Bnei Yisrael’s encampment opposite Mount Sinai is described by the Torah using the singular verb “and he encamped.” Rashi explains that the singular form denotes that Bnei Yisrael camped at Sinai in perfect unison—“as one man, with one heart,” harmoniously readying themselves to receive the Torah.
Rashi offers a similar explanation on the verse “And behold, Egypt was advancing behind them,” where the Torah uses the singular verb to describe the thousands of Egyptians who pursued Bnei Yisrael after they left Egypt. There, too, Rashi explains that the Egyptians were unified—“with one heart, as one man”—in their pursuit of Bnei Yisrael. There is, however, a noticeable difference between Rashi’s explanations in these two places. Regarding the Egyptians, Rashi says that they were “with one heart, as one man,” whereas regarding Bnei Yisrael, Rashi reverses the order, saying, they were “as one man, with one heart.”
This distinction highlights a significant difference between the two types of unity.
The people of Egypt were obviously a diverse group, as the Torah itself distinguishes between the average Egyptians and the sorcerers, and between “those who feared the word of G-d” and those who did not. They were unified, however, in their hatred of Bnei Yisrael. Their mutual feeling of animosity toward Bnei Yisrael, “with one heart,” led to their unified actions, “as one man.”
Bnei Yisrael’s unity in their preparation for the giving of the Torah, on the other hand, was not merely a uniform reaction to a shared feeling. Rather, their mutual feelings were due to an even deeper unity, an inherent unity that is part of their very identity as Jews. This essential Jewish oneness—“as one man”—is what caused Bnei Yisrael to share equal feelings of anticipation and desire to receive the Torah—“with one heart,” despite their individual differences.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 21, pp. 102–104
