(9) And the Eternal said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.” Then Moses reported the people’s words to the Eternal, (10) and the Eternal said to Moses, “Go to the people and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothes. (11) Let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day the Eternal will come down, in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai. (12) You shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, ‘Beware of going up the mountain or touching the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death: (13) no hand shall touch him, but he shall be either stoned or shot; beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast,-b they may go up on the mountain.”
The Blessed Holy One desired to root out from among the Israelites any remnant of thoughts of idol-worshipping, and to implant in their hearts the strong faith that nothing in Creation has any special holiness except from the Blessed One, the Source and Wellspring of holiness in the cosmos. This was so that the Israelites would not make a mistake and [think that because] Mount Sinai in itself was holy, that was why the Torah was given on it. [Thus] they were told that immediately after the receiving of the Torah, when the Shechina (divine presence) departed, the mountain would be as any ordinary mountain, with flocks and cattle herding on it. The holiness of the mountain lasted only when the Shechina was on it.
...the mountain is special only when it becomes a place where the Divine and human beings reach out to each other; even if Sinai is a preeminent symbol of encountering the Divine in our tradition, it is only because it is the preeminent symbol of Torah, which in itself is a “meeting place” for God and people.
Torah means more than just the five books of Moses; Torah in its broadest sense is striving and struggling after God in the pages of our sacred texts, which include Bible, Talmud, Midrash, philosophy, halachah (Jewish law), poetry, songs, prayers, and more. Torah includes the commentaries and poetry being written today–if a text causes you to stop, slow down, think about your life in a new way, inspires you to deepen your Jewish commitments, connects you to Jewish history and community, and gives you a nudge towards more Godly Jewish living, I’d call that Torah. Torah, to me, is a text valued not only by its antiquity or its authority, but also by the effect it produces in a person’s soul.
Torah is portable, lives in our communities, and serves as the link between generations; perhaps that’s why the ancient rabbis saw Torah study, rather than sacred mountains, as the place where Jews go to meet the Holy One.
(ו) רַבִּי חֲלַפְתָּא בֶן דּוֹסָא אִישׁ כְּפַר חֲנַנְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשָׂרָה שֶׁיּוֹשְׁבִין וְעוֹסְקִין בַּתּוֹרָה, שְׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה בֵינֵיהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים פב) אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת אֵל. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ חֲמִשָּׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (עמוס ט) וַאֲגֻדָּתוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ יְסָדָהּ. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ שְׁלשָׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים פב) בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ שְׁנַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלאכי ג) אָז נִדְבְּרוּ יִרְאֵי ה' אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ וַיַּקְשֵׁב ה' וַיִּשְׁמָע וְגוֹ'. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ אֶחָד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כ) בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי אָבֹא אֵלֶיךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ:
(6) Rabbi Halafta of Kefar Hanania said: when ten sit together and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shechinah abides among them, as it is said: “God stands in the congregation of God” (Psalm 82:1). How do we know that the same is true even of five? As it is said: “This band of God's, God has established on earth” (Amos 9:6). How do we know that the same is true even of three? As it is said: “In the midst of the judges God judges” (Psalm 82:1) How do we know that the same is true even of two? As it is said: “Then they that fear the Eternal spoke one with another, and the Eternal hearkened, and heard” (Malachi 3:16). How do we know that the same is true even of one? As it is said: “In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned I will come unto you and bless you” (Exodus 20:21).
— Fumbling: A Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief, and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino de Santiago by Kerry Egan