Mamod Har Sinai: The Rest of the Story

So, really, the events began by the possuk says that it was on Rosh Chodesh Sivan that the Bnei Yisrael arrived in Midbar Sinai. We mentioned that Rashi says right in the beginning of Rosh Chodesh Sivan that it says What is the Torah after the Chazoras Refidim? It's coming to be makish B'yosom Sinai l'nisosam Refidim. And just like when they arrived in Sinai, they arrived b'tshuva, so too when they departed from Refidim, they departed in a state of tshuva as well. In the they bring and it comes from Naftali that there was a Talmid Chasam Sofer said that the Chasam Sofer used to fast every year Sivan. And the reason is because Klal Yisrael arrived at Midbar Sinai b'chodesh Sivan. Which means they left Refidim on Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan. And Rashi says they left b'tshuva. So, he says, you see from here that Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan is a month of tshuva. It's interesting cuz Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan they became synonymous with the Shlah. But ready from the beginning of time, it was the time to be for Torah. It sounds like that's the turning point in the game for Klal Yisrael. They go from Refidim where they're complaining about water, they go from Refidim where they're forced to fight Amalek because they were vulnerable. They're coming from Refidim where they say and now all of a sudden they leave Refidim b'tshuva. When did that happen? And Chasam Sofer saw this as a sign of it. He used to fast every single year Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan. But anyway, Rosh Chodesh Sivan they arrive in Midbar Sinai. The next morning on Bais Sivan Moshe Rabbeinu goes up to Shamayim and makes the pitch, so to speak, right? And he says, offer the Bnei Yisrael the Torah. So, when were we offered the Torah? It was on Bais Sivan. That's the day. Klal Yisrael says, Na'aseh. Moshe Rabbeinu goes up on the third day and he tells that the Yidden responded in the affirmative. And Kodesh Boruch go tell them that not only am I going to give them the Torah, but they're going to hear me talking to you." Moshe Rabbeinu gives over the message. Bnei Yisrael says, "Thanks, but no thanks. We want more than that. We say Na'aseh v'Nishma." Literally says "Malcheinu." They might have had Haratah, but initially that was the reaction. We say Na'aseh v'Nishma literally says "Malcheinu." Moshe Rabbeinu goes up on the fourth day and he tells us to Moshe Rabbeinu I Kodesh Boruch. Kodesh Boruch says "I'm asking you." He says "Go ahead and prepare for three days." Moshe Rabbeinu comes down. On the fourth day they stop preparing. The fifth day Rashi says that's when they brought the Korbanos that I mentioned in the end of Parshas Mishpatim. And then depending on whether you hold that the Torah was given on Vav Sivan or on Zayin Sivan, the Torah was given on Vav Sivan or on Zayin Sivan, right? So now we're holding already on the day of Matan Torah Sinai. So a few things. Number one, who stood at Matan Torah Sinai? Who was physically at the Matan? As everybody knows, the Chazal say that every single Yid was at Matan Torah Sinai. The Makor is Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer. It's in Perek Mem Aleph. The Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer says, "It says Ki esh We learn from here that Meisim she ba'ol undu al raglayim got up and they stood at Matan Torah Sinai. Not just that, v'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros. Any Yid that would be born at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu b'chol asidim she ba'olam at sof kol hadoros sham undu al raglayim at Matan Torah Sinai. She ne'emar "They saw she ne'enu or the rasha. And the Marsha asks a great sakasha. He says, "No need you need a shvuah. You have to swear that you're going to keep Torah and mitzvahs, which in itself is a chiddush. But didn't the Bnei Yisrael swear already? We're all mushba al yedei May Har Sinai. And Chazal say every single Yid was at Har Sinai. So, if every single Yid was at Har Sinai and every Yid already swore that he's going to keep Torah and mitzvahs, so why then does a baby need to swear when he's al tzal avir olam that he's also going to keep Torah and mitzvahs? So, the Chida in his sefer Ein Mesachtos Chazal says, "It's not true the Marsha's sakasha. Because even though Chazal say that every single Yid was at Har Sinai, it means the neshamos were at Har Sinai." He says, "The body is the gufin weren't at Har Sinai. It was the neshamos that were at Har Sinai. If that's the case, it's true Klal Yisrael is mushba al yedei May Har Sinai. But what swore at Har Sinai? It was the neshamos of Klal Yisrael that swore at Har Sinai. The guf NEVER SWORE. THE GUF ALSO has to partake in this shvuah. That's that shvuah that the Gemara in Maseches Sanhedrin is talking about, that every little