This week, the Torah reading talks about the gathering at Mount Sinai, and receiving the Torah. And the Torah says that the people “saw” the voices, when Mount Sinai was covered with a cloud of smoke.
Many commentaries speak about what this means, whether literally or figuratively. The Shearis Menachem, though, has a unique approach to understanding the idea of “seeing” voices. He explains that what the Jewish People heard on Mount Sinai was visible afterwards. You could see it in their way of life, in how they spent their days. What they heard could be seen.
In other places and situations, what people heard was merely heard, and not seen. People saw and learned, but what they had learned was not visible in how they lived their lives afterwards.
In just the past month, we have seen how fragile life really is. Can people see what we have learned?
Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Director, Project Genesis – Torah.org
