In the third month of the Children of Israel's going forth from the land of Egypt, on that day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
The Ohr Hachaim asks, considering Hashem’s love for His nation Klal Yisroel, and His urgent desire to marry them off to the Torah, it is hard to understand what took so long for Klal Yisroel to arrive at Har Sinai. Why did Hashem wait until the third month after the exodus to arrive here and give them the Torah?
One of the signs with which a person shows a fondness for his counterpart is that he does not allow obstacles to stand in the way of his joining his beloved. He will do anything to get closer to the one he loves, and will never get lazy or allow something unimportant to get in his way. Sometimes, the Torah even describes how Hashem accelerated people’s way to meet their spouses. Eliezer went to find a wife for his master’s son Yitzchok. He went all the way from Chevron to Aram Naharyin in a single day, and the Torah says that his trip was miraculous. This was just to connect Yitzchok and Rivkah.
In view of this, we could have expected Hashem to at least do the same for Klal Yisroel and ensure their arrival at Har Sinai immediately after they had crossed the Yam Suf. What took all of these weeks?
The Torah explains the answer to this in this possuk.
The Torah, therefore, felt called upon to explain that the fact that מתן תורה was delayed somewhat was not to be interpreted as a lack of ardour or desire for the bride on the part of the groom but was due to the groom not being properly prepared before that date. Having spent so many years in a country full of all kinds of abominations, a country in which everyone was idol worshippers of the worst kind, Klal Yisroel had absorbed much of the spiritual pollution prevailing in Mitzrayim. It would require 49 days of intense spiritual preparation for them to progressively cleanse and purify themselves of these pollutants and ready themselves for their bride.
According to the Zohar, the seven weeks that we count between Pesach and Shavuos are to be viewed as seven times the seven-day purification rite that a זבה has to undergo before she is deemed ritually pure. For seven weeks, we check ourselves and remove any barrier between us and the Torah.
When the Torah tells us that Klal Yisroel arrived on the third month לצאת בני ישראל ממצרים – to Klal Yisroel’s exodus from Mitzrayim, it is not telling us the date, it is telling us the cause for the wait. Klal Yisroel needed to leave Mitzrayim, and they needed to leave the influences of Mitzrayim behind. That took three months, and three months after they begun to leave Mitzrayim, they were ready for their kallah, and Hashem offered them the Torah.
The Ohr Hachaim proves his explanation from the possuk. As soon as Klal Yisroel drew close to regaining their spiritual purity, i.e., on the first of the third month, the possuk says they immediately arrived at their destination at Har Sinai. Indeed, the Torah describes the departure from Refidim and the arrival in the desert of Sinai as occurring practically simultaneously. The Gemara (Shabbos 87b) tells us that they left Refidim and settled at Sinai on the same day. This seemed to be a miraculous occurrence, as they traveled a great distance in a short amount of time. Hashem showed His love for His people, and their desire to join the Torah, by having the earth jump and bring them closer to their destination.
The Ohr Hachaim continues with a question. What was the purpose of their windy journey to Har Sinai? Why could Hashem not bring them there immediately, where they would wait in anticipation and prepare themselves for their great day? Why did they have to travel hither and thither, until they reached their destination?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that this too shows Hashem’s love for His people. He did not want them sitting opposite the building where their wedding would take place, waiting and waiting for their day. The pain of watching them wait, and their pain at waiting, was too much to bear. The sight of their future nuptials, while they just had to wait and bear it, would tease them beyond their capacity to bear it.
Only when they were completely ready for the Torah, could they arrive at the designated place.
