[Par-lite] for Parshat Yitro - shiur #2 Maamad Har Sinai
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Thu Jan 31 04:09:29 EST 2013
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THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]
In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag
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PARSHAT YITRO - Ma'amad Har Sinai
A wedding ceremony? Well, not exactly;
but many sources
in Chazal compare the events at Ma'amad Har
Sinai to a
marriage between God (the groom) and Am
Yisrael (the bride).
[See for example the last Mishnah in
Mesechet Taanit!]
In this week's shiur, as we study the
numerous
ambiguities in Shmot chapter 19, we attempt
to explain the
deeper meaning of this analogy, as well as
the underlying
reason for those ambiguities.
INTRODUCTION
Thus far, Sefer Shmot has discussed the
story of Yetziat
Mitzraim, and hence - how God had fulfilled
His covenant with
the Avot. However, that covenant included
not only a promise
of redemption, but also the promise that Bnei
Yisrael would
become God's special nation in Eretz Canaan.
As Bnei Yisrael
now travel to establish that nation in that
'Promised Land',
God brings them to Har Sinai in order to
teach them the
specific laws [mitzvot] that will help make
them His special
nation.
Therefore, the primary purpose of Bnei
Yisrael's arrival
at Har Sinai was to receive God's LAWS.
Nevertheless, the
Torah describes in no less detail the
'experience' of how
those laws were given. In the following
shiur, we undertake a
careful reading of Shmot chapter 19 (i.e. the
events that
precede the Ten Commandments), highlighting
its complexities,
in an attempt to better appreciate Chazal's
understanding of
Ma'amad Har Sinai.
[Before you continue, it is highly
recommended that you
quickly review chapters 19 and 20 to refresh
your memory,
noting its flow of topic. (While doing so,
try to notice how
many psukim are difficult to translate.) For
a more
comprehensive preparation, see the Questions
for self-study
(sent earlier this week).]
THE 'PROPOSAL'
Shmot chapter 19 opens as Bnei Yisrael
arrive at Har
Sinai - presumably, to receive the Torah.
However, before the
Torah is given, God first summons Moshe to
the mountain,
instructing him to relay a certain message to
the people. As
you review these psukim (19:3-6), note how
they form a
'proposal':
"Thus shall you say to Beit Yaakov and tell
Bnei Yisrael:
You have seen what I have done to
Egypt... so NOW:
IF - you will OBEY Me faithfully and keep
My COVENANT...and
be my treasured nation, for all the Land is
Mine.
THEN: You shall be for Me a 'mamlechet
Kohanim v'goy
kadosh' [a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation]..." (19:4-
6)
The 'if / then' clause proves that these
instructions
constitute a proposal (and not just a decree)
- to which Bnei
Yisrael must answer either 'yes' or 'no'.
And that's exactly
what we find:
"And the people answered together and said,
'Everything that
God has spoken we shall keep,' and Moshe
brought the
people's answer back to God." (see 19:7-8)
Clearly, Moshe Rabeinu acts as the
'middle-man' - who must
relay the people's answer to this 'proposal'
back to God.
[In regard to what would have happened had
Bnei Yisrael
answered 'no', see the Further Iyun
section.]
Let's take a minute to discuss the
meaning of the two
sides of this 'proposition'.
The first part of the 'IF' clause - "if you
will OBEY Me" -
makes sense, as God must first clarify if
Bnei Yisrael are
indeed now ready to follow His laws; in
contrast to their
previous 'refusals' (see Yechezkel 20:5-9,
Shmot 6:9 & 15:26).
However, the precise meaning of the second
clause - "and if
you will keep My COVENANT" is uncertain, for
it is not clear
if this 'covenant' refers to something old -
i.e. 'brit Avot';
or something new - i.e. 'brit Sinai.
SOMETHING 'OLD' or SOMETHING 'NEW'
It would be difficult to explain that the
word 'covenant' in
this pasuk refers to 'brit Avot', for brit
Avot doesn't seem
to include any specific action that Bnei
Yisrael must keep.
More likely, it refers to 'brit Sinai' -
whose details will
soon be revealed, should Bnei Yisrael accept
this proposal.
However, this ambiguity may be intentional,
for this
forthcoming "brit Sinai" could be understood
as an 'upgrade'
of "brit Avot". In other words, 'brit Avot'
discusses the
very basic framework of a relationship (see
Breishit 17:7-8),
while 'brit Sinai' will contain the detailed
laws which will
make that original covenant more meaningful.
If so, then the proposition could be
understood as follows:
Should Bnei Yisrael agree to obey whatever
God may command,
and to remain faithful to this covenant, and
act as His
treasured nation (see 19:5) - THEN, the
result will be that
Bnei Yisrael will serve as God's 'model'
nation, representing
Him before all other nations [a "mamlechet
kohanim v'goy
kadosh"/ see 19:6].
