What was really going on at Mount Sinai?

 

It's hot in the desert - so why did the Almighty send "Thunder and Lightning" but no RAIN?

 

That would have been an EASY miracle!

 

But people don't remember miracles ... most of us are just "into ourselves".

 

Some of us are altruistic - but people forget MOST of who and what they see or hear!

 

AND  TWO PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM WILL REMEMBER DIFFERENT PARTS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING!

 

So - the L-rd sends 

 

Thunder

Smoke

Noises

Shofar Blowings

Burning Mountain

Fog and Clouds

 

 to announce the entrance of the Torah -

 

 the most read (maybe also the most ignored?) book in history!

 

But:

 

How do they go together with Giving the Torah at Mount Sinai

 

Who was that supposed to impress?

 

EVERYONE actually - and Yitro - Jethro - heard about it in Midian (Jordan today) - 

 

AND CAME AND CONVERTED TO JUDAISM - ALONG WITH HIS KIDS! (and maybe others too)

 

Some people are fire people 

 

and some people are smoke.

 

Some people talk - but very few listen (Simon and Garfunkle got it right in the Sounds of Silence).

 

Some people walk around in a perpetual fog -

 

(and ALL of us are a LITTLE foggy on some issues... :)

  

ALL OF THESE STIMULI  AT SINAI WERE FOR ONE REASON -

 

so WE WOULD NEVER FORGET THE TORAH!

  

 The greatest sociological truth in the world is

 

IF WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN IT (for thousands of years) 

 

IF A MILLION PEOPLE WERE THERE AND HEARD AND SAW IT -

 

- THEN IT WAS AND IS TRUE! 

 

And it is our heritage,..

 and needs to be polished (STUDIED) once in a while like silver or a diamond.

 

  A deep meaning in the happening there is from my teacher

 

  Rabbi Carlebach who said:

 

we saw the voices on mount Sinai,  we saw the fire ,(...)

 we saw every fire we (the Jewish people) have gone through

 

(AND)  "Ve'es kol hashofar," 

and we saw the blowing of the trumpet on the great day -

 (The day the Moshiach will TEACH PEACE TO THE WORLD)

...

 you have to see the whole picture.

 

 The moment you want to be a Jew, you have to connect yourself to the past, present and future picture. 

 

You have to hear G-d's voice(from Simai)...

 

The world is burning - it is foggy is smoky - AND CONFUSED

 

But Sinai and the commandments and the Torah are the guide to what's really going on in the world.

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz