It involves a divine tour, some hard "nos," and a resounding "yes" that changed everything.
The story goes that before God presented the Torah to Israel, He offered it to all the nations of the world. According to Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, the intention was clear: to eliminate any future excuses. No one could later claim, "If only we had been given the chance, we would have embraced the Torah!"
So, God approached the descendants of Esau, the Edomites. "Will you accept the Torah?" He asked. They inquired about its contents. God replied, "Thou shalt not kill." The Edomites balked. "But our father, Esau, was blessed with the words, 'By thy sword shalt thou live!'" they exclaimed. "To accept this would be to deny our very essence." They declined.
Next, God went to the children of Lot, the Moabites and Ammonites. "Will you accept the Torah?" Again, the question of content arose. "Thou shalt not commit unchastity," God responded. Their rejection was swift. "But we are descended from unchastity!" they argued. "This we cannot accept."
Then came the children of Ishmael. "Do you want to accept the Torah?" God asked. "What is written therein?" they countered. "Thou shalt not steal," God answered. Their reply echoed the previous rejections. "But God promised our father, 'His hand will be against every man!'" they proclaimed. "To abstain from taking what we want goes against that very promise." They refused the Torah.
As we find in Midrash Rabbah, the other nations of the world offered similar reasons. They clung to their ancestral customs, their familiar ways. "We cannot give up the law of our fathers," they said. "Give it to your people, Israel."
Finally, God turned to Israel. "Will you accept the Torah?" he asked. "What is written therein?" they responded. "Six hundred and thirteen commandments," God replied. And then came the pivotal moment. Without hesitation, Israel declared, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will be obedient!" (Exodus 24:7).
But the story doesn't end there. According to the text, Israel then proclaimed: "O Lord of the world! We acted in accordance with Thy commandments before they were revealed to us." They went on to provide example after example of how their ancestors had already embodied the Torah's principles. Jacob, they said, fulfilled the first of the Ten Commandments by commanding his family to put away their foreign gods. Abraham obeyed the commandment not to take the Lord's name in vain. Joseph remembered the Sabbath. Isaac honored his parents. Judah refrained from murder. Joseph resisted adultery. The sons of Jacob refused to steal. Abraham bore true witness and didn't covet.
What are we to make of this extraordinary narrative? Why did all the other nations refuse the Torah? Was it simply a matter of conflicting cultural values, or was there something deeper at play? And what about Israel's eager acceptance? Was it blind faith, or a profound recognition of something already present within their collective soul? Perhaps the story reminds us that accepting a higher calling requires a willingness to let go of familiar comforts and embrace a path of greater responsibility. It suggests that the Torah wasn't just a set of rules, but a reflection of a deeper truth that resonated with the soul of Israel.