Komentarz do Wyjścia 19:20

וירד ה׳ על הר סיני AND THE LORD CAME DOWN UPON MOUNT SINAI — One might think, then, that He actually came down upon it! Therefore it states, (Exodus 20:19) “Ye have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven”. These two texts together teach us that He bent down the upper and lower heavens and spread them out over the top of the mountain like a bed-spread over a bed and the throne of Glory descended upon it (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:20).

AND THE ETERNAL CAME DOWN UPON MOUNT SINAI. If you will succeed in having insight into this section [of the Torah], you will understand that His Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], came down upon Mount Sinai, and that He abode thereon in fire and spoke to Moses. The communication to Moses in the entire section was by this Proper Name of the Eternal. However, the ascent [of Moses — as mentioned in Verse 3: And Moses went up unto G-d] — and his bringing forth [the people out of the camp — as mentioned in Verse 17] — were towards the place of the Glory, as I have explained.²²⁹Above, Verse 3, also in Verse 19. And He warned, lest they break through unto the Eternal to gaze,²³⁰Verse 21. because even the nobles of the children of Israel²³¹Further, 24:11. did not see Him, and all Israel heard the Voice of G-d out of the midst of the fire.²³²Deuteronomy 5:21. It is this which Scripture says, And ‘Elokim’ (G-d) spoke all these words,²³³Further, 20:1. just as our Rabbis have said:²³⁴Mechilta, ibid. “Elokim designates the Judge.”²³⁵“The Judge who is just in meting out punishment and faithful in giving reward” (Mechilta, ibid.) And they have also said [with reference to the first two commandments]:²³⁶Makkoth 24a. See Maimonides’ “The Commandments,” Vol. I, p. 1. The term Hagvurah (the Almighty) is analogous to “the Judge.” “We have heard them from Hagvurah (the Almighty Himself).” In Deuteronomy it is written: These words the Eternal spoke unto all your assembly.²³⁷Deuteronomy 5:19. And according to the above explanation, it should have said, “Elokim spoke.” That is because, etc. That is because Scripture explains there [in the same verse] that He spoke out of the midst of the fire.²³⁸Ibid., 5:4. And this is the sense of the verse, The Eternal spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.²³⁸Ibid., 5:4. And this is why it is said, I am the Eternal thy G-d.²³⁹Further, 20:2. “This alludes to the verse [in Deuteronomy 5:4, mentioned above]: Face to face, etc.” (Abusaula). The allusion is to the two Divine Names — the Tetragrammaton and Elokim — mentioned together here in 20:2. Now do not find a difficulty in what the people said to Moses, For who is there of all living flesh, that hath heard the Voice of the living G-d speaking out of the midst of the fire?²⁴⁰Deuteronomy 5:23. This would indicate that they heard Elokim chayim speaking (Abusaula). They did not say “that they heard G-d speaking out of the midst of the fire,” but they said the Voice of G-d, referring to what they perceived. This is why they said, Go thou near, and hear all that the Eternal our G-d may say.²⁴¹Ibid., Verse 24. And so did Moses say to them, Did ever a people hear the Voice of G-d speaking out of the midst of the fire?²⁴²Ibid., 4:33. The word “speaking” here is referring to “the Voice,” something like the verse, and he heard the Voice speaking unto him.²⁴³Numbers 7:89.
From this you will understand what the Rabbis have always said in Midrashic homilies, i.e., that the Torah was given in seven voices.²⁴⁴Shemoth Rabbah 28:4, “Rabbi Yochanan said: ‘The One Voice was divided into seven voices.’” They are the ones to which David alluded in the psalm: Ascribe unto the Eternal, O ye sons of might.²⁴⁵Psalms 29:1. This psalm was considered by the Sages of the Talmud as referring to the Giving of the Torah (Sifre, V’zoth Habrachah, 343). The voice of the Eternal appears seven times in this psalm: The voice of the Eternal is upon the waters (Verse 3); The voice of the Eternal is powerful; the voice of the Eternal is full of majesty (Verse 4); The voice of the Eternal breaketh the cedars (Verse 5); The voice of the Eternal heweth out flames of fire (Verse 7); The voice of the Eternal shaketh the wilderness (Verse 8); The voice of the Eternal maketh the hinds to calve (Verse 9). This is also the number of times [that the Voice] is alluded to in this section of the Torah.²⁴⁶1. And there were ‘koloth’ and lightnings (Verse 16). Since the word koloth is written defectively without the letter vav, it signifies the singular: “and there was a voice.” 2. And the voice of a horn (ibid.) 3. And the voice of the horn (Verse 19). 4. And G-d answered him by a voice (ibid.) 5. And all the people perceived ‘hakoloth’ (Verse 15). Here too the Hebrew hakoloth is written defectively and therefore refers only to one voice: “and all the people perceived the voice.” 6. And the voice of the horn (ibid.) 7. And G-d spoke (20:1). Thus there are seven voices mentioned in this section of the Torah (Abusaula). The verse, And there were ‘koloth’ and lightnings,²⁴⁷See Note 246, number 1. is written defectively and therefore counted as one; likewise, the verse, And all the people perceived ‘hakoloth,’²⁴⁸Ibid., number 5. is missing the vav which signifies the plural, [and thus refers to only one voice]. Thus there are six [‘voices’ mentioned here in the section], and [in addition] it clearly says, And G-d spoke.²⁴⁹Ibid., number 7. In Deuteronomy, Scripture likewise mentions seven ‘voices’ in connection with the Giving of the Torah.²⁵⁰1. Ye heard the voice of words (Deuteronomy 4:12). 2. Only a voice (ibid.) 3. A great voice (5:19). 4. The voice out of the midst of the fire (5:20). 5. And we have heard His voice (Verse 21). 6. If we hear the voice of the Eternal our G-d (Verse 22). 7. The voice of the living G-d speaking (Verse 23). In Tractate Berachoth,²⁵¹Berachoth 6b. however, the Rabbis have said in the Gemara²⁵²For the meaning of the word Gemara, see Seder Bo, Note 204. that the Torah was given in five ‘voices.’ That is because they counted only the voices which are concealed, while the two — i.e., I am the Eternal thy G-d and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me]²⁵³So interpreted by Abusaula. See my Hebrew commentary, pp. 387-388. — are explained in Scripture. The purport of this is that Moses our teacher was given the Torah in seven ‘voices,’²⁵⁴“This is an allusion to the seven [lower of the Ten] Emanations” (Bachya). and he was the one who heard them and contemplated them. The Israelites, however, heard one voice, as it is said, a great voice, and it went on no more,²⁵⁵Deuteronomy 5:19. and it is said again, Ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only a voice.²⁵⁶Ibid., 4:12. Here also Scripture alluded thereto in saying, And all the people perceived ‘hakoloth,’²⁵⁷See above, Note 246, number 5. with one vav missing, [thus making it singular, ‘the voice’], for all voices appeared as one. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], this is Scripture’s intent in saying, G-d hath spoken once, twice we have heard this.²⁵⁸Psalms 62:12. The verse actually reads: ‘I’ have heard this. The sections of the Torah are thus explained, without anything being changed with another.

