Torah Given in the Third Month So Converts May Come

"In the third month" (Exodus 19:1). Why in the third month? So as not to give the nations of the world an opening to say, "Had He given the Torah to us as well, we would have kept it." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: See in which month I gave the Torah — in the third month, under the constellation of Twins [Gemini], so that if wicked Esau should wish to convert and to repent and to come and learn Torah, let him come and learn, and I will accept him. Therefore it was given in the third month. For what reason was it given in the wilderness of Sinai? To teach you that if a person does not make himself ownerless like this wilderness, he will not merit the words of Torah. Just as the wilderness has no end, so the Torah has no end, as it says, "longer than the earth is its measure, and broader than the sea" (Job 11:9). And just as it has no end, so the giving of its reward has no end, as it says, "How abundant is Your goodness that You have stored up for those who fear You" (Psalms 31:20).