Chasidut do Wyjścia 19:32

Because of all this, he did not sense the mind and will of God only with his mind or emotions but also with his physical senses, as his body had become sanctified, becoming a soul. He would see visions of God and hear the voice of God.²⁰⁰That is, with his physical senses. What is more, from within himself the Master of masters, the Almighty, would speak; as the Sages said about Moses, regarding the verse “ God would reply with a voice,”²⁰¹Exodus 19:19. JPS translates the Hebrew kol as “thunder.” that is, the voice of Moses.²⁰²Vide Jacob Joseph of Polnoye, Toledot Yaakov Yosef, ad locum.

None of the prophets were satisfied with spreading their greatness to individuals alone. Rather, they tried to raise their entire generation to the messianic telos and the tikkun of the end times, as it says in the midrash above that is was not just individuals but rather all of them [who were prophets]. It says in the Zohar (Acharei Mot 79) about the generation of R. Simon b. Yokhai “Rabbi Yehudah taught, “The generation in which Rabbi Shimon b. Yokhai dwells are all virtuous, all devout, and sin-fearing, and Shekhinah dwells among them, which is not so in other generations...For when R. Shimon uttered the mystery of this verse, the eyes of all the Companions streamed tears , and all the words that he spoke were clear in their eyes...It has been taught: In the days of R. Shimon, a person would say to his fellow, ‘Open your mouth and let your words shine!’ After R. Shimon passed away, they would say, ‘Do not let your mouth make your flesh sin.’²¹⁶Ecclesiastes 5:5. If even the donkey of Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair was illuminated, observed the Torah, was stringent beyond the letter of the law, and apprehended through inspiration that its food was not tithed,²¹⁷See Talmud Hullin 7a-b. we can only imagine the extent of the prophet’s desire to make of Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”²¹⁸Exodus 19:6.

As a brief addendum regarding the two types of prophets: when the prophets drew down lights from Beriyah and Yetzirah to this world, they had to also raise up the world of Asiyah so that it could receive these lights. “And God came down on to Mt. Sinai.”²³⁰Exodus 19:20. The Talmud (Sukkah 5a) teaches that in fact that divine presence only came within ten handbreadths of the mountain (the Throne descended down further). The physical place [i.e. the mountain] reached high and the throne of glory descended; a drop does not descend from heaven until two arise from the earth.

Leviticus 1,1. “He called out to Moses;” the fact that ‎the letter ‎א‎ in this verse is written in smaller script is explained ‎by something we had discussed in Exodus 24,1 on the line: ‎ואל ‏משה אמר עלה אל ה'‏‎, “and to Moses He had said: ‘ascend towards ‎‎Hashem.’” When a person performs one of G’d’s ‎commandments this makes an impression in the celestial spheres ‎and helps to awaken in him the desire to perform additional ‎commandments so that he will constantly be occupied with doing ‎G’d’s will. It had been Moses’ will to continuously perform G’d’s ‎will and to thereby continue to ascend ever higher and come ‎closer to Hashem as stated by the Zohar when ‎explaining the line: ‎ומשה עלה אל האלוקים‎, “and Moses had ‎ascended towards G’d,” (Exodus 19,3). G’d’s invitation recorded in ‎Exodus 24 to ascend (once again) was the result of his having ‎done so in Exodus 19,3 when he had commenced to do so before ‎an invitation had been issued to do so. The Zohar II,69 ‎ascribes the invitation to Moses in our verse to ascend to ‎‎Hashem as a reward for Moses’ initiative in Exodus 19,3. ‎This is reflected here by the letter ‎א‎ being written in small script. ‎It acknowledges the humility of Moses which exceeded anyone ‎else’s humility, i.e. the “small” ‎א‎.
We have a rule when offering a sacrifice to G’d that this ‎offering is to reflect the largesse that G’d has seen fit to bestow ‎upon us, without us in the lower regions of the universe having ‎performed any good deeds to deserve this. This is the reason that ‎the animal sacrifice must be dedicated and consecrated while still ‎alive, as the ultimate gift G’d can bestow us is life itself. Life can ‎only be bestowed by G’d Himself.‎
Libations, i.e. offerings consisting of oil or wine (with ‎additives) are a form of “mini-offering,” but they represent an ‎input by the residents in this lower part of the universe, man ‎having had to seed and plant the earth before eventually ‎producing the product from which oil and wine is made. These ‎libations also reflect G’d’s largesse, i.e. the largesse bestowed upon ‎us as a direct result of our constructive activities on earth. In ‎other words, the Israelites were allowed (only after the affair of ‎the spies) to present such libations in recognition of their good ‎deeds.
While the Israelites were in the desert they were in the ‎position of receiving G’d’s largesse without having made an input ‎of their own as they could not seed or plant orchards or grow ‎grain in the desert. In recognition of their inability to do so, G’d ‎provided heavenly bread, i.e. the manna for them. In lieu of ‎their offering libations to Him, G’d provided them with a ‎travelling well which took care of their daily needs for fresh ‎water.‎
All this has been alluded to in Numbers 15,2 when the Torah ‎begins to describe how the people’s lives will change once they ‎will come to the land of their inheritance, i.e.‎כי תבאו אל ארץ ‏מושבתיכם וגו'‏‎, “when you will come to the land in which you will ‎reside permanently, etc.” The Torah there continues with listing ‎the various kinds of offerings (first animal) and then libations, in ‎that order. The reason why these sacrificial offerings are linked to ‎the people being in possession of their permanent homes in the ‎Holy Land is because the sacrifices are reflections, i.e. acts of ‎acknowledgment and gratitude for G’d’s largesse by giving them ‎an ancestral heritage. This also explains why the sages have ‎decreed ‎אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין‎, “when intoning songs of ‎thanksgiving to G’d one must only do so while saying a blessing ‎over wine (and drinking it) as an acknowledgment of the most ‎precious product that the earth (lower part for the universe) has ‎to offer us by the grace of G’d.” (Compare Rashi on Erchin ‎‎11)‎ ‎‎

There are some people - both great and small - who are not aware of their own shortcomings. And even when they see in Mussar books that such and such a trait is bad, it nevertheless does not cross their mind that they have such a trait and that they need to fix it. Neither do they feel pain or concern about it. This is not a good sign for [this person]. For this is the way of sick people - to not feel their sickness getting worse or even to know that they are sick. (See the Rambam's Eight Chapters 3.) However there are also adults and youths with the following trait: His heart inside begins to feel that he has a certain shortcoming and he [then] begins to worry and be in pain. But his mind quickly rationalizes it by saying, "Is it not the case that the shortcoming I have is not as bad as what the book is criticizing? And the small amount that I have is almost impossible to remove, since 'there is no righteous man in the world who never sins.'" This too is a partner to the evil impulse; and [such a person's] end will be the pollution of his spirit and the darkness of Gehinnom. The root of both of these is that they do not seek greatness from themselves. They imagine that only tzaddikim and greats must work to better themselves, but it is sufficient for all other Jews to just be anything that they are. This is like a father who has a fool for a son, so that his father does not require much from him and suffices with the little good that is found in him. And he even overlooks his sins, saying, "Is he not a fool?" But such a man (who rationalizes his own shortcomings) is greatly mistaken. And we have already spoken above about how everyone must strive, help and reveal the tzaddikim, the greats and the giants of the Jewish people; and how the Divine Presence laments the negligent person. But even if he just wants to be a simple Jew, why is he forgetting what a simple Jew is, and the condition that God made with each Jew - from the woodchopper to the water-drawer - when He first came to make them into the Jewish people and to give them the Torah? He said (Exodus 19:5-6), "Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, etc. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." This is the Jew - [someone from] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It was a condition that the Holy One, blessed be He, made: "Now then, if etc." Only if so, will you be Jews. But if not, God forbid...

There are some people - both great and small - who are not aware of their own shortcomings. And even when they see in Mussar books that such and such a trait is bad, it nevertheless does not cross their mind that they have such a trait and that they need to fix it. Neither do they feel pain or concern about it. This is not a good sign for [this person]. For this is the way of sick people - to not feel their sickness getting worse or even to know that they are sick. (See the Rambam's Eight Chapters 3.) However there are also adults and youths with the following trait: His heart inside begins to feel that he has a certain shortcoming and he [then] begins to worry and be in pain. But his mind quickly rationalizes it by saying, "Is it not the case that the shortcoming I have is not as bad as what the book is criticizing? And the small amount that I have is almost impossible to remove, since 'there is no righteous man in the world who never sins.'" This too is a partner to the evil impulse; and [such a person's] end will be the pollution of his spirit and the darkness of Gehinnom. The root of both of these is that they do not seek greatness from themselves. They imagine that only tzaddikim and greats must work to better themselves, but it is sufficient for all other Jews to just be anything that they are. This is like a father who has a fool for a son, so that his father does not require much from him and suffices with the little good that is found in him. And he even overlooks his sins, saying, "Is he not a fool?" But such a man (who rationalizes his own shortcomings) is greatly mistaken. And we have already spoken above about how everyone must strive, help and reveal the tzaddikim, the greats and the giants of the Jewish people; and how the Divine Presence laments the negligent person. But even if he just wants to be a simple Jew, why is he forgetting what a simple Jew is, and the condition that God made with each Jew - from the woodchopper to the water-drawer - when He first came to make them into the Jewish people and to give them the Torah? He said (Exodus 19:5-6), "Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, etc. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." This is the Jew - [someone from] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It was a condition that the Holy One, blessed be He, made: "Now then, if etc." Only if so, will you be Jews. But if not, God forbid...

Another approach to the verse: ‎כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל ‏לפקודיהם ונתנו איש כופר נפשו וגו'‏‎, we have a rule that we ‎learned from the Zohar on Exodus 19,3 ‎ומשה עלה אל האלוקים ‏ויקרא אליו ה' מן ההר‎, “and Moses had ascended towards G’d, and ‎‎Hashem called out to him from the Mountain, etc,” that ”all ‎spiritual ascents of man must be oriented toward his declaring ‎the Creator as his King.” This idea has also been alluded to in our ‎verse when the Torah speaks about elevating the Children of ‎Israel, i.e.‎כי תשא את בני ישראל‎. The root ‎פקד‎ occurs already in ‎Esther 2,3 where we are told that the king appointed officials by ‎writing: ‎ויפקד המלך פקידים‎, “the king appointed officials etc.” The ‎half shekel that the Israelites were to pay as ransom for their ‎souls, were intended to insure that they would progress towards ‎their task of appointing G’d as their King. This is the reason why ‎the Torah added the word ‎לה'‏‎, i.e. “for Hashem.” after the ‎word ‎נפשו‎.‎

It is said of the giving of the Torah (Shemot, 19) that, “God descended on Mount Sinai.” This is as it is said in the Zohar (Yitro, 82a): We have learned that at the time God revealed himself at Mount Sinai, all of Israel saw as one would see with a lantern, and in this light, each one saw even that which the prophet Yehezkel did not see. What is the reason? It is because these supernal voices were revealed as one, according to our explanation of the verse in the account of the giving of the Torah, “all of the people saw the voices.”

