With faith, there are no questions; without faith there are no answers. ~ Chafetz Chaim
בהר סיני [AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES] ON THE MOUNT SINAI — What has the matter of the Sabbatical year to do with Mount Sinai that Scripture felt compelled to expressly state where it was commanded? Were not all commandments given on Sinai? But this statement is intended to suggest the following comparison: How is it in the case of the law of Shemittah? Its general rules, [its specific prescriptions] and minute details were ordained on Mount Sinai! So, also, were all commandments with their general rules and their minute details ordained on Mount Sinai. Thus is taught in Torath Cohanim (Sifra, Behar, Section 1 1). It seems to me that the following is the explanation of this: Since we do not find in Deuteronomy that the law concerning “the rest of the soil in the Sabbatical year” was repeated in “the fields of Moab” (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1; the place where Moses repeated many of the commandments contained in the other books of the Pentateuch), we may infer that all its general rules and specific prescriptions must have been promulgated on Sinai. The express mention of בהר סיני here appears therefore to be unnecessary but Scripture by mentioning it intends to teach regarding every Divine command (lit., Divine utterance) that was spoken to Moses that in every case they, their general rules and minute details originated at Sinai and that they were only repeated again in “the fields of Moab”.
(יא) וְהַשְּׁבִיעִ֞ת תִּשְׁמְטֶ֣נָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּ֗הּ וְאָֽכְלוּ֙ אֶבְיֹנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְיִתְרָ֕ם תֹּאכַ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה כֵּֽן־תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לְכַרְמְךָ֖ לְזֵיתֶֽךָ׃
(11) but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves.
וידבר ה' אל משה בהר סיני, it is noteworthy that nowhere else when the Torah announces new legislation does it also mention where this legislation was originally issued. The only time such locations are mentioned is when a new element of that commandment is added. We have heard about the principle of the sh’mittah legislation in Exodus 23,11 where the general outline was presented, the Torah writing that the produce of the land during the seventh year should be left untouched by the farmer and is intended for the poor of the nation.
Now the Torah reverts to present this legislation in greater detail. This is the reason why we are told where these details were first spelled out. What we read here is only a prototype. The principle does not apply only to the sh’mittah legislation, but wherever some legislation had been mentioned in a general manner only, when the details were filled in this took place at Mount Sinai, just as it did in the case of the sh’mittah legislation. (Torat Kohanim 1,1)
The reason that Moses mentioned this particular legislation at this point is because at this time he was still under the impression that the Israelites would proceed in short order to the land of Canaan, the sin of the spies which set them back by forty years not having occurred yet.
....there are two “Torahs”: the Written and the Oral. In Jewish tradition, both were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai and during the forty years in the desert, and taught to the whole nation...Both have been with us, according to Jewish sources, for all of the past 3300 years. And without both, it is impossible to fully understand traditional Jewish teaching or thought. The Written Torah, mentions each of the Commandments, or Mitzvos, only in passing or by allusion. The Oral Law fills in the gaps.
Here is an example: “And you shall tie them as a sign on your arm and for (Totafos) between your eyes.” (Deut. 6 8) This is the source for the Mitzvah of Tefillin (phylacteries – if that’s any clearer), but it doesn’t tell us that much. From this alone, we’d never know how to do this Mitzvah. What are we supposed to tie to the arm? With what do we tie it? What are “Totafos?” What is it a sign of? Without the Oral Law, quite simply, there’s no Mitzvah of Tefillin. And there aren’t too many other Mitzvos that’ll make much sense either. Not, that is, without some form of commentary.
With that said, it wouldn’t have made any sense for the Author of the Five Books to have left us nothing more than tantalizing hints we still would have no idea what to do. So, either the Torah was written by an idiot (or a relatively clueless ‘redactor’ according to modern theorists) who just never thought things through enough to tell us what to put into our Tefillin… or there must be an instruction manual somewhere that came in the same package. We call this “instruction manual” the Oral law. www.torah.org
....the Oral Torah was passed down as oral tradition (hence the name) until the destruction of the Second Temple in the early part of the Common Era, when fear of it being lost forever led to it being committed to writing for the first time.
The classic statement of the authority of the Oral Torah is found in the first mishnah in Avot 1:1: “Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.” This statement was meant to establish that the traditions practiced during the time of the Mishnah were not human creations, but traced their authority back to Sinai.
Throughout the Torah, numerous portions begin with “G-d spoke to Moses”, but it is only in this portion that it mentions where – specifically on Mount Sinai. There are two lessons we can learn here. First, by connecting to Mount Sinai during the reading we are reminded of the mountain’s small size in relation to the neighboring mountains in the range. Despite it’s size, Mount Sinai was selected as the location for the giving of the Torah and the ultimate revelation of Light in the world. This reminds us to always remain humble and to “be small” with our ego. By remaining small and humble, we can achieve greatness and connect to our highest selves. Next, we always read this portion during the 49-day Counting of the Omer. This period of self-reflection and counting culminates on the holiday of Shavuot where the Israelites received the Torah on Mount Sinai and achieved spiritual redemption following their release from slavery in Egypt. By connecting to Mount Sinai in this portion, we are reminded to remain on the path and stay the course throughout the remaining days of the Omer. Once we reach Mount Sinai on Shavuot, we can connect to the highest revelation of Light and spiritual consciousness available to us. Torahmystic.com
The word Sh’mitah means “suspension” and the Zohar indicates the root letters – Shin Mem Tov [Tet], mean “to drop” or “let go”. After working and connecting to the land in the physical realm for six years, we need to let go and connect to the higher spiritual realm in the 7th year. This is counter-intuitive, as we are conditioned to believe that continuous work and effort will deliver the best results. To the contrary, it is our separation from the daily routine and the mundane which makes a period of separation holy and enables us to connect to the realm of higher consciousness and miracles....This also connects us to the 50th day – the day after the 49-day Counting of the Omer – which is the holiday of Shavout where we receive the Torah and connect to the infinite Light and wisdom of creation. Torahmystic.com
| Consider the type of training God put in place for Am Yisrael in the Torah concerning the daily Manna, and the additional portion for Shabbat. What is the message about Trust/Bitachon? What might be our own building blocks for bitachon? How can Trust / Bitachon play a part in our lives today? What might be the consequences of fear, specifically of scarcity? |
(20) Bless the LORD, O His angels,
mighty in strength that fulfill his word, ever obedient to his word;
Rabbi Isaac taught that the words of Psalm 103:20, "mighty in strength that fulfill His word," speak of those who observe the Sabbatical year. Rabbi Isaac said that we often find that a person fulfills a precept for a day, a week, or a month, but it is remarkable to find one who does so for an entire year. Rabbi Isaac asked whether one could find a mightier person than one who sees one's field untilled, see one's vineyard untilled, and yet pays one's taxes and does not complain. And Rabbi Isaac noted that Psalm 103:20 uses the words "that fulfill His word (דְבָר, devar)," and Deuteronomy 15:2 says regarding observance of the Sabbatical year, "And this is the manner (דְּבַר, devar) of the release," and argued that "dabar" means the observance of the Sabbatical year in both places.
The partnership between Hashem and us is made clear in this parsha. While the counting occurs at set times, it is enforced by the Sanhedrin: It is the Sanhedrin that must count the seven groups of seven years (Lev. 25:8); Sanctify the Jubilee 50th Year / Yovel (Lev.25:10); and blow the shofar on the 10th of Tishrei to free the slaves (Lev.25:9).