As a prerequisite for Matan Torah, Bnei
Yisrael must both
confirm their readiness to obey God's
commandments while
recognizing that these mitzvot will
facilitate their
achievement of the very purpose of God's
covenant with them.
Whereas a covenant requires the willful
consent of both
sides, this section concludes with Bnei
Yisrael's collective
acceptance of these terms (see again 19:7-8).
MAKING PLANS (and changing them)
Now that Bnei Yisrael had accepted God's
proposal, the
next step should be for them to receive the
specific MITZVOT
(i.e. the laws that they just agreed to
observe). However,
before those laws can be given, there are
some technical
details that must be ironed out, concerning
HOW Bnei Yisrael
will receive these laws. Note how the next
pasuk describes
God's 'plans' for how He intends to convey
these mitzvot
"And God said to Moshe, 'I will come to you
in the thickness
of a CLOUD, in order that the people HEAR
when I SPEAK WITH
YOU, and in order that they believe in you
[i.e. that you
are My spokesman] forever..." (19:9)
It appears from this pasuk that God
plans to use Moshe
Rabeinu as an intermediary to convey His laws
to Bnei Yisrael,
consistent with Moshe's role as His liaison
heretofore.
Nonetheless, God insists that the people will
'overhear' His
communication with Moshe, so that they
believe that these laws
truly originate from God, and not from Moshe.
At this point, in the middle of pasuk 9,
we encounter our
first major difficulty in following the flow
of events. Note
that God has just informed Moshe of HOW He
plans to convey His
laws. Hence, we would expect Moshe to convey
this message to
Bnei Yisrael (just as he did in 19:7).
However, when we
continue our reading of 19:9, something very
strange takes
place:
"...Then Moshe reported the PEOPLE'S words
to God." (19:9)
What's going on? The second half of this
pasuk seems to
omit an entire clause - for it never tells us
what the people
responded. Instead, it just says that Moshe
relayed the
people's response back to God, without
telling us WHAT the
people said!
BE PREPARED!
This question is so glaring (and
obvious) that Rashi,
taking for granted that the reader realized
this problem,
provides an answer based on the Midrash that
fills in the
'missing details'.
"Et divrei ha'am" [the words of the
people]... The people
responded: 'We want to hear from YOU [God]
directly, for one
cannot compare hearing from a "shaliach" (a
messenger) to
hearing from the King himself, [or they
said,]: We want to
SEE our King!" (see Rashi on 19:9)
Note how Rashi adds an entire line to
this narrative.
According to his interpretation, Bnei Yisrael
don't accept
God's original plan that they would hear the
MITZVOT via
Moshe. Instead, they demand to hear them
directly - from God
Himself!
What allows Rashi to offer such a bold
interpretation?
Rashi's interpretation is based on an
apparent
contradiction between God's original plan in
19:9 and what
appears to be His new plan, as described in
the next two
psukim:
"And God told Moshe, 'Go to the people and
get them ready...
for on the third day God will reveal Himself
IN VIEW OF ALL
THE PEOPLE on Har Sinai." (see 19:10-11)
Note how God commands Bnei Yisrael to
ready themselves,
for in three days time they will actually SEE
God. This
declaration that He plans to reveal himself
before the 'eyes
of the entire nation' suggests that God now
plans to convey
His mitzvot DIRECTLY to the people. These
instructions appear
to describe a NEW PLAN for Matan Torah (in
contrast to His
original plan that Moshe will act as an
intermediary - as
described in 19:9).
For the sake of clarity, from now on, we
refer to the
God's original plan (Dibrot via Moshe) as
PLAN 'A' (based on
19:9), and to the new plan (Dibrot Direct) as
PLAN 'B (based
on 19:11)'.
Rashi claims that God's suggestion of
Plan 'B' stems from
the people's unwillingness to accept Plan 'A'
- for Bnei
Yisrael want to hear the Commandments
DIRECTLY.
This 'change of plan' can explain why
the people now
require THREE days of preparation. In order
to prepare for
this DIRECT encounter, Bnei Yisrael must
first attain a higher
level of spiritual readiness, as reflected in
the three-day
preparation period. Note how the details of
this 'preparation'
continue until 19:15.
In 19:12-13, Moshe is commanded to
cordon off the entire
area surrounding the mountain. In 19:14-15,
Moshe relays these
commands to the people. Hence, from now on,
we refer to this
section (i.e. 19:9-15) as 'PREPARATION'.
Are Bnei Yisrael capable of reaching
this level? Are they
truly ready to receive the DIBROT directly
from God?
If so, why did God not suggest this
direct encounter in
the first place? If not, why does God now
agree to their
request?
[As you may have guessed, we have
encountered a
'dialectic'.]
To answer these questions, we must
analyze the psukim
that follow to determine which of these two
divine plans
actually unfolds.
