What are the implications of the words "Koh Somar ... "?
Rashi: Say the following words, without change. 1
Rashi does not add "in this exact order," as he did in his comments to Shemos 19:3. See Sifsei Chachamim in both locations.
What are the ramifications of the Pasuk, "Atem Re'isem ... "?
Rashi: It is impossible to deny what one has seen! 1
Ramban: Having seen with their own eyes what they saw, and that Hashem is Master over Heaven and earth, Yisrael are prohibited from adopting or making any other gods. 2
Seforno: It serves as a practical lesson that, although Hashem dwells in the Heaven, He lowers Himself to supervise His creations and to communicate with them. 3
How does the fact that Hashem spoke to Bnei Yisrael from Heaven, serve as the reason that they should not make gold or silver images (Pasuk 20)?
Maharal (Tif'eres Yisrael, beg. Ch. 46, p. 140): Do not think that Hashem is [only] in Heaven, and He has no business on the earth [and were this so, the fashioning of idols would not diminish His honor]. Rather, you were witness how Hashem spoke to you directly, with no intermediary - He in the Heavens, and His Glory upon the earth - such that fashioning of idols indeed does detract from His honor.
How will we reconcile this Pasuk with the earlier Pasuk, "va'Yeired Hashem Al Har Sinai" (19:20)?
Rashi #1: Hashem's Kavod (in the form of His Voice) was in the Heaven - to chastise them and His fire and great might were on earth. 1
Rashi #2: He bent the Heaven and the Heaven of the Heavens, and spread them on the Mountain. 2
Ramban: Hashem was in Heaven, and His Kavod (in the form of the fire) was on Har Sinai. 3
Rashi: As we learn in Devarim 4:36.
Rashi: As the Pasuk indicates in Tehilim 18:10 . Refer also to 19:20:1:1 .
Ramban: As the Pasuk indicates in Nechemyah 9:13. The Ramban agrees with Rashi's quotations, but disagrees with his interpretation. He also quotes the Ibn Ezra, who cites Ki Sisa (Shemos 33:21) (See R. Chavel's notes).
