כללי הוראה א. מה קבל משה מסיני

And this idea itself was what was intended by Moses, of blessed memory, in the juxtaposition of this parshah with that preceding it. He says: "And now, O Israel, what does the L-rd your G-d ask of you…" That is, though you have sinned against and offended Him, He does not desire your destruction, and asks of you only that you fear Him. And all of the afflictions that He brought upon you in the desert were not intended as punishment, but only to bring you to this end. As the verse itself states (Ibid 8:5): "And know in your heart that just as a man chastens his son, so the L-rd your G-d chastens you…" The parallel is that the Holy One Blessed be He observes two principles of conduct in afflicting us, similar to those observed by a father in chastising his son. The first is that he never chastises him with a punishment fully commensurate with the severity of the sin. So that if his sin is a mortal one, he will not kill him, and if it is one that warrants beating, he will not beat him with the rod to the extent of his evil, but the punishment will always be less than the offense. The second is that the father's punishment is not intended as an end in itself, but as a corrective for his son, so that if the father sees that his son has repented of his conduct and will not revert to it, he will not punish him at all, but will rejoice in his heart that punishment is not necessary. G-d's chastisement of us, similarly, follows these two paths. First, He never punishes a man in proportion to the severity of his sin, as it is written (Psalms 103:9): "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, and has not requited us according to our transgression." And Ezra said (Ezra 9:13): "For You, our G-d, accorded us less than our sins, and granted us deliverance such as this." Second, G-d's punishment of men is not an end in itself but is intended as a corrective or as a defense against others' learning from their deeds. For punishment in itself is not commendable — if it were so, the Torah would not exhort us against it, as it is written (Leviticus 19:18): "Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge against the children of your people." For the Torah does not interdict good acts but commands that they be done, and since revenge was interdicted, we can deduce that it is not commendable in itself. As to G-d's being described as (Nachum 1:2) "a jealous and vengeful G-d," he is not so described by virtue of His revenge in itself, but by virtue of the good that proceeds from it. This is the intent of our sages' dictum (Bereshith Rabbah 51:3) that nothing evil descends from Above. For it is inconceivable that categorical evil should stem from the Absolute Good and the source of all gods, but all that proceeds from Him must serve the end of good. Therefore, all of G-d's punishments in this world are of this orientation: either to correct the sinner himself, so that he repents of his evil way, or, if he does not accept such correction, to serve as warning to others not to emulate him. But the punishments of the world to come cannot be of this nature, for the soul does not acquire further correction there, but, essentially, remains eternally what it was upon its separation from the body. Similarly, these punishments cannot be intended to correct others, for they are entirely hidden from the inhabitants of this world. Therefore, since punishment is not a good in itself to the Holy One Blessed be He, We must say that the punishments of the world to come are natural results, visiting the soul because of its very essence, guilt-ridden with the sins of this world. For just as it is impossible for a man to cut one of his nerves without experiencing pain, so it is impossible for a man to rebel against the Holy One Blessed be He and die in his rebellion and not be visited by the punishments of the world to come. This seems to be indicated in respect to the eternal punishments that one's soul undergoes there. As far as the temporal ones are concerned, such as those mentioned by our sages (Rosh Hashanah 16b): "They descend to Gehinnom and scream and ascend," or (Ibid 17a): "They descend to Gehinnom and are judged there for twelve months" — it seems that two factors are combined here: the first, such punishment visiting such a soul as a natural consequence; the second, the suffering of Gehinnom conducing to a good end, the soul being purged there so that it can bask in the Divine Radiance. But the exact form of this purging and refinement is hidden to our understanding — much more so to our eyes — and if we open our mouths in possible conjecture and in the seeming drift of the words of the sages, we shall be but as dreamers. It is better, then, that we remain silent in this regard. It is only the exigencies of our discussion that caused me to mention as much as I did.