RUNAWAY BRIDE
According to the new plan, on 'day
three' God should
reveal Himself on Mount Sinai and speak the
DIBROT directly to
the entire nation. Let's continue now in
chapter 19 and see
what happens:
"And it came to pass on the third day in the
morning, and
there were loud sounds and lightening, and a
THICK CLOUD on
the mountain, and the SHOFAR sounded very
strong, and the
people in the CAMP all became frightened."
(19:16)
If you read this pasuk carefully, you
will most probably
be startled by the fact that Bnei Yisrael
never came to Har
Sinai that morning! Instead, they were so
frightened of God's
"hitgalut" [revelation] that they remained in
the CAMP.
[Our minhag to stay up (and learn Torah)
the entire night of
Shavuot is based on the Midrash that Bnei
Yisrael 'slept in'
on that morning. Note how that Midrash is
based on this
pasuk.]
This background explains the next pasuk,
where Moshe goes
back to the camp, and brings everyone back to
the foot of the
mountain (see 19:17). Now it's time to 'try
it again'. Let's
see what happens:
"And Har Sinai was full of smoke, for God had
DESCENDED upon
it in FIRE, and its smoke was like a furnace,
and the entire
mountain shook violently..." (see 19:18)
This pasuk certainly describes God's
"hitgalut", and it
appears to follow according to PLAN 'B'.
Note how God's
descends onto the mountain (note the word
"va'yered" in both
19:11 and 19:18). Nevertheless, one could
also understand the
intense smoke as reflective of the protective
'cloud'
described in 19:9 (Plan 'A').
The stage has now been set for Matan
Torah. The people
are standing at the foot of Har Sinai and God
has revealed
Himself - He has descended upon Har Sinai.
Therefore, the next
pasuk should describe God's proclamation of
the Ten
Commandments.
Let's examine that pasuk (19:19)
carefully:
"The sound of the shofar grew louder and
louder; as Moshe
would speak, God would answer him with a
KOL." (19:19)
This pasuk is quite ambiguous, for it
does not give us
even a clue as to WHAT Moshe was saying or
what God was
answering. It is not even clear as to WHOM
Moshe is speaking,
to God or to the people!
If Moshe is speaking to the people, then
this pasuk would
be describing how he conveyed the DIBROT. If
so, then Moshe
speaking and God responding with a "kol" -
implies that the
DIBROT were given according to PLAN 'A', as
Moshe serves as
the intermediary. [Compare with 19:9!]
However, if "Moshe y'daber" (in 19:19)
refers to Moshe
speaking to God, then it not at all clear
what their
conversation is about; nor can we make any
deduction in regard
to how the Dibrot were given! [Note the
range of opinion
among the commentators on this pasuk!]
PLAN 'B' - MYSTERIOUSLY MISSING!
Rashi's commentary on this pasuk is
simply amazing.
Again quoting the Midrash, Rashi claims that
Moshe is speaking
to the people, telling them the Dibrot!
However, what's
amazing is Rashi's explanation that the
clause "Moshe
y'daber..." describes the transmission of the
LAST EIGHT
Commandments, but not the first TWO. This is
because Rashi
understands that the first two DIBROT were
given DIRECTLY from
God - in accordance with PLAN 'B' - while the
last eight were
given via Moshe - in accordance with PLAN
'A'. As this pasuk
(19:19) describes PLAN 'A' it could only be
referring to the
transmission of the last eight DIBROT!
[See also Rambam in Moreh N'vuchim II,
chapter 33.]
Note that according to Rashi, chapter 19
intentionally
OMITS two key events relating to Plan B:
1) Bnei Yisrael's original request for
Plan B (in 19:9),
&
2) The story of the two DIBROT given at
the level of Plan
'B'.
For some thematic reason that remains
unclear, chapter 19
prefers to omit these two important details,
leaving us with
the impression that Plan 'B' may have never
taken place!
Ramban rejects Rashi's interpretation of
19:19 (as do
many other commentators), arguing that 19:19
does NOT describe
how the Dibrot were given. Instead, Ramban
explains that
"Moshe y'daber..." describes the conversation
between God and
Moshe that immediately follows in 19:20-25.
[As usual, Ramban prefers to keep the
sequence of events
according to the order of the psukim, while
Rashi is willing
to 'change' the order for thematic
considerations.]
LIMITATION/ A FINAL WARNING
To better appreciate this "machloket"
between Rashi and
Ramban, we must examine the last set of
psukim in chapter 19
(i.e. 19:20-25).
"God descended upon Mount Sinai to the TOP of
the Mountain
and summoned Moshe to the TOP of the
Mountain, and Moshe
ascended... Then God told Moshe: Go down and
WARN the people
lest they break through toward God to SEE,
and many of them
will perish. And even the KOHANIM who are
permitted to come
closer must prepare themselves..." (19:20-22)
[Btw, note that 20:25 refers to Moshe's
conveying this
warning to the people, NOT to his
conveying the "DIBROT,"
as is commonly misunderstood. See
Rashi!]
According to Ramban, this additional
'warning' is given
BEFORE Matan Torah, and serves as the final
preparation before
the DIBROT are given. However, according to
Rashi's
interpretation, it remains unclear when,
where, and why this
conversation (in 19:20-25) takes place.
