Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
What's going on here? מַה זֶה?
During God’s revelation at הַר סִינַי (Har Sinai, Mount Sinai), the Torah says that “the people saw the thunder and the lightning” (Shemot 20:15). Thunder isn’t something that we normally can “see.” What does this pasuk mean?
- Sforno says it means they concentrated on the thunder.
- Rashbam says that they saw hail and stones falling.
- Rashi says it was a miracle, and they actually saw the sound of thunder, even though this is normally impossible.
- On a basic level, it is possible that here the word “see” really means “perceive.” In this case, the pasuk means that the people saw the lightning and heard the thunder.
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