר סיני, “they arrived in the desert Sinai.” This is another word for חורב of which we heard in Exodus 3,1 that Moses came to the mountain of G’d, to Chorev. Concerning this mountain G’d had told Moses at the time: “when I make you take the people out of Egypt you will serve G’d at this mountain.” (Exodus 3,12).

ויסעו מרפידים, “they journeyed from Refidim.” This means that on the day they journeyed from Refidim it was New Moon and they arrived later that day at the desert of Sinai. The words ויבואו מדבר סיני ויחנו במדבר, mean that they arrived in the desert on that day, resting, but on the second of the month they made camp facing the mountain. This is why the Torah writes ויחן שם ישראל ההר, “Israel encamped facing the mountain.” The reason the word ויחן is in the singular here whereas at all other reports of the Israelites making camp it is in the plural, i.e. ויחנו, is the Torah’s way of complimenting the people for their unity of purpose when preparing to receive the Torah. A Midrash (mentioned in Torah Shleimah note 28) claims that the reason for the singular of ויחן is that the word ישראל in our verse is a reference to ישראל סבא, the concept of the people of Israel as envisaged in the name Israel the patriarch. The author of that Midrash clearly distinguishes between the Torah speaking of בני ישראל traveling or camping respectively, and ישראל or מחנה ישראל in 12,37 and here. When the word בני in front of ישראל is absent, he understands the reference to be not to the physical people of Israel but to the spiritual entity it or they represent. The words נגד ההר, a slightly unusual expression, is to be understood as if the Torah had written כנגד ההר, “opposite the mountain.” According to the plain meaning of the text the words נגד ההר mean “to the east of the mountain” (compare Pessikta Zutrata). Moses was told on that very day (second of the month) “so you shall say to the House of Yaakov and relate to Children of Israel” (verse 3). The Torah mentioned women and men separately as there are many commandments which apply equally to both men and women. G’d continued with: “you have seen what I did to Egypt,” and continued in verse 5 with: “and now, if you will hearken well and observe My covenant, etc.” The people responded to the above (verse 8) “all that the Lord has said we will do. On the third day of the month Moses ascended the mountain again and informed G’d of the people’s response (end of verse 8). On the fourth of the month G’d told Moses: “go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow” (verse 10). G’d referred to the fourth and fifth of the month. The words: “be ready for the third day” refer to the sixth of the month, i.e. the third day of their sanctification. From the above you observe that the Torah was given on the sixth day of Sivan.

Our sages (Rabbi Akiva) say in Shabbat 86 that the Torah was given on the Sabbath. Rabbi Yossi held that the Torah (Ten Commandments) was given on the seventh of the month. Rava added that both scholars are in agreement that the Torah was given on the Sabbath. When the Torah writes in 20,8 זכור את יום השבת, and the same words are used in 13,3 זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים, (the word זכור being in the infinitive both times) this serves as the reason for both scholars agreeing that both events occurred on the same day of the week, i.e. on the Sabbath. The matter under dispute between these two scholars was only the day of the week on which the first day of Sivan occurred. Rabbi Yossi held that New Moon was on the preceding Sunday, whereas Rabbi Akiva (and the other scholars) held that New Moon in that year occurred on the Monday. Although there is a rule in the Talmud that when Rabbi Yossi’s opinion differs from his peers his opinion is preferred because he always supplied a good reason for his opinion (compare Gittin 67), in this instance the halachah was fixed according to the opinion of the other scholars, the majority. Accordingly, our tradition is that the Israelites arrived in the desert of Sinai on Monday and encamped in front of Mount Sinai on the second of the month, i.e. on Tuesday after having left their initial resting place in that desert. The fact that the Torah was given on the Sabbath is recorded in our עמידה prayer every Sabbath morning when we say ישמח משה במתנת חלקו “Moses was full of joy with the portion allotted to him.” He rejoiced that it had been his good fortune to hand over G’d’s Torah to the Jewish people on that memorable Sabbath.

כה תאמר לבית יעקב, “So you shall say to the House of Yaakov.” Moses was to address the women. The word כה means he was to speak to them in Hebrew. The word תאמר means he was to speak to them kindly. The reason G’d told Moses to address the women first was to teach them ethics and general rules of behavior. Furthermore, in order to make the women receptive for further Torah legislation, Moses gave them an overview of the headings and subject matters that the Torah contains. They needed special preparation for all this as their minds function differently from the minds of men, seeing that their daily tasks did not allow them so much free time to think about their spiritual needs as did the minds of the men. Moreover, a good woman is the main reason Torah has a future. The mother encourages her young son to attend a Torah-academy; seeing she is at home throughout the day she is the one who responds to the various needs, both real and imagined, of her children. She protects them against all kinds of dangers. She does all this so that he will cleave to the path of Torah also when he becomes old (Proverbs 22,6). This is why it is incumbent upon a woman to pray to G’d at the time she lights the Sabbath candles, a commandment which is especially addressed to her, that He may grant her children who will learn Torah and observe its precepts. Any prayer is more likely to evoke a positive response when it is offered at a time when one performs a commandment. The merit acquired by lighting the Sabbath candles which provide physical light helps her children to become Torah scholars. This is alluded to by Solomon in Proverbs 6,23 כי נר מצוה ותורה אור, that by lighting a candle to provide physical light when one is performing a מצוה, the result will be the spiritual light dispensed by her children who have studied Torah.