[Even though Rashi explains 19:19 as
depicting the
presentation of the DIBROT, he maintains that
19:20-25 takes
place beforehand - for it relates to the
ceremony described
in 24:3-11, which Rashi himself claims to
have occurred
BEFORE the DIBROT. This "sugya" lies beyond
the scope of
our shiur.]
In any case, this final 'warning'
clearly reflects the
mode of transmission of the Dibrot that we
have referred to as
PLAN 'A' - God will appear only to Moshe (at
the top of the
mountain), while everyone else must keep
their distance down
below. Only Moshe will be privy to witness
the descent of the
"shechina" onto the TOP of the mountain,
while Bnei Yisrael
are prohibited from ascending to see, "lest
they die."
As this section describes how God is now
limiting His
revelation to the top of the Mountain, we
refer from now on to
this section (19:20-25) as 'LIMITATION'.
Note how chapter 19 now divides into
four distinct
sections:
I. PROPOSITION (19:1-8)
II. PREPARATION (19:9-15)
III. REVELATION (19:16-19)
IV. LIMITATION (19:20-25) ]
So what happened? Has God reverted to
Plan 'A' (that
Moshe is to act as an intermediary)? If so,
why? On the other
hand, if Plan 'B' remains in operation, why
does God restrict
His revelation to the TOP of the mountain?
Could this be
considered some sort of 'compromise'?
There appears to have been a change in
plans, but why?
Even though chapter 19 does not seem to
provide any
explanation for what motivated this change, a
story found
later in chapter 20 seems to provide us with
all the 'missing
details'.
TREPIDATION [ or 'FEAR' STORY ONE']
Towards the end of chapter 20,
immediately after the
Torah records the DIBROT, we find yet another
story concerning
what transpired at Har Sinai:
"And the people all saw the KOLOT, the
torches, the sound of
the SHOFAR and the mountain smoking; the
people saw and
MOVED BACK and stood at a distance. And they
told Moshe:
'Why don't YOU SPEAK to us, and we will
listen to you, but
God should NOT SPEAK to us, lest we die.'
"Moshe responded saying: 'DO NOT BE
FEARFUL, for God
is coming to 'test' you and instill fear
within you so
that you will not sin.'
"But the people STOOD AT A DISTANCE, and
Moshe [alone]
entered the CLOUD where God was." (see
20:15-18)
This short narrative provides us with a
perfect
explanation for WHY God chooses to revert
from PLAN 'B' back
to PLAN 'A'. Here, the reason is stated
explicitly: the
people changed their mind because they were
frightened and
overwhelmed by this intense experience of
"hitgalut."
But why is this story recorded in
chapter 20? Should it
not have been recorded in chapter 19?
Indeed, Ramban does place this story in
the middle of
chapter 19. Despite his general reluctance
towards
rearranging the chronology in Chumash, Ramban
(on 20:14-15)
explains that this entire parshia (20:15-18)
took place
earlier, BEFORE Matan Torah. Based on a
textual and thematic
similarities between 20:15-18 and 19:16-19
(and a problematic
parallel in Devarim 5:20-28), Ramban
concludes that the events
described in 20:15-18 took place before Matan
Torah, and
should be read together with 19:16-18!
Thus, according to Ramban, the people's
request to hear
from Moshe (and not from God) that took place
within 19:16-18,
explains the need for the 'limitation'
section that follows
immediately afterward in 20:19-25. [See
Ramban on 20:15.]
Rashi and Chizkuni offer a different
interpretation. They
agree with Ramban that 20:15-18 - the Fear
Story - is 'out of
place,' but they disagree concerning WHERE to
put it. While
Ramban places this story BEFORE Matan Torah,
Rashi (based on
his pirush to 19:19) & Chizkuni (on 20:15)
claim that it took
place DURING Matan Torah, BETWEEN the first
two and last eight
commandments.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - FIRST OR THIRD PERSON
In fact, this creative solution solves
yet another
problem. It explains WHY the text of the Ten
Commandments
shifts from first to third person after the
second
commandment. Whereas the first two
commandments (20:2-5) are
written in FIRST person, indicating that God
conveyed them
DIRECTLY to the people [reflective of Plan
'B'], the last
eight commandments (20:6-14) are written in
third person,
suggesting a less direct form of
communication [reflective of
Plan 'A']. This reflects Chazal's
explanation that: "Anochi
v'Lo Yihiyeh Lachem, m'pi ha'gvurah shma'um"
- the first two
commandments were heard directly from God
(Makkot 24a); see
also Chizkuni 20:2 and 20:15.]
