ביום הזה, on the first day of the month.

ויסעו מרפידים ויבאו מדבר סיני. The departure from Refidim was for the express purpose of getting to the desert of Sinai where the mountain of G’d (Chorev) was located. The people knew that once they would arrive there they would worship the Lord there (Exodus 3,12).

And how I bore you on eagles' wings - a novel way, that no one had gone through before, just like the eagle that takes care of its young in the height of the sky, where there is no other type of bird, and this is to distinguish you from all the other peoples and their pursuits, to be for Me.

And you will be a treasure among all peoples - even though all types of humans are important to me above all the lower beings, since He is represented only in them, as say Hazal (Avot): 'Humans are beloved because they were created in the Image' - still, you will be treasured among them

...Because Mine is all the earth - and the difference between you exists in smaller or bigger amounts, despite the fact that the whole earth is Mine, and the Righteous of the Nations are important to Me without a doubt.

ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים, this will make you special for only you will be a kingdom of priests, by teaching and instructing all of mankind to call out in the name of G’d and for all to serve him together. This was to be a forerunner of what will happen in the distant future as predicted by the prophet Isaiah 61,6 “and you will be proclaimed ‘priests’ of the Lord.” This is also the true meaning of כי מציון תצא תורה, “the Torah emanates from Zion.” (Isaiah 2,3) [This statement is attributed to the nations of the world at that time.

וגוי קדוש, never to disappear from the stage of history. You will continue forever to exist as one man, as it will be in the distant future of which the prophet Isaiah 4,3 said “those who survive in Zion and those who will be left over in Jerusalem, all those who are inscribed for life in Jerusalem- shall be called ‘holy’.” [the author is making the point that somebody called קדוש is by definition immortal. Ed.] Our sages in Sanhedrin 92 describe this concept in the following words: “just as He, the Holy One, is forever, so the Jewish people are forever.” It had been G’d’s intention to make the Jewish people immortal at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai, giving them the status that Adam had enjoyed before he sinned. Alas, just as Adam had sinned and had become mortal in Gan Eden, the Jewish people sinned with the golden calf and suffered the same fate as first man. The disaster is documented in Exodus 33,6 “the Children of Israel had to divest themselves of their jewelry which had been given them at Mount Chorev.”

וישב משה את דברי העם, Moses relayed to G’d what he had understood as being the people’s reactions. What he had understood was that they did not doubt his status as a prophet at all.

בעב הענן, even though all of Moses’ prophetic stature underwent a drastic change on the occasion of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and he now received “clear” messages, something described in Numbers 12,8 as ותמונת ה' יביט, “he sees the message from G’d as a clear picture” (not merely as a reflection by a mirror) he was not to behold the Shechinah, but it was shrouded in thick cloud. The present communication with G’d which Moses used was not of the אספקלריא מאירה, “clear view” type.

בעבור ישמע העם וגם בך יאמינו לעולם, they will believe in the possibility of this “face to face” communication between man and G’d, and the fact that you have been granted this level of prophecy by Me. (compare Deut.5,4 concerning the expression “face to face.”) One of the principal ingredients of this level of prophecy is that the prophet remains in full control of all his faculties including all parts of his body, something no one had been able to credit until they saw that Moses possessed such a capability.The Israelites commented on this in Deuteronomy 5,21 when Moses quoted them as having said: “this day we have seen that G’d can speak directly to man and man can survive such an encounter.” [In other words, it took the revelation at Mount Sinai, experienced by all the people, to teach them that Moses could enjoy such a relationship with G’d on an ongoing basis. Ed.] It is not that the people needed convincing that there were people who enjoyed prophetic stature and communicated with G’d and He with them. After all, they knew about all the patriarchs, Aaron and Miriam as well as Moses being prophets. However, up until this time all prophetic messages from G’d had been communicated either in a dream or in a vision involving the prophet losing touch with his surroundings at the time of such communication by G’d. [at the very least, if such a communication had been received while the recipient was awake he would have to sit down, as he would be unable to stand. [Avraham’s being able to run to welcome the angels, (his vision) was a sign of a higher than usual level of prophecy. Ed.] Now, for the first time, did the people witness that the recipient of such communications need not necessarily have to temporarily forego being in touch with all that goes on in our terrestrial world. You will understand this better in light of how G’d Himself explained to Miriam and Aaron in Numbers 12,7 the difference between their level of communication with G’d and that of their brother Moses, whom G’d described as thoroughly “at home” in all sections of “His house.” Only after having themselves experienced what this kind of prophetic level meant could they credit Moses as possessing it. Now they also understood that no other prophet, even a legitimate one, could challenge Moses, seeing that his stature as prophet was so superior to any other prophet.