Exodus 19,1. “In the third month after the Israelites ‎having departed from the land of Egypt, (on the first of the ‎month), on this day, they came to the desert of Sinai.” ‎You may be familiar with the “nickname” given by his ‎contemporaries to Rav Yoseph, who called him ‎סיני‎, Sinai. ‎‎(B’rachot 64) The reason why this Rabbi was given this title, ‎was that he had a photographic memory concerning ‎‎halachot, and could recall them at will at any time. A closer ‎look at the word ‎סיני‎ reveals that it is a term used for expressing ‎the entire range of the Torah in all its ramifications. According to ‎our author we are all aware that ‎קול‎, “sound,” is a composite of ‎several components, i.e. fire, water and wind, (air). When ‎speaking of ‎דבור אלוקים‎, “G’d’s speech,” or utterance, this is ‎something beyond man’s ability to define and analyze. The terms ‎קול, דבור‎, “sound” and “speech” respectively, are indistinguishable ‎when applied to G’d. The two commandments at Mount Sinai, ‎אנכי‎ and ‎לא יהיה לך‎, which the entire Jewish people heard with ‎their ears directly from G’d’s ‘mouth,’ actually combined within ‎them the entire Torah, something that the mouth of a mortal ‎person is certainly unable to express simultaneously. Our limited ‎powers of perception do not even enable us to express two ‎different subjects simultaneously, how much less so the entire ‎Torah. Studying the written Torah handed down to us by Moses, ‎shows us [according to the popular expression:‎שבעים פנים ‏לתורה ‏‎, “the written Torah comprises 70 facets.” Ed.] that ‎something similar is true of the sayings of our sages in the ‎Talmud, i.e. every saying has more than one meaning, the reason ‎being that the root of all these sayings is based on the Torah.
We read in psalms 125,2: ‎ירושלים הרים סביב לה וה' סביב לעמו‎, ‎‎“Jerusalem is enfolded by hills, and the Lord enfolds it.” The word ‎ירושלים‎ there is a simile for the collective soul of the Jewish ‎people, known also as ‎כנסת ישראל‎. The words: ‎וה' סביב לעמו‎, mean ‎that seeing that everything in the universe revolves around the ‎Jewish people, Hashem, naturally, is intimately involved in ‎the fortunes of this people. The ‎הרים‎, hills, mentioned in that ‎verse refer to the three patriarchs, who personify the roots of ‎holiness in the celestial regions. These patriarchs “surround” the ‎collective soul of the Jewish people. It is therefore incumbent ‎upon every individual Israelite to attach himself to this “root” of ‎holiness. The function of this “root” is to illuminate the path of ‎the “branch,” (the descendants) without any screen being ‎interposed, or intervention by any spiritually negative, sinful ‎forces. Man’s function in this world, vis a vis his fellow man, ‎is to dispense loving kindness; however, the most important ‎aspect of this “doing good,” is that it be based on the spiritual ‎values of the “root,” the patriarchs who have shown us the way.
While it is clear that doing kind deeds is morally positive, the ‎definition of what is a good deed is not up to man, but up to G’d ‎and His Torah. Unfortunately many people, including leaders of ‎the Jewish people, have failed in this regard, performing what ‎they thought were “good” deeds, expressions of pity and mercy, ‎but wasted on unworthy individuals. Our sages on Kohelet ‎Rabbah 7,16 ‎אל תהי צדיק הרבה, ואל תתחכם יותר‎, “do not be ‎overly righteous, and do not try to be too smart,” have said in ‎explaining this: ‎כל הנעשה רחמן על האכזרים‎, ”showing mercy to the ‎cruel people,” suggest that what Solomon had in mind was King ‎Sha-ul who, when asked to wipe out Amalek including children ‎and livestock, questioned G’d’s instructions (through the prophet ‎Samuel) by asking what the children had done wrong and how ‎the livestock had sinned. As a result of his misguided sense of ‎when to practice mercy and when to be steadfast, he allowed the ‎king of the Amalekites Agog to survive with historically terrible ‎consequences for the Jewish people, whereas he killed a city of ‎Jewish priests, Nov, merely on suspicion and the accusation by a ‎single prejudiced general. He, personally, paid for it with not only ‎his own life, but the lives of three of his sons. Leading the kind of ‎life the Torah has taught us, requires among other virtues, that ‎one does not allow one’s personal prejudices to influence one’s ‎decisions. When one reaches such a level one is surrounded in all ‎three dimensions by the protective emanations of the patriarchs, ‎first and foremost among their virtues being the virtue of ‎אמת‎, ‎truth. Making truthfulness, also versus one’s own self, the focus ‎of one’s virtues, enables a person to distance himself from nearly ‎all evil influences.‎
When the Torah stresses the fact that the month when the ‎Children of Israel entered the desert of Sinai was the “third” ‎month after they had left Egypt, the number “three” symbolizes ‎‎“truth”, as it does in the letter ‎ש‎ which has three “lines” ‎symbolizing the emanations ‎חסד, גבורה, ‏‎ and ‎תפארת‎, harmony.‎
When a person has attained the domain, environment, of ‎אמת‎, truth, and made it his permanent spiritual abode, he has ‎truly left behind ‎יצא‎, all aspects of evil, ‎רע‎, as well as the seducers ‎luring him into committing evil. The Israelites in the desert at ‎this point had finally graduated from their slave-mentality, and ‎all the temptations that are part of the daily lives of slaves. The ‎Torah emphasizes this aspect by repeating: ‎ביום הזה באו‎, on this ‎day they “had arrived.” The Torah’s choosing to refer to this day ‎as ‎יום הזה‎, “this day”, rather than ‎יום ההוא‎, “that day,” proves how ‎completely clear the experiences about to be accumulated by the ‎people were to them. Coming back to the word ‎סיני‎ also being a ‎word describing someone’s perfect memory, (page 413), the ‎arrival in the desert called [afterwards, I presume, ‎Ed.] “Sinai,” was given this name as the Israelites’ ‎memory absorbed all the lessons they were going to learn ‎‎(revelation, Moses’ ascending the Mountain and returning with ‎the Tablets, etc.) while around that area and around Mount ‎Chorev which dominates that area. Everything experienced by ‎the Israelites during their stay in that area for over eleven ‎months, had to be internalized and to be imprinted on their ‎memory. The vast majority of their experiences in that region ‎were connected to the spoken word, words which had to be ‎committed to memory.‎ ‎ ‎

This is the aspect of eating Matzah and the prohibition of Chametz. Matzah is the aspect of Da'at/knowledge, the aspect of the greatness of the mentalities, the aspect of divine providence, which is the essence of da'at. Chametz (unleavened bread) corresponds to the lesser mentalities, the aspect of "Elokim", the aspect of judgments, as is brought in the Kavanot. This corresponds to the knowledge of natural science, which is the source of judgments and problems, G-d forbid, as explained above. "Nature" in Gematria equals "Elokim", as is brought. From here is where judgments take hold, as explained above. Because Chametz corresponds to (Psalms 73:21) "For my heart was in ferment, יִתְחַמֵּץ לְבָבִי", etc. This is said about the problems that fall upon a person due by the command of Hashem Yisbarach. This is the aspect of the knowledge of nature, from where all of the atheism and problems stem. Matzah, however, corresponds to da'at, as explained above. It is called Matzah because they left in haste and there was not sufficient time for the dough from our fathers to leaven, until the The King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed Be He revealed Himself to them and redeemed them, as it is said (Exodus 12:39) "They baked the dough that they had taken out of Egypt as unleavened cakes, for it had not leavened, for they were driven out of Egypt, and they could not tarry, and also, they had not made provisions for themselves". They had faith in the divine providence of Hashem Yisbarach and therefore they did not prepare any provisions, and we find they left in haste. Matzah is the knowledge of the faith of divine providence, which is the essence of the Greater knowledge, whereby a person merits the revelation of G-dliness, to see and know that everything is (by) the divine providence of Hashem alone. This is the aspect of 'haste', for 'haste' is the aspect of 'higher than time', which leaps over the end, and took them out with great haste, without any time except for a moment. And in a short while they came to Sukkot from Ra'amses and 600,000 people gathered together in a light hour, from all of the land of Egypt, as Rashi explains on the verse (Exodus 19:4) "I bore you on eagles' wings". All of this is the aspect of 'above time'; in other words, they were elevated beyond time. This is the aspect of divine providence which is above nature, above time. Through this they went out without any time, without any preparation - solely in a short while. The essence of the redemption was through the revelation of divine providence which is above time, the aspect of 'haste'. For haste is the aspect of quickness which is a very good trait, the aspect of faith, the aspect of nullification of the sleep that comes about through laziness, the aspect of (Proverbs 19:15) "Laziness causes one to fall into a deep sleep, and a deceitful soul shall suffer hunger", and as brought in the words of our Rabbi (Rebbe Nachman) in another place that quickness is the aspect of faith, see there. And this is the aspect of remembrance, the aspect of (Exodus 13:3) "Remember this day, when you went out of Egypt", etc., and as is written (Deuteronomy 16:3) "you shall remember the day when you went out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life", etc., and as seen in the words of Rabbeinu at the end of the lesson "And these are the judgments" (Likutei Moharan 7) that remembrance is the aspect of faith. The essence of forgetting is from the aspect of time, etc. And when you know and truly believe that everything operates solely by the divine providence of Hashem Yisbarach alone, which is above time, then one need not worry about the aspect of forgetting at all, etc., see there and understand. This is the aspect of remembrance which is said about the Exodus from Egypt, the aspect of 'Remember the day', etc., 'so that you may remember', etc. For with the Exodus from Egypt His Blessed divine providence was revealed, as explained above. This is the aspect of remembrance which is above time, above nature, the aspect of 'haste', the aspect of 'quickness' which is the lifeforce of the mentalities and knowledge. The essence of their existence/fulfillment is when you know and believe in divine providence. And this is the aspect of Matzah made in haste, etc., etc., as explained above.

For Israel is called “a kingdom of priests,”⁴²⁵Exodus 19:6. for they cause the sefirah of Malkhut above to rule on all. Israel strengthens not the just its capacity to be revealed in this world, but rather on all the hidden treasures of the king, that is, also those Above—all are ruled through Israel down below. Know, that which is Above—it is all from you.

Exodus 19,3. “meanwhile Moses had ascended to G’d, ‎‎[lowest of the celestial domains, Ed,], and Hashem ‎called out to him from the Mountain, saying: ‘thus you shall ‎speak to the house of Yaakov and tell in detail to the Children ‎of Israel.’”‎
We need to analyze a number of points in this verse ‎‎(paragraph). 1) What precisely is the meaning of the word ‎כה‎? ‎Why could the Torah not simply write: ‎ויקרא אליו ה' לאמור לבית ‏יעקב‎, “Hashem called to him to say to the house of Yaakov, ‎etc.?” 2) Why, in verse 4, does G’d refer only to the Exodus from ‎Egypt as examples of what He had created? 3) What is the ‎meaning of the line (verse 5) ‎והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים‎, “you have ‎become more precious to Me than any of the other nations,” after ‎the condition: "if you will surely listen to My voice and observe ‎My covenant?“ Are we to assume, G’d forbid, that if we had not ‎been given the covenant and had accepted it enthusiastically, ‎that we would not be superior to the other nations? Does G’d love ‎us only on account of our being loyal to the covenant? Moreover, ‎G’d should have said that if we observe the covenant we are also ‎dearer to Him than all the angels, as when we –who are free to ‎choose- observe the covenant, we are on a spiritually higher level ‎than the angels, even?‎
It appears to me that the answer to all these questions can be ‎found already in the Midrash. [I have not found this ‎‎Midrash. Ed.] which describes Moses’ reception in ‎the lowest of the seven layers of the celestial regions. When ‎Moses arrived at that level he found himself surrounded by many ‎thousands of different categories of angels, including the holy ‎‎seraphim, all of whom were standing in awe and reverence ‎‎[before the Lord, I assume, Ed,] so that he was ‎overcome by a great fright and was trembling not knowing with ‎whom he should commence to speak. He remained in this ‎condition until G’d Himself spread some of the brilliance of His ‎Presence over him.‎
We find numerous occasions when other prophets when ‎addressed by G’d, stood in awe and trembling before G’d so much ‎so that their normal senses became totally disoriented and ‎dysfunctional.‎
On Leviticus 1,1 ‎ויקרא אל משה אליו מאהל מועד‎, “G’d called to ‎Moses from the Tent of Meeting,” Rashi comments that the ‎words following: ‎וידבר אליו‎, “He spoke to him,” might be ‎understood as a repetition as at first G’d’s voice was not loud ‎enough, therefore the Torah writes both in Numbers 7,89 and ‎Deuteronomy 8,20, ‎את הקול‎, “the ‘well known’ voice.” G’d’s voice ‎was powerful but could not be heard outside the confines of the ‎Tabernacle. The Bible repeatedly refers to the powerful voice of ‎G’d being such that it felled cedars. (psalms 29) If a human being ‎is fortunate enough to hear the voice of G’d proclaim the words: ‎אנכי ה' אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך וגו'‏‎, “I am the Lord your G’d Who has ‎taken you out, etc.;” each Shavuot, this is proof of how one must ‎prepare oneself in order to hear the Lord’s voice. [Alas, ‎none of us has been found meritorious enough to hear that voice. ‎Ed.] We have a tradition that the tens of thousands of ‎angels were overcome with trembling whenever they heard the ‎voice of G’d. How much more so must we mortal human beings ‎be overcome with such tremors if even the angels are described as ‎being in such a state of terror? The three days of preparation ‎described in the Torah as preceding G’d’s revealing Himself to the ‎people at Mount Sinai are totally inadequate. Even if we were to ‎prepare ourselves for a whole year this would not suffice for us to ‎tolerate G’d’s voice without becoming seriously disoriented. Our ‎verse indicates that although Moses had prepared himself for the ‎encounter with G’d that he would face, and he had assumed that ‎what G’d had to say to him was on a level that the people could ‎not comprehend, G’d told him that this was not necessary, as ‎what He had to say to him was intended for him to teach to the ‎people.