Rashi and Chizkuni's explanation has a
clear advantage
over Ramban's, as it justifies the
'transplantation' of the
Fear story (20:15-18) from its proper
chronological location
to after the Dibrot. Since this story took
place DURING the
Ten Commandments, the Torah could not record
it beforehand. On
the other hand, it could not have been
recorded where it
belongs (i.e. in between the second and third
DIBROT), for the
Torah does not want to 'break up' the DIBROT
(whereas they
form a single unit). Therefore, the Torah
records this 'fear
story' as a type of 'appendix' to the Ten
Commandments,
explaining afterward what happened while they
were given.
To summarize, in chapter 19, it was
unclear whether or
not Bnei Yisrael would hear the DIBROT
according to PLAN 'A'
(as God originally had planned) or at the
higher level of PLAN
'B' (as Bnei Yisrael requested). Later, in
chapter 20, the
Torah describes how Bnei Yisrael were
frightened and requested
to revert back to PLAN 'A'. Ramban claims
that this 'fear
story' took place BEFORE Matan Torah, and
hence the people
heard ALL Ten Commandments through Moshe
(Plan 'A'). Rashi
maintains that this story took place DURING
the DIBROT; hence
the first TWO DIBROT were transmitted
according to PLAN 'B',
while the remainder were heard according to
PLAN 'A'.
[Ibn Ezra (see 20:15) takes an opposite
approach,
maintaining that the fear story is recorded
right where it
belongs; it took place only AFTER Matan
Torah. Therefore,
the people heard all Ten Commandments
directly from God, as
mandated by Plan 'B'.]
A PROOF FROM SEFER DEVARIM
Based on our discussion, we can resolve
two adjacent yet
seemingly contradictory psukim in the
description of Matan
Torah in Sefer Devarim:
"Face to face God spoke to you on the
mountain out of the
fire [PLAN 'B']. I stood BETWEEN God and you
at that time to
convey God's words to you [PLAN 'A'], for you
were afraid of
the fire and did not go up the mountain..."
(see Devarim 5:4-
5)
Once again, the Torah incorporates BOTH PLANS
in its
description of Matan Torah. Evidently, both
plans were in fact
carried out, as we explained.
Although we have suggested several solutions
to problems
raised by chapters 19-20, a much more basic
question arises:
why can't the Torah be more precise? Why does
the Torah appear
to intentionally obscure the details of such
an important
event in our history?
AHAVA and YIRAH
One could suggest that this ambiguity is
intentional, as
it reflects the dialectic nature of man's
encounter with God.
Man, in search of God, constantly faces
a certain
tension. On the one hand, he must constantly
strive to come as
close to God as possible ("ahava" - the love
of God). On the
other hand, he must constantly retain an
awareness of God's
greatness and recognize his own shortcomings
and unworthiness
("yirah" the fear of God). Awed by God's
infinity and humbled
by his own imperfection, man must keep his
distance (see
Devarim 5:25-26!).
God's original plan for Matan Torah was
'realistic.'
Recognizing man's inability to directly
confront the
"shechina," God intends to use Moshe as an
intermediary (Plan
'A'). Bnei Yisrael, eager to become active
covenantal
partners, express their desire to come as
close as possible to
God. They want to encounter the "Shechina"
directly, without
any mediating agent (Plan 'B').
Could God say NO to this sincere
expression of "ahavat
Hashem"? Of course not! Yet, on the other
hand, answering YES
could place the people in tremendous danger,
as they must rise
to the highest levels of spirituality to
deserve such a
direct, unmediated manifestation of God.
While Plan 'B' may reflect a more
'ideal' encounter, Plan
'A' reflects a more realistic one. One could
suggest that by
presenting the details with such ambiguity,
the Torah
emphasizes the need to find the proper
balance between this
realism as well as idealism when serving God.
GOD KNOWS BEST
Although God knows full well that Bnei
Yisrael cannot
possibly sustain a direct encounter, He
nonetheless concedes
to their request to hear the Commandments
directly. Why?
One could compare this Divine encounter
to a parent-child
relationship. As a child grows up, there are
times when he
wishes to do things on his own. Despite his
clear incapability
to perform the given task, his desire to
accomplish is the key
to his growth. A wise parent will allow his
child to try, even
though he knows that the child may fail - for
it is better
that one recognize his shortcomings on his
own, rather than be
told by others that he cannot accomplish.
On the other hand, although a child's
desire to grow
should not be inhibited by an overprotective
parent, a
responsible parent must also know when to
tell his child STOP.
Similarly, God is well aware of Bnei
Yisrael's
unworthiness to encounter the Divine at the
highest level.
Nevertheless, He encourages them to aspire to
their highest
potential. As Bnei Yisrael struggle to
maintain the proper
balance between "ahava" and "yirah," God must
guide and they
must strive.
Our study of Parshat Yitro has shown us
that what
actually happened at Ma'amad Har Sinai
remains unclear.
