- Sections
- Ein Ayah
condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 9:121
The Hatred of Those Who Did Not Get a Potential Gift
Gemara: One of the rabbis asked Rav Kahana: "Did you hear what the reason behind the name Har Sinai is?" He answered: "The mountain upon which miracles (nisim) occurred." "So it should be called Har Nisai? Rather, it was the mountain which was a good omen (siman tov)." "Then it should have been called Har Simanai?" He said to him: Why do you not spend more time with Rav Pappa and Rav Huna the son of Rav Yehoshua, who look into aggadic matters, as Rav Chisda and Rabba son of Rav Huna both said: "Why is it called Har Sinai? It is because it is based on this mountain that sina (hatred) has come to the idol worshippers."
Ein Ayah: There must be a special reason for the fact that Israel received the Torah specifically in the desert at Har Sinai, in a place that was open to all, as opposed to in the Land that was specifically set aside for Israel.
This shows that the impetus to give the Torah only to Israel was not something that was innate in the physical world but was connected to thought and understanding. Hashem wanted to show that really the Torah is something that is fit and even proper for all of the nations who live on the face of the earth. It is not something that is beyond the reach of a human being, but rather something that is suitable for man. Without the guidance that Torah provides, a person is like an evil beast. Torah is compatible with the spirit of the human being, as all of the elevated elements of the human spirit and all the storehouses of sanctity are hidden within the light of the Torah.
Therefore, it was not stressed at Sinai that Israel has a special characteristic that makes them fit to have dominion over nature and contain the divine light in a manner that other creations do not. And so while special miracles were done for Israel, Sinai does not represent that reality.
One can claim that Israel had a siman tov, i.e., special characteristics, which the people of other nations do not have. However, that too is not hinted at in the name of Sinai. If that were the intention, the Torah would have been given in the Land of Israel and likely on the Temple Mount, which would make our lot in the world the sign that the Torah relates to our qualities.
If the very basis of the Torah required that only we could receive the Torah, the nations would have had no basis for hating the Jewish people for keeping the Torah from them. After all, a person cannot be distanced from something to which he could never draw close. Rather, the fact that the Torah was given at Sinai is an indication that the source of the Torah is the fountain of spring water that is appropriate for all of mankind. This is on condition that they are removed from the ways of evil and are not interested in following their tendencies toward evil and destruction. Because the nations harmed their spiritual form, when they distanced themselves from the Torah [by refusing to accept it], their hatred for Israel began at Sinai. That is the reason that Sinai is the mountain’s name until the mountain of Hashem will be raised and will spread its glory over the whole world, which will be healed, as it says (Tehillim 68:18): "Hashem will be in their midst; Sinai is in the sanctum."
Ein Ayah: There must be a special reason for the fact that Israel received the Torah specifically in the desert at Har Sinai, in a place that was open to all, as opposed to in the Land that was specifically set aside for Israel.
This shows that the impetus to give the Torah only to Israel was not something that was innate in the physical world but was connected to thought and understanding. Hashem wanted to show that really the Torah is something that is fit and even proper for all of the nations who live on the face of the earth. It is not something that is beyond the reach of a human being, but rather something that is suitable for man. Without the guidance that Torah provides, a person is like an evil beast. Torah is compatible with the spirit of the human being, as all of the elevated elements of the human spirit and all the storehouses of sanctity are hidden within the light of the Torah.
Therefore, it was not stressed at Sinai that Israel has a special characteristic that makes them fit to have dominion over nature and contain the divine light in a manner that other creations do not. And so while special miracles were done for Israel, Sinai does not represent that reality.
One can claim that Israel had a siman tov, i.e., special characteristics, which the people of other nations do not have. However, that too is not hinted at in the name of Sinai. If that were the intention, the Torah would have been given in the Land of Israel and likely on the Temple Mount, which would make our lot in the world the sign that the Torah relates to our qualities.
If the very basis of the Torah required that only we could receive the Torah, the nations would have had no basis for hating the Jewish people for keeping the Torah from them. After all, a person cannot be distanced from something to which he could never draw close. Rather, the fact that the Torah was given at Sinai is an indication that the source of the Torah is the fountain of spring water that is appropriate for all of mankind. This is on condition that they are removed from the ways of evil and are not interested in following their tendencies toward evil and destruction. Because the nations harmed their spiritual form, when they distanced themselves from the Torah [by refusing to accept it], their hatred for Israel began at Sinai. That is the reason that Sinai is the mountain’s name until the mountain of Hashem will be raised and will spread its glory over the whole world, which will be healed, as it says (Tehillim 68:18): "Hashem will be in their midst; Sinai is in the sanctum."

influencing Our Families, Cities & the World
Ein Aya Shabbat 5,14
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Shvat 5783

A Place that Is to be Without the Mundane or the Unseemly
condensed from Ein Ayah, Berachot 9:268
Various Rabbis | Nisan 5773

The Elusive Inheritance of Personality Traits
Various Rabbis | 5769

"Even the Bad is Just "Gradual Good"
Ein Aya Shabbat 5,18
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Adar 5783

Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.

Altercation with a Photographer – part I
Tammuz 9 5777

Responsibilities Based on Different Modes of Influence
Sivan 26 5777

Buying Looted Seforim from the Slovakians
Iyar 21 5775

Accepting a Person’s Past Background
5774

Rav Lazer Shach – the Transmitter of Mesorah
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff

Keeping Kosher - Eating Out
Rabbi David Sperling

The Month of Nissan - A Unique Possession
Rabbi Chaim Avihau Schwartz | nissan 5762

The Torah’s Instructions to Non-Jews—The Laws of Bnei Noach
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | 5771

Payments after a Gradual End of Employment
(Based on ruling 82024 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit | Nissan 5783

Some of the Laws of Seudah Shelishis
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Adar 5783

Truth is Inside-Out But Justice: Outside-In
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Adar 5783