"And Moshe went up to God" (Exodus 19:3), because the great righteous person (tzadik) is called with the name "Moshe", and to this one there is an extra level above the other tzadikim, mentioned above, [the Moshe-type tzadik] goes up to the higher worlds: "and God called him" the words "and called" denote affection. "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob" - those are the tzadikim that are not yet at that level, whose responsibility is to fix the Presence [of the Holy One] that is called [denoted] by the word "thus." "And declare to the children of Israel" - these are the real tzadikim, who are known by the name Israel, whose responsibility is to the an extra work, that is difficult as tendons...

Exodus 11,4. “Moses said: ‘thus has the ‎Lord said, etc.;’” we have to understand why the ‎expression ‎כה‎ was used here to introduce Moses’ ‎prophecy when we had learned that whereas all the ‎other prophets introduced their prophecies with this ‎word, Moses prophesied by using the vision he ‎referred to as ‎זה‎, “this,” i.e. as a clear vision.‎
We gain the impression from this preamble to the ‎prophecy of the plague of the death of the firstborn ‎that Moses had not been granted to see this vision as ‎clearly as he had seen other visions, and that he had ‎attained the level of seeing visions described as ‎זה‎, only ‎at the revelation at Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19,1 we ‎read ‎ביום הזה באו מדבר סיני‎, “on this day (first of Sivan) ‎they arrived in the desert of Sinai.”‎
The words of that verse help us understand the ‎formulation of the question in Deuteronomy 6,20, ‎attributed in the ‎ Haggadah shel Pessach to ‎the “smart” son, ‎מה העדות והחוקים והמשפטים‎, “what are the ‎testimonies, the statutes and the social laws, etc.?” The ‎Torah there should have written: ‎על מה‎, i.e.” why were ‎these laws given,” not “what are these laws”, seeing ‎that the questioner had demonstrated that he was ‎familiar with these laws already!
‎Looking at this verse purely from the ‎‎p’shat,, the “smart” son appears to enquire for ‎the reasons underlying these various types of ‎commandments in the Torah. He does not address the ‎commandments themselves. Seeing that this is so, he ‎should have asked: ‎על מה‎, “why or what for”, did G’d ‎command these different observances? Not only do we ‎find the formulation of the questions difficult to ‎understand, but, at least in the Haggadah shel ‎Pessach, [as opposed to the answer given ‎in the written Torah, Ed.] how does the ‎answer of ‎אין מפטירין אחר הפסח אפיקומן‎, “one must not eat a ‎dessert after having consumed the meat of the ‎Passover offering,” answer the question?
The ‎proper answer to the smart son’s question is that G’d ‎took us out of Egypt using all kinds of supernatural ‎miracles in doing so, and that this redemption was not ‎a temporary redemption subject to being reversed, but ‎that it made of the Jewish people a free people, a ‎people never again to become enslaved collectively. ‎Not only did the Egyptians “let us go,” but they tried to ‎‎“expel” us out of fear that more of their number would ‎die if we stayed on their soil a minute longer. The ‎answer that the author of the Haggadah shel ‎Pessach suggests that the father give to this ‎‎“smart” son seems to leave out the principal reasons ‎for the legislation by concentrating on something of ‎secondary or even still lesser significance.‎

And that is [the meaning of the verse] On this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai (Ex. 19:1), which our Sages of Blessed Memory interpreted as “[Torah] should be new for you as on the day when it was given” (Tanhuma, Yitro 13); but how is such a thing possible – was the Torah not given long ago, and how could [Torah] be new like the day it was given? But according to our words above it can be understood well, that in each and every day he puts we will do before we will listen, for this is the essence of receiving the Torah as we have clarified.

Exodus 19,4. “I carried you on the wings of eagles.” ‎The author refers to a Midrash that claims that the reason that ‎the eagle is called ‎נשר‎ in Hebrew is that it sheds its wings every 10 ‎years, dropping them to the earth. [The root ‎נשר‎ does ‎refer to fruit falling from trees, of course, but I have not found ‎anywhere that eagles shed their wings. No doubt our author was ‎aware of this also, and that maybe why he preferred to ‎understand this Midrash which I have been unable to ‎locate, allegorically. Ed.] ‎
A different approach to the verse commencing with: ‎אתם ‏ראיתם אשר עשיתי למצרים‎, “you have seen what I have done to ‎‎(for) Egypt, etc.” At first glance the word ‎אתם‎, “you,” appears ‎superfluous as G’d, through Moses, was addressing the people ‎directly. A look at Rashi on this verse will show us that he ‎too tried to deal with the need for this word. He suggests that the ‎word was meant to emphasize the directness of the Israelites’ ‎experience in contrast with later generations who would only ‎hear about this second hand. Although the revelation at Mount ‎Sinai had not yet occurred, G’d had already brought the people ‎close to Him, i.e. ‎ואבא אתכם אלי‎, “I have brought you to Me.” ‎‎(Compare Mechilta on this verse)‎

We may understand the word ‎אתם‎ better when comparing with Exodus 14,4 “I have ‎reinforced Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue you, etc.” You will note that during the ‎entire song of thanksgiving after the drowning of the Egyptians, in spite of frequent ‎repetitions of the many aspects of this miracle, Moses did not for a single time refer to the fact ‎that the Israelites had been saved, although he extols the annihilation of Egypt’s armed might. ‎This was in spite of the fact that the major aspect of the miracle was the saving of the ‎Israelites who had been between a “rock and a hard place,” completely helpless before that ‎miracle.
The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out ‎that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level ‎of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they ‎themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, ‎the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the ‎opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be ‎justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? ‎Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: ‎כשם שאנו ‏עולים‎, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare ‎their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they ‎posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this ‎better we must remember that there are two different levels of ‎faith. The first and highest level is called ‎אמונה שלמה‎, “absolute ‎unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely ‎without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and ‎loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but ‎is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the ‎miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even ‎greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey ‎chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s ‎words in Exodus 18,11 ‎עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים‎, “now I ‎know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” ‎‎Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past ‎Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it ‎wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi ‎had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of ‎the word ‎עתה‎, ”now,” and the word ‎ידעתי‎, “I was familiar with,” in ‎the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past ‎he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced ‎himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.‎
However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the ‎performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ‎ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when ‎Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being ‎flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ‎ובמבחר‎, “and ‎from the choice(st)” instead of ‎ומטוב‎ “and from the best,” is a ‎double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made ‎to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of ‎‎Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the ‎choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had ‎performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that ‎they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles ‎which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the ‎opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief ‎that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the ‎Jewish G’d.‎

A member of the chevraya could concurrently be a member of another fellowship whose membership includes “servants of God who tremble at His word,”²²⁸See Shemos, 19:16, Yeshayahu, 68:5, the sources in the Tanach for the term “Haredim.” but only as private individuals and not in the capacity as representatives of the chevraya.

Exodus 3,2. “An angel of Hashem appeared to him ‎within the flame of fire, etc.;” whereupon Moses said to ‎himself: “I will turn away to investigate why this bush is not ‎consumed by the fire;” when G’d noticed that Moses had, ‎after all, turned to investigate the phenomenon, He called out ‎to him, warning him not to approach closer while wearing his ‎sandals as the location was holy soil.‎
There is a strange story in Pessachim 57 according to ‎which one of the Kings of the Hasmoneans and his queen had an ‎argument during their meal as to whether meat from a lamb is ‎tastier than meat from a fully grown sheep. When they could not ‎agree, they asked the High Priest to settle the argument, as he ‎had experience from eating the sacrificial meat of both many ‎times. The High Priest upon being consulted, waved with his ‎hand pointing heavenwards: saying: “if the meat of a lamb would ‎be tastier surely the Torah would have commanded that the daily ‎communal offering should consist of a lamb?”‎
The Talmud relating this incident must not be taken at face ‎value, of course, but the argument described concerned the ‎question if the fate of the Jews is influenced by astrological ‎considerations, or if the Jewish people are quite independent of ‎the configurations of the stars. When the High Priest pointed ‎heavenward, he implied that the “Mazzal” of the Jewish ‎people is ‎אין‎, the word describing the essence of G’d. This also ‎explained the statement in the Talmud Shabbat 156 that ‎אין ‏מזל לישראל‎, commonly translated as “the Jewish people’s fate is ‎not determined or influenced by constellation of the zodiac.” The ‎true meaning of the statement is that the celestial force ‎determining the fate of the Jewish people is none other than ‎אין‎, ‎‎“the essence of G’d Himself.” Moreover, the word ‎מזל‎ is closely ‎related to ‎יזל‎ as in ‎יזל מים מדליו‎, ”water flows out of its buckets,” ‎‎(numbers 24,7). This verse alludes to what the queen in above ‎parable had in mind when she said that a lamb tastes better, i.e. ‎she was referring to people who depend on nature, water, etc., for ‎their sustenance, a largesse from G’d which originates in a ‎celestial domain known as ‎האותיות‎ עולם.‎
‎[Heaven, not unlike the physical universe, consists of ‎several layers, one of which is known as ‎עולם האותיות‎, another, ‎‎”lower” layer is better known as ‎עולם האצילות‎, to which the Torah ‎referred when the highest echelon of the Jewish people ‎accompanied Moses immediately prior to his ascending Mount ‎Sinai to receive the Tablets (Exodus 24,9-11) where these people ‎are called for short ‎אצילי בני ישראל‎ .Ed]‎
When G’d warned Moses not to approach the “domain” ‎הלום‎ ‎this refers to the domain of ‎מלכות‎, “Royalty,” a domain which ‎Moses wished to attain. It was not granted to him, i.e. he ‎functioned as Royalty only during the generation of the Israelites ‎who had participated in the Exodus, but did not found a dynasty. ‎The function of a king is to dispatch “spiritual sparks” for them ‎to attach themselves to the Creator, and this is what is meant ‎when the Torah describes the function of a king to wage war. ‎When he succeeds in doing this he is perceived as having been ‎victorious in “war”. Within the parameter of his task, a king ‎sometimes of necessity has to elevate some people’s status, ‎whereas at the same time he will demote others. The king, in ‎order to be successful, has to surround himself with advisers, i.e. ‎he must be part of the people. The function of a prophet is the ‎reverse, he must isolate himself.‎
We have already explained on a previous occasion that when ‎the righteous engages in dispatching “spiritual sparks” ‎ניצוצות‎, ‎heavenward, he may himself “dress up” in these holy thoughts in ‎order that his “holy clothes” carry him with the sparks on their ‎‎“wings.”‎