However, what 'could have happened' remains
man's eternal
challenge.
shabbat shalom,
menachem
=================
FOR FURTHER IYUN
A. What would have happened had Bnei Yisrael
said NO to God's
proposition? The Midrash posits that had Bnei
Yisrael rejected
the offer, the world would have returned to
"tohu va'vahu"
(void) - the phrase used in Breishit 1:2 to
describe the state
prior to Creation! [See Shabbat 88a & Rashi
19:17.] From this
Midrash, it appears that Bnei Yisrael had no
choice but to
accept. Why is the covenant binding, if Am
Yisrael had no
choice?
Any covenant, by its very nature,
requires the willful
acceptance of both parties. Therefore,
according to "pshat,"
Bnei Yisrael have "bechira chofshit" to
either accept or
reject God's proposition. Their willful
acceptance makes the
covenant at Har Sinai binding for all
generations. Thus, had
Bnei Yisrael said NO (chas v'shalom), Matan
Torah would not
have taken place! However, such a possibility
is unthinkable,
for without Matan Torah there would have been
no purpose for
Creation. Therefore, because the psukim
indicate that Bnei
Yisrael had free choice, the Midrash must
emphasize that from
the perspective of the purpose behind God's
Creation, the
people had no choice other than accept the
Torah.
B. Most m'forshim explain that "b'mshoch
ha'yovel hay'mah
ya'alu b'Har" (19:13) refers to the long
shofar blast that
signaled the COMPLETION of the "hitgalut" -
an 'all clear'
signal.
One could suggest exactly the opposite
interpretation,
that the long shofar blast indicated the
BEGINNING of Matan
Torah.
Explain why this interpretation fits nicely
into the pshat
of 19:11-15, that limiting access to the
Mountain is part of
the preparation for Matan Torah. [What does
an 'all clear'
signal have to do with preparation?]
Explain as well why
this would imply that during Matan Torah,
Bnei Yisrael should
have actually ascended Har Sinai!
Relate this to concept of PLAN 'B' and
Bnei Yisrael's
request to SEE the "Shchina." Relate to
Devarim 5:5 in support
of this interpretation. Why would "kol
ha'shofar holaych
v'chazak m'od" (19:19) be precisely what God
meant by
"b'mshoch ha'yovel."
Relate to "tachtit ha'har" in 19:17!
Use this to explain
why the psukim immediately following 19:19
describe God's
decision to LIMIT his "hitgalut" to the TOP
of the mountain.
C. Compare the details of 19:20-24 to the
Mishkan: i.e. Rosh
ha'har = kodesh kdoshim; Har = Mishkan;
Tachtit Ha'har =
azara, etc. Where can Moshe and Aharon enter?
What about the
Kohanim and the Am? Explain how this may
reflect a bit of a
'compromise' between plans A & B.
D. You are probably familiar with Kabbalat
Shabbat. Based on
the above shiur, explain why our weekly
preparation for
Shabbat could be compared to Bnei Yisrael's
original
preparation for Matan Torah.
Relate this to the verses of "l'cho dodi"
and its 'wedding
like' imagery!
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND SOURCES
A. WHAT WERE "DIVREI HA'AM" in 19:9:
In the shiur we mentioned Rashi's
interpretation (based
on the Mechilta), that though the Torah does
not state this
explicitly, Bnei Yisrael insisted on hearing
Hashem's word
directly, rather than through a mediator.
Moshe then reports
this request to Hashem. This is also the
implication of the
Midrash in Shir Hashirim Rabba 1:2. We will
briefly review
some of the other interpretations offered to
resolve the
difficulty in this pasuk:
1. The Abarbanel takes the same general
approach as Rashi,
that Moshe here tells Hashem of the nation's
desire to hear
His word directly. However, he claims that
this request
actually appears in the psukim (whereas
according to Rashi the
Torah never records the people making this
request).The
Abarbanel claims that their acceptance of the
"proposition" -
"everything that Hashem said - we will do" -
included their
wish to hear Hashem directly. (He appears to
interpret the
clause, "im shamo'a tishm'u b'koli. ," which
we generally
explain to mean, "if you obey Me faithfully,"
as, "if you will
hear My voice." Thus, when they accepted
this proposition,
they expressed the desire to hear Hashem's
voice as well.
This approach appears more explicitly in
the Netziv's
He'amek Davar (19:8.) Hashem here tells
Moshe that as not
everyone is worthy of prophecy, He will speak
to Moshe "b'av
he'anan," which the Abarbanel explains as a
physical voice, as
opposed to the usual medium of prophecy,
which involves none
of the physical senses. (This understanding
of "av he'anan"
appears as well in the Or Hachayim and
Malbim.) The nation
will thus hear Hashem's voice without
experiencing actual
prophecy. Moshe then informs Hashem that the
people want to
hear Hashem speaking to them, rather than to
Moshe. This
general approach of the Abarbanel appears to
be the intent of
the Midrash Lekach Tov on our pasuk.