וירד ה׳ על הר סיני, G'd descended on Mount Sinai, etc. According to Sukkah 5 G'd never came closer to earth than ten handbreadths above the Mountain. We therefore have to understand why the Torah uses the expression "on top of the Mountain" when He did not actually descend all the way to the Mountain. Perhaps the Torah wanted to inform us that the שכינה did not descend on the sides of the Mountain although this would have been more than 10 handbreadths above the ground. We had to be told because on other occasions the שכינה descended to other locations on earth which are lower than the top of Mount Sinai. The essential point the sages make is that in keeping with the principle that whereas the Heavens belong to G'd He assigned earth as an exclusive domain for man. We can deduce from the report of the Torah about the wanderings of the Israelites through the desert when the שכינה was present wherever the Israelites made camp, i.e. in places much lower than the top of Mount Sinai, that G'd's presence descends to lower regions above the earth.

וירד ה’ על הר סיני, “G’d descended on Mount Sinai.” Whenever the Torah mentions the term “descent or descending” in connection with G’d, the meaning is that He revealed Himself in some form which could be assimilated by one’s mind. The term is similar to וירא אליו ה’ which the Torah (Genesis 18,1) writes when it describes G’d revealing Himself to Avraham. This is also the way Onkelos translates the words וירד ה’ here; in Genesis 18,1 Onkelos uses the very same words for וירא אליו ה’ i.e. ואתגלי השם, “G’d revealed Himself,” except that he uses a different attribute for G’d. Why then did the Torah choose to express a form of גלוי שכינה here as a “descent” instead of as a “vision?” The reason the Torah used the term “descent” here is to remind us that whenever G’d makes Himself perceivable by any of the 5 senses we have been equipped with this could only have been preceded by His “lowering” Himself to the parameters of the terrestrial part of the universe. In this instance, He became “visible” to the entire nation. It had already been announced in verse 11 that on the third day G’d would “descend” before the eyes of the whole people. They had been made aware that when they would observe the glory of G’d in the form of a consuming fire, that behind that “consuming fire” there would be G’d Himself. It did not mean that human eyes would behold an image purporting to be G’d. G’d had told Moses clearly that even he could not have a visual perception of the Essence of G’d while alive (compare Exodus 33,20). What is meant here is simply that the manifestations that the Israelites would experience at the Mountain would convince them that none other than G’d Himself had orchestrated all these phenomena, i.e. that they had “seen” G’d (at work). What happened to the individual Avraham in Genesis 18,1 was similar. Moreover, it is well known that the level of revelation which the patriarchs experienced was not that of the attribute represented by the tetragram but that of שדי, a level which may be compared to שער לה’, the gateway to the attribute י-ה-ו-ה. This is why the Torah added there “he was sitting at the entrance to he tent;” these words were an amplification of the words וירא אליו, “He appeared to him.” The Torah teaches that the level of revelation Avraham enjoyed at the time was one that emanated from the “entrance of the gate,” not from the innermost part of the Sanctuary of G’d. The Torah was at pains to alert us to the fact that the level of revelation the Israelites had at מתן תורה was superior to the revelation Avraham enjoyed in Parshat Vayera.

