The story is told of a young Jewish businessman from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who struck it big. His business flourished and his small company became an international success. The only drawback was that his time was limited and he didn’t get to see his elderly mother too often. One day while on a business trip in Paris he decided to send his mother an expensive present. He purchased the most expensive caviar he could find along with a bottle of exquisite French wine and he packed it with a bouquet of fresh flowers. Then he had it flown on a Concord jet to New York and hand-delivered to his mother’s little apartment on the Lower East Side. Later that night he called his mother to find out if she received his gift. "Yeah, I got it," she replied without much emotion. "Mother, was it not good? I picked out the best I could find." She replied nonchalantly, "Eehhh, it was fine!" The man was annoyed, "Mother, if there was something wrong with it, please tell me. I paid a lot of money for it; I wanted it to be good." She sighed and replied, "Well, if you must know, the Ginger Ale was off and the raspberry jelly was spoiled."
    The birds did not chirp, the frogs did not croak, the trees did not rustle in the breeze. The rivers ceased to flow and the fish did not swim. The cosmos were paralyzed with fear and trepidation and bated its very breath with an eerie silence. The only sounds to be heard emanated from Mount Sinai, but what sounds! The mountain reverberated with thunder and lightning. An august display of resounding sonic booms exploded in the air and a plethora of iridescent and incandescent fire emblazoned the sky. At the top of the mountain lay clouds of sullen darkness that grew thicker and thicker. The mountain itself was suspended high in the air and underneath stood an excited but petrified Klal Yisroel who had gathered there to accept the Torah. The pasuk describes the scene, (20:15) "V’chol ha’am roim es hakolos v’es halapidim v’ays kol hashofar v’es hahar ashayn vaya’ar ha’am vayanu’u vaya’amdu mayrochok- All the people could see the sounds and the flames, the sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain; the people saw and they moved and they stood afar."
    Why was there a need for such a major commotion? Why couldn’t the Torah have been given quietly with Moshe delivering an extensive sermon delineating all that the Torah expects of us? Why did the entire world have to experience the whole terrifying ordeal of G-d’s revelation?
    When Klal Yisroel first arrived at the foot of Har Sinai, the pasuk states, (19:1) "In the third month from the Exodus of Klal Yisroel from Egypt, on this day, they arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai. They journeyed from Rephidim and arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the Wilderness; and Yisroel encamped there, opposite the mountain." The Torah seems to be redundant; why does the pasuk first tell us they arrived at Sinai and then say they traveled from Rephidim and arrived in Sinai?
    The Ohr Hachaim relates an awesome insight that could only be said by someone of the Ohr Hachaim’s stature. The Ba’alei Mussar (Masters of Ethics) discuss a concept known as, "Ahavah mikalkeles es hashurah- Love (and on the opposite side of the spectrum, hate) blinds and perverts the straight path." Basically this means that when one is completely overcome by emotion (either love or hate), his rationale is distorted and he does things that he would normally not do or say. Imagine a mother waiting with her young children for her eldest daughter to return from a seminary overseas. They stand excitedly in the airport at the exit terminal and eagerly stare at the arrival area trying to catch the first glimpse of her. Then, all of a sudden, the mother screams with glee, "Look! There she is! Can you see her? Right behind that sign." The entire airport stops to stare at her but she is oblivious to all of them. She runs past a lunging security guard and grabs her daughter in a complete embrace. When she finally composes herself she stops to look at her daughter. She wipes away her tears and asks, "So how was your trip dear? How was the flight? Did you eat enough? " Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world with only one goal in mind: That one unique nation would accept the Torah and become an elevated and sanctified nation. When all of the nations were offered the Torah, they rejected it. Klal Yisroel was the last vestige of hope to ensure the continuum of the universe. If Klal Yisroel would also reject it, in one volatile moment the world would revert back into a void oblivion. But Klal Yisroel declared, "We will do and we will hear," and were prepared to accept the Torah.
