God Healed Every Blemish in Israel Before Sinai

It does not say "in the third moon" the way Scripture names other months — "in the moon of Ziv" (1 Kings 6:37), "in the moon of Bul" (ibid. 38), "in the moon of Ethanim" (ibid. 8:2) — but rather "in the third month [chodesh, from a root meaning new]." Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, I am making a renewal of things and renewing you. This is like a king who had a son, and the son reached the age of maturity, and the king wished to marry him off, but he had no new bridal furnishings. The king said, it is not fitting for my son's honor that we wait until new furnishings are made — I would delay my son's joy. What did the king do? He brought smiths and craftsmen, and they polished the copper vessels, and he brought woodworkers, and they refurbished the wooden vessels; so the king married off his son upon old furnishings that looked new. So too the Holy One, blessed be He: when Israel went out of Egypt He wished to give them the Torah, and among them were blind, lame, and deaf. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, the Torah is wholly perfect, as it says, "The Torah of the LORD is perfect" (Psalms 19:8) — shall I give it to this generation, which has people with blemishes in it? And if I wait until their children arise, I would delay the joy of the Torah. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He healed them, and afterward gave them the Torah. And from where do we know that He healed them? Whoever was blind became seeing, as it says, "And all the people saw the thunderings" (Exodus 20:15). And whoever was deaf became hearing, as it says, "all that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear" (ibid. 24:7). And whoever was lame became whole, as it says, "and they stood at the foot of the mountain" (ibid. 19:17). Thus: I am renewing a renewal of things in you and doing in you something like an example of the World to Come. Just as in the time to come, "then the eyes of the blind shall be opened" (Isaiah 35:5), so too here, "and all the people saw" (Exodus 20:15). Just as in the time to come, "and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (Isaiah ibid.), so too here, "and they said, all that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear" (Exodus 24:7). Just as in the time to come, "then the lame shall leap like a deer" (Isaiah ibid.), so too here, "and Moses brought the people out toward God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain" (Exodus 19:17). Just as in the time to come, "and the tongue of the mute shall sing" (Isaiah ibid.), so too here, "and all the people answered together and said" (Exodus 19:8).