(Exodus 19:20) "And the L rd descended upon Mount Sinai": I might think that the "Glory" itself descended on Mount Sinai. It is, therefore, written (Ibid. 20:19) "that from the heavens I spoke to you." We are hereby apprised that the Holy One Blessed be He bent the lower heavens and the upper heavens of heaven and spread them over the top of the mountain and the Glory descended on top of the mountain. (He did this) as one spreads a bolster on a bed, (and He spoke) as a man speaking from a bolster, viz. (Isaiah 63:19-64:1) "Had You not split the heavens and descended, the mountains quaking before You, as fire kindles brushwood, fire boiling water, etc." R. Yossi says (Psalms 115:16) "the heavens are the heavens of the L rd, etc." Moses and Eliyahu did not ascend above, and the glory did not descend below. But the L rd said to Moses: I will call you from the top of the mountain, and you ascend, viz. (Exodus 19:20) "And the L rd called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended."

VV. 20 — 25. פן יהרסו וגו׳ לראות וגם הכהנים וגו׳ יתקדשו, nicht zu sehen, zu hören war ihre Aufgabe, und zwar zu hören mit dem vollen, klaren Sichbewusstwerden, dass das Wort objektiv, von außen an sie komme, dass sie Gott gegenüber stehen und Gott an sie sein Wort richte. Und auch die Priester — damals noch die Erstgebornen (siehe oben zu Kap. 13, 1), — die sonst als die Familien-Repräsentanten zu Gott beim Opfer hintreten, sollen sich nicht höher und heiliger, nicht Gott näher als das Volk dünken, und nicht in diesem Dünkel dem Volke vorandrängen, sollen vielmehr daran denken, dass auch für sie noch erst die Aufgabe sei: להתקדש, sich zu derjenigen Stufe der Heiligkeit, d. h. des absoluten Bereitseins für Gott, hinanzuarbeiten, die sie befähige, dem Volke voranwandelnd vorzuleuchten. Keiner, auch die Priester nicht, war bereits auf der Stufe, zu welcher erst das zu erwartende Gesetz alle hinauf rufen und hinauf erziehen werde. Daher die wiederholten Warnungen vor dem Vordrängen. Und selbst Mosche sollte sich unten beim Volke befinden in dem Augenblick, als Gott aus der Höhe sein Wort an Israel richtete. Mosche (V. 25) ging hinab zum Volke und sprach mit ihnen, da (Kap. 20, 1) sprach Gott alle die Worte, die folgen. Das Gesetz sollte nicht nur durch Mosche, sondern an Mosche wie an das Volk gerichtet sein.

על הר סיני, “on Mount Sinai.” The reason why the Torah was not given to the people in the land of Israel was so as not to give us a pretext to claim that since this law was given in the land of Israel, gentiles had no share in it [refusal to accept converts. Based on Talkut Shimoni Yitro paragraph 275. The edition I own was printed over 300 years ago in Amsterdam. Ed.] Our author quotes the same Yalkut as saying almost the reverse, i.e. that if the Torah had been given in the land of Israel, they could claim that this was the reason that it was not addressed to them and they were not morally bound by it. An alternate explanation: If the Torah had been given to the Israelites when they were in the land of Israel, this would have resulted in jealousy between the different tribes. Each one would have claimed that it had been given in his part of the country. It is significant that the word: סין, when it appears in Scripture (16,1) was changed to סיני, Sinai, The implication is that something that had been the cause of strife, negatively, was changed after the Ten Commandments, had been given, i.e. “My strife,” constructive competition, (in fulfilling My commandments.)

We still need to understand why the Torah did not write: "G'd descended on the top of Mount Sinai?" although we find such an expression immediately following the statement that He descended on the Mountain;" Perhaps G'd thought that if He described the descent of the שכינה in these words they could be misunderstood. In order to avoid misunderstandings, G'd is first described as descending on the Mountain, i.e. to within ten handbreadths of the top, whereas later on the exact part of the Mountain G'd's presence descended on is described as "the top of the Mountain."

Another version of what happened is expressed in the Mechilta according to which G'd lowered the upper heavens on to the top of the Mountain. According to this explanation G'd Himself did not descend at all. The word על would refer only to the fact that G'd's position on top of these upper heavens would be lower than it had been previously when speaking in terms of the distance of the heavens from earth.

Another meaning of the verse is that as G'd began to lower His presence onto the Mountain, the Mountain began to shake and rise towards G'd much as a servant runs toward his master when the master approaches. The Torah here did not really tell us to what place exactly G'd descended; the verse was more concerned with informing us that though the Mountain is basically inert matter, in this instance it was transformed into a living creature so that it could rise before G'd would descend to what used to be its top. Afterwards the Torah describes the target of G'd's descent as "the top of the Mountain." The major message of the verse is that the Mountain rose towards G'd before G'd had reached the top of the Mountain during His descent.