וְכָל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃

All the people were seeing the thunder, and the lights that glowed like flames, and the blast of the shofar, and the mountain smoking; the people saw these phenomena and trembled, instinctively recoiling, and stood at a distance. They had formerly recognized the prophet as God’s spokesperson, but now, for the first time, they were granted a taste of the process of hearing and receiving a prophecy, and they felt its accompanying terror.

וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃

Therefore, they, the people, said to Moses: You speak with us and we will hear, and God should not speak with us, lest we die.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־הָעָם֮ אַל־תִּירָאוּ֒ כִּ֗י לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ נַסּ֣וֹת אֶתְכֶ֔ם בָּ֖א הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וּבַעֲב֗וּר תִּהְיֶ֧ה יִרְאָת֛וֹ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְבִלְתִּ֥י תֶחֱטָֽאוּ׃

Moses said to the people: Do not fear; God will not continue to speak to you in this manner every day, as it is in order to test [ nasot ] you that God has come. You are being tested to see whether you can withstand the experience and accept the word of God. The term for test [ nes ] can also mean a banner, as one who passes the test is elevated like a banner, since he has survived the direct encounter with the Divine and successfully heard the voice of God. And He has also come so that His fear will be on your faces, so that you will not sin. One who has personally heard the voice of God and remembers the unmediated event will find it more difficult to sin.

וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד הָעָ֖ם מֵרָחֹ֑ק וּמֹשֶׁה֙ נִגַּ֣שׁ אֶל־הָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ (פ)

Ultimately, the people stood at a distance, as they retreated further back, and Moses approached closer to the place of the lightning and smoke, to the fog where God was. Certainly Moses was afraid as well, but his desire to come close to God and the knowledge that he was representing the entire people helped him overcome his fears.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֥ה תֹאמַ֖ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם כִּ֚י מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עִמָּכֶֽם׃

The Lord said to Moses: So you shall say to the children of Israel: You saw that from the heavens, from an abstract place, I spoke with you.

לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּן אִתִּ֑י אֱלֹ֤הֵי כֶ֙סֶף֙ וֵאלֹהֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּ לָכֶֽם׃

Since you did not see any sort of image in your encounter with Me, You shall not make with Me, or for Me, any physical image or bodily form; gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. It is permitted to worship God through a ritual that involves physical objects, but only if these fulfill specific conditions:

מִזְבַּ֣ח אֲדָמָה֮ תַּעֲשֶׂה־לִּי֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ עָלָ֗יו אֶת־עֹלֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ וְאֶת־שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ אֶת־צֹֽאנְךָ֖ וְאֶת־בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ בְּכָל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַזְכִּ֣יר אֶת־שְׁמִ֔י אָב֥וֹא אֵלֶ֖יךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ׃

You shall make for Me an altar of earth and shall slaughter upon it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I mention My name, every place where I choose to rest My Presence, which will lead you to mention My name, I will come to you and I will bless you. Alternatively, the verse can be explained as follows: When you, man, pray to Me and serve Me, I in turn will be present and mention My name. This is similar to the saying of the Sages that the Divine Presence rests upon every group of ten individuals of Israel. Indeed, this is a general declaration with regard to prayer and the mention of God’s name, which are not restricted to any particular place, just as the presence of God and His blessing are not limited to a specific place.

וְאִם־מִזְבַּ֤ח אֲבָנִים֙ תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לִּ֔י לֹֽא־תִבְנֶ֥ה אֶתְהֶ֖ן גָּזִ֑ית כִּ֧י חַרְבְּךָ֛ הֵנַ֥פְתָּ עָלֶ֖יהָ וַתְּחַֽלְלֶֽהָ׃

If you make Me an altar of stone, rather than the altar of earth mentioned in the previous verse, which will be built for the Tabernacle, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for you wielded your sword upon it and profaned it. The traditional explanation of this verse is that the Torah prohibits such stones because it does not want any destructive iron tool to be used in the preparation of the altar, which provides atonement and brings peace. This is supported by the verse: “You shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield iron upon them.”

וְלֹֽא־תַעֲלֶ֥ה בְמַעֲלֹ֖ת עַֽל־מִזְבְּחִ֑י אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־תִגָּלֶ֥ה עֶרְוָתְךָ֖ עָלָֽיו׃ (פ)

You shall not ascend on stairs to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed upon it. At that time, people wore gowns or robes of various lengths, and undergarments were not worn at all. Consequently, when one climbed stairs, parts of the body were liable to be exposed. Even if no part of the body of a priest was actually visible due to the trousers worn by the priests under their robes (28:42), the very act of climbing stairs may have appeared to be immodest.