ותגיד לבני ישראל, “and tell the Children of Israel.” He commanded them to both instruct and warn them to observe the commandments as well as to acquaint them with the penalties in store if they would fail to observe G’d’s laws. This is implied in the word תגיד, i.e. the word is derived from גידין, “wormwood,” an extremely bitter vegetable. The word is spelled with the letter י in the middle to remind us of the connection with גידין. There is no other occasion in the whole Bible where the word הגדה, telling, informing, is spelled with the letter י such as here. Compare Joshua 7,19 and Isaiah 58,1 where the word הגד refers to revealing one’s sins. Even in those instances we do not find the letter י. This explains why our sages (Shabbat 87) have seen fit to interpret the word here as they did.

אתם ראיתם את אשר עשיתי למצרים, “You have seen what I have done to Egypt.” At the outset G’d explains to the Jewish people that the matter of His personal benevolent supervision of their fate is the basic tenet of Judaism and the Torah. When G’d sets out to punish one nation for their sins and to save another nation from them on account of its merits, this is one of the miracles which is part of G’d’s special supervision and of the whole concept of reward and punishment. In order to underline this G’d reminded the Israelites by saying: “Look at what I have done to Egypt.” G’d performed all this in front of the eyes of the Israelites so that they would have visual evidence of His personal involvement in their fate. G’d contrasted what He had done to the Egyptians with what He had done for the Israelites when He continued with: “I have carried you on eagles’ wings and brought You to Me (to this Mountain).” The simile was meant to describe how G’d had protected the Israelites, just as an eagle protects its young. Mechilta (Bachodesh item 2) describes the simile of the eagle in these words: an eagle, the king of the birds, is not afraid of another bird attacking it from above but is afraid of an arrow from below; therefore the eagle carries its young on its wings whereas other birds carry their young in their claws below their wings as they fear that an eagle might swoop down upon them from above. The eagle’s reason for carrying its young on its wings is documented in Deut. 32,11 when Moses extols what G’d had done in these words: “He was like an eagle arousing its nest, hovering over its young.” The eagle reasons that it is better for an arrow to pierce it than to pierce its young. When the Israelites departed from Egypt and entered the Sea of Reeds the Egyptians were pursuing them; at that time G’d arranged for two pillars one of fire and one of cloud to separate them from the Egyptians who were behind. The Egyptians were shooting arrows in the general direction of the camp of the Israelites. These arrows were absorbed by the pillar of cloud not causing any harm to their targets.

If, according to this Midrash, the Torah meant to describe G’d’s love for the Israelites as similar to the love of the eagle for its young, the Torah should have written: here: “I have carried you on the wings of an eagle (sing.).” Why the word נשרים in the plural? Perhaps the reason the Torah writes נשרים, “eagles,” is to allude to the fact that G’d did not only interpose Himself between the Israelites and the Egyptians as a single pillar but as two pillars, one of cloud and one of fire. The fact is that the Torah reported as soon as the Israelites had journeyed from Raamses (Exodus 12,37), that there traveled with them both a pillar of cloud by day to show them the way and a pillar of fire to light up the night for them. These two pillars took up positions behind the Israelites only after the Egyptians had mounted a pursuit and were in a threatening position (14,19).

והייתם לי סגולה, “you shall be My treasured possession;” any treasure which is hidden is called סגולה, it is the kind of treasure which is most dear and beloved to a king and something which he constantly keeps under his personal control. They are matters which the king does not entrust even to his closest ministers or officials. Kohelet 2,8 speaks of such a situation, i.e. “and the treasure of kings and the provinces.” The reason G’d said מכל העמים in our verse is to contrast the other nations whose entire fate is being monitored by G’d’s agents rather than by G’d Himself with the Jewish people whose fate is monitored by G’d Himself. The Torah is even more outspoken about the fact that the fate of the 70 nations has been delegated to His agents in Deut. 4,19-20 “which Hashem has apportioned to all the peoples,....but Hashem has taken you and withdrawn you from the crucible of Egypt to be a nation of heritage to Him.”

כי לי כל הארץ, “for the whole earth is Mine,” and I have not chosen any other nation except you. A kabbalistic approach: I have already discussed that the word כל is reference to an attribute of G’d in Genesis 1,1 where the terms השמים and הארץ have been discussed.

ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, “and you are to be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The plain meaning of these words is that “you will be My share.” G’d calls the Jewish people “kings, priests, and holy nation,” at the time they received the Torah in order to make clear that he who wears the כתר תורה, the crown of Torah, also has attained the stature of the other two crowns i.e. priesthood and Royalty. This is the meaning of the statement by the sages in Horiot 13 that the meaning of Proverbs 3,15: “she (wisdom, read Torah) is more precious than rubies.” Seeing that the “crown” of Torah includes the two other crowns it is more precious than rubies. Although the High Priest (crown of priesthood) may enter the Holy of Holies, a great distinction, the crown of Torah is superior even to that distinction.

