Preparation for Matan Torah

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1. Counting the Omer, or Eating the Omer

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ב | |

   While the Hebrew word ‘omer’ is usually associated with something that is ‘counted’, we will trace the few instances when the word ‘omer’ appears in the Bible to show how it consistently refers to a special measure of grain. In light of our discussion, we will uncover the deeper thematic connection between ‘counting the Omer’ and our commemoration of the events at Mt. Sinai.

2. Parashat Yitro

   Prof. Jonathan Grossman

   "When the horn ("yovel") sounds long, they shall ascend the mountain." What is the sounds that permits the nation to ascent onto the mountain that was previously forbidden to touch? After the divine presence had descended, the nation was meant to climb the mountain and meet God’s presence “face to face.” But the nation was scared and requested continued mediation from Moshe. While the fear of God is positive, there is a spiritual price to pay for preventing the direct encounter with God.

3. The War against Amalek

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   Bnei Yisrael were unprepared for their redemption from Egypt, and God places them in various situations of peril, encouraging Bnei Yisrael to raise their spiritual level high enough to enable that process to continue, and work toward real independence from their captors. 

4. Haste for Guests and at Sinai

   Rabbi David Silverberg

5. Accepting the Torah – Then and Now

   Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein

   In Parashat Yitro, in the preparations for receiving the Torah, we are told that Moshe came to the people and they all said, “All that God has said – we shall do” (19:8). In parashat Mishpatim, as they are about to enter into the covenant of the basins, we are told: “He took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, and all the people said: All that God has spoken – we shall do and we shall obey” (24:7).

   We may ask what happened in between, and what brought about such a revolutionary change in such a short time that Bnei Yisrael were able to declare, “Na’aseh ve-nishma," rather than merely promising, “Na’aseh”? 

   What was added in Mishpatim, and what facilitated the transition from “na’aseh” to “na’aseh ve-nishma,” was threefold: first, the purely religious aspect of the revelation at Sinai, including its experiential and personal dimension; second – and no less important – the involvement in study and the deepening knowledge of Torah; and third, Torah experience and knowledge implemented on both the personal and societal levels.

   [Based on a Sicha by Harav Aharon Lichtenstein (summarized by Shaul Barth with Reuven Ziegler and translated by Kaeren Fish)]