Early Riser

"Moses awoke early in the morning and climbed Mount Sinai." (Ex. 34:4)

The Torah emphasizes that it was daybreak when Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Torah. The Sages taught that Moses' descent afterwards to give the Torah to the people also took place at first light. "Just as the ascent was at daybreak, so too the descent was at daybreak"  (Shabbat 86a). Why is so significant about the hour these events took place?

Pure Revelation

The clarity of Moses' prophecy was without equal. The Sages likened the unique level of his prophetic vision, the source of the Torah, to an "Aspaklariah Me'irah" — a clear, transparent lens. This metaphor expresses the unique authenticity of the Divine revelation to Moses, with whom God spoke "face to face, in a vision and not in allegories"  (Num. 12:8).

What made Moses' vision so uniquely authentic? His prophesy was true to its original Divine source; it was not influenced by temporal needs and considerations. On the contrary, it is this Divine revelation that determines the proper path for society, the nation, and the entire world.

This is the significance of the hour of this historic event. The fact that Moses began his ascent to Sinai at first light - before the day's social interactions — indicates that the revelation at Sinai was free of all social, political, and practical accommodations. Moses' prophetic vision was not clouded by the transitory influences of day-to-day life. It is precisely due to the clarity of this vision that the Torah has the power to vitiate life and renew creation, to refine the world and uplift the universe to the heights of all-conquering nobility and exquisite holiness.

Exact Transmission

The Sages added an important insight to this understanding of Torah. It was not just Moses’ original prophecy that was uninfluenced by temporal considerations. The Torah's transmission to the people, the Sages taught, similarly retained its original authenticity. "Just as the ascent was at daybreak, so too the descent was at daybreak." The Torah's laws do not reflect the influence of life experiences and political necessities. The Torah is the pristine light of the Creator; it is the Divine will giving life to the world, driving the universe to progress in all aspects, material and spiritual.

The Torah that Moses brought down to the Jewish people was the same Torah that he ascended Sinai to receive, a Torah of truth and wholeness, transcending the limitations of this world. "The descent was at daybreak," independent of the day's social and political needs. The Torah's heavenly content remained pure and untouched, brought down to the world through the spiritual greatness of the master prophet.

(Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. IV pp. 168-169)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison