(Numb. 1:1:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses.” Fortunate are you, Moses!<sup class="footnote-marker">25</sup><i class="footnote">Numb. R. 1:6; cf. Lev. R. 1:1.</i> Six hundred thousand were present with the priests, the Levites, and the elders. They were all present there; yet out of them all, He only spoke there with Moses, as stated (ibid.), “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses.” (Ibid., cont.) “In the Sinai desert.” Why in the Sinai desert?<sup class="footnote-marker">26</sup><i class="footnote">Numb. R. 1:7.</i> From here our masters have taught, “The Torah was given through three things: through fire, through water, and through the desert.<sup class="footnote-marker">27</sup><i class="footnote"><i>Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Bashodesh</i> 5.</i> Through fire, as stated (in Exod. 19:18), ‘Now all of Mount Sinai was emitting smoke because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and the smoke from it arose like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.’ Through water, as stated (in Jud. 5:4), ‘Lord, when You went forth from Seir, when You marched [from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, even the heavens dripped, even the clouds dropped water].’ Through (i.e., in)<sup class="footnote-marker">28</sup><i class="footnote">In Hebrew the prefix <i>b</i> used here can be translated either “through” or “in.”</i> the desert, as stated (in Numb. 1:1), ‘Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.’” And why was it given through these three things? It is that, just as these are free for all who come into the world, so too are the words of the Torah free for all who come to the world. Thus it is stated (in Is. 55:1), “Ho, all who are thirsty, come to the waters (of Torah); even if you have no money, come, buy food, and eat. So come, buy food, wine, and milk without money and without cost.” “In the Sinai Desert.” Why in the Sinai desert? It is that whoever does not make himself ownerless like the desert cannot acquire<sup class="footnote-marker">29</sup><i class="footnote">The Hebrew verb also means “buy.”</i> the Torah.<sup class="footnote-marker">30</sup><i class="footnote">See <i>‘Eruv.</i> 54a; <i>Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Bashodesh</i> 1.</i> It is therefore stated, “in the Sinai desert.”