Mount Sinai serves as the ultimate meeting point between heaven and earth. Following the dramatic events of a smoking and trembling mountain, the focus narrows to the precise location of the divine revelation and the elevation of Moses from among the people.
The idea of God coming down to the mountain raises a natural question, given that His glory fills the entire earth and He has no physical form. The primary approach among commentators is that the Torah speaks in human terms to make the event understandable [אבן עזרא, רבינו בחיי, ביאור יש״ר]. This descent is not a physical movement from one place to another, but rather a tangible expression of the revelation of God's glory, the appearance of His great name, and the human mind grasping the Divine Presence. Conversely, this movement is also viewed as a historical correction. At the beginning of creation, the Divine Presence rested on earth, but the sins of early generations drove it away into the seven heavens. Righteous individuals, from Abraham to Moses, gradually brought the Divine Presence back down, until this exact moment when it finally returned to the lower world [הדר זקנים].
The revelation specifically targets the top of the mountain. Yet, God did not actually touch the soil of the peak, as the Divine Presence never descends lower than ten handbreadths from the ground. Instead, God bent the upper and lower heavens, spreading them over the mountain like a bed, allowing the Throne of Glory to descend and rest upon them [רש״י, תורה תמימה, משכיל לדוד]. A vivid tradition portrays the mountain as having a life of its own. As the Divine Presence began to lower, the silent mountain trembled and rose to meet it, much like a servant running to greet his master, until the mountain's peak seemingly entered a window opened in the heavens [אור החיים, הדר זקנים].
The focus on the summit is explained by the intense nature of the event. Initially, the Divine Presence descended upon the entire mountain. However, when God saw that the Israelites standing at the base could not withstand the sheer power of the fire up close, He withdrew from the sides and concentrated His presence solely at the highest point, safely away from the camp [מלבי״ם, אור החיים]. On a simpler level, the peak merely indicates the mountain's maximum physical height [בכור שור].
From within this fire of glory, God called out to Moses. This call was made publicly so that all the Israelites would hear the communication and recognize the great spiritual stature of Moses [אבן עזרא, ביאור יש״ר, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The call was not merely a communication but an invitation to ascend and leave his current place [העמק דבר]. This personal summons served to separate Moses from the rest of the people and the priests, making it clear that only he was permitted to approach at this stage to receive the objective word of God [רש ר הירש].
Following the call, Moses made his way up toward the summit. Even though he ascended toward the peak, he only reached a point very close to the top, but not the absolute summit itself. No human being, not even Moses, can reach the exact location of the Divine Presence [קאסוטו, ביאור יש״ר]. His ascent symbolizes a journey toward the place of glory, simply to hear the divine words and eventually pass them on to the people [רמב״ן].