A kabbalistic approach: the meaning of the words ממלכת כהנים is equivalent to writing ממלכת משרתים, “a kingdom of servants of the Lord.” This definition of the Jewish people applies to their role in the terrestrial world. The definition גוי קדוש applies to the function of the Jewish people in the hereafter. Grammatically speaking, the word גוי is a possessive, i.e. “nation of.” This means גוי קדוש should be translated as “a nation belonging to The Holy One.” We have a similar construction in Isaiah 26,2 ויבא גוי צדיק, “the nation belonging to the Righteous One came.” Basically, our verse assures the Jewish people of a dominant role both on earth and beyond.

כל אשר דבר ה’ נעשה, “all that Hashem has said we shall do.” They gave thanks and accepted for themselves the yoke of Torah and the commandments, doing so willingly [under no physical or psychological pressure. Ed.] Seeing that our sages said (Shabbat 88) that G’d threatened to bring the mountain down on them if they did not accept the Torah, and that they would be buried on the spot, how do we reconcile this verse here which clearly indicates voluntary acceptance of the Torah? Answer: our verse refers to acceptance of the written Torah. The subject discussed in the Talmud Shabbat was the oral Torah. G’d put the Israelites under psychological pressure to accept the oral Torah as well. Seeing that the oral Torah includes the thousands of Rabbinic decrees (by reason of the authority vested by the written Torah in the Rabbis) there was a need to apply such pressure. The written Torah, however was accepted joyfully without the need for any coercion whatsoever.

וישב משה, “Moses brought back, etc.” There are commentators who claim that the word וישב does not mean that Moses actually presented G’d with the people’s acceptance of the written Torah. The word וישב means that when Moses set out to inform G’d, G’d already continued to give him new instructions telling him: “Here I will come to you within a thick cloud, etc.” At that point we are to understand the word in verse 10 ויגד משה את דברי העם אל ה’. “Moses informed G’d of the words the people had said.” It is possible to interpret the words וישב משה, as referring to the people saying נעשה, and the words ויגד משה as meaning that Moses conveyed the people’s demand to hear the words in question from G’d directly instead of merely through Moses as an intermediary. (Mechilta baChodesh end of section 2). If we follow this approach then the word יחדו in our verse does not mean that the people responded “in unison,” but that they said two things at one and the same time. 1) They expressed joyful acceptance of the written Torah. 2) They asked to be addressed by G’d directly. G’d had provided them with an opening for such a request when He had said in verse 5 (condensed) “if you will hearken to MY VOI‎CE, etc. you will be something special.” This is why Moses told G’d, ויגד, that the people wanted to hear His voice, i.e. as a substitute for seeing Him.

בעב הענן, “in the thickness of the cloud.” This is the cloud called ערפל, (20,18, Deut. 4,11). In the former verse the Torah says specifically: אשר שם האלו-הים “in which the attribute אלו-הים was (hidden).” Everybody present could not fail to recognize this as we know from 24,17: “the appearance of the glory of G’d was like consuming fire at the top of the mountain.” The instructions G’d gave to Moses in our verse were: ”I come to you in the thickness of the cloud so that the people will hear (My words) when I speak with you” (so that they themselves will attain the spiritual stature of prophets). Their belief in you will not be predicated on what they hear from others but on what they hear from Me directly. Compare Deut. 4,10: “when G’d said to me: ‘assemble the people to Me and I will let them hear My words so that they will learn to fear Me, etc.’” Here too, G’d added that the people would forever more believe in Moses. The meaning of these words is that if there were to arise in Moses’ life time a false prophet opposing Moses, the people would not even listen to what he had to say but would deny his legitimacy at once. They would do so because they themselves had attained sufficient prophetic stature to know that everything Moses did or said was divinely inspired. G’d reconfirmed all this to Aaron and Miriam when they dared to compare their level of prophecy and intimacy with G’d to that of Moses (Compare Numbers 12,6-8). When the people are quoted in Deut. 5,21 as having said at Mount Sinai: “this day we have seen that Hashem will speak to a person and he can live,” they referred to this experience of theirs that if G’d wants it this is possible.” From this experience they drew the conviction that Moses had attained the highest level of prophecy possible.

וקדשתם היום ומחר, “sanctify them today and tomorrow.” The meaning of the “sanctity” is that they were not to indulge in sexual relations with their wives (Pessikta Zutrata). They were also to avoid contact with any ritually impure object or creature. Anyone who consciously refrains from such contact is referred to as קודש, holy.

וכבסו שמלותם, “and that they wash their garments.” From the instruction that they were to wash their clothing we derive that they were also to immerse their bodies in a ritual bath. Compare Mechilta (bachodesh section 3) that wherever the Torah mentions the requirement to wash one’s clothing, the need to immerse one’s body in a ritual bath is an automatic corollary.