child swears to eat tzadik or rasha. And the two shvuos, the shvuah of the neshamah, which happened at May Har Sinai, and the shvuah of the guf, that happens bishas yetziras havalad, it's those two shvuos that together make up what we know as mushba al yedei May Har Sinai. But either way, it's a perek in Rabbi Eliezer in perek mem aleph, it's a Zohar Kadosh in parshas Shelach Lecha, that every single Yid was at Har Sinai, but it's the neshamos of the Yidden that were at Har Sinai. It wasn't the gufim of the Yidden that were at Har Sinai. What about the geirim? So, that's also read from the pass, right? There's a lot of mekoros in the Sifrei Hakadoshim that even the geirim, even those neshamos, the neshamos that were originally hisgayer, even they were at Har Sinai. Moving along. So, what day was Mayman Har Sinai? So, we mentioned it was either Vav Sivan or Zayin Sivan. It's machlokes in the Gemara. It's interesting because I think if you ask the man on the street when was the Torah given, he would say Zion Sivan. Why? Because everyone knows it was supposed to be given on Vov Sivan, but Moshe was Mosef Yomah Me'idayteh. This is a Chazal that's part and parcel of the conscience of the year. That Moshe Rabbeinu was Mosef Yomah Me'idayteh. Stating that we celebrate Shavuos not on Zion Sivan, on Vov Sivan. Which really, if you hold that the Torah was given on Zion Sivan, is not Zman Matan Torah Seinah. And truth is the Maginei Avraham asks it as a Kashah. He says, "How could you say it's Zman Matan Torah Seinah on Shavuos? Shavuos is Vov Sivan, and the Torah wasn't given until the next day. The Torah wasn't given until Zion Sivan." Now, if you live in Chutz La'aretz, so you have Vov Sivan and Zion Sivan. And the Maginei Avraham takah brings from the Ramah Mipano that Yom Tov Sheini Shel Galiyos is different in Shavuos than it is with regards to other Yomim Tovim, because over here the second day could be was even the real day of Zman Matan Torah Seinah. But in Eretz Yisrael, this is a problem where they keep only one day Shavuos. And the one day Shavuos that they keep is Vov Sivan. The Chiyuv is not Zman Matan Torah Seinah till Zion Sivan. This is also an Inyan we've spoken about, something that the Sifrei Machashavah talk a lot about. Next question. What day of the week was the Torah given? That's also an easy answer. It's a Gemara. It's a Gemara in Maseches Shabbos Daf Peh Vov Amud Beis. The Gemara says, "Kul Be'alma Me'idin De'Shabbos Nintin Torah." Everybody holds that on Shabbos the Torah was given. Stating that if you take a look compared to the Rebbe Yeshayah, and we've spoken about this as well. And this is in Perek Mem Vov, Rebbi Elazar Ben Azaryah Omer, "Erev Shabbos Be'Shishah La'Chodesh Be'Sheish Sho'is Ba'Yom Kiblu Yisrael Es Ha'Divros." They want to know when Klal Yisrael was Mekabel the Torah, they weren't Mekabel the Torah on Shabbos, they were Mekabel it on Erev Shabbos. But this is not the Pashtus. The Pashtus is Lashon Ha'Gemara, "Everyone's Me'idin De'Shabbos Nintin Torah." So the Torah was given on a Shabbos. Next question. What time of day was the Torah given? Now, we just mentioned, if you heard carefully, the erev Shabbos the shesh hours by Yom Kipur there was Let's make believe we didn't hear that twice. What time of day was the Torah given? So, that's interesting. Shabbos Shacharis We say in Shmoneh Esrei Yismach Moshe b'matnas chelko. You want to read the whole perek? Ki even ne'eman kulte feres beroshon b'omdei lifnei Har Sinai ushnei luchos um v'chasuv bahem shmira Shabbos v'chein kasuv b'sefer If you take a look at the Meforshei Siddur, the Rishonim, the and the Shibbolei Haleket, they both say that why do we say Yismach Moshe b'matnas chelko by Shabbos Shacharis? Say the Rishonim, it's because kulam moda debi Shabbos nitna Torah. And when on Shabbos was the Torah given? Say the Rishonim, it's a pasuk in the Torah. It's not even a question. The pasuk says "Vayehi bayom hashlishi biyom It was the morning." Vayehi So, you see it was given in the morning. So, when was the Torah given? It was given Shabbos by Shacharis. And who was the one that was kibbel Torah mi Sinai? It was Moshe Rabbeinu. So, it's very appropriate that when we davven Shmoneh Esrei Shabbos Shacharis, we give this incredible shout out to Moshe Rabbeinu. Yismach Moshe b'matnas chelko, right? B'omdei lifnei Har Sinai. It's very appropriate because Moshe Rabbeinu was mekabbel the Torah when? He was mekabbel it Shabbos by Shacharis. And as a result, it's at that time that this is what we say. The of what the Rishonim are saying is based on the Yedu'a Degator. The Tur asks, why is it that when we davven Shmoneh Esrei on Shabbos, Maariv, Shacharis, and Mincha, the nusach of the Kedushah Yomin Part of Shmoneh Esrei is different. Friday night we say Atah Kidash'ta, Shabbos morning we say Yismach Moshe, and then by Mincha we say Atah Echad