(א) הכהנים, חושב ד' מיני מנהיגים הלובשים כתר ההנהגה, כתר תורה, כהונה, מלכות, וכתר שם טוב שהיא הנבואה, הכהנים ענינם להוריד השראת השכינה בבית הנבחר והם לא אמרו איה ה', ותופשי התורה ראוי שידעו את ה' כי זה תכלית הלימוד והם לא ידעוני...
...The ones who guard the Torah ignored Me: It would have been altogether right for these individuals to know Me, for that is the goal of the study.
...Those who grasp the Torah: They are the Sanhedrin, and upon them is the responsibility of [studying and enforcing] the laws of the Torah...Did not know me: They did not want to know and recognize the extent of my exaltedness.
Those whose primary activity is to study, teach, and enforce God's teaching forgot their underlying 'master purpose' and also did not imagine just how transcendent God is.
Is it possible they became enamored of themselves and their pride in their knowledge?
(ח) רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי קִבֵּל מֵהִלֵּל וּמִשַּׁמָּאי. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם לָמַדְתָּ תוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה, אַל תַּחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְעַצְמְךָ, כִּי לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְתָּ.
(8) Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai received [the oral tradition] from Hillel and Shammai.He used to say: if you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created.
(ב) נוֹצָרְתָּ. לְשֵׁם כָּךְ יָצָאתָ לַאֲוִיר הָעוֹלָם, כְּדִכְתִיב וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹּקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהִתְנָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עִם מַעֲשֵׂה בְּרֵאשִׁית שֶׁאִם אֵין מְקַבְּלִין יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה יַחֲזִיר הָעוֹלָם לְתֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, נִמְצָא עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁחוֹבָה גְּדוֹלָה מֻטֶּלֶת עָלָיו וְלֹא בְּטוֹבָה הוּא עוֹשֶׂה. רַשִׁ"י:
(2) "you were created": For this reason did you come out [of the womb] to the air of the world, as it is written, "and it was day and it was night, the sixth day" - [distinguishing the sixth day by calling it the sixth day and not just a sixth day, as with the other days] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, made the work of creation conditional: if Israel does not accept the Torah, the world will go back to being chaos and void. It comes out now that there is a great obligation placed upon him and he is not doing it as a favor [to God] - Rashi.
God created the world on condition of our acceptance of Torah. But didn't Torah come at Sinai much later? This commentary explains Torah was also present at the creation of the world, the force that created order out of chaos. The metaphor of birth to Torah is an intimate, relational one even as God is Commander in Chief. It is a feminine, maternal image that suggests Torah as nurturing us and sustaining us within the context of relationship, rather than on its own.