God Heals Israel's Blind, Deaf, and Lame Before Sinai

Another interpretation of "On the new moon" (Exodus 19:1): the new moon has come. Rabbi Abin said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed to Moses at the bush, He said to him, "When you bring this people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain" (Exodus 3:12). And Moses was waiting expectantly, saying, "When will that appointed time come?" But once the [appointed time] arrived, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "The new moon has come that you were awaiting." It does not say "in the third month," as it says "in the month of Ziv" (1 Kings 6:37), "in the month of Bul" (1 Kings 6:38), "in the month of Ethanim" (1 Kings 8:2), but rather "in the [third] new moon." Rabbi Judah the Levite son of Rabbi Shalom said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "I am making a renewal of things and renewing you." To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had a son, and when the son reached his maturity, his father sought to marry him off, but he did not have a new argentirin (that is, a court). The king said, "It is not fitting to my son's honor to marry him off with an old argentirin; yet if I wait until I make him a new one, I delay my son's joy." What did the king do? He brought smiths and craftsmen, and they polished the vessels of copper; he brought woodworkers, and they wove designs into the vessels of wood. [Thus the king married off his son with an old argentirin that appeared new.] So too, when Israel went out of Egypt, there were among them blind and deaf and lame. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "[The whole Torah is perfect, as it is said, 'The Torah of the Lord is perfect' (Psalms 19:8).] Shall I give it to this generation while there are among them those with blemishes? Shall I wait until their children stand up? I would delay the joy of the Torah." What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He healed them, and then He gave them the Torah. And from where is it shown [that He healed them]? Whoever was blind came to see, as it is said, "And all the people saw the thunderings" (Exodus 20:18). And whoever was deaf was made to hear, as it is said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do and obey" (Exodus 24:7). And whoever was lame was made whole, as it is said, "And they stood at the foot of the mountain" (Exodus 19:17). Thus, "A renewal of things I will renew for you."