שיעור לליל שבועות - מי קיבל את התורה?

(6) Another explanation: "And God said all of these things, saying" - Rabbi Yitzchak said, What the prophets were to prophesy in the future in each generation, they received from Mount Sinai. As Moshe said to Israel (Deuteronomy 29:14), "But with those here with us standing today and with those not here with us today." It does not say [at the end of the verse], "with us standing today," but rather, "with us today"; these are the souls that will be created in the future, who do not have substance, about whom "standing" is not mentioned. For even though they did not exist at that time, each one received that which was his. And so [too], it states (Malachi 1:1), "The burden that God spoke to Israel by ['in the hand of'] Malachi" - it does not state, "in the days of Malachi," but rather "in the hand of Malachi," as the prophecy was already in his hand from Mount Sinai, but until that time, he was not given permission to prophesy. Likewise Yeshayahu said (Isaiah 48:16), "from the time it was, was I there." Yeshayahu said, "From the time the Torah was given at Sinai, I was there and received this prophecy, except [only] 'now did God send me and His spirit'" - until now, he was not given permission to prophesy. And it was not only of the prophets who receive their prophecy from Sinai, but also the sages who arise in each generation - each of them received what was his from Sinai. And so [too] it states (Deuteronomy 5:19), "These things did the Lord speak to your entire congregation, [...] a great voice and it did not cease": Rabbi Yochanan said, "One voice was split into seven voices and they were divided into seventy languages"; Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, "From it prophesied all of the prophets who arose." The Sages said that it did not have an echo. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "What is [the meaning of] 'The voice of the Lord is in strength' (Psalms 29:4)? Can one really say this? Isn't it true that, with even one angel, no creature can stand up to his voice, as it states (Daniel 10:6), 'And its body was like beryl (tarshish) [...] and the voice of its words was like the voice of the multitude.' And does the Holy One, blessed be He, about Whom it is written (Jeremiah 23:24), 'do I not fill the heavens and the earth,' need to speak in strength? Rather, 'The voice of the Lord is in strength' - in the strength of all of the voices." And this verse supports the view of Rabbi Yochanan: "The Lord gives the word, the announcers are a great host" (Psalms 68:12).

(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. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.