אם בהמה אם איש לא יחיה, “whether animal or beast he shall not live.” The word בהמה in our verse does not refer to four-legged animals; it refers to the wicked people who are deemed no better than animals. The Torah tells the Jewish people that regardless of whether the person touching the mountain is an otherwise righteous person or whether he is a wicked person he will not survive touching even the edge (beyond what was fenced off) of the mountain. When Solomon in Kohelet 3,21 wrote: מי יודע רוח בני האדם העולה היא למעלה ורוח הבהמה היורדת היא למטה לארץ, “who knows the spirit of man which ascends on high or the spirit of the animal which descends downwards, to earth,” he did not refer to actual animals. He referred to the soul of the sinner which descends just as the “soul” (abstract life-force) of an animal perishes with the body it inhabits, to the soul of the righteous which ascends when the body it had inhabited dies. Solomon’s question (rhetorical if you will) was “while both people are alive on this earth, the sinner and the righteous, how can we know what is in store for a certain person? Do we humans know who is a צדיק and who is a רשע, i.e. a בהמה?” Solomon teaches that while we are in this world מקרה אחד לכל לצדיק ולרשע כמות זה כן מות זה, “while on earth both the righteous and the wicked appear to share the same fate, i.e. death of the body.” (Kohelet 3,19-20). Verse 21 refers to verse 20 preceding it where death for every creature made of dust is described, thus placing different people on the same level. However, this changes the moment these differing personalities no longer have a body. The same is true in our verse. In this life it makes no difference whether a person is wicked or righteous, לא יחיה, he will not live forever. The very fact that the comparison between the wicked and the just is limited to לא יחיה, neither of them escaping physical death, is what makes it plain that as soon as death of the body has occurred the fate of the righteous and that of the wicked will become radically different from one another. Whereas the words לא יחיה apply to the wicked both in this world and in the next, the same words when applied to the righteous refer only to his life on earth, not to his life after the death of his body. Proof is found in the fact that Nadav and Avihu who died for transgressing the commandment not to touch the mountain were nevertheless accorded life in the hereafter. This is why we read about their death on Yom Kippur. [This presupposes, as has been mentioned in several Midrashim, that they had been guilty of death before the day they died but that their death and the manner of their death had been delayed due to a variety of considerations culminating in their bringing incense into the Sanctuary. The words בקרבתם לפני ה’, וימותו “due to their coming close to the presence of G’d they died” (Leviticus 16,1) refer to their touching the mountain. Ed.]

במשך היובל, “during the long blast of the shofar.” The plain meaning of the verse is that when a long blast of the shofar would be heard this would signal the departure of the Shechinah from Mount Sinai. At that time the rule restricting the Israelites from touching or ascending the mountain would be relaxed. The word היובל is a reference to the ram’s horn, according to Rashi the horn of the ram Avraham had sacrificed instead of Yitzchak. What Rashi meant was that although that ram had been burned up as an עולה, a burnt-offering which is completely burned up including its horns, G’d had resurrected it to its original condition. In Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 31 we read the view of Rabbi Chanina ben Dotha who held that the ram in question had been created at dusk of the sixth day of creation (Avot 5,6) and that none of its parts went to waste. The ash of the flesh was used in constructing the golden altar inside the Sanctuary. The tendons became the ten strings of David’s harp. The skin became the belt used by the prophet Elijah to gird his loins. He bases this on Kings II 1,8: ”a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” “That is Elijah the Tishbite, he said.” The right horn of that ram served as the horn which will announce his coming in the future as we know from Isaiah 27,13 ”and in that day a great ram’s horn will be sounded and the strayed who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord in Jerusalem on the holy mount.” The left horn was the one used at the revelation of Mount Sinai in our verse. Thus far Rabbi Chanina ben Dotha. Our sages in the beginning of the first chapter of Masechet Yom Tov use this verse to prove that anything which had been forbidden by a court comprised of a certain number of judges cannot be permitted again by another court unless it comprises a greater number of judges than the previous court (Megillah 2). This is also what is meant in Beitzah 5: “seeing the Torah had already written that ‘also sheep and cattle shall not graze facing the mountain’ (34,3), why was it necessary to write that when a long blast would be sounded on the ram’s horn this would signal the “all clear?” [We have a principle מתוך לאו אתה שומע הן, “from the conditions attached to a prohibition, you can judge when such a prohibition does no longer apply.” Ed] The Torah wrote the verse only to teach us that unless specifically permitted by a competent authority even a temporary prohibition unless it had a specific time limit to start with needs to be specifically permitted again.”

A Kabbalistic approach: The words במשוך היובל, “at the long blast of the horn,” are actually an allusion to פחד יצחק, the attribute which distinguished Yitzchak, especially when he was bound on the altar ready to give his life for G’d. This attribute also known as גבורה was attained by the entire Jewish nation at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai. They did not reach the level of verbalizing anything. They heard a (sound) voice [at that point], that was all. This is what ויחרד כל העם, “all the people trembled in awe (without verbalizing any response)” is all about, just as we read in connection with Yitzchak ויחרד יצחק חרדה גדולה that “Yitzchak was seized by great trembling,” when he found out that the person he had given the blessing to was Yaakov (Genesis 27,33). I have already dealt with this subject in Genesis 22,13 on the words והנה איל אחר נאחז בסך בקרניו. [page 341-342 in my translation. Ed.]