2. The Ibn Ezra, like Rashi, understands the
"divrei ha'am"
in this pasuk as referring to something not
explicitly
mentioned in the psukim. Whereas according
to Rashi that
something was the nation's desire to hear
Hashem directly, the
Ibn Ezra points to the skepticism on the part
of segments of
Bnei Yisrael. He claims that "vayaged Moshe
et divrei ha'am"
means that Moshe had previously made this
comment to Hashem,
prior to the beginning of this pasuk. It
thus turns out that
Hashem speaks to Moshe here in response to
his report of the
"divrei ha'am." Moshe had reported that some
among Bnei
Yisrael do not believe that a human being can
survive a
revelation of Hashem; they therefore doubted
the fact that
Moshe had been appointed God's messenger.
Hashem therefore
tells Moshe that Ma'amad Har Sinai will
result in "v'gam b'cha
ya'aminu l'olam" - Bnei Yisrael's complete
trust and faith in
Moshe's prophecy.
3. Other Rishonim suggest that when Moshe
"returns the
nation's words to Hashem" (see 19:8) -he does
not actually
tell Hashem what the nation said; he merely
returned to God
with the intention of telling Him. It is
only in 19:9 that
Moshe actually told this to God (see Ibn Ezra
in Shmot 19:23
citing Rav Sa'adya Gaon's claim that just as
in his day people
could not initiate conversation with a
monarch, but must
rather wait for the king to begin speaking
with them, so did
Moshe abstain from addressing God until after
God spoke with
him.)
This explanation is also suggested by Rav
Sa'adya Gaon (as
explained by Rabbenu Avraham Ben ha'Rambam,
and Rabbi Yaakov
of Vienna in "Imrei Noam"), the Ba'alei
HaTosfot (as quoted in
both Hadar Zekeinim and Da'at Zekeinim),
Rabbenu Yosef Bechor
Shor, and the Ramban. The Rashbam, too,
appears to take this
position.
[Two Midrashic interpretations of this
pasuk appear in
Masechet Shabbat 87a and in the Mechilta on
our pasuk.]
This discussion surrounding 19:9 directly
impacts another
issue, one of the central points of our
shiur: does Hashem
introduce a "new plan" in psukim 10-11, after
Moshe "reports
the people's words" to Him? According to
Rashi, as discussed
at length in the shiur, He clearly did. The
same is true
according to the Abarbanel's approach.
However, according to
the second and third explanations quoted
here, it would seem
that Hashem is not describing here an
alternate procedure.
Indeed, the Ramban (on this pasuk) explains
Hashem's original
"plan" as having Bnei Yisrael watch as Hashem
appears to
Moshe. Thus, pasuk 11, in which Hashem says
that He will
descend "in the view of the nation," does not
mark a change of
plans. Similarly, in the introduction to his
commentary to
Shir Hashirim, as well as in his peirush to
Shmot 3:12, the
Ramban writes that Hashem's promise to Moshe
at the burning
bush, that Bnei Yisrael will "serve God on
this mountain,"
involved their "beholding His glory
face-to-face." This was
God's intention all along.
B. PLAN A & PLAN B
In the shiur we worked with Rashi's view -
i.e. God
originally had planned to speak only to
Moshe, as Bnei Yisrael
listened in. In response to the nation's
request, however,
God switches to "plan B," by which He will
address the nation
directly.
An interesting variation on this theme is
suggested by the
Malbim. According to his explanation, plan
B, which the
people requested, involved their hearing
directly from Hashem
the entire Torah, not only the Ten
Commandments. (The Ramban
- 20:14 - writes that Bnei Yisrael feared
that this was God's
plan, though in actuality He had never
intended to transmit
the entire Torah to them directly.) Hashem
initially agrees,
but their sense of terror upon hearing the
thunder and
lightening signaling God's descent onto the
mountain (19:16),
and their consequent hesitation to go to the
mountain
("vayotzei Moshe" - 19:17), reflected their
unworthiness for
this lengthy exposure to divine revelation.
Hashem therefore
presented them directly either the Ten
Commandments or the
first two. Only Moshe received the rest of
the mitzvot
directly from Hashem.
We should note that in contradistinction
to our
understanding of Rashi, the Maharal of Prague
(in his Gur
Aryeh to 19:9) explains Rashi to mean that
Moshe simply
confirms Hashem's plan. God tells him that
He plans on
revealing Himself to Moshe as the nation
hears, and Moshe
replies, "Indeed, this is what the people
want." Apparently,
the Maharal understands "hinei Anochi ba
eilecha b'av he'anan.
" to refer to the same level of "giluy
Shechina" that actually
occurs, such that there was never any change
of plans.
(According to the Maharal's approach, it
turns out that there
is no difference between the approaches of
Rashi and the
Ramban.)
