The Torah tells us in Exodus 19:8, "Moses reported the statement of the people to the Lord." According to Shemot Rabbah, this moment prompted God to want to give the Torah to the Israelites directly and speak with them. But there was a problem: Moses was standing right there, on the mountain.
Why was Moses's presence a problem? Shemot Rabbah tells us a parable. Imagine a king wanting to issue a proclamation but needing his chief official's input. The king says, "Do such and such." The official replies, "It is already done!" The king then says, "Go and summon so-and-so the advisor and let him come with you." Only then can the king proceed.
Rabbi Levi uses this parable to explain God's dilemma. God wanted to give the Aseret haDibrot (the Ten Commandments). But with Moses standing by His side, God worried about how the people would perceive the communication. If God revealed the firmament and proclaimed, "Anochi Adonai Elohecha – I am the Lord your God," the people might wonder: who is speaking? Is it truly God, or is it Moses?
So, God instructs Moses: "Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and they shall wash their garments" (Exodus 19:10). But Moses, ever zealous, replies, "I already sanctified them," referring to the earlier warning to demarcate and sanctify the mountain (Exodus 19:23).
God then gives a seemingly contradictory command: "Go, descend, and you shall ascend and Aaron with you" (Exodus 19:24). It's a fascinating dance of divine intention and human agency. The midrash, the interpretive tradition, suggests that Moses's descent was crucial. Only after Moses descended to the people (Exodus 19:25) did God speak. Immediately, the Torah says, "God spoke."
What does this all mean? Perhaps it emphasizes the importance of clarity and direct communication between God and the people. Moses, the ultimate intermediary, needed to step aside, just for a moment, to allow the divine voice to be heard directly. It wasn't that Moses wasn't important – far from it! But in that specific moment, the direct connection was paramount. The people needed to know, without a doubt, that it was God speaking.
It also raises a deeper question: how do we create space for the divine voice in our own lives? Do we sometimes rely too much on intermediaries, on interpretations, that we forget to listen for ourselves? Maybe, like Moses descending the mountain, we sometimes need to step back, create some space, and listen for the voice of God directly.