It is important to realize that the tribe of Levi who was ‎singled out by G’d to perform special religious duties on behalf of ‎the whole nation, was appointed twice. The male members of this ‎tribe became distinctive at the time they had completed the first ‎month of their lives. (Numbers 3,15) They were included in the ‎census already at that tender age, whereas the other Israelites had ‎to await their 20th birthday before they could be included in the ‎census. (Numbers 1,3).‎
The concept of 12 tribes [excluding the Levites, ‎Ed.] alluded to the commandments of the Creator handed ‎down in the Torah, and that is why they had been given the ‎collective name ‎מטות‎, “staffs,” as the commandments by which ‎Israelites guide themselves, and which are their main support ‎during their lifetime on earth serve as their support, [in the sense ‎of a walking cane.] They draw on this support to maintain and ‎reinforce their faith in G’d. Performance of the commandments ‎refines our intellect. The tribe of Levi is a special example of this ‎as pointed out in Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12 where the author of ‎the Midrash draws our attention to the fact that this tribe ‎had to be counted in the proximity of the Tabernacle, as it had ‎proven during the episode of the golden calf that it had absolute ‎faith in G’d, and although a tiny minority (about 5%) of the ‎nation, had risked their lives on behalf of G’d, by executing idol ‎worshipping members of the nation. (Exodus 32,27-28).
We already explained that there are two levels of faith in G’d, ‎and corresponding to that the Levites were counted on two ‎levels. (at 30 days, and again when they reached the age of 30 ‎years, (compare Numbers 4,23 et al) By that time their intellects ‎had matured to the extent that they could be described as their ‎faith in G’d reflecting the higher level. Their duties in and around ‎the Tabernacle made it mandatory that they had spiritually ‎matured enough to carry them out while thinking the ‎appropriate religious thoughts.‎
Initially, G’d had commanded Moses to teach the Jewish ‎people first about the Tabernacle, i.e. to instruct them in the ‎ways to have faith in G’d on the basic level, i.e. to believe that He ‎is the Creator of all phenomena perceived by the senses. The ‎visible symbol of that faith was the structure called ‎משכן‎. Only ‎afterwards was Moses to teach them about the furnishings in the ‎Tabernacle, the variety of attributes of the Creator, as symbolized ‎in the Tabernacle by the various vessels and furnishings, or in the ‎Torah by the various commandments. Moses, believing that the ‎Jewish people as a whole had already attained the second and ‎higher level of faith, considered it appropriate to acquaint them ‎immediately with the details of the vessels to be used in the ‎Tabernacle. Betzalel, having a more realistic view of the spiritual ‎level of his peers, considered that they should first become ‎familiar with more basic aspects of faith in the Lord as symbolized ‎by the structure called ‎משכן‎, Tabernacle.‎
Having said this we can also solve the problem raised by ‎Nachmanides in connection with Exodus 19,4 where the Torah ‎writes: ‎אתם ראיתם אשר עשיתי למצרים....ואביא אתכם אלי‎, “you have ‎seen what I have done to Egypt……. and I have brought you to ‎Me.” Nachmanides questions the wording there as at that point ‎the Jewish people had not yet experienced the revelation at ‎Mount Sinai and had not yet been given the Torah. We may best ‎understand this by remembering that while in Egypt the Jewish ‎people (the generation experiencing the redemption, not the ‎Israelites who had come to Egypt with Yaakov and their children) ‎had not believed in the G’d of Avraham at all, -to wit their failure ‎to circumcise their male children- so that the redemption was the ‎starting point from which their faith in G’d as the Creator and as ‎the G’d of Israel must be counted. True faith of the whole people ‎did not commence until the first day of the month of Sivan, when ‎for the first time, the Torah describes the Jewish people as united, ‎i.e. ‎ויחן ישראל ‏‎, “Israel encamped,” (singular mode) as opposed to ‎all previous encampments when the Torah always writes: ‎ויחנו ‏ישראל‎, Israel encamped, (plural mode). At that time they did not ‎know yet how to serve the G’d Whom they all believed in as the ‎Creator and as the G’d of their forefathers. This nuance is also ‎evident in Onkelos’ rendering the end of Exodus 19,4 ‎ואביא אתכם ‏אלי‎, usually translated as “I have brought you to Me,” as: ‎וקרבית ‏יתכון לפולחני‎, “I have brought you near to perform service for ‎Me.” ‎ ‎

Exodus 19,6. “and you will be for Me a kingdom of ‎priests.” This statement can best be understood in ‎connection with a statement in the Talmud Moed Katan 16 ‎where the rhetorical question of: “who rules over Me, (G’d) is ‎answered with the word: ‎צדיק‎, “the righteous, the Just.” The ‎Talmud reveals that G’d’s people comprise people of the stature ‎of Royalty, people who are able by their very stature to overturn ‎evil decrees made by G’d in heaven and turn their effect into ‎blessings. [The major function of the priests is to channel ‎blessings to the Jewish people either by their words or by their ‎sacrificial service on behalf of the people. Ed.]. The exact ‎wording in the Talmud is: ‎לי דבר צור ישראל וגו'‏‎, “concerning Me ‎the Rock of Israel said, etc.” The Talmud understands the wordלי ‏‎: ‎there as ‎עלי‎, “over Me,” implying that someone has “power” to ‎overrule Gd. The word ‎עלי‎ implies overturning, superseding Me.” ‎Just as G’d’s function as Patron of the Jewish people is to ‎overturn evil decrees by the gentiles in our favour, so the ‎function of the righteous amongst us is to overturn G’d’s evil ‎decrees aimed at the Jewish people. The power of the righteous ‎does not extend however, to an ability to overturn G’d’s decrees ‎that are favourable to us. In other words, the concept of ‎ממלכת ‏כהנים‎, “a Kingdom of priests,” emphasizes the limitation of that ‎‎“kingdom.”‎

Exodus 19,8“Moses brought back the people’s response to ‎G’d.” A look at the Or Hachayim will show that the ‎author did not understand this verse to mean that Moses brought ‎G’d the people’s “answer,” as G’d was aware of this answer and did ‎not need Moses to report this to Him. Moses “told” G’d of the ‎people’s response in order to make them more beloved in His ‎eyes. He emphasizes especially that the people had not said: ‎נשמע ‏ונעשה‎, “we will listen to G’d’s commandments and then perform ‎them,” implying that they would listen conditionally, but that ‎they had said: ‎נעשה ונשמע‎, “of course we will carry out the ‎commandments, only let us hear them, so that we will know what ‎to do.”‎
Another aspect of this verse is that Moses in reflecting on the ‎people’s response, realized that this response must have been ‎forthcoming as the result of Divine inspiration as there are simply ‎no normal people who would write such a “blank cheque”, not ‎knowing the amount that would be filled in. This thought is also ‎expressed in the Talmud Shabbat 88 where the Talmud ‎reports that at the moment when the Jewish people said: ‎נעשה ‏ונשמע‎, a heavenly voice was heard asking: ‘who told these people ‎the secret of this formula that is reserved for the angels?’ ‎‎(compare psalms 103,20) where the psalmist quotes them saying ‎‎“Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His servants who do His will; etc.” In ‎that verse too the angels are described as doing G’d’s “word”, ‎עושי ‏דברו‎, before having heard G’d issue the command, ‎לשמוע בקול ‏דברו‎. The reason the angels did so was that they wanted to ‎parallel, to equal what the Israelites had done. Moses realized ‎upon reflecting on this that if the Israelites had responded with a ‎similar reaction to the message Moses had brought them from the ‎celestial regions, that they must have had a heavenly assist, i.e. ‎have been inspired by G’d to do so. The verse describing Moses as ‎‎“bringing the people’s response to G’d,” meant that he told G’d ‎that he knew that the people had been inspired by Him to ‎respond in the manner that they did. Expressed differently, Moses ‎told G’d that he was aware that it had been G’d’s wish that they ‎respond in the manner that they did.‎

Exodus 19,9.“and they will also have enduring faith in ‎you.” Rashi understands the word: ‎וגם‎, “and also,” as ‎referring to the people having faith in the prophets in future ‎generations.
I believe, that this conforms to what Nachmanides has ‎written in his commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus ‎‎23,20, commencing with:‎הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך...ועשית כל אשר ‏דבר אליך‎, “Here I shall send an angel ahead of you and you shall do ‎all that I will tell you to do,” to tell us that “you must not listen ‎and do what the angel (prophet) tells you unless it conforms to ‎what I tell you,” i.e. you must not listen to prophets when they ‎tell you to violate any of the commandments G’d has revealed in ‎the Torah. The word ‎בך‎ “within you,” are the key to ‎understanding this verse. [The difficulty appears to be also ‎the word ‎לעולם‎, which normally is understood to mean “forever,” ‎but is a term that cannot be applied in that sense to mortal ‎human beings. Ed.] The Torah hints that if and when ‎future prophets will tell the people what to do and this conforms ‎to what Moses during his lifetime had told them to do, then the ‎people’s faith in such prophets will be not only justified but they ‎are commanded to obey such prophets. Rashi hints at this ‎with the word ‎אחריך‎, “after you,” which in his commentary is not ‎to be understood as a time frame, i.e. after Moses has died, but as ‎a reference to prophets who would “take after you,” i.e. teach the ‎same Torah without perverting any of it. The Israelites’ duty to ‎have faith in prophets after Moses’ death, is contingent on the ‎loyalty of these prophets to Moses’ Torah.‎
If we need to look for proof that this interpretation of the ‎word ‎אחריך‎, is linguistically correct, the Talmud B’rachot 61 ‎refers us to Judges 13,11 ‎וילך מנוח אחרי אשתו‎, normally translated ‎as “Manoach walked behind his wife,” instead it translates it as ‎‎“Manoach followed the advice of his wife.” Similarly, here, the ‎Jewish people are to follow that advice of their outstanding leader ‎Moses during all future generations, i.e. ‎לעולם‎.‎
Incidentally, we find that in the Zohar the ‎מצות‎ are also ‎referred to as ‎עצות‎ when the author speaks of ‎עיתין דאורייתא‎, “the ‎Torah’s suggestions.” [I have found ‎עיטין‎ in the ‎‎Zohar 7 times, only as describing either good or bad advice, ‎never as referring to the Torah. Ed.]‎
In Maimonides’ hilchot Temurah, near the end, the ‎author the author refers to his having interpreted the word ‎שלישים‎ in Exodus 14,7, normally translated as “captains” to refer ‎to advisors, experts, men who recognize the truth, ‎מועצות‎. ‎Prophets who do not hand down to their people their true ‎tradition and urge them to abandon some of the laws of the ‎Torah could certainly not qualify for the term “prophet.”
What we have written answers the question asked by many ‎how a “prophet” who performs a miracle or more than one ‎miracle to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people could have ‎been allowed to do so by G’d? The answer is simple. The Torah ‎commands us not to believe the “prophet” on the basis of any so-‎called miracles he performs unless he does not suggest that the ‎people do anything that contradicts what is their collective ‎tradition since the time of Moses.‎
The Torah repeats this theme in greater details in ‎Deuteronomy 13,1-5.‎
The author proceeds now to explain the word ‎לעולם‎ according ‎to a method of exegesis he calls: ‎דרך חדוד אמת‎.‎
The Talmud Yevamot 90 states, and this is accepted as a ‎‎halachically valid conclusion by Maimonides in his ‎introduction to his monumental work Mishneh Torah in the ‎section entitled yessodey hatorah, “fundamental principles ‎of the Torah,” (chapter 9,2) that if a prophet commands violation ‎of a negative Biblical commandment temporarily, when ‎circumstance demand this, as for instance when the prophet ‎Elijah offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel after repairing a ‎defunct altar in violation of the commandment that the only ‎place where this may be done is in the Temple in Jerusalem, the ‎people are not only permitted to obey his command but are ‎obligated to do so on pain of the death penalty. The same ‎principle does not hold true when said prophet commands, even ‎temporarily, to violate a positive commandment of the Torah. ‎Positive commandments of the Torah are never to be abolished, ‎not even temporarily. This is what G’d had in mind when He had ‎Moses write in the Torah that the people would have faith in ‎Moses as a prophet, ‎לעולם‎, “forever,” (for want of a better word.).‎ ‎ ‎

