(טז) וַיְהִי֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜י בִּֽהְיֹ֣ת הַבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְהִי֩ קֹלֹ֨ת וּבְרָקִ֜ים וְעָנָ֤ן כָּבֵד֙ עַל־הָהָ֔ר וְקֹ֥ל שֹׁפָ֖ר חָזָ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃ (יז) וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹקִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃
(16) On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. (17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.
(2) בתחתית ההר AT THE NETHER PART OF THE MOUNTAIN — According to its literal meaning this signifies “at the foot of the mountain”. But a Midrashic explanation is, that the mountain was plucked up from its place and was arched over them as a cask, so that they were standing בתחתית beneath (under) the mountain itself (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:17:2; Shabbat 88a).
(שמות יט, יז) ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר א"ר אבדימי בר חמא בר חסא מלמד שכפה הקב"ה עליהם את ההר כגיגית ואמר להם אם אתם מקבלים התורה מוטב ואם לאו שם תהא קבורתכם א"ר אחא בר יעקב מכאן מודעא רבה לאורייתא אמר רבא אעפ"כ הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש דכתיב (אסתר ט, כז) קימו וקבלו היהודים קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר אמר חזקיה מאי דכתיב (תהלים עו, ט) משמים השמעת דין ארץ יראה ושקטה אם יראה למה שקטה ואם שקטה למה יראה אלא בתחילה יראה ולבסוף שקטה ולמה יראה כדריש לקיש דאמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב (בראשית א, לא) ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום הששי ה' יתירה למה לי מלמד שהתנה הקב"ה עם מעשה בראשית ואמר להם אם ישראל מקבלים התורה אתם מתקיימין ואם לאו אני מחזיר אתכם לתוהו ובוהו:
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. Ḥizkiya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent” (Psalms 76:9)? If it was afraid, why was it silent; and if it was silent, why was it afraid? Rather, the meaning is: At first, it was afraid, and in the end, it was silent. “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven” refers to the revelation at Sinai. And why was the earth afraid? It is in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)? Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, the definite article, which does not appear on any of the other days? It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, established a condition with the act of Creation, and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah on the sixth day of Sivan, you will exist; and if they do not accept it, I will return you to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. Therefore, the earth was afraid until the Torah was given to Israel, lest it be returned to a state of chaos. Once the Jewish people accepted the Torah, the earth was calmed.
A Stiff-Necked People (Ki Tisa 5768)
And they stood under the mountain: R. Avdimi b. Hama b. Hasa said: This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He, overturned the mountain above them like a barrel and said, “If you accept the Torah, it will be well. If not, this will be your burial place.” R. Acha b. Jacob observed: This constitutes a strong protest against the Torah. Said Rava, Even so, they re-accepted it in the days of Ahasuerus, for it is written, the Jews confirmed and took upon them, meaning, “they confirmed what they had accepted before.”
The meaning of this strange text seems to be this: at Sinai (according to R. Avdimi) the Jewish people had no choice but to accept the covenant. They had just been rescued from Egypt. G-d had divided the sea for them; He had sent them manna from heaven and water from the rock. Acceptance of a covenant under such conditions cannot be called free.
The real test of faith came when G-d was hidden. Rava’s quotation from the Book of Esther is pointed and precise. The book is one of only two in Tenakh which does not contain the name of G-d. The rabbis suggested that the name Esther is an allusion to the phrase haster astir et panai, “I will surely hide My face.” The book relates the first warrant for genocide against the Jewish people. That Jews remained Jews under such conditions was proof positive that they did indeed re-affirm the covenant. Obstinate in their disbelief during much of the biblical era, they became obstinate in their belief ever afterward. Faced with G-d’s presence, they disobeyed Him. Confronted with His absence, they stayed faithful to Him. That is the paradox of the stiff-necked people.
(כז) ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, מלמד שכפה עליהן הר כגיגית. פירוש, שהראה להם כבוד ד' בהקיץ ובהתגלות נפלאה, עד כי ממש בטלה בחירתם הטבעיי ויצאה נשמתם מהשגת כבוד ד', והיו מוכרחים כמלאכים בלא הבדל, וראו כי כל הנבראים תלוי רק בקבלת התורה.
“And they stood at the foot of the mountain” – this teaches that God held the mountain above them like a barrel. This means, that He showed them the glory of God in revealed and wondrous ways, up to the point where their natural free choice was literally removed, and their souls departed from exposure to the glory of God. They were forced, like angels, without the ability to discern, as they saw with complete clarity that all of creation is dependent on the Torah.