    Therefore, when Klal Yisroel arrived at Sinai, the Shechinah itself cried out with jubilation, "they have arrived." Though physical emotion cannot be attributed to the omnipotent G-d, on some lofty level that we cannot understand, G-d felt a euphoria of joy. Thus, as a mother sees the arrival of her beloved child, the Torah writes the pasuk as if G-d Himself exclaimed with joy, "they have arrived." Only after that initial burst of excitement does the Torah repeat how they arrived and the events that led up to that point.
    Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch shlita relates a parable about a young man who was engaged to a wealthy and prestigious young woman. On the day of the wedding, the father of the bride arrived in front of the groom’s modest home to transport him to the wedding hall. The groom emerged from the house and nearly passed out. The luxurious coach was covered with gold. The interior seats were made of plush leather and a beautiful painting was drawn onto the ceiling of the coach. Six white steeds bedecked in expensive jewelry stood in front of the coach ready to gallop. The father of the bride welcomed him in and they departed. All along the way throngs of people lined the roads respectfully bowing and shouting words of blessing and encouragement to the young groom. Placards were placed all over the walls announcing and inviting all to the gala wedding that evening. As they neared the hall, the father of the bride noticed that his future son-in-law looked very downcast. "What is the matter, my son? Is something not to your liking?" The young groom replied, "Everything is so beautiful and regal. But I must admit that I am very apprehensive, because there is no way I can even provide half of such wealth to your daughter after we are married." The father smiled, "My dear son, my daughter and I know very well what your means of support is and my daughter is more than willing to give up all her riches to be wed to you. Nevertheless, I wanted you to appreciate the noble and prestigious girl you are marrying and therefore I arranged for this whole display."
    The Torah is the absolute greatest ‘commodity’ in this world. Not only was it the blueprint and basis of the universe but it also serves as the only vehicle and catalyst for a true connection with G-d. In a way we are the old woman from the Lower East Side who cannot appreciate the exquisite taste of fancy wine and caviar. Our taste buds are accustomed to the cheap and fleeting pleasures of the physical world and therefore it is almost impossible for us to appreciate the awesome greatness of Torah and a life of spirituality. Still in all, G-d wanted us to have a small understanding of the great gift He was giving us at Har Sinai. Therefore Hashem made a tremendous display on Har Sinai to ingrain in Klal Yisroel and in the entire world how precious and special the Torah is. G-d Himself, so-to-speak, felt a certain level of excitement when He gave the Torah, and therefore He wanted Klal Yisroel to have a small appreciation of what they were receiving.
    Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt’l explains that the aforementioned idea is the same underlying reason why there is such strong emphasis placed on bringing joy to a chosson and kallah. The Gemarah (Berachos 6b) states, "Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Rav Huna: Anyone who has benefit from a wedding feast but does not bring joy to the chosson and kallah transgresses five ‘voices.’But if he does bring him joy what is his reward? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: He merits the Torah which was given with five voices." How can the mitzvah of bringing joy to a chosson be placed on the same scale as the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai? Rabbi Miller explains that when the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, not only did Klal Yisroel lose the temple itself but they lost another precious Jewish commodity: the true sanctity and purity of a Jewish home. Although a Jewish home built on the laws of the Torah boasts a tremendous amount of spirituality and holiness, it pales in comparison to the levels those homes once reached. In exile every family seeks to bring back as much of that greatness as possible. Therefore at a wedding there is a special mitzvah to show tremendous excitement and joy in order to impress upon the young couple the extreme importance of the task they must fulfill, i.e. to build a Jewish home (what we call a bayis ne’eman). Just as at Kabbalos Hatorah, Hashem displayed a tremendous amount of commotion and excitement to impress upon Klal Yisroel the greatness of what they were receiving, so too at a wedding we must display excitement to impress upon the young couple the importance of what they are seeking to accomplish.
    Every wedding we go to is not ‘just another wedding,’ rather it must be viewed as THE wedding. For each wedding is the initiation of a quest to build a home of purity and holiness in Klal Yisroel.
[Some of the ideas of ‘Stam Torah’ on Parshas Yisro I heard from Rabbi Yehuda Schuster, Motzei Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Yisro, 5761]