‎(Exodus 19,20) “The Lord descended on Mount ‎Sinai;”
The statement by our sages in B’rachot 5 that ‎the yardsticks we apply to actions of human beings must not be ‎applied when the Torah appears to apply them also to actions by ‎G’d, is well known. The example quoted by the Talmud, describes ‎the average person selling some of his belongings as feeling ‎saddened that circumstances forced him to do so, while the buyer ‎is overjoyed to have come into possession of what had been ‎offered for sale. Not so with G’d. When He “sells” something, both ‎the buyer and the seller rejoice. When G’d “sold” His Torah to ‎Israel, He was happy that He had found someone worthy of ‎receiving that exclusive “merchandise.”‎
In Baba Metzia 59 there is an interesting statement in ‎connection with an ingenious construction of a certain baking ‎oven, the builders of which had found a way of protecting that ‎oven against contracting ritual pollution. In spite of the fact that ‎Rabbi Eliezer, the outstanding sage of the time, gave his blessing ‎to this oven, the majority of the sages outvoted him and declared ‎it as requiring the same procedures for purification that was ‎required for ordinary ovens if the latter had become polluted. ‎When Rabbi Eliezer invoked support for his opinion from celestial ‎sources and a heavenly voice proclaimed him as being correct in ‎his ruling, the other sages ignored that voice, saying that ever ‎since the Torah had been given to man, i.e. Moses and the Jewish ‎people, heaven no longer had a legal standing in how to interpret ‎it. This is also a practical example of the ability of the righteous ‎to override or reverse heavenly decrees. In the parlance of the ‎sages: ‎צדיק מושל ביראת אלוקים‎. There is a somewhat enigmatic ‎statement in Moed Katan 16 which reads as follows, based ‎on Samuel II 23,3 (David speaking) ‎אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ‏ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים‎. On the face of it, the ‎translation would go something like this: “the G’d of Israel has ‎spoken, the Rock of Israel said concerning me; He who rules men ‎justly, He who rules in awe of G’d.”‎
The Talmud, i.e. Rabbi Abahu after a short discussion, ‎explained the verse as follows: “the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‎saying: “I rule man.” To the question of who “rules” G’d? David ‎was given the answer: “the tzaddik.” G’d then elaborated by ‎saying that the tzaddik’s “rule,” meant that whereas He, ‎G’d, formulates decrees, the tzadddik by dint of his ‎relationship to G’d, ‎ביראת אלוקים‎, can reverse it.‎
Rabbi Abahu may have been inspired by our verse when the ‎Torah describes G’d as “descending” onto Mount Sinai, i.e. as ‎giving us the Torah, this may be understood as Israel, i.e. the elite ‎of Israel, the righteous having scored a victory over “Him.” In ‎commemoration of this the Talmud describes Moses as adding an ‎additional day to the preparations for receiving the Torah ‎‎(Compare Shabbat 87) Ordinarily, we would have presumed ‎that when G’d decreed two days of preparation i.e. ‎היום ומחר‎, ‎‎“today and tomorrow,” (Exodus 19,10) how could Moses arrogate ‎to himself the right to delay the giving of the Torah by an ‎additional day? Does G’d’s subsequent statement that He would ‎descend on the Mountain on the third day not signify that He ‎had accepted Moses’ addition of an extra day of sanctification? ‎‎(Exodus 19,11)‎
The answer is that Avraham had observed all the laws of the ‎Torah even in his own lifetime, without the Torah having been ‎revealed to him. (Compare Yuma 25) The Torah had been in ‎existence, according to Pessachim 54 and other ‎‎midrashim (2000 years) before G’d created the universe and ‎its letters had served G’d as “building blocks” for the universe. If ‎an Avraham could divine the contents of the Torah without ‎having had it revealed to him, Moses felt that if even at this stage ‎the Jewish people could only qualify for the giving of the Torah ‎after segregating themselves from their wives, that in order for ‎the Torah to become firmly ours, so that we could ignore the ‎interference of a heavenly voice if our interpretation of the Torah ‎would be challenged, an extra day of sanctification might ensure ‎this. By being able to do this, we would demonstrate that the ‎Torah is indeed not in heaven, as Moses told the people in ‎Deuteronomy 30,12. When G’d said that He would descend on ‎Mount Sinai only on the third day, He did not mean that He ‎would delay giving the Torah [after all we observe Shavuot ‎on the 6th day of Sivan Ed.] but that the Torah ‎would become truly the property of the Jewish people only on ‎that day. This is also what G’d had meant when He told the ‎people to be prepared “for three days.” (Exodus 19,15)‎

‎(Exodus 19,20) “The Lord descended on Mount ‎Sinai;”
The statement by our sages in B’rachot 5 that ‎the yardsticks we apply to actions of human beings must not be ‎applied when the Torah appears to apply them also to actions by ‎G’d, is well known. The example quoted by the Talmud, describes ‎the average person selling some of his belongings as feeling ‎saddened that circumstances forced him to do so, while the buyer ‎is overjoyed to have come into possession of what had been ‎offered for sale. Not so with G’d. When He “sells” something, both ‎the buyer and the seller rejoice. When G’d “sold” His Torah to ‎Israel, He was happy that He had found someone worthy of ‎receiving that exclusive “merchandise.”‎
In Baba Metzia 59 there is an interesting statement in ‎connection with an ingenious construction of a certain baking ‎oven, the builders of which had found a way of protecting that ‎oven against contracting ritual pollution. In spite of the fact that ‎Rabbi Eliezer, the outstanding sage of the time, gave his blessing ‎to this oven, the majority of the sages outvoted him and declared ‎it as requiring the same procedures for purification that was ‎required for ordinary ovens if the latter had become polluted. ‎When Rabbi Eliezer invoked support for his opinion from celestial ‎sources and a heavenly voice proclaimed him as being correct in ‎his ruling, the other sages ignored that voice, saying that ever ‎since the Torah had been given to man, i.e. Moses and the Jewish ‎people, heaven no longer had a legal standing in how to interpret ‎it. This is also a practical example of the ability of the righteous ‎to override or reverse heavenly decrees. In the parlance of the ‎sages: ‎צדיק מושל ביראת אלוקים‎. There is a somewhat enigmatic ‎statement in Moed Katan 16 which reads as follows, based ‎on Samuel II 23,3 (David speaking) ‎אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ‏ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים‎. On the face of it, the ‎translation would go something like this: “the G’d of Israel has ‎spoken, the Rock of Israel said concerning me; He who rules men ‎justly, He who rules in awe of G’d.”‎
The Talmud, i.e. Rabbi Abahu after a short discussion, ‎explained the verse as follows: “the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‎saying: “I rule man.” To the question of who “rules” G’d? David ‎was given the answer: “the tzaddik.” G’d then elaborated by ‎saying that the tzaddik’s “rule,” meant that whereas He, ‎G’d, formulates decrees, the tzadddik by dint of his ‎relationship to G’d, ‎ביראת אלוקים‎, can reverse it.‎
Rabbi Abahu may have been inspired by our verse when the ‎Torah describes G’d as “descending” onto Mount Sinai, i.e. as ‎giving us the Torah, this may be understood as Israel, i.e. the elite ‎of Israel, the righteous having scored a victory over “Him.” In ‎commemoration of this the Talmud describes Moses as adding an ‎additional day to the preparations for receiving the Torah ‎‎(Compare Shabbat 87) Ordinarily, we would have presumed ‎that when G’d decreed two days of preparation i.e. ‎היום ומחר‎, ‎‎“today and tomorrow,” (Exodus 19,10) how could Moses arrogate ‎to himself the right to delay the giving of the Torah by an ‎additional day? Does G’d’s subsequent statement that He would ‎descend on the Mountain on the third day not signify that He ‎had accepted Moses’ addition of an extra day of sanctification? ‎‎(Exodus 19,11)‎
The answer is that Avraham had observed all the laws of the ‎Torah even in his own lifetime, without the Torah having been ‎revealed to him. (Compare Yuma 25) The Torah had been in ‎existence, according to Pessachim 54 and other ‎‎midrashim (2000 years) before G’d created the universe and ‎its letters had served G’d as “building blocks” for the universe. If ‎an Avraham could divine the contents of the Torah without ‎having had it revealed to him, Moses felt that if even at this stage ‎the Jewish people could only qualify for the giving of the Torah ‎after segregating themselves from their wives, that in order for ‎the Torah to become firmly ours, so that we could ignore the ‎interference of a heavenly voice if our interpretation of the Torah ‎would be challenged, an extra day of sanctification might ensure ‎this. By being able to do this, we would demonstrate that the ‎Torah is indeed not in heaven, as Moses told the people in ‎Deuteronomy 30,12. When G’d said that He would descend on ‎Mount Sinai only on the third day, He did not mean that He ‎would delay giving the Torah [after all we observe Shavuot ‎on the 6th day of Sivan Ed.] but that the Torah ‎would become truly the property of the Jewish people only on ‎that day. This is also what G’d had meant when He told the ‎people to be prepared “for three days.” (Exodus 19,15)‎

‎(Exodus 19,20) “The Lord descended on Mount ‎Sinai;”
The statement by our sages in B’rachot 5 that ‎the yardsticks we apply to actions of human beings must not be ‎applied when the Torah appears to apply them also to actions by ‎G’d, is well known. The example quoted by the Talmud, describes ‎the average person selling some of his belongings as feeling ‎saddened that circumstances forced him to do so, while the buyer ‎is overjoyed to have come into possession of what had been ‎offered for sale. Not so with G’d. When He “sells” something, both ‎the buyer and the seller rejoice. When G’d “sold” His Torah to ‎Israel, He was happy that He had found someone worthy of ‎receiving that exclusive “merchandise.”‎
In Baba Metzia 59 there is an interesting statement in ‎connection with an ingenious construction of a certain baking ‎oven, the builders of which had found a way of protecting that ‎oven against contracting ritual pollution. In spite of the fact that ‎Rabbi Eliezer, the outstanding sage of the time, gave his blessing ‎to this oven, the majority of the sages outvoted him and declared ‎it as requiring the same procedures for purification that was ‎required for ordinary ovens if the latter had become polluted. ‎When Rabbi Eliezer invoked support for his opinion from celestial ‎sources and a heavenly voice proclaimed him as being correct in ‎his ruling, the other sages ignored that voice, saying that ever ‎since the Torah had been given to man, i.e. Moses and the Jewish ‎people, heaven no longer had a legal standing in how to interpret ‎it. This is also a practical example of the ability of the righteous ‎to override or reverse heavenly decrees. In the parlance of the ‎sages: ‎צדיק מושל ביראת אלוקים‎. There is a somewhat enigmatic ‎statement in Moed Katan 16 which reads as follows, based ‎on Samuel II 23,3 (David speaking) ‎אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ‏ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים‎. On the face of it, the ‎translation would go something like this: “the G’d of Israel has ‎spoken, the Rock of Israel said concerning me; He who rules men ‎justly, He who rules in awe of G’d.”‎
The Talmud, i.e. Rabbi Abahu after a short discussion, ‎explained the verse as follows: “the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‎saying: “I rule man.” To the question of who “rules” G’d? David ‎was given the answer: “the tzaddik.” G’d then elaborated by ‎saying that the tzaddik’s “rule,” meant that whereas He, ‎G’d, formulates decrees, the tzadddik by dint of his ‎relationship to G’d, ‎ביראת אלוקים‎, can reverse it.‎
Rabbi Abahu may have been inspired by our verse when the ‎Torah describes G’d as “descending” onto Mount Sinai, i.e. as ‎giving us the Torah, this may be understood as Israel, i.e. the elite ‎of Israel, the righteous having scored a victory over “Him.” In ‎commemoration of this the Talmud describes Moses as adding an ‎additional day to the preparations for receiving the Torah ‎‎(Compare Shabbat 87) Ordinarily, we would have presumed ‎that when G’d decreed two days of preparation i.e. ‎היום ומחר‎, ‎‎“today and tomorrow,” (Exodus 19,10) how could Moses arrogate ‎to himself the right to delay the giving of the Torah by an ‎additional day? Does G’d’s subsequent statement that He would ‎descend on the Mountain on the third day not signify that He ‎had accepted Moses’ addition of an extra day of sanctification? ‎‎(Exodus 19,11)‎
The answer is that Avraham had observed all the laws of the ‎Torah even in his own lifetime, without the Torah having been ‎revealed to him. (Compare Yuma 25) The Torah had been in ‎existence, according to Pessachim 54 and other ‎‎midrashim (2000 years) before G’d created the universe and ‎its letters had served G’d as “building blocks” for the universe. If ‎an Avraham could divine the contents of the Torah without ‎having had it revealed to him, Moses felt that if even at this stage ‎the Jewish people could only qualify for the giving of the Torah ‎after segregating themselves from their wives, that in order for ‎the Torah to become firmly ours, so that we could ignore the ‎interference of a heavenly voice if our interpretation of the Torah ‎would be challenged, an extra day of sanctification might ensure ‎this. By being able to do this, we would demonstrate that the ‎Torah is indeed not in heaven, as Moses told the people in ‎Deuteronomy 30,12. When G’d said that He would descend on ‎Mount Sinai only on the third day, He did not mean that He ‎would delay giving the Torah [after all we observe Shavuot ‎on the 6th day of Sivan Ed.] but that the Torah ‎would become truly the property of the Jewish people only on ‎that day. This is also what G’d had meant when He told the ‎people to be prepared “for three days.” (Exodus 19,15)‎

