Shalom Brothers: The Mountain Over Our Heads (Shavuot) |
The Torah’s account of Sinai is not gentle. Neither is my account of growing into manhood. Much like our ancestors’ experience receiving the Torah eons ago, my experience receiving the Torah contained in masculinity was filled with confusion, awe, fear, trembling and pressure. That’s not to say there is no joy in being a man. But I wonder if there’s something more meaningful about being a man than what the current landscape proposes.
Before the Israelites ever receive the Torah, they arrive in the wilderness and camp at the foot of the mountain: “Israel encamped there opposite the mountain” (Exodus 19:2). The scene begins with distance. The people are below. The mountain is above. Moses goes up, and God calls to him from the mountain (Exodus 19:3). From the beginning, Sinai is not only a place of revelation. It is a place of height, weight, danger, and awe.
God tells Moses to prepare the people for the impending covenant. “If you will listen to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples” (Exodus 19:5). The people respond with confidence: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). On the surface, this sounds like willingness. They are ready. They agree. They accept.
But then the mountain changes. On the third day, “there was thunder and lightning, a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar; and all the........