The revelation at Sinai is THE encounter with God. It is there that we begin a covenant which has lasted to this day. It would make sense if that covenant were a true reflection of the realities of faith. In our relationships with God we experience something of a dialectic between the love and fear of God. At times we experience a fear, an apprehension about religion, and we run away, only to look back from a distance. At times we are attracted to God and all that is holy. We wish only to bask in the light of the Divine and connect with His path.
This existential reality is also the story of the Revelation at Sinai. On one hand, there is a barrier to retain the excited crowds, there are demands to "see" God, to experience Him in a direct way. And then, there is the fright of His enormous power.
Which way will we accept Torah? That is up to us. Will we relate to God in the first person or in the third person? Both options are possible - up close and at a distance. Maybe for us, in our lives, we have to aim at combining both sides - keeping both the magnitude of God in mind, while at the same time, wanting to gain a closeness to Him.
(Excerpted from "How to Divide the Ten Commandments" By Rabbi Alex Israel. Click here to read the full article)