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Yitro

One Heart

The Israelite camp on the eve of the giving of the Torah experienced peace and unity.

[The verse teaches about the nation’s encampment around Mount Sinai:] “Israel encamped there next to the mountain” (Exodus 19:2). Every place that the verse states: “They traveled [vayisu],” or “they encamped [vayahanu],” in the plural, it means that they traveled in dispute and encamped in dispute. But here, all of them shared one unified heart; that is why the verse states: “Israel encamped [vayihan, in the singular] there next to the mountain.” (Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael, Yitro, Mesekhta deBaĥodesh 1)