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. What type of gift is given forcibly? A gift is an expression of good will, and if the recipient is not interested, it cannot truly be considered a present. 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. The connection between Hashem and Klal Yisroel is perceived as a marriage, the deepest possible relationship. In a manner of speaking, Hashem was the chasan, the Yidden were His kallah, and the mountain served as the chuppah, the wedding canopy.
Now, even though one enters marriage hoping for a lasting relationship, the Torah provides for an exit strategy, in the form of divorce. In the event that something goes wrong, a person is not stuck in a marriage forever. However, there is one exception to this rule. If someone defiles a single woman, he must marry her, and the Torah adds lo yuchal shalcha kol yamav, he may never divorce her. Of course, this is only if the woman wants to marry him. Women do not inherit from their parents when there are male heirs, and she is supposed to be supported by her husband. Since this woman is now defiled, she might be apprehensive whether she will find someone who will want to marry her. The Torah therefore demands that the perpetrator marry and support her, and he cannot divorce her to rid himself of this obligation.
