Becoming one with the Divine
The intent of the giving of the Torah was to heal the divide between the supernal and the corporeal. G-d wished that instead of this lower world remaining mundane, it should be permeated with a sense of G-dliness.
The Medrash states,
Text 8
When the Holy One, Blessed be He created the universe, He decreed that “the heavens are heavens of the Lord, but the earth He gave to the children of men.” When He wanted to give the Torah, He nullified the initial decree and said: “The lower worlds should ascend to the upper worlds, and the upper worlds should descend to the lower worlds; and I will be the one to start,” as it says, “And the Lord descended upon Mt. Sinai,” and it is written, “And to Moshe He said, ‘Ascend to the Lord.’”
Shemos Rabba 12:3
At the time of the giving of the Torah, G-d desired to bridge the chasm between the infinite and the mundane and create a world where the two can exist in tandem. G-d did not wish that the physical cease being physical, but rather that the G-dly and the mundane should exist in perfect harmony.
To accomplish this end, there were two actions that occurred by the giving of the Torah: the supernal came down to the lowly, and the lowly arose to the supernal.
In order for the world to become holy, both steps were necessary. It was not enough that the supernal should come down to the mundane, as this would not cause that the physical world itself would be transformed into a G-dly entity.
Were the only action to have been from the side of the supernal, this physical world would remain passive in its relationship to G-dliness. G-dliness would merely be superimposed on it, and the world itself would not become a place which could perceive G-dliness on its own.
This revelation of the spiritual upon the physical world caused that world and man became completely nullified to G-d. It did not bring about that man himself should perceive G-dliness.
Man: When G-d revealed Himself on Mt. Sinai, it effected that “the entire nation that was in the camp shuddered,” “and the people saw and trembled; so they stood from afar.” The identity of the Jewish people was not transformed; they were overwhelmed by the tremendous awe, and their personal existence was dazed.
The world: The world, too, was nullified by the revelation of Sinai, as is expressed in the verse:
Text 9
And the entire Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and its smoke ascended like the smoke of the kiln, and the entire mountain quaked violently.
Shemos 19:18
The physical mountain was so strongly affected by the terrifying strength of G-d’s revelation, that it shuddered violently, unable to retain its usual state of existence.
The effect of this tremendous descent of the spiritual was actually felt not only on Mt. Sinai itself, but throughout the rest of the world as well. The Medrash describes the utter silence that took place in the world when G-d gave the Torah.
Text 10
R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Yochanan: “When the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave the Torah, no bird chirped, no fowl flew, no ox lowed, none of the Ophanim stirred a wing, the Seraphim did not say “Holy, Holy,” the sea did not roar, the creatures did not speak. Rather, the whole world was hushed into breathless silence and the voice went forth: “I am the Lord your G-d.”
Shemos Rabba 29:9
The descent of the supernal—as mentioned—caused that this world was nullified by the awesome revelation of the Almighty, and it lost its individuality and sense of self. For man to perceive G-dliness on his own, he himself needed to put in effort and his existence could not be nullified.
The purpose of the giving of the Torah was not that the world be nullified and lose its sense of identity, it was that the world as it was should become one with the Divine.
For this to occur, the world needed to elevate itself on its own, and become one with G-dliness. It was for this reason that it was not enough that G-dliness came down into this world, as that caused the world’s existence it to be nullified. There had to be as well, the act of the world raising itself up to the Divine.
On the other hand, it was also necessary that the lower worlds initially be nullified from their own existence, and receive the original revelation of G-d’s glory, as the Almighty Himself announced, “I will be the one to start.”
It was through prefacing the revelation of G-dliness that the mundane was given the ability to transform itself afterwards. Revealing G-dliness in the world was not an end to itself. It was rather a means that gave the world the ability to become G-dly.