the apparent dereliction of the study of Torah is its foundation, e.g., if one breaks off his studies in order to participate in a funeral or a wedding procession. This is derived from a verse, as it is written: “And the Lord said to Moses: Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which [asher] you broke” (Exodus 34:1). The word “asher” is an allusion to the fact that that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Your strength is true [yishar koḥakha] in that you broke the tablets, as the breaking of the first tablets led to the foundation of the Torah through the giving of the second tablets. And Reish Lakish says: With regard to a Torah scholar who sinned, he is not disgraced in public, as it is stated: “Therefore, you shall stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night” (Hosea 4:5). One can derive from the verse that if a prophet or any other Torah scholar stumbles and sins, one should conceal his offense like the night and not punish him in public. And Reish Lakish says: Anyone who causes himself to forget even one matter from his studies violates a prohibition, as it is stated with regard to the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai: “Only observe for yourself, and guard your soul diligently, lest you forget the matters that your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, but you should make them known to your children and to your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9). And this is in accordance with the principle that Rabbi Avin says that Rabbi Ile’a says, as Rabbi Avin says that Rabbi Ile’a says: Wherever it is stated: Observe, or: Lest, or: Do not, it is nothing other than a prohibition. Ravina says: One who forgets his studies violates two prohibitions, as the verse uses both the term “observe” and the term “lest,” and these are two prohibitions. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: He violates three prohibitions, as it is stated: “Only observe for yourself, and guard your soul diligently, lest you forget the matters that your eyes saw.” The term “Guard your soul” is derived from the same root as “observe” and is considered an additional prohibition. The Gemara qualifies this statement: One might have thought this applies even to one who forgot his Torah knowledge due to circumstances beyond his control. Therefore, the verse states: “And lest they depart from your heart.” This indicates that the verse is speaking of one who willingly causes them to depart from his heart. Rabbi Dostai, son of Rabbi Yannai, says: One might have thought that this applies even if his studies were too hard for him to remember. Therefore, the verse states: “Only,” which excludes one who is unable to recall his studies. Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar both say: The Torah was given in forty days, when Moses ascended to Mount Sinai to receive it, and similarly the soul of man is formed in forty days, as the formation of the fetus in the womb takes forty days from the time of conception. This teaches that anyone who preserves his Torah studies, his soul is likewise preserved, and anyone who does not preserve his Torah studies, his soul is not preserved either. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: This can be illustrated by a parable, as it is comparable to a person who delivered a sparrow to his slave for safekeeping, and said to him: Are you under the impression that if you lose it I will take from you an issar, a small coin, which is the value of the bird? It is not so; I will take your soul from you as punishment, meaning I will kill you. Similarly, one who fails to preserve the Torah entrusted to him will be severely punished. MISHNA: There were two tables in the Entrance Hall, on the inside of the Entrance Hall, next to the entrance to the Temple, i.e., next to the entrance to the Sanctuary. One was of marble and one was of gold. On the table of marble, the priests place the new shewbread that has been baked, before its entrance into the Sanctuary, so that the loaves may cool a little from the heat of the oven and not spoil. And when the old shewbread is removed from the shewbread Table it is placed on the table of gold upon its exit from the Sanctuary, where it remains until the frankincense is burned on the altar. The reason the shewbread is placed on a gold table when it is removed, rather than on a marble or silver table, is that one elevates to a higher level in matters of sanctity and one does not downgrade. Since it is set on the gold shewbread Table all week, it cannot be downgraded to a marble or silver table upon its removal. And there was one Table of gold within the Sanctuary, upon which the shewbread is always found. The mishna describes the manner in which it is ensured that the shewbread is constantly on the Table: And four priests enter, two with the two arrangements of the new shewbread in their hands and two with the two bowls of frankincense in their hands. And four priests precede them, entering the Sanctuary before them, two to take the two arrangements of the old shewbread from the Table, and two to take the two bowls of frankincense. Those bringing the new shewbread into the Sanctuary stand in the north and their faces are to the south, and those removing the old shewbread stand in the south and their faces are to the north. These priests draw the old shewbread from the Table and those priests place the new shewbread on the Table, and for each handbreadth of this old shewbread that is removed from the Table a handbreadth of that new shewbread is placed upon the Table, so that the Table is never without loaves upon it, as it is stated: “And you shall set upon the Table shewbread before Me always” (Exodus 25:30). Rabbi Yosei says: Even if these priests were to remove the shewbread from the Table entirely, and only afterward those priests were to place the new shewbread upon the Table, this too would fulfill the requirement that the shewbread always be on the Table. It is unnecessary to ensure the uninterrupted presence of the shewbread upon the Table, as long as it does not remain a single night without shewbread upon it. The mishna describes the manner in which the shewbread is distributed: The priests who carried the old shewbread loaves came out of the Sanctuary and placed them on the table of gold that was in the Entrance Hall. The priests then burned on the altar the frankincense that was in the bowls. And the loaves were subsequently distributed to the priests. This occurred on Shabbat, the day that the priestly watch that served in the Temple during the preceding week was replaced by the priestly watch that would serve during the following week. The shewbread was distributed to the priests of both watches. If Yom Kippur occurs on Shabbat, the loaves are distributed at night, at the conclusion of the fast, since they may not be eaten during the day. If Yom Kippur occurs on Friday, i.e., when the holy day begins on Thursday evening, the goat sin offering of Yom Kippur is eaten by the priests at night, i.e., on Friday night, as it may be eaten only on the day that it is sacrificed or during the following night, until midnight. And since there is no possibility of cooking the meat, as one may not cook on Yom Kippur or Shabbat, the Babylonians, i.e., priests who had emigrated from Babylonia, eat it when it is raw, due to the fact that they are broad-minded with regard to their food, i.e., they are not particular and will eat meat even when it is not cooked. GEMARA: The mishna teaches that according to Rabbi Yosei, even if the priest first removes the old shewbread entirely, and only then places the new shewbread upon the Table, this fulfills the requirement that the shewbread always be on the Table. Moreover, it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei says: Even if the priest removed the old shewbread on the morning of Shabbat, and arranged the new shewbread toward evening, there is nothing wrong with that. Rather, how do I realize the meaning of the verse: “And you shall set upon the Table shewbread before Me always” (Exodus 25:30)? This means that the Table should not be left overnight without bread upon it. The baraita teaches that according to Rabbi Yosei, even if the old shewbread remained on the Table for a short while in the morning, and the new shewbread was placed on the Table toward evening, and even though it did not reside constantly on the Table, this fulfills the requirement that the shewbread should always be on the Table. Rabbi Ami says: From Rabbi Yosei’s statement we may learn that even if a person learned only one chapter of the Mishna in the morning and one chapter of the Mishna in the evening, he has thereby fulfilled the mitzva of: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall contemplate in it day and night, that you may take heed to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Even if a person recited only the recitation of Shema in the morning and in the evening, he has fulfilled the mitzva of: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth.” And it is prohibited to state this matter in the presence of ignoramuses [amei ha’aretz], as they are likely to get the impression that there is no need to study Torah beyond this. And Rava says: On the contrary, it is a mitzva to state this matter in the presence of ignoramuses, as they will realize that if merely reciting the Shema leads to such a great reward, all the more so how great is the reward of those who study Torah all day and night. Ben Dama, son of Rabbi Yishmael’s sister, asked Rabbi Yishmael: In the case of one such as I, who has learned the entire Torah, what is the halakha with regard to studying Greek wisdom? Rabbi Yishmael recited this verse about him: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall contemplate in it day and night.” Go and search for an hour that is neither part of the day nor part of the night, and learn Greek wisdom in it. The Gemara notes: And this statement of Rabbi Yishmael’s disagrees with the opinion of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that Rabbi Yonatan says: This verse is neither an obligation nor a mitzva, but a blessing. Rabbi Yonatan explains: The Holy One, Blessed be He, saw Joshua and observed that the words of Torah were very precious to him, as it is stated: “And the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face…and his servant Joshua, son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the Tent” (Exodus 33:11). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Joshua: Joshua, are the words of Torah so precious to you? I bless you that “this Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth.” The tanna of the school of Rabbi Yishmael teaches: The words of Torah should not be considered as an obligation upon you, i.e., one should not treat Torah study as a burden, but at the same time you are not permitted to exempt yourself from them. Ḥizkiyya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “He delivers the afflicted due to His affliction, and opens their ear by tribulation; and also He has allured you out of a narrow opening to a broad place without confines below it, and that which is set on your table is full of fatness” (Job 36:15–16)? Come and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The attribute of flesh and blood is that a person allures another from the paths of life to the paths of death, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, allures the person from the paths of death to the paths of life, as it is stated: “And also He has allured you out of a narrow opening,” i.e., from Gehenna, the opening of which is narrow so that its smoke is collected