והגבלת את ההר, “and you shall fence off the mountain.” The idea is to set a boundary approximately 2000 cubits distant from the mountain to prevent accidental infraction of G’d’s command.

כל הנוגע בהר מות יומת, “whoever touches the mountain shall be executed.” Anyone actually guilty of ascending the mountain would most certainly also die. לא תגע בו יד, “you are not to touch it by hand.” Seeing that the Torah had already said: “anyone touching it will be executed,” why did the Torah have to write these words? The meaning is that the death penalty to be administered to someone violating the commandment does not involve touching the convicted person by hand such as death administered by the sword or by strangulation as opposed to shooting arrows, but the penalty is stoning which occurs at a distance from the victim. This is why the Torah elaborates כי סקול יסקל או ירה ייראה, “he shall be stoned or thrown down.”

ויהי ביום השלישי בהיות הבקר, “it was on the third day, during the morning,” the third day after they started sanctifying themselves, the sixth day of the month. ויהי קולות וברקים, “and there was thunder and lightning.” The “voices” which we translated as “thunder” were those of the angels praising the Lord each and every morning, as we know from Job 38,7: “when the morning stars sang together and all the divine beings shouted for joy.” The “lightning” also referred to angels, a different group. We know that angels are described as lightning from Psalms 104,4: “He makes the winds His messengers, fiery flames His servants.” We also find this thought reflected in Ezekiel 1,13: “this fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire.” וענן כבד, and “heavy cloud.” The purpose of that was to separate between the angels and the people. If the Israelites had seen the angels they would have become frightened. We have a verse describing something similar occurring in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1,4) ”a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance;” this was followed (verse 5) by: “in the center of it were also the figures of four creatures.” The foregoing is a relatively new interpretation of this verse by Rabbeinu Chananel. It does not contradict, and must not be understood as contradicting the plain meaning of the words, i.e. that it was a cloudy day, that the קולות וברקים were thunder and lightning accompanied by some rain. This is in line with the plain meaning of Judges 5,4 where Devorah describes the weather on the day of the battle against Siserah, saying: “the earth trembled; the heavens dripped; yea the clouds dripped water. Mountains quaked, etc.” Rabbeinu Chananel’s explanation may be viewed as perhaps the foremost amongst the proverbial 70 facets according to which the written Torah may be explained. The cloud came first, followed by lightning and thunder, as is usual on such days. The reason the Torah does not report events in that order may have been to give prominence to the sound of the shofar. Had the Torah described events in their chronological order then the reader would have made a conceptual linkage between the words קולות and קול שופר, something which would have been wrong. By mentioning the thunder first, the Torah made certain that we would not associate the blast of the shofar with ordinary thunder experienced on that day. The difference between the sound of the thunder and the sound of the blast of the shofar may be described as similar to the difference between physical and spiritual sensations man experiences.

