Going to Market

The Ran explains that kabbalas haTorah was the greatest possible experience for mankind. In order to expunge all doubt of its veracity Hashem first delivered us from Egypt, the heart of sorcery, with great miracles. If there had been any trickery, surely the sorcerers there would have figured it out. It is specifically in such a place that Hashem demonstrated that He can completely overide nature when He desires. After the sorcerers admitted this, it was clear that Hashem is G-d without a shadow of a doubt. Rav Moshe Ludmir, shlit”a, brings this Ran and applies it to a statement of our sages regarding Moshe's reaction to the Egyptian Sorcerers. “This is the meaning of the exchange between the Egyptian sorcerers and Moshe. The sorcerers mocked Moshe for bringing what they thought was mere magic into Egypt, the capital of such things. Moshe responded that people say that if one has vegetables to sell he should bring his produce to a vegetable market. Moshe is saying that precisely because the Egyptian's are expert sorcerers, it will become clear as day that what Hashem empowered him to do would far exceed that which they could do. It is specifically in this manner that they will recognize Hashem and admit that He is above all powers.” Interestingly, the Chazon Ish taught a practical lesson from this statement. It was when yeshivos were still struggling that Rav Hillel Vitkind, zt”l, asked the Chazon Ish, zt”l, what should be done to keep his yeshiva in Tel Aviv going. The Chazon Ish surprised him by suggesting that he move the yeshiva to Bnei Brak. “But Bnei Brak is filled with yeshivos!” responded Rav Hillel. The Chazon Ish answered, “On the contrary, that is exactly why you should move your yeshiva to Bnei Brak. Don’t our sages say that one should bring vegetables to a vegetable market?”

The Unique Event

The Alter of Kelm, zt”l, explains how important the memory of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai is for our emunah. “See what Moshe said to the entire nation: 'שאל נא לימים הראשונים השמע עם...מדבר מתוך האש'. If we consider this we will understand that our Torah—which was eventually copied by the nations, as the Rambam writes—was given to all of us in fire.
“Go and investigate if there is another nation who claims to have received their tradition in front of every man, woman, and child. Every Jew heard and saw the voice of Hashem speak from within the fire. Why didn’t any other nation make this compelling claim? The simple answer is that they could not. The only thing that would sound plausible is if a so-called prophet claims to have received a vision, possibly with a few disciples as witnesses. This is certainly impossible to verify, unlike our claim that everyone was there, which can easily be checked. Surely it is impossible to convince anyone of this claim if there is not huge evidence corroborating it. If people did not find evidence for such an outrageous claim everyone would emphatically deny it.
“This claim is enough to build one’s emunah. If we will contemplate its truth each day, our emunah will grow strong. But we must never think that dry knowledge of this fact is enough. Instead we must see this in our mind’s eye each and every day. We must understand that the more we do so, the more this is internalized. This is why we are warned, 'השמר לך פן תשכח...יום אשר עמדת'—‘Guard yourselves lest you forget the day that you stood before Hashem your G-d at Chorev.’”