Tafsiran Keluaran 19:16: Rashi, Chizkuni, Kli Yakar & Sforno

בהיות הבקר lit., WHEN IT WAS BEING MORNING — This phrase tells us that He was there before them at the place of the Divine Revelation, something which it is not customary for human beings to do — that the teacher should await the arrival of his disciple. A similar instance we find in Scripture (Ezekiel 3:22, 23): “[God said unto me]. Arise, go forth into the plain, [and I will there speak with thee]. Then I arose, and went forth into the plain; and, behold the glory of the Lord stood there already” (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 15; cf. Nedarim 8a).

ויהי ביום השלישי, “It was on the third day;” this was the Sabbath on which the Torah was given to the Jewish people, the third day of the preparatory ritual of sanctification. It was the third day after the fourth day of the month when these preparations had commenced. You have a total of six days from the day when the people made camp in the desert of Sinai, as stated in the first verse of our chapter. This is the interpretation of these verses according to the majority opinion of the scholars of the Talmud who held that the revelation took place on the sixth day of the month of Sivan. I shall now proceed to explain the view of Rabbi Yossi according to which the Torah was given to the people on the seventh day of Sivan. The words: ביום הזה, “on this day” in verse 1 of our chapter, which was the first day of the month as well as the first day of the week, is based on the tradition that the day of the Exodus was on a Thursday. Accordingly, the first day of Sivan of that year would have been on a Sunday. On that day the people arrived at the desert of Sinai, and on that day Moses did not tell them anything as they were tired and were required to pitch their tents, etc. On the second day, i.e. on Monday, Moses ascended the Mountain. This is followed by: “He called to him, etc.” until verse 8 where the people express their willingness to carry out any instructions they would receive from G-d. On the day following, on Tuesday, Moses conveyed the people’s answer to G-d. On the same day G-d told Moses in verse 9 that He would appear to Him screened by a thick cloud, up to and including the words: “they will believe in you forthwith.” The day after, on the Wednesday, Moses relayed the people’s answer to G-d, i.e. ויגד משה את דברי העם. On the same day G-d says to Moses that the people should sanctify themselves on that day and the day following including their garments by immersing them in a ritual bath, activities performed on Wednesday and Thursday so that they would be ready for the revelation on the day following, (the third day of the preparations (verse 11) On the day following that day on the seventh day of the week, on the Sabbath, the Torah was given to them as agreed by all the scholars seeing that on that day G-d would descend onto to Mount Sinai, the day when it was forbidden to ascend the Mountain as the people had been warned in verse 13. In verse 14, we read about Moses descending from the Mountain and carrying out G-d’s instructions. That day was Wednesday He told them to be ready on the third day (verse 15) by the end of the first 12 hours [the day is divided into two periods of 12 hours each. Ed.] on the fourth day as he had been on the Mountain until daybreak on that Sabbath. It emerges from this that Moses had added an additional day for the people to prepare themselves for the revelation, seeing that G-d had only spoken of היום ומחר, “today and tomorrow.” (verse 10). G-d had referred to the Wednesday and Thursday, whereas Moses added Friday. According to the opinion that the letter ל in the word: לשלושת in verse 15 is superfluous, just as the letter ל in Exodus 14,28 is superfluous in the phrase: לכל חיל פרעה, and just as the letter ל is superfluous in Exodus 27,3 in the phrase לכל כליו תעשה נחושת, G-d ordered the people to prepare for three whole days as explained by Rashi. When Rashi wrote: “at the end of three days, i.e. the fourth day,” this refers to Wednesday when Moses still stood on Mount Sinai.

And there were voices and lightning. Some Torah commentators wanted to give a reason for why there were these voices and the sound of the shofar, and each one makes allusions in the manner of derash [homiletic interpretation] according to his understanding. What seems closest to me is to add a comparison to this, since we see that the sounds of thunder and lightning are opposite to the sound of the shofar. For the sounds of thunder coming from within the cloud cease quickly, and lightning’s arrow emerges, appears for a moment, and is immediately gone and finished. But the sound of the shofar was continually increasing in strength.
Therefore, it is reasonable to say that this is a hint to the two groups who received the Torah: the elder Torah scholars and the elder common people. For the former increase in wisdom while the latter grow more foolish over time. Similarly, this shofar, which was from the ram of Isaac and is associated with the righteous, its sound grows stronger and stronger, for elder Torah scholars continually increase in wisdom. But the thick, heavy cloud, which is associated with the elder common people, those of material nature — their voice and the spark of their light is only momentary.
And the word shofar they interpreted (Vayikra Rabbah 29:6) from the language of “improve [shapru] your deeds,” which agrees with our explanation. It also alludes to the merit of Isaac, which continues to grow stronger, and its voice is heard in every generation, growing ever stronger.