The Torah tells us that klal yisroel stood b’tachtis ha’har, at the foot of Har Sinai, to accept the Torah. This expression literally means they stood under the mountain, and the Gemara tells us that Hashem held Har Sinai over their heads, and ‘forced’ them to accept the Torah. “If you accept the Torah, all will be fine. Otherwise, you will all be buried right here.”
The Torah was a matana, a gift to klal yisroel. Why did Hashem threaten us to ensure that we accepted the Torah? The Chida explains that this act of force was the greatest gift, the greatest expression of love and commitment that we can imagine. The pasuk says b’yom chasu’noso u’vayom simchas libo, describing matan Torah as a wedding. Hashem was the chasan, the Yidden were His kalla, and the mountain served as the chupa.
Now, even though one enters marriage hoping for a lasting relationship, the Torah provides for an exit strategy, in the form of divorce. However, there is one exception. If someone defiles a single woman, he must marry her and he may never divorce her. If matan Torah is to be viewed as a wedding, then we could be apprehensive that if we transgress, He might ‘divorce’ us. Hashem wanted to reassure us that this would never happen. Therefore, he held the mountain over our heads, and ‘forced’ us into the relationship. In such a case, the halacha does not allow for a unilateral divorce! We will be His people forever.
This Shabbos, we read nachamu nachamu ami. We know that Hashem only destroyed the bais hamikdash because of our aveiros. Rather than just punishment, He was saving us from the consequences of our own misguided choices. Imagine an artist who stands on a hilltop, painting. When he completes his painting, he takes a few steps back to admire it. His friend realizes that in just a moment, the artist will step back over the cliff. Left with no choice, the friend leaps forwards and rips the canvas into several pieces. “My friend,” he gently replies, “I value your life more than your art, and I had no choice but to ruin your beautiful creation in order to save your life.”
The bais hamikdash was an incredible opportunity, but we became lax in our mitzvos. Hashem had no choice but to take the bais hamikdash away from us so we would awaken and do teshuva. Nachamu ami – we are consoled because we are still His people, and we always will be. We share an unbreakable bond with Hakadosh Baruch Hu since the time He committed to us as we stood under Har Sinai.
