The Mekhilta offers yet another interpretation of "And all the people saw" — this one focused not on the nature of the experience but on the spiritual state of the Israelites who received it.
When all of Israel stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, something extraordinary happened. As soon as they heard each divine pronouncement, they assimilated it completely and instantly. There was no gap between hearing and understanding, no delay between reception and comprehension. The word of God entered their minds and was immediately absorbed.
The proof text is (Deuteronomy 32:10): "He encircled him; He invested him with understanding." The word "invested" implies a thorough, encompassing comprehension — understanding that wraps around the student like a garment. The Mekhilta repeats the point for emphasis: "As soon as they heard the pronouncement, they assimilated it."
This teaching elevates the Israelites at Sinai to a spiritual level far beyond ordinary human learning. In normal life, understanding takes time. You hear a teaching, you ponder it, you struggle with it, and gradually it becomes part of you. At Sinai, that entire process was compressed into a single instant. The Torah entered the people the way light fills a room when a door is opened — completely and all at once. The Mekhilta uses this image to explain the "exalted state of Israel" at that moment — a state of perfect receptivity that has never been replicated since.