This past weekend we celebrated Shavuot, the holiday that commemorates receiving the Torah from G-d at Mount Sinai. The very name of the Mount Sinai has become closely intertwined with the Torah itself. So much so, that the first statement of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers) begins with the words, “Moses received the Torah from Sinai.”
One might have thought that the first destination after leaving Egypt should have been the Promised Land of Israel. It would make more sense that the Torah should be associated with the hills of Jerusalem or some other sacred spot within Israel, rather than with a mountain in the barren desert.
The rabbis of Midrash explained with keen insight, the reason that G-d chose Mount Sinai as the site at which to give the Torah and the lessons to be learned from this choice.
The Torah was deliberately given to us in a desert wasteland. Jews had to be far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, so that they would be able to concentrate on the depth of wisdom and the import of the Torah’s teaching. The lesson to us is that we too can only succeed in becoming knowledgeable Jews by setting aside times to study Torah, with no disturbance or distractions.
Another reason for having received the Torah in the Sinai Desert is t6hat a desert is no-man’s land; it is free for all. Most ancient civilizations considered wisdom to be the prerogative and the private possession of the elite. Ordinary people did not pursue intellectual development. That was left to the priesthood or the nobility. This situation continued up through the Middle-Ages in Europe.
The Torah revolutionized this. Every single Jew is expected to engage in scholarly study. This is symbolized by the wilderness—no man’s land. The Torah is not the private domain of any individual; it is rather open and free for all to possess.
The Talmudic rabbis comment that if G-d wanted to give the Torah from a mountain peak, to demonstrate the loftiness and majesty of the Torah, he should have chosen mountains that are much taller than Sinai. Jewish tradition records that the original Mount Sinai was a lowly hill.
They explain that one of the most crucial elements to accepting the Torah is humility. The process of learning is based on one’s ability to recognize that he still has room to learn. A conceited person that thinks he “knows it all” will never learn because he won’t accept what others have to say. That is especially true about studying Torah. The Torah places demands on a person to change and improve. It takes humility to accept that the way he did things beforehand might not have been correct. That is why G-d chose Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai had the lowest altitude of all surrounding mountains; it is the symbol of humility.
Chassidic literature asks the following question: If humility is so important, then why did G-d give the Torah on a mountain altogether? He should have chosen a valley, the perfect reflection of lowliness and humility. And in the teachings of Chassidism we find a beautiful answer: The main objective of Torah is to lift the earth and make it a bit closer to heaven. That is why it was so important that the Torah be given from a mountain top. It is only that G-d selected the lowest mountain to also imply the importance of humility.
There is a powerful lesson in this: A good Jew must be humble. Humility enables us to learn from others, it allows us to be sensitive to others and to be compassionate human beings. It is just as essential though to feel proud and thrilled about our Jewish identity. Judaism has majesty and loftiness and that is why it was given on a mountain.