‎(Exodus 19,20) “The Lord descended on Mount ‎Sinai;”
The statement by our sages in B’rachot 5 that ‎the yardsticks we apply to actions of human beings must not be ‎applied when the Torah appears to apply them also to actions by ‎G’d, is well known. The example quoted by the Talmud, describes ‎the average person selling some of his belongings as feeling ‎saddened that circumstances forced him to do so, while the buyer ‎is overjoyed to have come into possession of what had been ‎offered for sale. Not so with G’d. When He “sells” something, both ‎the buyer and the seller rejoice. When G’d “sold” His Torah to ‎Israel, He was happy that He had found someone worthy of ‎receiving that exclusive “merchandise.”‎
In Baba Metzia 59 there is an interesting statement in ‎connection with an ingenious construction of a certain baking ‎oven, the builders of which had found a way of protecting that ‎oven against contracting ritual pollution. In spite of the fact that ‎Rabbi Eliezer, the outstanding sage of the time, gave his blessing ‎to this oven, the majority of the sages outvoted him and declared ‎it as requiring the same procedures for purification that was ‎required for ordinary ovens if the latter had become polluted. ‎When Rabbi Eliezer invoked support for his opinion from celestial ‎sources and a heavenly voice proclaimed him as being correct in ‎his ruling, the other sages ignored that voice, saying that ever ‎since the Torah had been given to man, i.e. Moses and the Jewish ‎people, heaven no longer had a legal standing in how to interpret ‎it. This is also a practical example of the ability of the righteous ‎to override or reverse heavenly decrees. In the parlance of the ‎sages: ‎צדיק מושל ביראת אלוקים‎. There is a somewhat enigmatic ‎statement in Moed Katan 16 which reads as follows, based ‎on Samuel II 23,3 (David speaking) ‎אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ‏ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים‎. On the face of it, the ‎translation would go something like this: “the G’d of Israel has ‎spoken, the Rock of Israel said concerning me; He who rules men ‎justly, He who rules in awe of G’d.”‎
The Talmud, i.e. Rabbi Abahu after a short discussion, ‎explained the verse as follows: “the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‎saying: “I rule man.” To the question of who “rules” G’d? David ‎was given the answer: “the tzaddik.” G’d then elaborated by ‎saying that the tzaddik’s “rule,” meant that whereas He, ‎G’d, formulates decrees, the tzadddik by dint of his ‎relationship to G’d, ‎ביראת אלוקים‎, can reverse it.‎
Rabbi Abahu may have been inspired by our verse when the ‎Torah describes G’d as “descending” onto Mount Sinai, i.e. as ‎giving us the Torah, this may be understood as Israel, i.e. the elite ‎of Israel, the righteous having scored a victory over “Him.” In ‎commemoration of this the Talmud describes Moses as adding an ‎additional day to the preparations for receiving the Torah ‎‎(Compare Shabbat 87) Ordinarily, we would have presumed ‎that when G’d decreed two days of preparation i.e. ‎היום ומחר‎, ‎‎“today and tomorrow,” (Exodus 19,10) how could Moses arrogate ‎to himself the right to delay the giving of the Torah by an ‎additional day? Does G’d’s subsequent statement that He would ‎descend on the Mountain on the third day not signify that He ‎had accepted Moses’ addition of an extra day of sanctification? ‎‎(Exodus 19,11)‎
The answer is that Avraham had observed all the laws of the ‎Torah even in his own lifetime, without the Torah having been ‎revealed to him. (Compare Yuma 25) The Torah had been in ‎existence, according to Pessachim 54 and other ‎‎midrashim (2000 years) before G’d created the universe and ‎its letters had served G’d as “building blocks” for the universe. If ‎an Avraham could divine the contents of the Torah without ‎having had it revealed to him, Moses felt that if even at this stage ‎the Jewish people could only qualify for the giving of the Torah ‎after segregating themselves from their wives, that in order for ‎the Torah to become firmly ours, so that we could ignore the ‎interference of a heavenly voice if our interpretation of the Torah ‎would be challenged, an extra day of sanctification might ensure ‎this. By being able to do this, we would demonstrate that the ‎Torah is indeed not in heaven, as Moses told the people in ‎Deuteronomy 30,12. When G’d said that He would descend on ‎Mount Sinai only on the third day, He did not mean that He ‎would delay giving the Torah [after all we observe Shavuot ‎on the 6th day of Sivan Ed.] but that the Torah ‎would become truly the property of the Jewish people only on ‎that day. This is also what G’d had meant when He told the ‎people to be prepared “for three days.” (Exodus 19,15)‎

Exodus 19,21. “Hashem said to Moses: ‘descend and ‎warn the people lest they break through towards G’d, etc.’” ‎Exodus 19,23: “Moses said to G’d: ‘the people cannot ascend ‎the mountain, etc.” 19,24: G’d said to
‎[The reader will no doubt have noted when reflecting on ‎this dialogue between G’d and Moses that for Moses to –so to ‎speak- countermand G’d’s instruction to him- sounds mind-‎boggling. Ed.]‎
‎Rashi’s commentary on verse 24, based on the ‎‎Mechilta, focuses on the word ‎‏ מזרזין‎, the urgency of ‎repeating warnings in order for these warnings not to be ‎ignored.‎
It appears to me that Moses had full faith in G’d’s words,-not ‎as it would appear at first glance- and seeing that he did, he ‎immediately carried out G’d’s instructions and descended. At the ‎same time, Moses took it for granted that just as it would not ‎occur to him to question G’d’s instructions, so it would not occur ‎to any member of the Jewish people to do so either. G’d corrected ‎him by explaining that not only must a warning be issued prior ‎to a prohibition, but it must be repeated at the time when there ‎is evidence that the prohibition is about to be ignored. Moses was ‎too humble to believe that seeing that he had merited to converse ‎with G’d on a “mouth to mouth” bases repeatedly, that this had ‎been possible only because his level of faith in G’d was high above ‎that of the average Israelite. Whereas the average Israelite did ‎have great moments of religious inspiration from time to time, ‎Moses was on that level on a 24/7 basis. Hence he was able to say ‎to G’d: “seeing that You have warned us once we cannot possibly ‎entertain the thought of ascending the mountain.” (verse 23) ‎When Gd repeated the instructions to Moses to descend forthwith ‎and to warn the people again this was a great compliment to ‎Moses, not an expression of G’d’s displeasure for Moses not ‎having carried out instructions.‎ ‎

Exodus 19,21. “Hashem said to Moses: ‘descend and ‎warn the people lest they break through towards G’d, etc.’” ‎Exodus 19,23: “Moses said to G’d: ‘the people cannot ascend ‎the mountain, etc.” 19,24: G’d said to
‎[The reader will no doubt have noted when reflecting on ‎this dialogue between G’d and Moses that for Moses to –so to ‎speak- countermand G’d’s instruction to him- sounds mind-‎boggling. Ed.]‎
‎Rashi’s commentary on verse 24, based on the ‎‎Mechilta, focuses on the word ‎‏ מזרזין‎, the urgency of ‎repeating warnings in order for these warnings not to be ‎ignored.‎
It appears to me that Moses had full faith in G’d’s words,-not ‎as it would appear at first glance- and seeing that he did, he ‎immediately carried out G’d’s instructions and descended. At the ‎same time, Moses took it for granted that just as it would not ‎occur to him to question G’d’s instructions, so it would not occur ‎to any member of the Jewish people to do so either. G’d corrected ‎him by explaining that not only must a warning be issued prior ‎to a prohibition, but it must be repeated at the time when there ‎is evidence that the prohibition is about to be ignored. Moses was ‎too humble to believe that seeing that he had merited to converse ‎with G’d on a “mouth to mouth” bases repeatedly, that this had ‎been possible only because his level of faith in G’d was high above ‎that of the average Israelite. Whereas the average Israelite did ‎have great moments of religious inspiration from time to time, ‎Moses was on that level on a 24/7 basis. Hence he was able to say ‎to G’d: “seeing that You have warned us once we cannot possibly ‎entertain the thought of ascending the mountain.” (verse 23) ‎When Gd repeated the instructions to Moses to descend forthwith ‎and to warn the people again this was a great compliment to ‎Moses, not an expression of G’d’s displeasure for Moses not ‎having carried out instructions.‎ ‎

It is possible, however, to interpret our verse by keeping in ‎mind that Moses’ quality of prophetic visions was superior to ‎that of other prophets. This expressed itself in the rule that ‎whereas other prophets were duty bound to relate the messages ‎they had received in accordance with the way in which they had ‎understood it from G’d without adding, detracting, or changing ‎one iota. People who had heard the message delivered by the ‎prophets were not allowed to alter any part of it. Moses, on the ‎other hand, seeing that G’d’s voice was uttered by his throat, ‎‎(Zohar III 232) so that people hearing it actually heard ‎G’d’s voice, were understood by the people according to the ‎intellectual capacity of each individual. The word ‎וירד‎, “He (G’d) ‎descended”, should therefore be translated as “it descended,” i.e. ‎when G’d’s voice was received by the people who “heard” it from ‎Moses’ throat it underwent a “descent,” i.e. it was understood by ‎each individual according to his perceptive powers.‎
When we understand our verse in this manner the question ‎raised by Tossaphot in B’rachot 45 on the words: ‎‎(Exodus 19,19) ‎משה ידבר והאלוקים יעננו בקול‎, usually translated as ‎‎“Moses would speak and G’d would respond audibly,” can be ‎answered.
[The Talmud there had used this verse to ‎‎”prove” that the person who translated every word read by the ‎Reader from the Torah in Hebrew must not raise his voice to a ‎level louder than that of the reader. Assuming our translation of ‎that verse was correct, Tossaphot argue that we should ‎derive the very opposite from this, namely that the Reader ‎should not raise his voice above the level of the translator! ‎‎Tossaphot, based on Alfassi, attempt some forced ‎explanation. Ed.]‎
Our author translates the verse simply as telling us that ‎although it appeared to the listener that Moses was speaking, ‎actually seeing that G’d’s voice was speaking through his throat, ‎he was in the position of the translator, i.e. communicating what ‎G’d had already initiated.‎

