The Temple Institute
" An altar of earth you shall make for Me" ( Exodus 19:21) Shevat 19, 5776/January 29, 2016 The revelation at Mount Sinai, G-d's first and only direct, unfettered, unobscured, unfiltered verbal communique with the nation of Israel, or any other nation, for that matter, was long in the making. In fact, our sages tell us, creation itself was only a prelude, a dry run, a setting of the stage for this once in an eternity event. After reemerging from a hidden place of obscurity from which He could not be seen during the early stages of the Israelite exile and enslavement in Egypt, to His burning bush appearance before Moshe , to His "behind the curtain" administration of the ten plagues that wreaked havoc on Egypt and forced the hand of Pharaoh and hardened his heart against his own will, G-d is now "stepping out" for the first since "the voice of HaShem G-d " (Genesis 3:8) stepped forth into the Garden of Eden in search of Adam