The reason for Scripture's singling out just these things seems to be this: It is known that every man has 248 physical organs and 365 physical sinews, as it is written (Iyyov 10:11): "With skin and flesh did You clothe me and with bones and sinews did You cover me." Now Scripture mentions skin and flesh and sinews and bones, and calls them only "clothing" and "covering" — "You clothed me"; "You covered me." Whom did He clothe if not the soul that is in his midst — "the essential man." And every organ of the soul is clothed from above with a bodily organ which corresponds to that organ as a garment to the body. And corresponding to this, the Holy One Blessed be He gave us 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. And they are also distributed among the organs. For there is a mitzvah depending on the hand and a mitzvah depending on the foot. And so with all the other organs, as stated in the book of Charedim. And when a man fulfills a mitzvah in this world with a certain organ, in the world to come the light of the L-rd reposes on that organ, and it is that light which vivifies that organ. And so, with each and every mitzvah. It emerges, then, that when a man fulfills the 248 positive commandments, then he is the "complete man," who is sanctified to the L-rd with all of his organs. And this is the intent of what is stated in the section of tzitzith [fringes] (Bamidbar 15:40): "And you will do all My mitzvoth and you will be holy to your G-d." But if, G-d forbid, he be lacking one of the 248 positive commandments, which he has "cast behind his back," and which he did not repent of, there will be a defect in his soul in the world to come in the organ corresponding to that mitzvah. And this is the intent of Berachoth 26a: "(Koheleth 1:15): 'The crooked cannot be made straight' — This refers to one who omitted the Shema of the evening prayer or the Shema of the morning prayer, or the Amidah of the evening prayer or the Amidah of the morning prayer.'" And when a man is careful not to transgress the negative commandments of the Torah, he draws down the light of sanctity upon the sinews of his soul. And if he is not careful, they will be — G-d forbid — defective, as is explained at length in the book, Sha'arei Kedushah, Chapter I.

יהוה said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and commandments which I have inscribed to instruct them.”

And Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: God said to Moses, “Ascend to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the mitzva that I have written that you may teach them” (Exodus 24:12), meaning that God revealed to Moses not only the Written Torah, but all of Torah, as it would be transmitted through the generations. The “tablets” are the ten commandments that were written on the tablets of the Covenant, the “Torah” is the five books of Moses. The “mitzva” is the Mishna, which includes explanations for the mitzvot and how they are to be performed. “That I have written” refers to the Prophets and Writings, written with divine inspiration. “That you may teach them” refers to the Talmud, which explains the Mishna. These explanations are the foundation for the rulings of practical halakha. This verse teaches that all aspects of Torah were given to Moses from Sinai.

את לחת האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורתם [AND I WILL GIVE THEE] THE TABLETS OF STONE, AND THE LAW, AND THE COMMANDMENT WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN TO TEACH THEM — All the six hundred and thirteen commandments are implicitly contained in the Ten Commandments and may therefore be regarded as having been written on the tablets. Rabbi Saadia specified in the אזהרות which he has composed those commandments which may be associated with each of the Ten Commandments.

Another matter, “He gave to Moses,” Rabbi Abahu said: All forty days that Moses spent above, he would study Torah and forget. He said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, I have forty days and I do not know anything.’ What did the Holy One blessed be He do? After he completed forty days, the Holy One blessed be He gave him the Torah as a gift [matana], as it is stated: “He gave [vayiten] to Moses.” Did Moses learn the entire Torah? It is written regarding the Torah: “Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea” (Job 11:9), and Moses learned it in forty days? Rather, the Holy One blessed be He taught Moses the fundamental principles [kelalim]. That is, “as He concluded [kekhaloto] speaking with him.” “The two tablets of Testimony,” what is the reason for two tablets? They correspond to the heavens and earth. They correspond to the bride and the groom. They correspond to the two attendants. They correspond to this world and the World to Come. “Two tablets [luḥot] of Testimony,” Rabbi Ḥanina said: Luḥot is written without a vav, as one was not larger than the other. “Stone tablets,” – why of stone? It is because most of the punishments in the Torah are by stoning. That is why it is stated: “Stone tablets.” Alternatively, “stone tablets,” due to the merit of Jacob who was called stone, as it is stated: “From there the shepherd, the stone of Israel” (Genesis 49:24). Alternatively, stone tablets,” anyone who does not render his life like this stone will not merit the Torah.