Echad u'Shmo Echad. Right, why do we change? The three Shmoneh Esreis we say every day is the same Shmoneh Esrei, right? The middle part of Shmoneh Esrei is the same. On Yom Tov, it's always Atah Bechartanu mikol ha'amim, right? It's always the same. But when it comes to Shabbos, it's different, with a different niggun, right? So why is it different? How come when it comes to Shabbos is it different? So the Torah says, because really the three Shmoneh Esreis of Shabbos correspond to three different inyanim of Shabbos. He said the Friday night Shmoneh Esrei is k'neged Shabbos Bereishis. It's k'neged the first Shabbos, the first week of Bri'as Olam, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu rested, zecher l'ma'aseh Bereishis, that's why there's a Shabbos. Shabbos Shmoneh Esrei Shacharis is k'neged the Shabbos of Sinai, because kuli alma maideh d'Shabbos nigmar ha'Torah. And the Shabbos of Mincha, that's already rav d'ravan, that's already when the day is starting to set, that's k'neged the Yom she'kulo Shabbos, that's k'neged Olam Haba. And being that the three Shmoneh Esreis correspond to three different Shabboses, it's for that reason the nusach of the Shmoneh Esrei is different. Ad kam divrei Atah, but either way, what Shabbos Shacharis is k'neged Shabbos Sinai, this is mamash disin'yan. It's Yismach Moshe b'matan ha'Torah, how good, but on the level of Nach ha'Sinai, really this whole Shmoneh Esrei is k'neged Ma'amad Har Sinai, because when was Ma'amad Har Sinai? It was during Shacharis. And the truth is, it's m'forash in Zohar Hakadosh. The Zohar Hakadosh, and this is in Parshas Yisro, right here in these sugiyos, daf pei alef, amud alef, where the Zohar says, "Tanah b'yom haboker, Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed Himself in the morning, k'at itah sh'chusei d'Avraham, Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed Himself and He gave the Torah in the time of sh'chusei d'Avraham, d'chishuv d'vei Avraham b'voker." so this happened mom is first thing in the morning. That's what the Yushka Marama by was. So the reason I mean the she wanted to know when this all took place, it took place first thing in the morning. The problem is we mentioned earlier that Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer says not that way. The Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer says Erev Shabbos B'Shisha Chodesh B'Shisha Yisrael Kiblu Yisrael Es Hadibros. So how come we that the Torah was given on Shabbos and Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer was Erev Shabbos? And an older reason I mean it's Zera Kodesh it seems that the Torah was given in the morning five hours in Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer it says Mishaisha's. I don't know this is above my pay grade but we know that Al Pi Kabbalah Shisha's from Chatzos Erev Shabbos there's already hours of Shabbos right? The 31 hours of Shabbos they were very mild and the number 31 being connected to Shabbos because really Shabbos you have to be twice for Shabbos and in the results Torah twice for Shabbos starts Chatzos on Erev Shabbos that's why there are Yidden that are already being nizor in certain in Yona once already comes Chatzos on Erev Shabbos. So you have the six hours of Erev Shabbos and then you have one hour on the back end of Shabbos and that's how you end up with the Lamed Aleph Sha'os of Shabbos. But Al Pi Kabbalah in Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer it says Erev Shabbos but notice how Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer it's not first thing in the morning. It's Chatzos there's some element of Kuli Alma even the Shita that holds that the Torah was given on Erev Shabbos but Kuli Alma the Shabbos the Torah because on some level Al Pi Kabbalah Al Pi Kabbalah Erev Shabbos already has hours of Shabbos. Another question. This one maybe we never thought of. It's a great bite so maybe we did. And that is what was the weather by Ma'amad Har Sinai? Remember this great bite? What was the weather by Ma'amad Har Sinai? The Rambam in the Moreh Nevuchim and this is in Chelek Shlishi it's in Perek Tes. He says quote V'chein Yedu'a U'mefursam Ba'umah. He says it's well known amongst the nations Sheyom Ma'amad Har Sinai that the day the Torah was given how he it was a cloudy day. A rough fell, it was dark. So, if you looked outside it was very, very overcast. Because there was a light rain. And the Rambam brings a possuk in Shoftim how he knows that. And then the Rambam says, "I'll prove to you that I'm right." Because the possuk says in Parshas in the Mishneh Torah version of that on the day of there was there was darkness. Says the Rambam, "How could there be darkness?" Now, I think if you asked the man on the street he would say, "You want to know why there was darkness? It was a miracle." I don't know. Why was the mountain engulfed in flames? The Torah says there's some miracle taking place over here. So, the miracle is a bizarre The Rambam, I'm quoting. He ain't that slow He SAYS BY THE DOESN'T PASS DARKNESS. HOW COULD IT BE THAT A THE YOU KNOW WHAT THE IN THE TIME? DARKNESS. THERE'S NO SUCH THING. By the it's all WITH ME. THERE'S ALWAYS LIGHT. