Mount Sinai (Har Sinai) is famously where Moses and the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments and received the Torah. Although it was the location of this historic event, the mountain in the middle of the Sinai Desert was sacred only as long as God present.
Notable Sources
All Sources
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Giving of the Torah
TANAKH
The scene of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai is dramatic and is the source for an incredible amount of content throughout the Jewish library. The Torah itself provides the source material for what is described as an other-worldly experience.
Connecting the Human and the Divine
CHASIDUT
In the mystical tradition, Mount Sinai is interpreted as more than a place - it is understood as a euphemism for divine-human communication. This chasidic text from Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl (18th century, Ukraine) reads between the lines of the Torah’s description of revelation to find deeper meaning.
A Perpetual Revelation
CHASIDUT
Although the Torah describes a one-time revelation on top of Mount Sinai, Jewish wisdom teaches that divine revelation actually occurs continually. An explanation of this idea is presented in the name of Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (18th century, Ukraine), the founder of chasidic Judaism.
The Festival of Oaths
CHASIDUT
The name “Shavuot” is usually translated as the Festival of Weeks. The late 19th-century chasidic master, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger, has a different understanding, which connects the name of the festival to the events that happened on Mount Sinai.
Passed Down from Moses on Mount Sinai
MISHNAH
According to rabbinic sources, Moses received both the Written Torah and the many traditions known as the Oral Torah. In this example from Mishnah Peah, we can see a law being ascribed as a “halakhah (law) of Moses from Sinai” in court proceedings.
Free Will or Coercion?
TALMUD
The concept of the covenant is a very important one in Jewish thought, most notably signified by the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. In light of this well-known talmudic story, an interesting question is posed regarding whether the Torah was accepted at Mount Sinai by force or by choice.
Passing Torah Down From Mount Sinai
MISHNAH
Mount Sinai is the origin point of a chain of transmission of wisdom, knowledge and practice that continues from generation to generation. The first Mishnah of Pirkei Avot delineates that chain of transmission.
Why Mount Sinai?
MIDRASH
Why was Mount Sinai chosen as the place where the Torah was given? One of the many reasons offered can be found in this ancient compilation of interpretations of the book of Genesis, which explains one important advantage that Sinai had over the other mountains.
Standing on Holy Ground
COMMENTARY
The first time Mount Sinai appears in the Torah, it is not introduced by that name, but rather as the “mountain of God.” Ramban (13th century, Spain), in his commentary on the Book of Exodus, connects this place to two epic events.
Sinai, E. M. Lilien, eine künstlerische Entwickelung um die Jahrhundertwende, 1914.
Sinai, E. M. Lilien, eine künstlerische Entwickelung um die Jahrhundertwende, 1914.
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