'ויגד משה את דברי העם אל ה, when he heard that his Creator had told him that G’d wanted the people to have absolute faith in the supremacy of his prophecy, Moses understood suddenly that the people had entertained some doubts about the nature of his prophetical powers. He conveyed the people’s words to G’d to show that they had unreservedly undertaken to accept everything G’d wanted from them as conveyed to them from him as G’d’s word. He emphasized that the people had not only said: כן נעשה, “so we shall do,” but had said כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה, “everything that G’d has said we shall do.” This was in fact a restrictive comment, meaning that if what they heard was G’d’s command they would do it, not if it was only the command of an angel. We know already from Exodus 23,21 that an angel is not empowered to forgive any errors committed by the people, כי לא ישא לפשעכם, and therefore Moses himself rejected the idea that the people be under the protection of an angel instead of under G’d’s personal supervision. The people were aware of this distinction. This is why they had committed themselves to obey only commands issued by G’d directly.

והיו נכונים, that not only the mind, the spirit, be in readiness for the revelation but also the body that houses the spirit. This was necessary because the level of prophecy they would experience at the revelation would far surpass anything an ordinary prophet experiences, something for which he does not have to prepare his body by ritual immersion, and loss of any residue of seminal fluids the body ejaculated during the days immediately preceding the prophetic vision. Moses was not forbidden physical contact with his own wife until he had attained this level of prophetic stature. This would commence from the time of the revelation and onwards. At that time he released the other Israelites from the restriction of carrying on marital relations with their wives by saying to them: “return to your tents” (Deuteronomy 5,27-28). Moses himself had been told by G’d at that time: “you remain standing here with Me.” This is what our sages explained in Shabbat 87.

כל הנוגע בהר מות ימות, a warning to deter the people from being harmed in the event they would trample the boundary markers around the mountain in their eagerness to catch a glimpse of G’d. Such people, if they were to become victims of their own folly, would mar the entire joyful experience of the giving of the Torah by defiling the earth around them with their carcasses. They would cause their relatives to become mourners on what should have been the most auspicious experience of their lives. The presence of G’d, the Shechinah, does not manifest itself to people in mourning.

ויהי קולות וברקים. The spectacle was similar to that experienced by the prophet Elijah at the same mountain in Kings I 19,11-12. David, in Psalms 68,9, also describes what happened at Sinai in similar terms.

לקראת האלוקים, toward the army of angels forming the entourage of the Divine presence, in anticipation of the descent of the Shechinah on the mountain in verse 20.

רד העד בעם פן יהרסו, when I will be speaking to them. Perhaps they will think that because they have been found worthy to have prophetic insights that they have attained the level of “face to face” prophecy as had Moses their leader. This could prove fatal if they tried to cross the boundary separating Me from them. Your presence down below will act as additional safeguard.

וקדשתו, the term is used here as in Exodus 3,5 when Moses was warned not to step on “holy” ground with his sandals as this might prove fatal. Similarly, here; the people had been told that neither man nor beast would survive touching the mountain. [during this period. Ed.]

לך רד, now, when I am speaking with you, be with them at the bottom of the mountain.

ועלית אתה ואהרן, at the conclusion of the Ten Commandments and the portion Mishpatim as we read in Exodus 24,1. The Torah writes there: עלה אל ה' אתה ואהרן “ascend to G’d, you and Aaron.” [the elders and Aaron there are bidden to prostrate themselves from a distance. Ed.]

ויאמר אלהם, he conveyed G’d’s warning to them as well as the penalty for violating G’d’s command. (verse 21)