After G-d gave the Ten Commandments...
"The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights." -Exodus 24:17-18
"Within the cloud:This cloud was a kind of smoke, and the Holy One, blessed is He, made a path within it." -Rashi ibid
However, during the Ten Commandments...
"And the entire Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it in fire." -Exodus 19:18
What is this smoke, what is the path, and why must it be crossed?
With this we will explore distinct differences in the smoke as it happened during the Ten Commandments and how it happened after the Ten Commandment.
Why was it that during the Ten Commandments it was just a fire, while after the Ten Commandments it was a consuming fire? Additionally, why was it that during the Ten Commandments the entire mountain smoked, while after the Ten Commandments it was only atop the mountain?
Another concept to explore here is that rocks (mountain) are not consumed by fire, and therefore, (a) the mountain should not give off smoke because of the fire, and (b), a mountain cannot keep a fire going, as the fire needs some sort of consumable fuel to attach to for it to remain alive.
In this lecture we will learn the purpose of creation, our mission as the Chosen People, and how to find G-d in our darkest moments.
Link to Written Notes:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4614078/17.%20Mishpatim%205776%20Parsha%20Class.pdf