ויוצא משה את העם לקראת האלו-הים מן המחנה, “Moses took the people toward G’d out of the camp.“ The “camp” mentioned here was the camp of the 600,000 Israelites. The words לקראת האלו-הים mean toward the “camp of G’d”, i.e. the area where the ministering angels who had descended from heaven had made their camp. According to Tanchuma Tetzaveh 11 the number of ministering angels who had assembled there matched the number of male adult Israelites. When Yaakov (Genesis 32,3) “saw the camp of G’d” this is what he saw already at the time. He named the camp מחנים, “two camps,” as he envisaged a “return trip” by these angels to earth on the occasion of the revelation at Mount Sinai. Alternately, he envisaged the two camps, the Israelites and the angels taking up position, one opposite the other. In Song of Songs 7,1 Solomon referred to these two camps when he said: כמחולות המחנים, “as a dance by angels.” Solomon mentions the word שובי, “turn back,” four times in that verse in Song of Songs as the Jewish people experienced four periods of exile during each of which they were urged by their host countries to abandon their religion in favour of the local religions. We, nowadays, who are in the fourth of these exiles are the subject of the last of these four שובי, i.e. to us applies the author’s paraphrasing שובי ונחזה בך, “return so that we may make out of you rulers, people in authority.” based on Yitro’s use of the words ואתה תחזה מכל העם, “and you appoint from among all the people, etc.” (Exodus 18,21). In Shir Hashirim Rabbah our sages interpret the word שולמית [a word occurring in lieu of the name Israel, Ed.] as a composite of אומה אשר שלום העולמים דר בתוכה“a nation in whose midst dwells the One Who represents eternal peace.” That nation is perceived as responding: מה תחזו בשולמית, “what authority can you possibly offer to a nation such as me?” Israel shuns all that the nations of the world have to offer as they cannot match what we have already experienced at Mount Sinai when we were chosen by G’d as His people. This is the meaning of the words כמחולות מחנים, it is impossible to duplicate the joy that pervaded the Jewish people when they saw themselves as paired with 600,000 angels, their equal, at least. Our sages in Taanit 31 have elaborated on this theme when they said that in the future G’d will arrange dances for the righteous in Gan Eden. In view of all this the “Shulamit” spurned all the offers from the Gentile nations to accord them honour and distinction. Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 29,2 have further stated that 22,000 angels participated at that sacred site. They were the angels closest to the Shechinah, closer than the 600,000 angels we mentioned already They are referred to in Psalms 68,18 as רכב אלו-הים רבותם אלפי שנאן, “G’d’s chariots are myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands.” The number of these angels corresponded to the number of 22,000 Levites who had taken up position around the Holy Ark which was within the Tabernacle. Psalms 144,15 proclaims “hail to the people who have experienced this.” At the time the people saw the 4 figures Ezekiel had seen surrounding the throne of G‘d. This is alluded to in the word שנאן which is an acrostic for the creatures supporting the throne of G’d in Ezekiel’s vision i.e. שור, אריה, נשר, plus the letter ן which symbolizes אדם. Five major angels named אוריאל, רפאל, גבריאל, מיכאל, (נוריאל) were seen by the Israelites at that time, the first four representing whole encampments surrounding the Shechinah and presided over by the fifth angel נוריאל who “rode” above the others. This concept has been called ארגמן by Solomon when he wrote in Song of Songs that G’d’s chariot is Argaman (Song of Songs 3,10). The idea described at length in Bamidbar Rabbah 2,2 of the reason for the Jewish camp being provided with flags also goes back to what they experienced a few months earlier when they saw the flags held by the angels. This evoked in them a desire to be given flags also, a request which G’d honored at the time the Tabernacle was erected. According to another Midrash the experience of listening to G’d’s voice at Mount Sinai was of such overwhelming proportions that each time the people heard a word (commandment) their soul escaped their bodies. They were revived immediately, i.e. they experienced multiple resurrections on that day. This is also alluded to in Song of Songs 5,6 when Israel is quoted as recalling: נפשי יצאה בדברו, “my soul departed when He spoke.” A similar Midrash is found in Devarim Rabbah according to which the sun stood still five times for the sake of Moses; they were the day of the Exodus, the day the Israelites had crossed the Sea of Reeds; the day of the battle against Amalek; the day on which the Torah was given, and on the day the Israelites observed the rivers of blood in the river Arnon (Numbers 21,14-15).

ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, “they stood at attention at the bottom of the mountain,” below the mountain, beyond the area of approx. 2,000 cubits which Moses had fenced off.

The glory of G’d was on the top of the mountain. We know this because the Torah writes in 19,20 that “G’d descended onto the top of the mountain.” We also have a verse in Exodus 24,17 that “the appearance of G’d was like consuming fire on top of the mountain.” All of the Israelites stood at the farthest end of the mountain. Moses was allowed to enter into the cloud and ascend the mountain, as we know from 24,18 as well as from 19,9. The expression עב הענן refers to a dark cloud within which the Presence of G’d was concealed. The word חשך in our context means a type of fire (compare our comments on Genesis 1,2, page 5 my translation). The whole verse in Deut 4,11 must be understood as the following sequence: “and the mountain was burning with fire until the heart of the heaven; חשך, ענן, וערפל. The word חשך refers to a fire as we explained on Genesis 1,2; this was followed by ענן, which in turn was followed by ערפל, also described as עב הענן. In other words, there were 4 separate stages, each one on a higher level than the previous one, each higher level being “inside” the previous one, closer to the core. The lowest and outermost level was that described as תחתית ההר. This was followed by the region called ראש ההר. The next higher region to that was called ענן, whereas the highest region was called עב הענן. We find something parallel to these regions of relatively higher levels of sanctity when comparing the way the Israelite nation organised itself on earth when it erected the Holy Temple. The level of the relatively minimal decree of sanctity, corresponding to the תחתית ההר, was the שער העזרה, the entrance gate to the courtyard of the Temple. The next higher level of sanctity i.e. corresponding to ראש ההר, was the עזרה, the holy courtyard. This was followed by the היכל, the Sanctuary, which corresponded to the level of ענן when compared to what occurred at מתן תורה. Finally, the Holy of Holies, קדשי קדשים, the innermost sanctum of the Holy Temple was what corresponded to what the Torah described as עב הענן at Mount Sinai. This was equivalent to ערפל, the region where G’d concealed Himself.

והר סיני עשן כלו, “and the entire mountain of Sinai was smoking.” The mountain was smoke, not the fire; for the fire which sort of separated between the people and G’d had no smoke. If the Torah nonetheless speaks of כעשן הכבשן “like the smoke of a furnace,” we know that in a parable the comparisons do not have to be accurate This is especially so when physical concepts are being compared to meta-physical phenomena. Seeing that we are terrestrial human beings, bound to concepts which we can visualise, the Torah cannot describe matters of a spiritual nature except by using terms familiar to us from our daily experience on earth. Similarly, we find that Scripture compares even the brilliance of the sun to the beauty of human beings, and the sun’s orbit to the runner circling a certain prescribed route in the stadium in which he races. This is the meaning of Psalms 19,6: “who is like a groom coming forth from his chamber, like a hero, eager to run his course.” Everybody knows that such a comparison between sun and a human runner is not even remotely similar. Nonetheless, the psalmist chose to make this comparison to give us an inkling of what he had in mind. The same thing applies to the prophet Amos 3,8 comparing G’d to a lion when he writes: “a lion has roared, who can but fear? My Lord G’d has spoken, who can but prophesy?” The reason that the prophet arrogated to himself the right to make such blatantly inaccurate comparisons is simply that he wanted to compare the most powerful and fear-inspiring phenomenon amongst earth’s inhabitants to G’d in order to give man the feeling that he must relate with at least as much fear to G’d as he does to a lion. Our sages have termed all these so-called comparisons as דברה תורה כלשון בני אדם, “the Torah having adopted a style of expression with which human beings are familiar” (Berachot 31).

