(17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. (18) Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the LORD had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. (19) The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder. (20) The LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.
Questions for Discussion
- What does it mean "The LORD came down"?
(Ibid.) "that from the heavens I spoke to you": One verse states "that from the heavens, etc.", and another (Ibid. 19:20) "And the L–rd went down upon Mount Sinai!" How are these two verses to be reconciled? A third verse reconciles them, viz. (Devarim 4:36) "From the heavens God made you hear God's voice to exhort you, and on the earth God showed you God's great fire, and God's works you heard from the midst of the fire." These are the words of R. Yishmael.
R. Akiva says: We are hereby taught that the Holy One Blessed be God bent the upper heavens over the top of the mountain, and God spoke to them from the heavens. As it is written (Psalms 18:10) "And God bent the heavens and descended, with mist between God's feet."
The Gemara cites additional homiletic interpretations on the topic of the revelation at Sinai. The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews ordained what they had already taken upon themselves through coercion at Sinai.
Questions for Discussion
- What effect does coercion have on accepting an agreeement?
- Do you think the Israelites were coerced into accepting the Torah?
And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us? The Holy One, Blessed be God, said to them: He came to receive the Torah. The angels said before God: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by you 974 generations before the creation of the world, and you seek to give it to flesh and blood?
Questions for Discussion
- What are the angels concerns?
- Who was the Torah created for and why?
(A conversation with Satan)
When Moses descended from standing before the Holy One, Blessed be He, with the Torah, Satan came and said before Him: Master of the Universe, where is the Torah?
He said to him: I have given it to the earth.
He went to the earth, and said to it: Where is the Torah? It said to him: I do not know, as only: “God understands its way, and He knows its place” (Job 28:23).
He went to the sea and asked: Where is the Torah? And the sea said to him: “It is not with me.”
He went to the depths and asked: Where is the Torah? And the depths said to him: “It is not within me.”
And from where is it derived that the sea and the depths answered him this way?
As it is stated: “The depth said: It is not within me, and the sea said: It is not with me” (Job 28:14). “Destruction and death said: We heard a rumor of it with our ears” (Job 28:22).
Satan returned and said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, I searched for the Torah throughout all the earth and did not find it. He said to him: Go to Moses, son of Amram.
He went to Moses and said to him: The Torah that the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave you, where is it? Moses evaded the question and said to him: And what am I that the Holy One, Blessed be He, would have given me the Torah? I am unworthy.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Moses, are you a fabricator? Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a hidden treasure in which You delight every day, as it is stated: “And I was His delight every day, playing before Him at every moment” (Proverbs 8:30). Should I take credit for myself and say that You gave it to me?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Since you belittled yourself, the Torah will be called by your name, as it is stated: “Remember the Torah of Moses My servant to whom I commanded at Horeb laws and statutes for all of Israel” (Malachi 3:22).
Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzburg 1911
Before God gave Israel the Torah, He approached every tribe and nation, and offered them the Torah, that afterwards they might have no excuse to say, “Had the Holy one, blessed be He, desired to give us the Torah, we should have accepted it.” He went to the children of Esau and said, “Will you accept the Torah?” They answered Him, saying, “What is written in it?” He answered them, “You shall not kill.” Then they all said: “Will you perhaps take from us the blessing with which our father Esau was blessed? For he was blessed with the words, ‘You will live by the sword.’ [Gen. 27:40] We do not want to accept the Torah.”
Then He went to the children of Lot and said to them, “Will you accept the Torah?” They said, “What is written in it?” He answered, “You shall not commit adultery.” They said: “We come from adultery; we do no want to accept the Torah.” [Gen. 19:36]
Then He went to the children of Ishmael and said to them, “Do you want to accept the Torah?” They said to Him, “What is written in it?” He answered, “You shall not steal.” They said: “Will you take from us the blessing with which our father was blessed? God promised him: ‘His hand will be against every man.’ [Gen. 16:12] We do not want to accept your Torah.”
Then He went to all the other nations, who likewise rejected the Torah, saying: “We cannot give up the law of our fathers, we do not want your Torah, give it to your people Israel.”
Upon this He came to Israel and spoke to them, “Will you accept the Torah?” They said to Him, “What is written therein?” He answered, “Six hundred and thirteen commandments.” They said: “All that the Lord has spoken will we do and be obedient.” [Exodus 24:7]
Questions for Discussion
- Was it wise to accept the Torah without having heard it before?
- Why do you think the Israelites were prepared to accept the Torah when the other nations were not?
Rebbi Phineas in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: The Torah which the Holy One, Praise to Him, gave, its leather was white fire, its inscription was black fire, it was fire mixed with fire; hewn from fire, given from fire: “From His right hand, the fiery law to them.”
And it appears that we can resolve [the difficulty] with this version, based on what our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 88a:6), "'The sixth day' (Genesis 1:31) - to say that everything is suspended and waiting until the sixth day of Sivan: If Israel accepts the Torah, it is for the better; but if not, the world will return to chaos and disorder." And it follows that since we see that heaven and earth exist today and that they did not return to being chaos and disorder, it is a sign that the Israelites accepted the Torah. And this is what he wrote that "heaven and earth will testify against them." And what is the testimony that they will testify? "That they exist forever," since their existence gives credible testimony of the Lord that the Israelites have already accepted the Torah. For, if not, they would not be existing and continuing but rather would have already returned to chaos and disorder.