One of the most interesting things in Torah is examining the first appearance of a place, phrase, or event. Often, this gives us an idea of its original meaning.
Where is Mount Sinai first mentioned? Was Matan Torah a surprise, or was it already planned in advance?
Moshe Rabbeinu, before leading Am Yisrael out of Egypt, reaches Mount Sinai, and Hashem speaks to him through the Sneh - the burning bush. There, Hashem promises him that in the future, the nation of Israel will also eventually reach Mount Sinai and worship Hashem on this mountain (Shemot 3:12).
It seems that what happened to Moshe Rabbeinu at the burning bush at Mount Sinai as an individual is a preview for what will happen later to Am Yisrael as a collective.
When reading the story carefully, we find many parallels between the story of the burning bush, the Sneh, and Matan Torah at Mount Sinai:
- Both take place at Mount Sinai. The name “Sinai" comes from the word “Sneh" (Pirkei D’Rabbi Elazar 41, Chizkuni Shemot 3:1).
- In both situations, we see the fire of Hashem. The same phrases are used for both (Ramban 3:5 and Rabbeinu Bechaye 3:1).
- In both stories, Hashem requests that people refrain from approaching closer to the scene.
- Both stories take place right after we meet or leave Yitro from Midyan.
- In each story, we are given the central mission and goal of our lives: Moshe - to lead and free the nation, and Am Yisrael (19:6):
“And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation."
Beyond these, we find another interesting similarity between the two. Perhaps we can describe this dynamic as “hide-and-seek":
Hashem showed Moshe the fire burning in the Sneh and invited him to look closely. Moshe Rabbeinu tried to understand why the bush was not being consumed. Then Hashem told him not to approach further. At that moment, Moshe became afraid to look and covered his face (3:6):
“And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God."
Similarly, Am Yisrael at Har Sinai at first were not supposed to hear Hashem directly. At first, they did not want Moshe to stand as an intermediary between them and Hashem (Rashi 19:9):
"תשובה על דבר זה שמעתי מהם שרצונם לשמוע ממך אינו דומה השומע מפי השליח לשומע מפי המלך, רצוננו לראות את מלכנו"
Translatiion:
“A response to this statement I have heard from them: that they want to hear directly from You. They maintain that there is no comparison between one who hears a message from the mouth of the messenger and one who hears it from the mouth of the king himself. They say, ‘We want to see our King!’"
Afterward, they were afraid of the direct encounter with the fire, and out of fear of death, they requested that Moshe Rabbeinu stand between them and Hashem.
The sages argue whether it was positive or not that Moshe covered his face (Berachot 7a and Midrash Rabbah 3:1):
"ר' יהושע בן קרחה ור' אושעיא. אחד מהם אומר: לא עשה משה יפה כשהסתיר פניו...ור' הושעיא אמר: יפה עשה משה שהסתיר פניו"
Translation:
“Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha and Rabbi Oshaya have different opinions. One of them says: Moses made a mistake by hiding his face. The other Rabbi, Oshaya, says: Moses did the right thing by hiding his face."
This debate perhaps touches on one of the deepest questions regarding Matan Torah:
What was the purpose of Matan Torah?
Perhaps there are two dimensions to Matan Torah:
On one hand, we have Yirat Hashem - fear of Hashem. The great ceremony was meant to inspire awe before the infinite greatness of Hashem. We must respect this distance, acknowledge Hashem’s kingship, and accept the mitzvot. This is the “hide."
On the other hand, we want to hear with our own ears. We want to see. We want to meet Hashem face to face (panim el panim), the opposite of covering the face. Mount Sinai is one of the greatest moments in the history of revelation and relationship, of ahava - love. It is one of the greatest moments in the history of the world, where the Master of the Universe, for a short moment, pauses from the “hide," and we experience an extraordinary and sweet moment of -“seek."