Know that each commandment that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Moshe, our teacher – peace be upon him – was given to him with its explanation. He would say to him the commandment and afterward tell him its explanation and content; and [so too with] everything that is included in the Book of the Torah. And the manner of its teaching to Israel is as it is said (Eruvin 54b – in Chapter 5),

And so [too] did our rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say in a bereita (Sifra, Behar), "'And God said to Moshe at Mount Sinai [with regards to the sabbatical year]' – and was not the whole entire Torah said from Sinai? Rather it is to tell you [that] just like [the law of] the sabbatical year was stated with its general principles and its details and its inferences from Sinai, so too were all the commandments, with their general principles and their details and their inferences, from Sinai." And behold for you an example: When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "You shall live in booths seven days" (Leviticus 23:42);

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi made efforts to ordain Shmuel Yarḥina’a as a rabbi but was unsuccessful, as Shmuel always demurred. Shmuel Yarḥina’a said to him: The Master should not be upset about my refusal, as I know that I am not destined to be ordained as a rabbi. I myself saw the book of Adam the first man, which contains the genealogy of the human race, and it is written in it that Shmuel Yarḥina’a shall be called a wise [ḥakim] physician, but he shall not be called rabbi, and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s convalescence shall be through him. I also saw written there: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabbi Natan are the end of the Mishna, i.e., the last of the tanna’im, the redactors of the Mishna. Rav Ashi and Ravina are the end of instruction, i.e., the end of the period of the amora’im, the redacting of the Talmud, which occurred after the period of the tanna’im.

Also, [the sources mentioned above] relate those matters which were decreed by the sages and prophets in each generation in order to "build a fence around the Torah." We were explicitly taught about [this practice] by Moses, as [implied by Leviticus 18:30]: "And you shall observe My precepts," [which can be interpreted to mean]: "Make safeguards for My precepts."

Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: Things have been said orally and things have been said in writing, and we do not know which ones are preferred. From what is written: by the mouth of these words I concluded a covenant with you and Israel, it follows that the oral traditions are preferred. Rebbi Joḥanan and Rebbi Yudan ben Rebbi Simeon. One said that if you kept what is oral tradition and kept what is written I will conclude a covenant with you, otherwise I shall not conclude a covenant with you. The other one said, if you watched all that is oral tradition and kept all that is written you will receive your reward, otherwise you will not receive any reward. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said: On them, and on them; all, like all; words, the words; Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, practices and Aggadah. Even what a competent student will discover before his teacher was said to Moses on Sinai. What is the reason? There is something about which one would say, look, this is new! His colleague will answer, it already has been forever.

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba further said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words which the Lord spoke with you in the mountain” (Deuteronomy 9:10)? This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, showed Moses on the mountain all the inferences that can be derived from the words of the Torah; and all the inferences that can be derived from the words of the Scribes, the early Sages; and also all the new halakhot that the Scribes were destined to introduce in the future in addition to the laws of the Torah. And what is it specifically that the Scribes would introduce in addition to the laws of the Torah? The reading of the Megilla.

Do not object to this idea based on the Talmud in tractate Megillah (p. 19b): “What does the verse ‘…and upon [the tablets, write] all these things that G-d spoke with you on the mountain’ mean? It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Moshe subtleties of the Torah and subtle inferences of the Scribes.” For I contend that Moshe did not transmit any of these subtleties to others. The wording of the Talmud indicates this, because it says that G-d “showed” Moshe and not that he “transmitted” to him or that he “taught” him. If the Torah had phrased it in one of these ways, then Moshe would certainly have passed on this knowledge to Yehoshua as well, for he would never act miserly [even in spiritual matters]. This was proven when he ordained Yehoshua by placing both hands upon him, even though he was only commanded to do it with one hand. However, when the Torah wrote “showed,” it meant that G-d merely allowed Moshe a glimpse of this knowledge, just as someone shows an object to his friend but does not give it to him. This is a true and fitting interpretation of the verse.

§ Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions? God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.