תנא משמיה דר"מ מפני מה נתנה תורה לישראל מפני שהן עזין תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל (דברים לג, ב) מימינו אש דת למו אמר הקב"ה ראויין הללו שתנתן להם דת אש איכא דאמרי דתיהם של אלו אש שאלמלא (לא) נתנה תורה לישראל אין כל אומה ולשון יכולין לעמוד בפניהם
וְאוֹמֵר (שמות כ, טו): וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת. הַקּוֹל אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא הַקּוֹלֹת, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן הָיָה הַקּוֹל יוֹצֵא וְנֶחְלַק לְשִׁבְעִים קוֹלוֹת לְשִׁבְעִים לָשׁוֹן, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּשְׁמְעוּ כָּל הָאֻמּוֹת, וְכָל אֻמָּה וְאֻמָּה שׁוֹמַעַת קוֹל בִּלְשׁוֹן הָאֻמָּה וְנַפְשׁוֹתֵיהֶן יוֹצְאוֹת, אֲבָל יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין וְלֹא הָיוּ נִזּוֹקִין.
כֵּיצַד הָיָה הַקּוֹל יוֹצֵא, אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא דוּ פַּרְצוּפִין הָיָה יוֹצֵא, וְהוֹרֵג לְעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים שֶׁלֹא קִבְּלוּהָ, וְנוֹתֵן חַיִּים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁקִּבְּלוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה. הוּא שֶׁמּשֶׁה אָמַר לָהֶם בְּסוֹף אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה (דברים ה, כג): כִּי מִי כָל בָּשָׂר אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע קוֹל אֱלֹקִים חַיִּים מְדַבֵּר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ וגו', אַתָּה הָיִיתָ שׁוֹמֵעַ קוֹלוֹ וְחָיִיתָ, אֲבָל עוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים שׁוֹמְעִים וּמֵתִים.
בּוֹא וּרְאֵה הֵיאַךְ הַקּוֹל יוֹצֵא, אֵצֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי כֹּחוֹ, הַזְּקֵנִים לְפִי כֹּחָן, הַבַּחוּרִים לְפִי כֹּחָן, וְהַקְּטַנִּים לְפִי כֹּחָן, וְהַיּוֹנְקִים לְפִי כֹּחָן, וְהַנָּשִׁים לְפִי כֹּחָן, וְאַף משֶׁה לְפִי כֹּחוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יט, יט): משֶׁה יְדַבֵּר וְהָאֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶנּוּ בְקוֹל, בְּקוֹל שֶׁהָיָה יָכוֹל לְסוֹבְלוֹ. וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר (תהלים כט, ד): קוֹל ה' בַּכֹּחַ, בְּכֹחוֹ לֹא נֶאֱמַר אֶלָּא בַּכֹּחַ, בְּכֹחוֹ שֶׁל כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד, וְאַף נָשִׁים מְעֻבָּרוֹת לְפִי כֹּחָן, הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי כֹּחוֹ.
Hashem’s words emanate from the fire: “His words you heard from the midst of the fire” (Deut.4:36). That is to say that the command did not reach their ears and understanding as a proper and worthwhile precept, but as an absolutely required command that does not tolerate annulment, and whose abandonment is complete destruction. It is this destruction that the fire symbolizes: “For lo, they who distance themselves from You shall perish, You destroy all those who stray from You” (Ps. 73:27).
It is this absoluteness of the law that is the essential revelation of Sinai, that accompanies the revelation that “Hashem, He is the G-d in heavens above and on earth below, there is none else” (Deut. 4:39). That is why the term מתוך האש in conjunction with Hashem’s words at Sinai appears ten times in Deuteronomy (4:12, 15, 33, 36; 5:4, 19, 21, 23; 9:10; 10:4): to emphasize this absoluteness.
This is also the reason the Torah represents Hashem as fire (Deut. 4:24; 9:3). Although this fire consumes and destroys all that is in opposition to Hashem’s will, it also has the power to illuminate the path in which we should travel. It is easier for the one who perceives this fire to separate from the evil and unseemly. That is the meaning of what is written: that the fire that preceded the nation showed or illuminated the path (Deut. 1:33). Since the appearance of fire pointed to Hashem’s presence and governance...the prophets prophesied that the time will once again come when Hashem will illuminate before the nation (Isa. 60:19-20; Mic. 7:9).