Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) raises a fascinating question about the communication chain at Sinai. What exactly did God tell Moses to relay to Israel, and what did Israel say to Moses to relay back to God? The Mekhilta reveals that the people made a bold request: "We want to hear it from our King."
The Israelites did not want Moses as an intermediary. They wanted direct access to the divine voice. And their reasoning, as the Mekhilta frames it, was perfectly logical: there is no comparing hearing a message from an attendant to hearing it from the King Himself. A servant can repeat the words accurately, but the experience of hearing the King speak carries an entirely different weight. The people craved that direct encounter.
What makes this passage remarkable is God's response. He did not rebuke the people for overstepping. He did not remind them of Moses's unique prophetic status. Instead, God said to Moses: "Grant them what they ask." The people wanted to hear God's voice directly, and God agreed to speak to them.
This is the context for the verse (Exodus 19:9): "so that the people hear when I speak with you." The public revelation at Sinai — God's voice thundering the commandments so that every Israelite could hear — was not originally part of the plan as the people understood it. It was a concession to their desire. They asked for something audacious, and God honored the request.
The Mekhilta presents Sinai not as a top-down imposition but as a negotiated encounter. Israel asked to hear from the King directly. And the King said yes.