משה ידבר והאלו-הים יעננו בקול, “Moses would speak and G’d would respond to him with a voice.” The fact that the Israelites could hear both Moses and G’d’s response at a distance of 12-13 miles away where the Israelites had their camp was in itself already a miracle. Every Israelite was able to hear Moses clearly. Seeing that simultaneously the blast of the shofar is reported to have been constant though intermittent but did not interfere with Moses’ voice being heard, this clearly added to the magnitude of the miracle. This is why the Torah considered it as appropriate to mention this miracle along with other miraculous happenings on that occasion. The word יעננו, is similar to the verse in Hoseah 2,23 אענה נאם ה’, אענה את השמים, “In that day I will respond declares the Lord; I will respond to the sky.” The word reflects someone’s preparedness to extend assistance.

וירד ה’ על הר סיני, “G’d descended on Mount Sinai.” Whenever the Torah mentions the term “descent or descending” in connection with G’d, the meaning is that He revealed Himself in some form which could be assimilated by one’s mind. The term is similar to וירא אליו ה’ which the Torah (Genesis 18,1) writes when it describes G’d revealing Himself to Avraham. This is also the way Onkelos translates the words וירד ה’ here; in Genesis 18,1 Onkelos uses the very same words for וירא אליו ה’ i.e. ואתגלי השם, “G’d revealed Himself,” except that he uses a different attribute for G’d. Why then did the Torah choose to express a form of גלוי שכינה here as a “descent” instead of as a “vision?” The reason the Torah used the term “descent” here is to remind us that whenever G’d makes Himself perceivable by any of the 5 senses we have been equipped with this could only have been preceded by His “lowering” Himself to the parameters of the terrestrial part of the universe. In this instance, He became “visible” to the entire nation. It had already been announced in verse 11 that on the third day G’d would “descend” before the eyes of the whole people. They had been made aware that when they would observe the glory of G’d in the form of a consuming fire, that behind that “consuming fire” there would be G’d Himself. It did not mean that human eyes would behold an image purporting to be G’d. G’d had told Moses clearly that even he could not have a visual perception of the Essence of G’d while alive (compare Exodus 33,20). What is meant here is simply that the manifestations that the Israelites would experience at the Mountain would convince them that none other than G’d Himself had orchestrated all these phenomena, i.e. that they had “seen” G’d (at work). What happened to the individual Avraham in Genesis 18,1 was similar. Moreover, it is well known that the level of revelation which the patriarchs experienced was not that of the attribute represented by the tetragram but that of שדי, a level which may be compared to שער לה’, the gateway to the attribute י-ה-ו-ה. This is why the Torah added there “he was sitting at the entrance to he tent;” these words were an amplification of the words וירא אליו, “He appeared to him.” The Torah teaches that the level of revelation Avraham enjoyed at the time was one that emanated from the “entrance of the gate,” not from the innermost part of the Sanctuary of G’d. The Torah was at pains to alert us to the fact that the level of revelation the Israelites had at מתן תורה was superior to the revelation Avraham enjoyed in Parshat Vayera.

ונפל ממנו רב, “and many of them would fall.” The choice by the Torah of the word נפל, singular, in connection with רב, many, teaches that even if a single Israelite were to “fall,” i.e. to die or be executed, it would be equivalent to a whole world dying.

וגם הכהנים הנגשים אל ה’, “and also the priests who approach G’d.” The “priests” mentioned here are either the firstborn who would perform the priestly functions in those days, i.e. offer the sacrifices, or it may refer to the sons of Aaron who would be consecrated as priests some time later. This is not so strange as in Genesis 2,14 we read about a river flowing from Gan Eden in the direction of Ashur, a city that would not exist until some 1700 years later.

יתקדשו, “they will be sanctified.” This verse helps us understand Leviticus 10,3 where the two sons of Aaron who died performing a priestly function are described by Moses as בקרובי אקדש, G’d saying: “I will be sanctified by those who are near to Me.” The word קרובי matches נגשים, and the word אקדש corresponds to יתקדשו in our verses here.

פן יפרוץ בהם ה’, “lest the Lord make a breach amongst them.” This was an allusion to their death, for G’d פרץ בהם, “killed them.” G’d did not want to punish them now at the time when the Torah was being given so as not to disturb the communal joy. He waited until the eighth day of the consecration rites to carry out the decree against them (Tanchuma Acharei Mot 6). The word וגם is a reference to the seventy elders.