Exodus 19,21.“lest some of the people will break through ‎in their intense desire to see and many of the people will fall ‎victim.”This was the negative commandment G’d had ‎uttered in connection with the giving of the Torah. In his ‎comments on Song of Songs 2,7 ‎אם תעירו ואם תעוררו את האהבה עד ‏שתחפץ‎, ”do not wake or arouse love until it please!,”
According to our author, Nachmanides comments that when ‎man attains the level of loving the Creator, or being in awe of ‎Him, he will feel the need to immediately express this by ‎performing a commandment. [None of the sources at my ‎disposal have this comment by Nachmanides, especially not in his ‎commentary on Song of Songs, annotated by Rav Chavell and ‎published by Mossad Harav Kook. Ed.]‎
As a result of this mitzvah performance by the person in ‎the grip of religious enthusiasm either through love for G’d or ‎through awe of Him and reverence for Him, G’d will practice ‎צמצום‎, a form of condensation of G’d’s Omnipresence to allow for ‎the creatures in the physical world to develop without ‎experiencing constant tension between the good and the evil ‎urge. The commandment performed by the person who had ‎experienced an overwhelming religious impetus may then be seen ‎as a vessel within which the awakening love for G’d reposes. The ‎Talmud in Kidushin 39 states that anyone sitting idle, ‎reposing, and not being guilty of committing a transgression of a ‎law in the Torah is considered as if he had performed a positive ‎commandment. What is meant is not idleness per se, but ‎idleness in face of the evil urge trying to get him to commit a ‎transgression. Seeing that during the days preceding the giving of ‎the Torah the Israelites all restrained themselves by not trying to ‎break down the fence, they acquired the merit of having ‎performed a positive commandment. This is also the reason why ‎one of the names of the Shavuot festival is ‎עצרת‎, “festival of ‎restraint.” The root of that word, i.e. ‎עצור‎, means to stop, restrain ‎oneself) (intransitively), There are two types of ‎כבוד‎, honour, ‎glory. One type is original, i.e. the honour bestowed on His worlds ‎by the Creator, and the reflected glory, ‎כבוד נאצל‎ the reflected ‎glory. The creatures, i.e. the universes who have had bestowed ‎glory on them by the Creator had received this from the Creator ‎in His capacity of limiting Himself, “downsizing” Himself in order ‎to give more “freedom” to them.
כבוד‎, “honour or glory, exists on two levels. 1) It can be ‎‎“original” i.e. emanating from the Creator directly, or it can be ‎secondary, ‎נאצל‎, in the parlance of the Kabbalists. Original ‎‎“honour” is what the various “worlds” have received from the ‎Creator Who has already downsized Himself in order to give more ‎‎“freedom” to His creatures. This “downsizing” of G’d vis a ‎vis His creatures occurs both in the celestial spheres as well as ‎in the terrestrial regions. In the celestial spheres G’d did not ‎‎“downsize” Himself as much relative to the ‎חיות‎, the highest ‎ranking group of angels, as He did vis a vis the ‎שרפים‎, a ‎lower raking group of angels. Similarly, on earth, G’d’s ‎‎“downsizing” is more pronounced vis a vis the common ‎people, and least pronounced vis a vis Moses. This is why ‎we find the Torah (verse 24) allowing Moses to ascend the ‎mountain, the elders and Aaron to accompany him all the way to ‎the base of the mountain, whereas the people at large had to ‎stop a greater distance away from the mountain. Any “honour” ‎shown by His creatures to G’d during the weekdays is perceived as ‎directed at the part of the Creator which has voluntarily ‎‎“downsized” itself. Secondary “honour,” is the honour bestowed ‎by G’d’s creatures on Him on the Sabbath days or on the festivals ‎when it is aimed at the Creator in His more manifest glory prior ‎to His having downsized Himself. Due to our preoccupations on ‎weekdays with mundane tasks, unavoidably, we cannot bestow ‎the kind of “honour” or “glory” on the Creator that we are able to ‎on days when we are predominantly preoccupied with the needs ‎of ours souls, with spiritual concerns. On the day when G’d gave ‎us the Torah, we were able to give Him this “glory” more so than ‎on any previous or subsequent day, as through the three days of ‎preparation for that revelation we had been transported to a ‎higher spiritual level. This is the meaning of the opening line in ‎the section known as zichronot in the Mussaph prayer ‎on Rosh Hashanah, ‎אתה נגלית בענן כבודך‎, “You have been ‎revealed in the cloud of Your glory, etc.” The term ‎ענן‎, “cloud,” ‎describes something that cannot be found, as one cannot locate ‎something shrouded in darkness.
‎[At this point the author refers to a concept known ‎Iss ‎כ'ד קישוטי כלה‎, “24 bridal decorations.” (the “bride” alluding to ‎Israel as G’d’s bride when it received the Torah) The subject has ‎been written up by Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzato, Pdua, Italy, ‎‎(1707-to Acco, 1747) author of the world famous mussar ‎‎sefer ‎מסילת ישרים‎, “the path of the Just,” and many other ‎books. It appears that the well known book Tikkun leyl ‎Shavuot, read on the night of Shavuot, by many people ‎who spend the whole night studying in preparation for a re-‎enactment of the day the Torah was given, is patterned on this ‎concept. Briefly, it is a text comprising the first three verses of ‎any of the 24 books of the Bible, as well as the last three verses, ‎also the first and last Mishnah of each tract of the Talmud. ‎It also contains portions of the sefer yetzirah and the ‎‎Zohar. The number “24” does not only refer to the 24 books ‎of the Bible, but also to the Hebrew alphabet (22 letters) and two ‎vowels that are spelled in different ways, and accordingly may be ‎added as part of the alphabet. (if I understand correctly.) By ‎devoting that whole night to Torah study we are bestowing glory ‎on Hashem in the most appropriate and profound manner, ‎a ‎כבוד‎ that is comparable in quality to the ‎כבוד נברא‎, “the ‎original” glory bestowed by G’d on His creatures. For more on the ‎subject of these vowels and their deeper significance, see: ‎http://ramhal.net/]‎
Our author draws our attention to Zecharyah 10,8 ‎where he understands the words ¬‎אשרקה להם‎ as a derivative of the ‎vowel ‎שורוק‎, meaning calling out loudly to someone, whereas the ‎vowel kametz, would indicate the reverse, i.e. something ‎withheld, hidden, locked in.? Be that as it may, on the festival of ‎Shavuot, symbolizing the giving of the Torah the Jewish people ‎are on an abnormally high spiritual level, and they demonstrate ‎this by studying the entire holy texts in an abbreviated version.‎ ‎ ‎

Exodus 7,16. “and behold so far you have ‎not listened.” The words: “so far,” appear ‎strange, and sound as if G’d had already performed a ‎number of miracles, whereas in fact He had only ‎brought on one plague, i.e. the waters of the Nile ‎turning into blood. We may be able to understand this ‎turn of phrase when considering a statement by our ‎sages when they compared Moses’ prophecies as ‎characterized by the word ‎זה‎ and that of the other ‎prophets by the word: ‎כה‎. (Sifri Mattot, 2) On ‎the face of it this statement appears strange as Moses ‎frequently introduced his prophecies with the words: ‎כה ‏אמר ה'‏‎.‎
This apparent contradiction has been dealt with by ‎the Rivash, (Rabbi Yitzchok bar Rabbi Sheshet) ‎in his commentary on Exodus 19, 9 ‎‏ בעבור ישמע העם בדברי ‏עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם‎ “in order that the people can hear ‎when I speak with you (Moses‏(‏‎ and they will also have ‎complete faith in you forever.” The Rivash writes that ‎there is a difference between what a person sees with ‎his own eyes and between what he knows through use ‎of his intelligence to be the truth. In spite of what his ‎brain tells him is the truth, he still tends to trust his ‎eyes more than he trusts his intellect. This principle ‎also became manifest during the Exodus of the Jewish ‎people from Egypt, and again during the revelation at ‎Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In spite of ‎the people having witnessed any number of miracles ‎during the period immediately preceding the Exodus ‎so that their faith in G’d should have become absolute, ‎there was a further need to strengthen their belief at ‎Mount Sinai. In spite of all the miracles that Moses had ‎been instrumental in performing ever since he ‎returned from Midian to Egypt, G’d still found it ‎necessary to make the people hear Him speak to Moses ‎directly, before they would believe in him absolutely. ‎The famous proverb: “seeing is believing,” applied to ‎the Jewish people also.‎

Genesis 27,30 “it was that as soon as Yitzchok had ‎concluded blessing Yaakov, etc.;” we need to understand ‎why Yitzchok had not wanted to bestow a blessing on Yaakov, ‎originally. Nachmanides writes: (not found in Torah commentary) ‎that Yitzchok preferred Yaakov to remain unaware of the ‎blessings bestowed upon him. [Perhaps he felt that way ‎seeing that his own father, Avraham, also had not bestowed a ‎blessing upon him, and left it for G’d to do so after he had died. ‎Compare. Genesis 28,4 where Yitzchok makes it plain to Yaakov ‎that he had not received this blessing from his own father. ‎Ed.] This seems difficult to understand. Perhaps we may ‎understand it better in conjunction with what the Talmud ‎‎B’rachot 45 states that the person translating the public ‎Torah reading must not raise his voice to be louder than the voice ‎of the person reading the Torah from the original scroll. The ‎reader represents G’d, Who has given us the Torah, whereas the ‎translator only represents the reader. The Talmud cites Exodus ‎‎19,19 as the source for this ruling. Anyone reading that verse will ‎be astounded, as it sounds as if G‘d, responding to Moses spoke ‎louder than Moses, when repeating what Moses had told Him. ‎‎(Compare Tossaphot on that folio) However, the point is, as ‎we learned in B’rachot 12, that any benediction that does ‎not contain a reference to G’d as King, is not considered a ‎benediction in the full meaning of the word. Similarly, any ‎benediction which follows immediately after another benediction ‎also does not rank as a (separate) benediction in the full sense of ‎the word so that it does not need to include another reference to ‎G’d as “King”.‎
It appears that Avraham had a “claim” on the word ‎א-ל‎ as a ‎name of G’d, as G’d uses this name when bestowing acts of loving ‎kindness on His creatures. Yitzchok, on the other hand, had a ‎similar claim on the word ‎אלוקים‎ for G’d, as this name represents ‎Justice or judgment. This is why his son Yaakov in Genesis 31,42 ‎speaks of ‎פחד יצחק‎ “He Who Yitzchok was in awe of and Who ‎assisted me,” when describing Yitzchoks’ G’d.” Yaakov, had a ‎‎“claim” on the tetragram, i.e. ‎י-ה-ו-ה‎, the name of G’d representing ‎primarily the attribute of Mercy. In order for the attribute of ‎Justice to be “sweetened” somewhat, it needs to be applied in ‎conjunction with the other two attributes we mentioned.‎
The Ari z’al said that the word ‎אתה‎ when used in the ‎beginning of each benediction is an allusion to the attribute ‎א-ל‎, ‎so that when one commences the benediction with the words ‎ברוך ‏אתה י-ה-ו-ה‎, the word ‎ברוך‎ signifying continuation, or conduit, ‎meaning that G’d continuously dispensing loving kindness by ‎means of both His names ‎אתה א-ל י-ה-ו-ה‎. Through His continuing ‎to do so, G’d automatically “sweetens,” i.e. softens the impact of ‎the attribute of Justice, the one referred to as ‎אלוקינו‎ in every ‎benediction we pronounce. It follows that when one benediction ‎follows on the heels of another benediction, there having been no ‎prayer or psalm interrupting the two, that there is no need to ‎acknowledge G’d once more as being King, as the full impact of ‎the attribute of Justice has already been softened so that we do ‎not need to appeal to G’d as a benevolent ruler, i.e. King, to soften ‎the attribute of Justice once more.

Another aspect of why the Torah tells us that Yitzchok chose ‎to stroll in the field, is provided by the additional detail of the ‎time of day when this occurred, i.e. shortly before sunset, i.e. ‎לפנות ערב‎. Our sages (Pessachim 119) give some examples of how ‎G’d’s viewing matters differs from the way His creatures, human ‎beings, view the same matters. Example: When one of G’d’s ‎creatures suffers a defeat, he reacts by being saddened and ‎becoming depressed. G’d, on the other hand, is overjoyed when ‎one of His creatures prevails in a discussion with Him. When G’d ‎had originally suggested that Moses become a substitute for the ‎Jewish people whom He intended to destroy after the episode ‎with the golden calf, and Moses pointed out to him that this ‎would not be a good idea, as the chances of a new Jewish people ‎with only one founding father, himself, being better than the ‎previous Jewish people who had three founding fathers were very ‎slim, G’d was overjoyed to accept Moses’ argument as superior to ‎His own. (Compare psalms 4,1 where David alludes to this) The ‎Midrash (Tanchuma Ki Tavo 1) takes this thought even further by ‎generalizing that ”G’d issues decrees and the righteous on earth ‎cancel these decrees.”‎
When G’d was guiding His universe before having created ‎man, He did so all by Himself. He did not need to take into ‎consideration how His creatures would view His actions, i.e. His ‎will reigned supreme. Once He had created free willed human ‎beings, He had to seriously consider how the righteous among ‎them would view His actions. Our sages allude to this when they ‎said: (Bereshit Rabbah 19,7 ‎עקר שכינה בתחתונים‎, (loosely translated) ‎‎“G’d’s presence is occupied primarily with His creatures in the ‎‎‘lower’ part of the universe,” [i.e. He has to justify Himself to the ‎righteous people on earth. Ed.]
This principle of G’d’s involvement in man’s pursuits not ‎merely being restricted to viewing it from the celestial regions, is ‎documented in Exodus 19,20 ‎וירד ה' על הר סיני‎, “Hashem ‎descended on Mount Sinai., etc.” What was the reason that G’d ‎saw fit to leave the lofty spheres of heaven? He prepared to act in ‎accordance with what the ‎צדיקים‎, the righteous expected from ‎Him. Being able to set the minds of His righteous at rest is the ‎greatest satisfaction that G’d, their Creator, can experience.
In our portion, this is alluded to when the Torah describes ‎Yitzchok as meditating in “the field,” or, [in the words of our ‎sages ] “Avraham viewed G’d as ‘a mountain;’ Yitzchok viewed ‎Him as a ‘field,’ whereas Yaakov viewed Him as a ‘house;’ this is ‎why he promised to build a “house for Him.” The tzaddikim ‎learned to become progressively more familiar with G’d. [The ‎anecdotes about our author that are appended to his ‎commentary on the Torah, reflect the fact that the author was no ‎exception to this rule. Ed.] Being able to feel close to G’d, i.e. on ‎the field, enabled Yitzchok, whose very name symbolized joy, ‎laughter, to become more intimate with his Creator. The word ‎שדה‎ is also known as ‎חקל‎, “(as in ‎חקלאות‎ the pursuit of ‎agriculture.) [The author describes the righteous as being ‎described as ‎שדה חקל‎, but I have not been able to find the source ‎for this. ‎‎‎

