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Why was coercion needed at Sinai when the Jews had already declared "Na'aseh V'Nishma"? The Maharal explains that Torah (תורה) acceptance cannot be based on free choice because Torah is the fundamental basis of all existence. At Purim (פורים), the Jews finally understood this reality and willingly accepted what necessity demanded.
Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L begins with the famous Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) that describes how Hashem (ה׳) held Mount Sinai over the Jewish people like a barrel, threatening that if they don't accept the Torah (תורה), "this will be your burial place." This presents Tosafos (תוספות)'s fundamental question: why was coercion necessary when the people had already willingly declared "Na'aseh V'Nishma" (we will do and we will understand)? The Midrash Tanchuma suggests that "Na'aseh V'Nishma" applied only to the Written Torah, while the coercion was necessary for the Oral Torah, which is more difficult. Tosafos offers a different explanation: when the people saw the great fire at Sinai, they would have retracted their willing acceptance out of fear.
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Shabbos 88a
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