In our parsha, we read of the great gathering at Ma'amad Har Sinai (the assembly of Am Israel at Mount Sinai). However, before Matan Torah, the verses describe the preparations before the great event, and the dialogue between HaShem and Moshe:

Shemot 19:

And Moshe ascended to the Lord and HaShem called to him from the mountain, saying: so say to the house of Ya'akov and tell B'nei Israel: You have seen what I did to Egypt and that I carried you on the wings of eagles… You will be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the things which you will speak to B'nei Israel. And Moshe came and called for the elders of the nation and he put before them all these things which HaShem commanded him.

And all the nation answered together and said: all that HaShem spoke we shall do and Moshe conveyed the words of the nation to HaShem. And HaShem said to Moshe: behold I am coming to you in a dense cloud in order that the nation will hear when I speak to you, and also they will believe in you forever. And Moshe spoke the words of the nation to HaShem. And HaShem said to Moshe: go to the nation and sanctify them today and tomorrow and they shall wash their clothing.

And here several questions arise:
After the nation hears the words of HaShem from Moshe, they receive all of HaShem's commands with joy and are willing and ready to perform them, and Moshe speaks their words before HaShem – "and Moshe conveyed the words of the nation to HaShem." However, afterwards the Torah says again: "and Moshe spoke the words of the nation to HaShem" – isn't this repetitive, since the nation did not say anything new to Moshe?

HaRav Avraham Ben Ezra answers this question as follows (Even Ezra on Parshat Yitro, Shemot 19:9):
 

Know, that there are many verses in the Torah which could have been stated earlier (according to the chronological order of events). And indeed there the meaning is: such and such had already occurred, for example: (Bereshis 2:7) 'And the Lord HaShem created' and He had already created. And here: 'And Moshe spoke' – and he already spoke, and the Torah did not mention what he spoke. And the word 'spoke' always refers to something new which was not previously mentioned. And this is not connected to 'And Moshe conveyed' (Shemot 19:8). And from Hashem's answer 'behold I am coming to you in a dense cloud' we learned what he (Moshe) said. Know, that Egypt and India are of the progeny of Ham, and their way of thinking is similar. And the people of India do not eat meat. And was the way the Egyptians behaved, and they only changed their custom when the kingdom of Ishmael conquered them and they adopted their religion. And the wise men of India give proofs according to their thinking - that it is impossible that HaShem will speak with a man and he will live. And Israel were in Egypt, and some of them believed this, and (therefore) they doubted Moshe's prophecy. And we cannot bring a proof from the word(s) "and they believed in HaShem and in Moshe his servant (Shemot 14:31) because it says 'And Israel saw' and not all Israel. And had the Torah written all Israel, the meaning would be the majority, as it does in 'And all the cattle in Egypt died' (Shemot 9:6, in the plague of dever - pestilence) since afterwards (9:19, before the plague of hail) it is written 'send and bring in all your livestock' (meaning that some cattle remained). And therefore, the purpose of 'behold I am coming to you' is a response to Moshe's words to HaShem. And the reason for the dense cloud, when HaShem came down on the mountain and spoke to Moshe the Ten Commandments, was in order that they will believe that it is true that HaShem speaks to man and he continues to live.

In other words, the Even Ezra understands that here is a new proclamation of Moshe, one which is not written explicitly. Moshe says to HaShem that the nation was influenced by the Egyptian belief, and therefore some of them do not believe that Hashem can speak with a man and that man can continue living. Therefore HaShem answered him: "Behold I am coming to you … in order that the nation will hear when I speak to you."

The Ramban (Parshat Yitro, Shemot 19:9) disagrees with the Even Ezra, and writes that it is inconceivable that Am Israel doubted (Moshe's) prophecy, as they believed in it since the time of their forefathers, and this was passed down from generation to generation, and there are additional verses which state explicitly that Am Israel believed in Moshe's prophecy:
 

"And it is not true, since the offspring of Avraham will not cast doubt upon prophecy, as they believed in it from their fathers. Additionally, it says (Shemot 4:31) 'And the nation believed and they heard', 'And they believed in HaShem and in Moshe His servant (14:31).' And even if it doesn't say there 'all the nation' and 'all of Israel', here too it doesn't say 'in order that all the nation will hear.'
 

Another question which arises regarding the verses quoted above is: why was the necessity to sanctify the nation and wash their clothing mentioned only at the end? Why did HaShem not tell Moshe at the beginning of His words to sanctify the nation for Matan Torah?
 

Both questions can be answered according to the word of the Mechilta which Rashi brings:

"The words of the nation, etc." – I heard from them that they desire to hear from You. There is no similarity between hearing from an emissary and hearing from the King. Our desire is to see our King.

And HaShem said to Moshe: if so - that they compel Me to speak with them - go to the nation and sanctify them – command them to prepare themselves today and tomorrow.  

From the Mechilta arises a great chiddush (revelation) – that in actuality, Ma'amad Har Sinai was intended to be entirely a Divine command to Moshe, without the nation hearing HaShem's words and only seeing Moshe receiving the commandments from HaShem. However, the nation desired and requested from Moshe to see HaShem and to experience the Ma'amad themselves, and because of this 'Moshe spoke the words of the nation' that they asked to participate in the Ma'amad.

And the result is that HaShem seemingly changes the plan for Ma'amad Har Sinai, which now will be a revelation before all the nation, and therefore they are required to sanctify themselves and wash their clothes.
 

And we learn a great truth from this, that Am Israel, as a result of its desire, witnessed Divine visions beyond what was planned, and therefore only when Israel expressed with all its strength their appeal 'our desire is to see our King', then they merited that revelation. 
 

We find the same principle regarding Pesach Sheni – we never heard of Succot Sheni or Shavuot Sheni. Why only on Pesach is there a second chance? We can explain that the uniqueness of Pesach is that on this festival we became a nation, and on Pesach every Jew expresses his desire to be part of the Klal – the national community (and therefore the punishment for not performing it is Karet). And therefore it is imperative that every Jew take part in Pesach.
 

According to this, we can say that because specifically here, people came and desired the mitzvah, as they said 'why should we be excluded' therefore HaShem introduced a new mitzvah. And it is possible that had they desired other mitzvot in the same way, the result would have been similar.
 

And the Pri Tzaddik wrote similarly (Pesach Sheni, B):
"Their outcry was that they desired very much to perform the mitzvah of sacrificing the Pesach at the appointed time within Klal Israel, and they were very distressed that they didn't merit to do this holy service along with Israel at the proper time. And regarding this, Moshe Rabbenu answered them 'stand and I will hear' and standing can only mean prayer, that is to say: pray to HaShem about this from the depths of your hearts, and by virtue of your cry and your desire, the word of HaShem will devolve on me like the Torah devolved on all of Israel as the result of the greatness of their desire, and by virtue of this I will hear what HaShem commanded for you. And so it was, that by their prayer they brought about the introduction of the law of offering Pesach Sheni."
 

Everyone must desire to exert himself and crave the word of HaShem, and then, after he has done everything he can, he receives HaShem's blessing which gives him above and beyond what he deserves.
 

May we desire to see our King and to crave HaShem's word, and therefore to receive the radiance of the Divine bounty.
 

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