והכהנים והעם, “and the priests and the people, etc.” The order of things preceding the giving of the Torah (Ten Commandments) was as follows: First G’d commanded Moses “to fence off the people,” i.e. to establish visible boundaries around the mountain which the people were not to breach. This is what Moses referred to in verse 23 when he said to G’d: “the people cannot ascend the mountain for You have warned us “bound the mountain and sanctify it.” What was meant by “bound the people” was the boundary of the mountain. After that G’d told Moses that the people should sanctify themselves and abstain from everything impure for three days including their immersion in a ritual bath and the washing of their garments. Following this procedure, on the morning of the third day, the sixth of Sivan, there was thunder and lightning, a heavy cloud enveloping the mountain, and the blast of the shofar emanating from that direction. At this point G’d’s Shechinah had not yet descended on to the top of the mountain. This is something we learned from Kings I 19,11: when G’d taught Elijah that His manifestation does not occur amidst thunder and lightning, etc. The prophet writes describing that scene: “there was a great and mighty wind splitting mountain and shattering the rocks by the power of the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind, etc.” At that point the Israelites were in the grip of tremors due to the overpowering sound of the thunder (and the chorus of the angels we have described earlier). This is the meaning of verse 16. Moses reassured the people in order to lead them out of the camp toward the manifestation of the Shechinah. Once the people were lined up at the base of the mountain G’d descended on the mountain within the fire, and the smoke rose to the heart of the heaven, dark impenetrable cloud. The mountain itself trembled. This trembling of the mountain intensified causing David to say in Psalms 68,9: “the earth trembled, the sky rained because of G’d, yon Sinai, because of G’d, the G’d of Israel.” The meaning of this verse is that the sky rained fire. The word זה in that verse refers to Mount Sinai burning (the word זה in its aramaic meaning). The prophetic words of Devorah (Judges 5,4) contain similar phraseology i.e. ”the earth trembled, the heavens dripped; Yea the clouds dripped water; the mountains quaked before the Lord, Him of Sinai, before the Lord G’d of Israel.” Another verse describing the mountains as “dancing” like rams is found in Psalms 114,6 These various verses are not to be understood allegorically, just as the line “the sea saw and fled” in the same Psalm is not to be understood as a simile but describes an actual event. Our sages (Megillah 29) state that at the time G’d gave the Ten Commandments these mountains were transferred to the land of Israel and Mount Carmel crossed the sea. When that had happened the blast of the shofar became very strong. When the people observed all this (20,15-18) “the people saw the sounds and the lightning and the sound of the shofar blast.....the people saw and trembled...and stood from afar.”

This all took place prior to the giving of the Torah because the people said to Moses: “you speak to us and we will hear (19,19). Their experience up until that point had already left them enfeebled (compare Daniel 10,16).”my joints shattered and I could retain no strength.” The words: “from afar” mean further away than the fenced off area. Moses told the people that they had nothing to fear, that G’d wanted merely to test them (20,20). At that point they “stood” from afar, i.e. they did not become calm and refused to go up to the boundary set around the mountain. Moses, however, went close to the ערפל without entering that thick cloud. At that point G’d spoke the Ten Commandments.

והכהנים והעם אל יהרסו לעלות אל ה’, “but the priests and the people shall not break through to ascend toward G’d.” Why was this repeated? Had G’d not already issued these instructions in verse 21? It seems that at that point Moses had understood the warning to extend not only to people who were actually going to ascend the mountain, but also to those who would approach the boundary in order to have a visual experience. Concerning this Moses had said to G’d (verse 23) that he had already warned the people that even touching the mountain would carry the death penalty (verses 12-13). Moses had referred to five expressions G’d had used as a form of warning. This was the reason of the otherwise unnecessary letter ה at the end of the word העדותה. Seeing that Moses had misunderstood the extent of the prohibition, G’d made it clear that there was no prohibition to approach the fence, as they had already been warned sufficiently not to go beyond. There was however, a prohibition not to intensify visual appreciation of the spectacle. This was the gist of the instruction: “descend; you and Aaron may ascend” (a certain distance); but the other priests as well as the people must not break through “in order to make a spiritual ascent.” The word לעלות here describes an attempt by people to comprehend by means other than those intended for the acquisition of such comprehension matters which their intellect fails to grasp. Priests and common people are considered on the same level; neither group was to attempt to comprehend what was incomprehensible. Hence the emphasis on the word לראות, “to see,” at the end of the warning in verse 21.

It is worthwhile to examine why the Torah did not add the words את ה’ after the word לראות in that verse. After all, the Torah had written the word אל ה’ in connection with לעלות אל ה’ in our verse here! Perhaps the reason that the Torah did not add these words in verse 21 was so as not to create the impression that it was possible to see G’d although it was forbidden. This is why the word “not to see” was placed at the end of the verse to describe the futility to even attempt to see something which could not be seen. They were to suppress any thought of gaining any visual experience beyond what had already been provided. In other words, verse 21 contains a message similar to that of G’d to Moses in Exodus 33,20: “for no human being can see Me while alive.”