Ten Commandments: Who is Torah for?

(2) "And all the people saw": the sounds of sounds and the flames of flames. How many sounds were there and how many flames were there? No, the point is that each heard according to his power or ability, at it says (Psalms 29:4), "the voice of the Lord in power."

Alternatively, "And all the people saw": to tell us how praiseworthy of Israel was: When they all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, as soon as they heard the Dibbur, they explained it. As it is written (Devarim 32:10) "He encircled him; he understood him." As soon as they heard the Dibbur, they explained it. R. Eliezer says: to apprise us of the exalted state of Israel: When they all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, none of them were blind, as it says, "And all the people saw." And it tell us that none of them were speechless, (Exodus 19:8) "And all the people answered together." And it teaches that none of them were deaf, (Ex. 24:7) "All that the L rd has spoken, we shall do and we shall hear." And none of them were weak legged, (Ex. 17) "And they stood under the mountain." And it teaches that none of them were lacking in understanding, (Devarim 4:35) "You have been shown to know, etc." ...

"And He said: The Lord came from Sinai" (Deut 33:2): When God revealed Godself to give the Torah to Israel, it is not to Israel alone that God was revealed, but to all of the nations. First God went to the children of Esav, and He asked them: Will you accept the Torah? They asked: What is written in it? He answered: "Do not murder." (Shemoth 20:13). They answered: Master of the Universe, our father's whole essence is murder, as it is written (Bereshith 27:22) "And the hands are the hands of Esav" -- and his father promised him (Gen. 27:40) "And by your sword shall you live." God went to the children of Ammon and Moav and asked them: Will you accept the Torah? They asked: What is written in it? God answered "Do not commit adultery." They answered: Master of the Universe, forbidden sexual relations are in our essence, as it is written (Gen 19:36) "And the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father." God then went and found the children of Ishmael and asked them: Will you accept the Torah? They asked: What is written in it? He answered: "Do not steal." They answered: Master of the Universe, our father was essentially a bandit! '(Gen 16:12) "And he shall be a wild man, his hand against all." GOd went to every single nation, knocking at their doors to ask whether they would be willing to accept the Torah, as he says, (Psalms 138:4) "All the kings of the earth will acknowledge You, God, for they heard the words of Your mouth." Might they really have accepted it?? That is why it is written (Ezekiel 33:31) "And you did not do them." And it says (Michah 5:14) "And with anger and wrath will I take revenge of the nations because they did not hear." Indeed, they couldn't even sustain commitment to the seven commandments that the sons of Noach had taken upon themselves so much so that they eventually divested themselves of them and ceded them to Israel...

"...and they stood below the mountain” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: this teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above them 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! Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews established and took upon themselves..." (Esther 9:27), that is: they established what they had already taken upon themselves.

Rashi writes, 'Meaning that the mountain was physically uprooted etc.'

On Shabbat 88, the Tosafot (at the word "overturned," questioned: Haven't they already said "we will do and we will hear"? Why was this necessary? And they suggest that it was lest they take back their word when they saw the great fire, that literally drove the breath out of them (Shabbat 88). But I am not comfortable with this explanation, that makes all of the virtue of Israel in committing to action before even hearing into nothing -- that they took back their great virtue, which was intended for the generations. And perhaps the Tosafot believe that since it was only fear that made them take it back it isn't considered to diminish their virtue. But they key explanation, which I consider straightforward, of God turning the mountain over on them and saying "If you do not accept the Torah, your burial will be here," is to say that accepting the Torah was necessary -- so much so that if they declined it that would mean their burial. Because we know that required things are more important than optional things: it's impossible that they should be absent, and there is no existence without them. That is why God turned the mountain over on them: to make clear the significance of Torah, without which it's just impossible entirely. And if God had not done this, it might have been said, "The world doesn't really need Torah, their acceptance of it was totally optional -- and if they had not wanted to accept it, well, they didn't need to. Therefore God tempted and cajoled them in advance, and when they saw that the bottom line in its giving was through coercion at the mountain, they had to concede that its gift was compulsory -- that they could not continue to exist without it. This is why the Talmud (Shabbat 88) quotes the verse "And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" -- the specificity (the rather than a) teaches that the Holy One made all of creation conditional on Israel's acceptance of Torah, and if they had failed to do so it would have returned to chaos.

(15) R. Joshua b. Levi said also : When Moses went up to heaven, the ministering angels said unto the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the universe, what is this human being doing among us?' God said to them, 'He has come to receive the Torah.' They said to God, "This precious treasure, that you hid privately for 974 generations before the world was even created, You are going to give to flesh and blood?? 'What is a person that You remember him, and a human being that you take account of him? (Ps 8' O God, our Lord, Your name already so exalted in the earth -- confer Your glory on the heavens! (Ps. 8, 2-5).'

The Holy One, praised be He! said to Moses, "Respond to them." Moses said to God, 'Sovereign of the universe, I am afraid they will burn me up with their fiery breath.' God said to Moses, "Hold onto My throne and respond to them."...

Moses then said before God: 'Sovereign of the universe, this Torah that you are about to give me, what is written it? 'I am the Lord, thy God, who brought you forth out of Egypt." (Ex. 20, 2). He said to them, "Did you go down to Egypt? Were you slaves to Pharaoh? Why should this be for you? What else is written in it? 'Thou shalt not have other Gods before me (Ib. ib. 3).' Do you living among nations who worship idols? What else is written in it? 'Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Ib. ib. 8).' Do you do any work whatsoever, that you need rest? What else is written there? 'Do not take..' Are there business negotiations among you? What else does it say?

'Honor your father and your mother.' Do you have fathers and mothers? What else is written in it? 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal (Ib. ib. 13).' Does jealousy exist among you ? Does an evil impulse exist among you ?'

Immediately the angels at once conceded that the Holy One, praised be He ! was right, for the Psalm 8 in fact says 'O Lord, how great Your name is in all the earth," and it doesn't say 'Confer your glory upon the heavens.' Immediately every single one of them so loved Moses that each of them disclosed to him some useful secrets, for it is said (Ib. 68, 19.) 'Thou hast ascended unto Heaven; thou captured the spoils; thou hast received gifts because they have contemptuously called thee, man, i.e., because they called you man hast thou taken presents as a reward.' And even the Angel of Death revealed something to him, for it is written (Num. 17, 13) 'And he (Aaron) put on the incense and made atonement for the people,' and it is said (Ib.) 'And he stood between the dead and the living.' If the Angel of Death did not disclose this secret unto Moses, how could Aaron have known?