Midrash su Esodo 19:17

"The same will happen with all the other nations." Why did he enumerate the two and not the rest of the nations? Because the reign of these two lasted until the Messianic age. But why should the other nations enter after seeing the disappointment of the first two? Because they will think: "The first two enslaved Israel, but we did not enslave them." "Finally they will say before Him: 'Sovereign of the Universe! Didst Thou then give us the Torah and we did not accept it?' But how could they say so? Is it not written (Deut. 33, 2) The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Sair unto them: He shined forth from Mount Paran. And again there is a passage (Habak. 3, 3) God cometh from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. And to the question, What has the Lord to do in Sair and Paran, R. Jochanan said: "From this it may be inferred that the Holy One, praised be He! has presented His Torah to every nation, but it was not accepted until He came to Israel [hence their claim]." Therefore, we must say that they will say to Him: "Have we then accepted the Torah, and not fulfilled its commandments?" But what answer is this? Could they not be accused because they have not accepted? We must therefore say that they will plead thus: "Sovereign of the Universe! Hast Thou then arched the mountain over us as Thou didst over the children of Israel; for the passage says (Ex. 19, 17) And they stood at the foot of the mountain, upon which R. Dimi b. Chasa of Chihah remarked: "From this we may infer that the Holy One, praised be He! arched the mountain over them like a tank and said to them: 'If you accept the Torah then it is well, but if not, there shall be your graves.' Finally, the answer will come, (Is. 43, 9) And announces to us former things, i.e., the Holy One, praised be He! will say to them: 'The seven commandmenst which were given to you, have ye observed them?' And whence do we know that they have not? From that which R. Joseph taught: "What is the meaning of the passage (Hab. 3, 6) He standeth and shaketh the earth; He beholdeth and maketh the nations to tremble. What did He behold? He beheld that the seven commandments accepted by the descendants of Noah, were not observed. And therefore He absolved the nations of them." Should they then have profited [by their disobedience]? Said Mar b. Rabbina: (Fol. 3) "It means that even should they fulfill them, they shall not be rewarded."

The Israelites did not accept the Torah until the Holy One, blessed be He, arched the mountain over them like a vessel, as it is said: And they stood beneath the mountain (Exod. 19:17). R. Dimi the son of Hama stated that the Holy One, blessed be He, told Israel: If you accept the Torah, well and good; but if not, your grave will be there. If you should say that He arched the mountain over them because of the Written Law, isn’t it true that as soon as He said to them, “Will you accept the Torah?” they all responded, “We will do and hear,” because the Written Law was brief and required no striving and suffering, but rather He threatened them because of the Oral Law. After all, it contains the detailed explanations of the commandments, both simple and difficult, and it is as severe as death, and as jealous as Sheol. One does not study the Oral Law unless he loves the Holy One, blessed be He, with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, as it is said: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deut. 6:5).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said that there is no ailment that does not have its cure; and the cure and drug for every ailment have been predetermined. If you desire your body to be free of pain, devote yourself to the Torah, for it is a healing balm to the entire body. We know that it is a cure for the head, since it is said: She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace (Prov. 1:9); for the heart, as it is said: Write them upon the table of thy heart (ibid. 3:3); for the neck, since it is written: And chains about thy neck (ibid. 1:9); for the hands, as it is said: And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand (Exod. 13:9); for the navel, for it is written: It shall be health to thy navel (Prov. 3:8); and for all of the bones of the body, as it is said: And marrow to thy bones (ibid.). R. Joshua the son of Levi declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, demonstrated this when he gave the law. Prior to the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, some of them had been injured as a result of the hazardous labor they performed with mud and straw. Stones from the buildings had fallen upon them, breaking their hands and mutilating their legs. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is not right that I should give my law to imperfect men. What did He do then? He instructed His angels to descend and heal them. Whence do we know that none of them were blind? It is said: And all the people perceived the thunderings (Exod. 20:15). How do we know that there were no deaf ones among them? It is written: We will hear (ibid. 24:7). Whence do we know that there were none among them without hands? They said: We will do (ibid.). How do we know that there were none with crippled legs among them? It is written: And they stood at the nether part of the mount (ibid. 19:17). R. Judah the son of Simon said: Because they were as new, the Holy One, blessed be He, called that month “master of renewal.”¹²The giving of the Law, which took place in the third month renewed Israel both spiritually and physically. Whence do we know this? We know it from what is written about this matter in the section In the third month.