Something seems out of place. We are standing forty years after the Revelation, forty years after Klal Yisrael’s resounding acceptance of the Torah amid a resonating declaration of Naase v’Nishma, “We will do and we will listen!” Why does the Torah say that hayom – “this day,” you became a nation? Had this not occurred forty years earlier? The Talmud Brachos 63b asks this obvious question. Chazal respond that while the Torah had actually been given forty years earlier, it is so valued and appreciated by those who study it, it is as if they had just received it today. In other words, one should approach his daily Torah study as if he is standing at the foot of Har Sinai about to receive the Torah from Hashem. Indeed, every day is a day of Revelation.
I recently saw an analogy to explain the idea behind the word, hayom, “today”. The king of a country asked his defense minister to provide him with the figures for supplying the entire military with provisions for a year. The defense minister was an astute businessman, returning a few days later with a detailed spreadsheet, detailing the best prices presented by a particular supplier who was a giving a rock-bottom price in order to get the entire order. The king carefully studied the price list and said that he would soon sign the contract for the purchase order. A few weeks went by, and every time the minister approached the king with the contract, the king demurred. There was always some “reason” for delaying the signing of the contract. Finally, the king called the minister and agreed to sign the contract.
The minister was slightly surprised that it had taken so long for the king to go with this broker. The king was well-known for not wasting his time. When questioned by the minister, the king replied, “You presented me with one price, albeit a very good one, but what about bids from other brokers? As soon as I announce that I am giving the contract to your broker, every wholesaler in the country will clamor that, had they known about my request, they would have come in at a lower price. Therefore, I decided to let the word out and see the results. Once I was satisfied that your broker had it all together with the best prices, I decided to sign the contract.”
The same idea applies to Hashem, allowing the nations of the world to submit their bids concerning the Torah. When He offered us the Torah, we replied with a resounding Naase v’Nishma – no questions asked – we are ready and willing to accept the Torah. Nonetheless, Hashem had to give the nations of the world the opportunity to assess the positive commandments, the ethical and moral lessons and values imparted by the Torah. If they were still obstinate enough to continue in their refusal, then it belonged to Klal Yisrael.
Hayom, “this day”! You became a nation. Now, after Moshe Rabbeinu wrote the Torah with full explanation for every nation of the world to understand, they could no longer continue procrastinating. They either would accept it, or would forever hold their peace. They did not – we did. “Today” – it was finally ours. Our bid was accepted.
