Chapter 19 of Shemot begins as follows: In the third month from the exodus of B'nai Israel from the Land of Egypt, on that day – they came (to) the Wilderness of Sinai. They traveled from Refidim and they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they encamped in the wilderness.
The question is asked: why does it need to state twice that they came to Sinai, and, further, how can they leave Refidim if they've already come to Sinai?
The answer: The midrash tells us that Bnai Yisrael experience a "weakening of hands" (rifyon yadaim, almost identical in sound to the place name Refidim), or despair (Hebrew: ye'ush) of the most severe sort right before they were to proceed to Mt. Sinai. They knew that the whole purpose of their exodus from Egypt was to receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai, but they felt completely unprepared and inadequate to stand there before the Eternal. This generation, termed Dor Deah, had an almost visceral understanding of what level they needed to be on, and the "knew" they were nowhere near that level. They therefore gave up on themselves (which the Shem MiShmuel terms the worst possible thing to do). Via this sin of self-despair, they themselves drew upon themselves Amalek, who further doused any residual enthusiasm they may have retained. They were completely incapable of detaching themselves from this despair and strengthening their resolve. The only way was to imagine themselves already standing before Mt. Sinai AS THOUGH they were worthy, and this gave them that first critical boost to lift themselves out of the doldrums and proceed. Only after this "lift" has taken place is it proper and possible to begin attempting to hack away at the powerful cords which tie one to one's material desires. First, it is imperative to remember the sublime spiritual level of the soul, hewn out as it is from the Divine. This instills a confidence that allows one to begin the arduous work, via the tools of penitence and supplication.
With this, we can unravel a puzzle: In one place we learn that reciting the Shema can be traced back to Sinai:
R. Phinehas b. Hama said: Israel merited to recite the shema' at the Revelation on Sinai. How [is this to be inferred]? You find that it was with this word [shema'] that God first began [to speak] at Sinai. He said to them: ' Hear, O Israel, I am the Lord thy God,'and they all answered and exclaimed: ' The Lord our God, the Lord is one.' And Moses said, 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.'
Yet another midrash says that Shema stems from when Ya'acov's sons attended him as he was dying. How is this contraction regarding the origin of Shema to be resolved?
The answer is as follows: We learn from the Yerushalmi that slaves are exempt from from reciting Shema because the text says: Hear O Israel, Hashem is G-d, Hashem alone – one who has no other master than Hashem recites Shema, this excludes slaves, who has another as master.
Ibn Ezra explains: Know that all human beings are enslaves to their earthly desires, and the true king who has a crown and diadem on his head is one who has freed himself from that enslavement.
So, how is it possible for the vast majority of people, with the exception of a few spiritual masters who have truly freed themselves of this servitude, to recite Shema, with its proclamation of absolute fealty to the Only One? The answer (elaborated at length by explication of several other midrashim and verses): It is true, from the perspective of nature, that we are almost hopelessly ensnared in a tangle of preoccupations and diversions such that, as the Chiddushei Harim said, in the time of the ultimate battle toward the end of days, it will be difficult for a Jew even to say Shema. But the vision of the Torah stands before us, a vision in which Hashem proclaims, "you WILL be for me a nation of priests and a holy people" – you can and you will! The Sadducee who mocked a rabbi, how can you permit yichud for a husband and wife while she's still in niddah, received the reply, (the Torah states) "they are hedged about by roses" – the Torah sets the boundaries and proclaims the people are able to keep themselves from violating them, AND THAT VISION is the empowerment which lifts us out of despair!
Thus, from the time of Ya'acov, the tzaddikim said Shema, and from the time of the giving of the Torah, in which everyone got a "free taste" of what he/she could be, and had that vision immortalized in Hashem's own word, everyone has been given the tools necessary to lift oneself out of the muck and trudge on (or even skip and dance). The weakness of hands is remedied by the Voice calling, ever calling within us from Sinai, a voice we SEE in the Torah, HEAR in our souls, and FEEL as it courses through our veins to take the place of master over our own Esau hands, and to PROCLAIM with clarity and resonance, Hashem is my only Master!!
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