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. Like the says It's always light. So, what's this must be it was an overcast day. So, the Rambam says the question comes. Truth is right in Parshas Yisro. He brings this same Indian. Says nothing to do with the Says it was like a a cloudy day. Right? Because there was a lot of noises. It's lightning. It was just one of those days, right? Everyone just feels like a little lazy. Maybe that's why the slept. But everybody just feels like one of those days you don't want to get OUT OF BED. A LITTLE BIT OF RAIN. IT'S LIGHTNING. As I said Now, we once mentioned an incredible rate bite from from the where he talks about where he talks about this engine, he brings that in other storm, they talk about what beautiful weather it was. And he says it could be this with the Gamorah says that if the weather is very rainy on Shavuos, it's a good sign. That if the weather is good, then it's a good sign. He says, I don't know, but maybe it's totally in these two what exactly the weather was by my midrash Sinai. But again, the message seems to be what the Rambam says. And that is your almost symbol she my midrash Sinai a raffle the guest how long was my midrash Sinai? That's also pretty that same says that it was it was and it ended which means it was three hours. I saw the says in a different says that even though every part of that not because we hold not in and all the seem to say it was in the morning and it was but he says as it relates to it being three hours, he says I didn't find anywhere anyone has a different version. So he says for that W I Weiss could say this. But all of the as much as we're not being maybe all of what it says in and it's an but it's not as it relates to that part of the narrative and that is that it was three hours. So for that already that already we're going to be so again, we're getting somewhere in terms of just visualizing this. Even though it was given on Shavuos, it was given first thing in the morning. My midrash Sinai lasted for three hours and it was an overcast day. Right? So that's what we know so far. But now the so what went on by the actual event? So if you go through the Kim, there's so many that describe it. I mean there's several in Sisyphus right? There's some in the end of Mishpatim and it's very much by Reishis in partial so So we're not going to go through all the pesukim again inside, but if you do a little bit of a synopsis, there was thunder. There was lightning. There was fire, fire, and there was more fire. In fact, Rebbeinu Bachya says that the Torah mentions the word "aish" 13 times in the context of Ma'amad Har Sinai, and he says a remez about it. But there was a tremendous amount of fire. There was smoke that emerged from all this fire. Kol voice of shofros. There was an anan av, which was a thick cloud. It was dark. It was choshech. Rashi says that was just a weather report. But it was dark. The pasuk says that "Vayecherad hahar." Right? The mountain shook. The Ram- The Ramban here in Parshas Yisro says, "What does it mean that the mountain shook?" So he quotes an Arabic word to describe what that would mean. In English, that Arabic word means earthquake. So there was like an earthquake that went on. The kol ha'am ro'im es hakolos. Right? So just think about what's going on. Again, we have to meditate on this. Ramban wants us to. There's thunder, there's lightning, there's the the mountain is engulfed in flames, there's incredible smoke, the Yidden are hearing shofros, there's a thick cloud, like the Shechinah is there, it's dark, an earthquake, right? It's incredible what's going on. So the elements are at you know, very, very intense force in terms of how it's playing itself out. Truth is, there's there's a a pasuk in in Parshas Va'eschanan when the pasuk describes the fire. Again, there's so many pesukim that describe the fire, but one of the pesukim mention that the mountain itself was literally engulfed in flames, right? It says it was literally engulfed in in fire. And if you think about that pasuk, right? "Vatikravun vatit'amdu tachas hahar vahar bo'er ba'eish ad lev hashamayim. Vayidaber Hashem Elokeichem mitoch ha'eish kol dvarim acherim." >> But where's the talking? He's talking to us. I saw some say that this sounds a little bit like the moment of snow. Remember by the snow? So what happens? I can't come down and ash. So you have these of the snow being engulfed in flames. But I don't know what you call. It almost sounds like that's what was going on over here. It was the same exact thing. That was the same revelation. It was