Yitro 5767 -- Dancing again at Sinai (Multimedia D'var Torah!)

“Vayehi vayom ha’sh’lishi b’hiyot haboker, vayehi kolot u’v’rakim, v’anan kaved al hahar, v’kol shofar hazak m’od; vayeherad kol ha’am asher bamahaneh – and it occurred on the third day of the encampment at Sinai, when it was morning, that there were voices and thunder and the cloud was heavy on the mountain, the voice of the Shofar was very strong; all of the people in the camp were haredim.” (Sh’mot 19:16) I have intentionally avoiding translating this last word so as to preserve one of the questions in this d’rasha (as well as for comedic purposes).

The encampment at Sinai and receipt of the Torah are often thought of as solemn events, filled with awe, trepidation, and perhaps trembling, as in the usual rendering of the word hared. I would like to add an additional element to our image of ma’amad har Sinai­, the standing at Sinai: joy. Towards that end, there are two questions that I would like to pose. First, what were the kolot, the voices? They were not, apparently, Shofar blasts, as the Shofar is listed separately. Second, what does it mean that all of the people were haredim?

Rabbenu Hananel (an 11th Century scholar) answers that the kolot were voices of the angels who give praise to HaKadosh Barukh Hu every morning. While the Jewish people may have been overwhelmed and awed by the performance of the heavenly choir, I would argue that this beautiful service probably gave them a feeling of joyous closeness to the Divine, much as we may feel when we use music to connect to God during tefilot today. We can only imagine the heavenly chorus as we say the words of Kedushah:“n’kadesh et shimkhah ba’olam, k’shem sh’makdishim oto bishmei marom – we will sanctify your name in the world as they sanctify it in the heavenly heights.” Our ancestors, on the other hand, were privileged to actually hear that chorus, and must have felt great joy.

The power of this music undoubtedly shook the Jewish people to their core, and set their bodies moving; the music and the Shofar blasts made them haredim. According to the Hizkuni (a 13th Century scholar), this root ‘hared’ does NOT mean that the people were afraid, that they were ‘trembling.’ Rather, he says, hared is lashon shaon v’ha’na’ah -- a term that connotes hubbub and movement. As the Hizkuni imagines it, the Jewish people were all still in bed when dawn broke. They heard the heavenly voices and were overcome by the feeling that the Shekhina was waiting for them on top of the mountain. Upon this realization they immediately jumped out of bed and got moving!

We can make two observations based on the Hizkuni. First, that the Jewish people were filled with energy and anticipation when they realized that the Shekhina was descending upon the mountain. Second, that their primary emotion was NOT fear – they did not start quaking in their boots upon this realization, but were instead filled with a powerful energy that made them move with a hubbub and din. So if they were not primarily feeling fear, what were they feeling? It seems to me that they must have been filled with a joyous anticipation (perhaps offset slightly by pure anxiety) much as a bride or groom feels. In response to this joyous anticipation they moved – and Lord, how they moved – in what I can only imagine must have been a sort of dance, in step with the Angelic voices and Shofar blasts.

I've composed and recorded the following song to express what I believe the Jewish people must have been feeling – a powerful sense of anticipation, energy, and joy (and perhaps a little bit of fear). As we stand again at Sinai this Shabbat, let’s do some dancing!

You can download the song by clicking on this link, VaYehi Kolot, and then scrolling to the bottom of the page to another link which will begin the file transfer. I hope you enjoy.