And they journeyed from Refidim, and they came to the Sinai Desert, and they encamped in the desert, and Israel encamped there opposite the mountain. (19:2) Rashi wonders why it was necessary to tell us that they journeyed from Refidim, since we already know that they had been encamped there. The reason, he answers, is to draw a parallel between their departure from Refidim and their arrival in the Sinai Desert. Just as they arrived at Sinai in a state of repentance, so they departed from Refidim in a state of repentance. The Mechilta offers a similar interpretation. Just as they arrived in the Sinai Desert in order to receive the Torah, so they left Refidim with that intention. What is the point of this information? What can we learn from it? The Netziv explains that the Torah is emphasizing the importance of proper preparation in sacred matters. The more perfect the preparation, the greater the holiness that can be achieved. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 85b) relates that Rabbi Chiya safeguarded the Torah and prevented it from being forgotten. What did he do? First, he went and planted flaxen seeds. When the flax grew, Rabbi Chiya fashioned it into hunter’s nets to capture deer. He then took the captured deer, fed their meat to penniless orphans, and manufactured parchment from the deer hides. On these parchments, he wrote the Torah. Then he took the scrolls and went from village to village. He would bring together groups of young children, sit them down, and teach the Written and the Oral Torah. Rabbi Chiya took pride in what he had done. “I have labored for the Torah, so that it should not be forgotten by the Jewish people.” Rabbi Yehudah the Prince also remarked, “How great are Chiya’s deeds!” Why was all this necessary? Had he bought hides on the market and tanned them with the intent of using then as Torah scrolls, it would have been halachically sufficient. Why did Rabbi Chiya have to work so hard to produce scrolls for the Torah? It was to ensure the success of his enterprise. Rabbi Chiya knew that the Jewish people were in a crisis, that the Torah might be forgotten. He wanted to infuse his actions with the greatest potential for holiness, so that they would be able to inspire holiness in the hearts of the children he would teach. Therefore, he very wisely decided to dedicate every step of the preparation process to the holiness of his undertaking, even before such a dedication was halachically required. How did Rabbi Chiya know what great power there lay in elaborate preparation? He learned it from the Torah, which tells us that the preparation of the Jewish people for receiving the Torah had already begun in their last place of encampment at Refidim.

Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Jonathan Horowitz