in the SAME PLACE. THE SNOW WAS BY the camp. IT WAS BY MY MAN ARSENA. And we mentioned that why was I know you call? So this wasn't a physical fire. This was a bigger fire. So the fire doesn't talk to physicality in the same way that a physical fire would. But the bottom line is it sounds like this was a repeat albeit in a much grander way. So when I could reveal himself to my at the snow. That was like THE MICROCOSM. BUT THIS IS THE MAIN EVENT. Where everything that's going on there with the mountain is now all of a sudden engulfed in flames but the HOUSE CENA AND THEN YOU CALL. THAT'S WHAT'S GOING on there but it's an incredible incredible moment. The truth is to be my kind of a man. We can't just my and on the show me grow. And even on the show me now. We have to go a little bit further. I mean the first place to make a bee line is the show me stop the cast. With the goes through member after member talking about just what went on by by my man Arsena. Right? Just to mention a few so quickly. The matter says I'm going to show you now. My says I'm doing I shall meet and I call the show me Every single word that I could say was not like the show me the show me now. So I could spoke and every language somehow was communicated, right? So they were able to hear it in any language that they wanted to hear. My says I call the show me the show me now my leg. >> Right, every deeper that came out all of a sudden there was I'm going to be showing you I'm skipping more called deeper you have to send because it was so overwhelmed with this issue. That it was skipping called deeper they were incredible miracles that were taking place over here. What went on over here? What went on at the events of of my man are Sinai? Was something very very spectacular. It was something that happened one time for all times. And this was a direct revelation direct revelation to the again according to the we have a we have to remember this because the more we remember this the more we're going to be stuck in our just to end may as we mentioned this also many many times over the years that we know stood at her Sinai. And gave the an ultimatum he said or else right and the other option wasn't a good option. So was under the rest me what was the right so what was the rest so everyone learns the barrel of the gun was literally on their forehead so what were they going to do? They had no choice. May it's not but it's my man are Sinai it was us cash and what he commanded by the way spoke he said just think about what's going on over here. They were able to see with such clarity the events and the clerk I that I could get in the world. WHEN YOU SEE CLARITY YOU HAVE NO YOU HAVE NO free will. That was the man I could have he didn't say if you're not the I'm going to kill you. She didn't have to say that. There was such a clarity in the world that I might as well away from standing that there's no other option. Of course, they're going to be able the Torah. This is what they were created for. There's no other way. And for us to try to tap into that to that that's part and parcel of the of every single year. The first of the is a which is a lifelong journey of working in and being to recognize that is the only but ironically that the biggest in a comes from and in the words of the this is something that the Torah says the Torah says the Torah says this is something that you have to be so careful of because the more we can tap into remember the events of beginning from all the way through the and even immediately after the when can it finish? This is too much. We can't handle. I mean the thunder, the lightning, the fire, fire, fire, the smoke, the the clouds, the darkness, the earthquake, the seeing the called the all the talks about all those there and you didn't say it can't change but this is all part of the story this is all part of the cornerstone of our faith and according to the we have to think about it. We have to remember it. We can't forget it. We even have an obligation and responsibility to give it over to our children. Again, we said that we have a rate back from back in the day called the seder. Maybe the more appropriate time is really just talk about it by the way last seder. Part of the we start the story with and we end with and by the way if you're not sure that's a good idea. We know this full of of right? We drink four cups of wine not three. It's full of of and what's the fourth lotion of it's and the is really on the and if part and parcel of the so maybe it's possible this is included in the part of the is to talk about the and the words of the we leave out this part we're almost leaving out the most important part right the fourth cup of wine is the hardest one to drink but the the corresponds to the fourth cup of wine that's the most critical one that's the most important one either way this concludes but as just a little I am of my Sinai