‎Exodus 16:1 “He flung horse and its rider high into ‎the sea.” We need to understand why Moses ‎described the “tossing” of the Egyptian cavalry into the ‎sea by using a word referring to an upward motion of ‎G’d’s arm, instead of simply writing ‎הפיל בים‎, “He ‎dropped them into the sea.” Besides, seeing that in ‎verse 4 Moses describes Hashem as ‎מרכבות פרעה ‏וחילו ירה בים‎, “G’d threw (same word as “he shot,”) the ‎chariots of Pharaoh and his army into the sea,” why did ‎Moses choose the word ‎רמה‎ in verse 1? Since the only ‎kind of shooting in those days was the shooting of ‎arrows, it was mandatory that the trajectory first ‎involve the rising of the arrow before it could descend ‎and hit its target, so that there was no reason for ‎Moses not to have used the customary word for ‎‎“shooting.”‎
Our sages in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 6,4 ‎describe the platform or the “house,” ‎בית הסקילה‎, from ‎which the penalty of stoning to death was carried out ‎as being two stories (the height of two average sized ‎persons) high. From that platform the criminal or ‎sinner convicted to death by stoning would be pushed ‎down. The “stoning” would commence after the fall if ‎it had not been fatal. The wording in the Torah is: ‎סקול ‏יסקל או ירה יירה‎, “he will surely be stoned or shot,” ‎‎(Exodus 19,13). The word ‎ירה‎ alone therefore might ‎have been misleading.‎
Another expression which poses a difficulty in our ‎verse is: ‎ומבחר שלישיו טבעו בים‎, “and the choicest of his ‎officers drowned in the sea.” It would have sufficed to ‎state that “his officers drowned;” that would have ‎included both the junior and the senior officers.‎
The answer to these questions may be gleaned from ‎the words of the Midrash (Yalkut Reuveni, ‎B’shalach) where the protective angel, ‎שר‎, of the ‎Egyptians is quoted as having complained that seeing ‎that both the Israelites and the Egyptians had been idol ‎worshippers, why would the Egyptians be singled out ‎for such harsh punishment. ‎
We further need to understand why G’d resorted to ‎the stratagem of encouraging the Egyptians to pursue ‎the Israelites through commanding the Israelites to ‎turn back at Baal Tzefon (Exodus 14,2), after they had ‎already left Egypt and both politically and ‎economically, the Super Power Egypt had suffered a ‎lethal blow. Had G’d not found an excuse that misled ‎the Egyptians to believe that their deity had frightened ‎the Israelites, the entire pursuit of the Israelites and ‎the resultant drowning of the Egyptian army would ‎never have taken place. We must therefore conclude ‎that G’d paid heed to the complaint of the protective ‎angel of the Egyptians, and had to show him that his ‎protégées were totally wicked, having reneged on their ‎not only having released the Israelites but having ‎expelled them. (Exodus 12,33 and 39). The words ‎רמה ‏בים‎, may be understood as a reference to the illusion ‎that the Egyptians harboured that they might succeed ‎due to favourable astrological constellations at the sea ‎where they had failed on land. Secondly, the word ‎מבחר‎, ‎instead of being a reference to the choicest of the ‎Egyptian officers, is an allusion to the freedom of ‎choice, ‎בחירה‎, that G’d gave the Egyptians at that time, ‎i.e. they had brought their death upon themselves by ‎having made the wrong choice in pursuing the ‎Israelites, even after witnessing that the G’d of the ‎Israelites had split the sea for them. After having seen ‎this, even the protective angel of the Egyptians no ‎longer had any complaint against G’d.‎

Moses had lived in an atmosphere so different from that of his ‎people, being attached to G’d, whereas his people were mired in ‎the deepest mud of an apparently hopeless purely physical ‎existence, that while he was consumed with fear and awe of G’d, ‎they were forever consumed with fear and awe of Pharaoh. Moses ‎was forever consumed with the knowledge of the greatness of the ‎Creator, observing how all the phenomena in the universe ‎meticulously obeyed the will of their Creator, that he could not ‎understand how the people would fail to believe the words of the ‎Creator to him that He would redeem them from their misery. ‎The gulf between Moses’ and the people’s relations to G’d is best ‎demonstrated in Exodus 19,21 when G’d told Moses to go down ‎from the Mountain and to warn the people once more not to ‎approach too closely to the edge of the Mountain. He had done so ‎already once, and could not imagine that anyone would require a ‎second warning that their lives would be in danger if they ‎disobeyed. He told G’d (verse 23) that the people could not ‎disobey Him seeing that they had been warned already. Similarly, ‎he could not imagine that having told the people in His name ‎that He would forthwith take them out of Egypt that they would ‎not believe the message. Having been challenged by the people ‎with the words: “may G’d judge who of us is more righteous, we ‎who do not believe the tidings or you who insists that in spite of ‎an initial reverse G’d is true and will keep His word,” (Exodus ‎‎5,21) he turned to G’d in frustration at the lack of faith by the ‎Jewish people. [not because he did not believe G’d’s ‎promise. Ed.] Moses could simply not understand that ‎there is a human being who could doubt the word of G’d.
When Moses asked G’d a question which sounded as if he ‎himself had developed doubts about the success of his mission, ‎the real thrust of his words was: “why did You, G’d give the ‎people such a strong evil urge that that they do not believe Your ‎promise?” The Talmud, B’rachot 32, using somewhat ‎different words, uses a similar approach in interpreting Moses’ ‎question. In the above cited question, Moses also added that he, ‎personally, could not stand having to watch his people’s misery ‎for another minute, so that he failed to see why G’d had sent him ‎at a time when the people were clearly not ready to be redeemed ‎seeing that they lacked the necessary merit.‎ ‎

Moses had lived in an atmosphere so different from that of his ‎people, being attached to G’d, whereas his people were mired in ‎the deepest mud of an apparently hopeless purely physical ‎existence, that while he was consumed with fear and awe of G’d, ‎they were forever consumed with fear and awe of Pharaoh. Moses ‎was forever consumed with the knowledge of the greatness of the ‎Creator, observing how all the phenomena in the universe ‎meticulously obeyed the will of their Creator, that he could not ‎understand how the people would fail to believe the words of the ‎Creator to him that He would redeem them from their misery. ‎The gulf between Moses’ and the people’s relations to G’d is best ‎demonstrated in Exodus 19,21 when G’d told Moses to go down ‎from the Mountain and to warn the people once more not to ‎approach too closely to the edge of the Mountain. He had done so ‎already once, and could not imagine that anyone would require a ‎second warning that their lives would be in danger if they ‎disobeyed. He told G’d (verse 23) that the people could not ‎disobey Him seeing that they had been warned already. Similarly, ‎he could not imagine that having told the people in His name ‎that He would forthwith take them out of Egypt that they would ‎not believe the message. Having been challenged by the people ‎with the words: “may G’d judge who of us is more righteous, we ‎who do not believe the tidings or you who insists that in spite of ‎an initial reverse G’d is true and will keep His word,” (Exodus ‎‎5,21) he turned to G’d in frustration at the lack of faith by the ‎Jewish people. [not because he did not believe G’d’s ‎promise. Ed.] Moses could simply not understand that ‎there is a human being who could doubt the word of G’d.
When Moses asked G’d a question which sounded as if he ‎himself had developed doubts about the success of his mission, ‎the real thrust of his words was: “why did You, G’d give the ‎people such a strong evil urge that that they do not believe Your ‎promise?” The Talmud, B’rachot 32, using somewhat ‎different words, uses a similar approach in interpreting Moses’ ‎question. In the above cited question, Moses also added that he, ‎personally, could not stand having to watch his people’s misery ‎for another minute, so that he failed to see why G’d had sent him ‎at a time when the people were clearly not ready to be redeemed ‎seeing that they lacked the necessary merit.‎ ‎

With trumpets and the voice of the Shofar, sound out before Adonai the King (Psalms 98:6). Let us explain in the manner of parable and metaphor - that of a moral king who traveled to a great forest to amuse himself in hunting animals and birds. He came to a valley in the forest and couldn't find the path straight, true path of the king to return home. He saw villagers in the forest and asked them about the path but they didn't recognize the king and they don't know how to answer him. Because they'd never known the straight, true path of the king! Finally, he found a wise and understanding man and asked him about the path. The wise man understood that this was the king and he became shocked and drew back. He heard him and immediately showed him the path, because in his great wisdom he knew the straight, true path of the king, and he took the king to his palace and sat him down upon his throne. He found favor in the eyes of the king, who lifted him up among the ministers of the kingdom, and dressed him in fine clothing, and appointed him to his treasury. After some time, the man sinned against the king and the king became angry and ordered the highest ministers in the kingdom to judge the man according to his transgressions against the king's commandments. The man suffered much because he knew the judgement would go extremely bad for him, according to the manner that he had sinned against the king. He threw himself down before the king and begged for his life and implored him that before the verdict was passed that he might grant a request in one matter: to dress him in his original clothes that he was wearing at the time he took the king from the woods. The king agreed to do so. And so it was that when he dressed the man in those clothes, the king remembered the great kindness the man did did for him in returning him to his palace and sitting him on his throne. His compassion was stirred and he forgave the sin against him and restored the man to his place. Now this has been a parable: so too with us, the people of the House of Israel - that at the time of the giving of the Torah, the Holy Blessed One offered every nation in every language that they might accept the Torah, but they did not want it. But us, the people of the House of Israel, accepted the Torah with great joy and gladness, and we preceded understanding with action. We accepted upon ourselves the yoke of Heavenly Rule and made it our King over us and accepted God's commandments and holy Torah. And now we have trespassed and rebelled against God. And on Rosh Hashanah, we are afraid of the day of judgement, of the hidden verdict against each person according to their deeds. Therefore, we sound the shofar and dress in the clothes we wore at the time of the giving of the Torah, when we accepted the Torah and raised God as our King with the shofar, as it is written, "the voice of the shofar grew louder," (Exodus 19:19). This is in order that God will remember us according to that merit and forgive us our sins and trespasses and exempt us from judgement and write us for a long, good life, amen, may it be God's will.

With trumpets and the voice of the Shofar, sound out before Adonai the King (Psalms 98:6). Let us explain in the manner of parable and metaphor - that of a moral king who traveled to a great forest to amuse himself in hunting animals and birds. He came to a valley in the forest and couldn't find the path straight, true path of the king to return home. He saw villagers in the forest and asked them about the path but they didn't recognize the king and they don't know how to answer him. Because they'd never known the straight, true path of the king! Finally, he found a wise and understanding man and asked him about the path. The wise man understood that this was the king and he became shocked and drew back. He heard him and immediately showed him the path, because in his great wisdom he knew the straight, true path of the king, and he took the king to his palace and sat him down upon his throne. He found favor in the eyes of the king, who lifted him up among the ministers of the kingdom, and dressed him in fine clothing, and appointed him to his treasury. After some time, the man sinned against the king and the king became angry and ordered the highest ministers in the kingdom to judge the man according to his transgressions against the king's commandments. The man suffered much because he knew the judgement would go extremely bad for him, according to the manner that he had sinned against the king. He threw himself down before the king and begged for his life and implored him that before the verdict was passed that he might grant a request in one matter: to dress him in his original clothes that he was wearing at the time he took the king from the woods. The king agreed to do so. And so it was that when he dressed the man in those clothes, the king remembered the great kindness the man did did for him in returning him to his palace and sitting him on his throne. His compassion was stirred and he forgave the sin against him and restored the man to his place. Now this has been a parable: so too with us, the people of the House of Israel - that at the time of the giving of the Torah, the Holy Blessed One offered every nation in every language that they might accept the Torah, but they did not want it. But us, the people of the House of Israel, accepted the Torah with great joy and gladness, and we preceded understanding with action. We accepted upon ourselves the yoke of Heavenly Rule and made it our King over us and accepted God's commandments and holy Torah. And now we have trespassed and rebelled against God. And on Rosh Hashanah, we are afraid of the day of judgement, of the hidden verdict against each person according to their deeds. Therefore, we sound the shofar and dress in the clothes we wore at the time of the giving of the Torah, when we accepted the Torah and raised God as our King with the shofar, as it is written, "the voice of the shofar grew louder," (Exodus 19:19). This is in order that God will remember us according to that merit and forgive us our sins and trespasses and exempt us from judgement and write us for a long, good life, amen, may it be God's will.