The Purpose of Revelation
At the center of our parsha is the Revelation at Sinai, where Hashem gave us the Ten Commandments.
We may ask a simple question: What was the goal of this revelation and why was it necessary? If it was simply in order to give us certain commandments, Moshe sufficed in the role of transmitting the rest of the Torah’s commandments, why could he not have done so with these ten as well?
Let us consider three basic answers to this question.
One: Establishing Moshe as Hashem’s Emissary
While it is true that it was sufficient for Moshe to communicate the mitzvos from Hashem to the Jewish People, this was only possible after it had been established that Hashem had assigned him this role. Confirmation of this fact took place at the Revelation at Sinai. Hashem appeared to the Jewish People and they witnessed His communication with Moshe, thereby authenticating Moshe’s status as Hashem’s emissary in the transmission of Torah. This goal is stated explicitly in one of the verses leading up to the Revelation:
ויאמר ה' אל משה הנני בא אליך בעב הענן בעבור ישמע העם בדברי עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם.
Hashem said to Moshe: “Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, in order that the people will hear as I speak with you and they will also believe in you forever.”[1]
Once Moshe’s critical role had been established, it was then possible to transmit the rest of the commandments through him.
Two: Establishing the Basis of Our Belief in Torah
The implications of Hashem revealing Himself directly to the people extended beyond the generation that witnessed the revelation; it allowed for the authentication of our belief in Torah for all times. Many religions have laid claim to being the true faith and having the authentic word of God. As we know, without exception, these claims all begin with an individual who says that God appeared to him and revealed to him the true path. No one can verify whether or not such a revelation actually happened; it is simply a matter of a number of people believing this individual until the new movement gains momentum. Judaism alone states that the original revelation took place in front of everyone. This is a claim that would have no credibility if it wouldn’t be true — which is the very reason why no one else claims it. One cannot reasonably tell an entire people what they saw and instruct them concerning every aspect of their lives based on it if they did not see it.
The Rambam discusses this aspect of the Revelation in his famous epistle to the community of Yemen, known as Iggeres Teiman:
And know this idea well, that this great event which was clearly visible…there was never an event like it nor will there ever be again, namely, that an entire nation will hear the word of God and witness His Glory directly. And the reason for this experience was in order to strengthen our faith to the degree that no force could ever change it. This truth was made known to us directly in order that our stance be firm and that we would not falter in trying times such as these, when there is unrest or oppression against the Jews, Heaven forbid.[2]:
And this is what Moshe said to the people following the revelation: “For it was in order to test you,”[3] as if to say, Hashem appeared to you in this manner so that you would be able to withstand any subsequent tests to your faith that may befall you in the End of Days, that your hearts will not swerve and you will not err.[4]
Three: Initiating a Relationship
In truth, the meaning of the Revelation goes beyond providing a basis for authenticating the transmission of the Torah. One of the most crucial ideas regarding Torah is that it does not merely represent Hashem’s instructions for how we are to lead our lives in this world, but it is the basis of our relationship with Him. Through performing mitzvos, we elevate ourselves — and ultimately the world — to a state of godliness and attach ourselves to Him.
In this regard, the commentators point out that the root of the word “מצוה” — “צו,” in addition to meaning “commandment,” also means “connection,” for it is through the mitzvos that we achieve a meaningful connection with Hashem. Appropriately, therefore, the transmission of these “connectors” was launched by an encounter with Hashem Himself, which served to forge a Divine connection between us and our Creator. We do not anticipate such encounters on a grand scale on an everyday basis; however, the mitzvos that we fulfill take on fuller meaning when seen as the acts that maintain and develop the connection that began with the Divine Revelation at Sinai.
Indeed, this idea will provide us with a very meaningful understanding of the way in which Hashem “introduced” Himself to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. The first of the Ten Commandments opens with the words: “I am Hashem your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”[5]
The commentators wonder: Why did Hashem present Himself in terms of the specific event of the Exodus from Egypt, and not more all-encompassingly as the Creator of the heavens and the earth?
The answer is that by introducing Himself in this way, Hashem was emphasizing that the mitzvos He was about to command represent an extension of the special relationship that he initiated with us when He took us out of slavery. Indeed, Hashem’s opening words were, “I am Hashem your God,” as if to say, “Not only am I ‘Hashem,’ Creator of all, but I am furthermore ‘Your God,’ interested in having a special relationship with you.”
In light of the above ideas, we can appreciate that our relationship with the Revelation at Sinai is not merely as a historical event, but rather, as an encounter whose implications accompany us constantly and continually in our existence as Hashem’s nation.
[2] The Ramban (in his list of mitzvos at the end of Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos), includes the prohibition of forgetting Sinai as one of the 613 (“taryag”) mitzvos of the Torah. The Rambam, however, does not include this exhortation in his list of mitzvos, even though, as we have seen, he extolls its importance at length in the Iggeres Teiman. Some suggest that the reason the Rambam does not codify the commandment to remember Sinai as a separate mitzvah within taryag is because he essentially sees it as a detail within the broader mitzvah of believing in Hashem, which he has already codified as the first positive mitzvah (heard from my father, Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, zt”l.)
[3] 20:17.
[4] See Ramban to Shemos loc. cit. for a different understanding of how the Revelation was a “test” for the Jewish People. (C.f. Rashi to Shemos loc. cit. who explains the word “נסות” as deriving not from the word “נסיון — test,” but from the word “נס — banner.”)