In the Torah, there is a recurring pattern of 3 preparatory periods, and then a 4th day of transformation. The basic commandment for the early life of a fruit tree, for example, is of three periods of time: the first three (uncircumcised) years, the fourth, holy, year, and the period going on from there of normal harvest.
Isn’t Sinai like this as well?
The first period, of three, is inherently preparatory, in anticipation of the holiness to come. It is difficult and often frightening, and we have to hold back, and be patient.
This waiting period disconnects us from the natural world. By refraining from intimacy at Sinai, or eating the fruit of the tree, or even Isaac’s natural self-preservation instinct (3 days to the Binding), we reject our animalistic instincts and urges. And after doing that, we can be ready for the 4th – the period of holiness.
For the tree, and Sinai, and Isaac (and other examples), the “4” is a period of intensity, of nearness to G-d, of “an offering of praise to the LORD”. The three days of abstention are followed by Moshe on the mountain for a period of 4 – his 40 days and nights.
If so, are the commandments for a fruit tree meant to remind us of earlier events in the Torah?