C. "Moshe Yedaber Veha'Elokim Ya'anenu B'kol"
(19:19)
As we saw, Rashi, following the Mechilta,
understands this
pasuk as referring to the procedure of the
transmission of the
Asseret Hadibrot. We also noted that the
Ramban disagrees,
claiming that it describes the manner in
which the laws in the
following psukim - concerning the
"limitation" - were
presented. This is the general approach of
the Abarbanel and
Rabbenu Yosef Bechor Shor, as well. The Ibn
Ezra claims that
the pasuk does not reveal what it is that
Moshe says here, but
it definitely does not refer to the Asseret
Hadibrot. The
point of the pasuk is to stress that despite
the overpowering
sound of the shofar, it did not interfere
with Moshe's
conversation with Hashem. The Or Hachayim
writes that Moshe
here spoke words of praise to Hashem, and He
would then
respond. According to all these views, this
pasuk does not
refer to Asseret Hadibrot, as Rashi claims.
A particularly interesting interpretation
is suggested by
the Malbim, Netziv and "Hadrash Veha'iyun"
(though with some
variation). They claim that the sound of the
shofar
proclaimed, "Moshe yedaber veha'Elokim
ya'anenu b'kol." In
other words, they place a colon after the
word "me'od" in this
pasuk. The shofar blast thus informed the
people that Moshe
will serve as the intermediary in between
Hashem and Bnei
Yisrael in transmitting the Torah.
D. What Did Bnei Yisrael Hear?
The issue of whether or not Bnei Yisrael
heard Hashem
speak at Ma'amad Har Sinai involves both
parshanut and
machshava. In terms of parshanut, as we
discussed in the
shiur, we must accommodate several psukim: in
our parasha -
19:9, which, as discussed, implies that
Hashem (at least
originally) planned to speak to Moshe as the
nation listened;
19:19 - "Moshe yedaber veha'Elokim ya'anenu
be'kol," which, if
it refers to the Asseret Hadibrot (a point
debated by Rashi
and the Ramban, as discussed in the shiur),
points to the
involvement of both Hashem and Moshe in the
transmission of
the Commandments to Bnei Yisrael; 20:15-18,
where Bnei Yisrael
retreat from fear; and the transition from
second to third
person after the second Commandment. We must
also resolve the
contradiction noted in the shiur between
Devarim 4:4 and 4:5.
Devarim 5:19-28 strongly implies that Hashem
said all the
dibrot to the people and then they asked
Moshe to serve as an
intermediary.
The philosophical issue involves the
question as to
whether an entire nation can experience
prophecy, or is this
reserved only for the spiritual elite who
have adequately
prepared themselves.
We briefly present here the basic
positions that have
been taken regarding this issue:
Ibn Ezra (20:1) and Abarbanel (here and in
Devarim 5:4)
maintain that Bnei Yisrael heard all Ten
Commandments. This
is also the majority view cited in Pesikta
Rabbati 22, and the
implication of the Yalkut Shimoni - Shir
Hashirim 981.
Although in Parshat Vaetchanan Moshe
describes himself as
having stood in between Hashem and the people
serving as an
intermediary, the Ibn Ezra there explains
that this refers to
the situation after the Dibrot, when Moshe
conveyed the rest
of the Torah to Bnei Yisrael.
It emerges from Rashi's comments to 19:19
and 20:1 that
Hashem first uttered, as it were, all Ten
Commandments in a
single moment and then began repeating them
one by one. After
the second Dibra, however, Bnei Yisrael
became too frightened
and asked Moshe to serve as their
intermediary. This is the
position of the Chzikuni, and is found in an
earlier source,
as well - Midrash Asseret Hadibrot l'Rabbi
Moshe Hadarshan, as
cited by Rav Menachem Kasher (Torah Shleima,
vol. 16, miluim #
4). In his commentary to Masechet Brachot
12a, however, Rashi
seems to imply that Bnei Yisrael in fact
heard all Ten
Commandments from Hashem.
The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 2:33) maintains
that all Bnei
Yisrael heard and understood the first two
commandments
(without any need for Hashem to repeat them).
They then asked
Moshe to hear the other commandments on their
behalf; he
therefore heard the last eight Dibrot and
conveyed them to
Bnei Yisrael. Though the Rambam claims that
this is the view
of Chazal, many later writers could not find
any sources in
Chazal corroborating this view. Rav Kasher,
however, notes
that this is the implication of the Mechilta
as quoted by the
Da'at Zekeinim mi'Ba'alei ha'Tosfot (20:1;
the Mechilta is
cited differently in other sources). The
Rambam claims that
since one can arrive at the first two Dibrot
(the existence
and singularity of God) through intellectual
engagement, even
without divine revelation, Bnei Yisrael
understood these
Dibrot as clearly as Moshe did. This
philosophical point
sparked considerable controversy and drew
strong criticism
from later rishonim and acharonim. See Sefer
Ha'ikarim 17,
the Abarbanel here and in Vaetchanan, Shut
ha'Rashba 4:234,
and Shnei Luchot Habrit - Masechet Shavuot.
The Ramban (on 20:6), explaining the
Mechilta, claims that
Bnei Yisrael heard all Ten Commandments but
understood only
the first two. Moshe then explained to them
the final eight.
The Sefer Ha'ikarim (ibid.) concurs with this
view.
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