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Of the many pivotal moments in Jewish history, Ma’amad Har Sinai is uniquely prominent. Rashi (BeReishit 1:1), citing the teaching of Chazal, notes that the very purpose of creation centers on the Torah given at Har Sinai. As such, it is not surprising that the Torah admonishes Klal Yisrael lest it forget the events of the giving of the Torah – 

“Rak HiShamer Lecha Ushmor Nafshecha Me’od Pen Tiskach Et HaDevarim Asher Ra’u Einecha Upen Yasuru MiLevavecha Kol Yemei Chayacha VeHodatam Levanecha VeLivnei Vanecha Yom Asher Amadeta Lifnei Hashem Elokecha BeChoreiv,” “But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children: The day you stood before your God יהוה at Horeb”  (Devarim 4:9-10).

Indeed, Ramban (Shikchat HaLavin 2, Devarim 4:9) argues that the prohibition to forget the events of Har Sinai registers as one of the 613  Mitzvot. Rambam, however, omits this prohibition from his counting of the Mitzvot. What is the basis for Rambam’s omission? In fact, Rambam (Igeret Teiman) even acknowledges the Torah’s positive commandment to recall Ma’amad Har Sinai (“Zechirat Ma’amad Har Sinai”) and its negative commandment not to forget it. Why, then, does Rambam choose not to codify the Mitzvah of Zechirat Ma’amad Har Sinai? 

An analysis of the integration of Ma’amad Har Sinai within the Mitzvah of daily Torah study may illuminate Rambam’s position. Much evidence implies that ideal Torah study must mirror the way in which the Torah was first given at Har Sinai. For example, the Gemara (Berkahot 22a) derives from the juxtaposition of “VeHodatam LeVanecha VeLivnei Vanechah” with “Yom Asher Amadeta Lifnei Hashem Elokecha BeChoreiv” that just as the Torah was given in a state of dread, awe, trembling, and fear, so too the Torah must be studied in the same state. Moreover, the Gemara (Nedarim 37a, Bekhorot 29a) extrapolates that “Mah Ani BeChinam Af Atem Nami BeChinam,” “just as I taught Torah free of charge, so too you must teach free of charge.” The Gemara thus derives preconditions for Torah study from the conveying of the Torah at Har Sinai.  

Not only must Torah study be linked to Ma’amad Har Sinai in manner, but the two must also be linked in time. The Gemara (Kiddushin 30a) infers from “VeHoda’tam LeVanechah VeLivnei Vanechah” an obligation for grandparents to teach Torah to grandchildren. Rav Pinchas Horowitz (Sefer HaMakneh ibid.) elaborates that by doing so, a grandparent connects his grandchild to earlier generations and limits the gap in time between Ma’amad Har Sinai and the grandchild’s study. Therefore, a grandchild who studies with his grandparent is considered to have received the Torah directly from Sinai, as Rabi Yehoshua ben Leivi comments (Kiddushin ibid.). Evidently, the grandparent’s obligation to teach is rooted in the motivation to link contemporary Torah study with the origin of Torah at Har Sinai. 

Based on the aforementioned evidence, Rav Yitzchak Hutner (Pachad Yitzchak Shavuot 32:3, 6) develops the perspective that every experience of Torah study is intended to be a quasi-acceptance of the Torah at Har Sinai. In every personal encounter with Torah, one hearkens back to the giving of the Torah. The events of Har Sinai are not a standalone stage of Jewish history. On the contrary, they permeate every instance of Torah study, so much so that Talmud Torah detached from Ma’amad Har Sinai is lacking at its core. Ideal Torah study must be influenced by its source of Ma’amad Har Sinai.