Siman - Shabbos Daf 88
This Daf relates numerous teachings about Bnei Yisroel’s experience at Har Sinai.
- כפה עליהם את ההר כגיגית
Rav Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa said that the passuk, ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר – they stood at the foot of the mountain, comes to teach, שכפה הקדוש ברוך הוא עליהם את ההר כגיגית, - that HaKadosh Baruch Hu covered them with the mountain as though it were an upturned vat, and said, “if you accept the Torah, fine, but if not, שם תהא קבורתכם – your burial will be there”.
Rav Acha bar Yaakov said, מכאן מודעה רבה לאורייתא – From here there are grounds for a notification of coercion regarding the acceptance of the Torah.
Rava said, nevertheless, they accepted the Torah again in the days of Achashveirosh, as it says, קימו וקבלו היהודים – The Jews established and accepted. He interprets this to mean that קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר – They established [in the days of Achashveirosh] what they accepted [in the days of Moshe].
- נעשה ונשמע
Rebbe Elazar said that when Bnei Yisroel said na’aseh before nishmah, a Bas Kol emanated and said to them, מי גילה לבני רז זה שמלאכי השרת משתמשין בו – Who revealed to My children this secret which the malachei hashareis use?
Rashi explains that a malach stands ready to do Hashem’s will even before he knows what it entails, unlike other servants that wait to hear the instructions to determine if they can accept them.
- Why the Torah was given to Man
Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said that when Moshe ascended to the heavens and the malachei hashareis were told that he had come to receive the Torah, they asked how something that was stored as a treasure for nine hundred and seventy four generations before the world was created, could be given to flesh and blood?
Hashem told Moshe to answer them. After Hashem afforded him protection from them, Moshe preceded to point out how the mitzvos have no relevance to the malachim. They were not in Mitzrayim, were never enslaved, do not live among idolaters, do not engage in melacha to require ceasing from it, and so on. After he challenged them and asked them if they had envy or a yetzer hora, they immediately conceded, and each malach, including the Malach Hamaves, gave him a gift.
