THE PARTY AT SINAI
RABBI MENACHEM FELDMAN (Chabad.org)
When we think about spiritual experiences, we picture prayer, meditation, or perhaps a solitary walk in nature. Yet that is not how the Torah describes the Jewish people’s experience at the greatest Divine revelation in history, the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
... and they perceived the G‑d of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived G‑d, and they ate and drank. (24:10-11)
It seems almost inconceivable. “They perceived the G‑d of Israel,” and how did they respond? They ate and drank!
In explaining this incident, Biblical commentators are divided. Some maintain that eating and drinking was indeed a sin, evidenced by the words, “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand.” i.e., the nobles should have been punished for eating, but G‑d refrained. Others, however, explain that it was not only permitted, but the right thing to do, since the food and drink were not a distraction from the Divine revelation, rather a celebration of it.
Judaism teaches that our task is to heal the rift between physical and spiritual, to