(1) Afterwards, he saw [fit] to suffice with the names of those that received [the tradition] of those close [in time] to him, [starting] from Shimon the Righteous. And his words in the Mishnah were terse words that included many matters. And it was all lucid to him, due to the sharpness of his intellect – though for someone less than him, the content is complex in his eyes – as the early sages would only write for themselves.

(2) Therefore, one of his students saw [fit] – and that is Rabbi Chiya – to compose a book and to follow after his teacher in it, and to explain what had become garbled in the words of his teacher. And that is the Tosefta, and its purpose is to elucidate the Mishnah. And it is possible to extrapolate the Tosefta's explanation from the Mishnah [itself] after great exertion, but he extrapolated them to teach us how to engender and bring out matters from the Mishnah. And so [too] did Rabbi Oshaya.

(3) And Rav composed the Bereita – and it is Sifra and Sifrei. And [also] many others [did the same]; like they said, "When Rabbi x came, he brought a teaching in his hand."

(4) And nonetheless, these [texts] were not smooth like the words of the Mishnah, and their matter was not as organized or terse in their words. And therefore it – I mean to say the Mishnah – was the main [text] and all of the [other] compositions go up after it and are secondary to it, and it is the most honored by all. And when they compared it to those compositions, 'the maidens saw her and acclaimed her.'

(5) And everyone that came after this honored composition only came to devote his attention and effort to reflecting upon the words of the Mishnah. And one generation after another did not cease from reflecting upon it, and investigating and explaining it – every sage according to his wisdom and his understanding.

(6) And they disagreed about the explanation of some laws in it, due to the many years [that intervened]. And there was no group [of sages] that did not reflect on the Mishnah and reveal novel understandings and make comparisons to other matters, until it came the time of Ravina and Rav Ashi, who were the last of the sages of the Talmud. And Rav Ashi secluded himself to compose the Talmud and saw [fit] for himself to do for all the words of those that came after our Holy Rabbi, what our Holy Rabbi had done for the words of all that came after Moshe.

(7) And he included all of the words of the speakers and the intellect of those that reflect and the explanations of the commentators, and collected them; and he compressed it all with his wisdom and with the straightforward soul and honor for wisdom that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him, and he composed the Talmud.

(8) And his intention with it was four things:

(9) And the [first] was the explanation of the Mishnah and everything that came out of it, which encompasses many matters of disagreement among the commentators and the claim of each commentator against his fellow and the exhibition of the true claim; and that was the first of the intentions that he intended.

(10) And the second was [to establish] the legal decision with one of the two disputants that disagreed about the words of the Mishnah or its explanation or novel understandings that developed from it and became attached to it.

(11) And the third is regarding novel matters that the sages of each generation extrapolated from the Mishnah; and the exhibition of the essence and the proofs that the teachers of the Mishnah taught and relied upon in their words in the Mishnah, such that their words were Ordered as they were Ordered; and the ordinances and decrees made after the Holy Rabbi until this author.

(12) And the fourth is [the inclusion of] homilies (drashot) that are fitting according to the topic of each section that happens to have a homily.

(13) And [about] this fourth matter – I mean to say the homily that is found in the Talmud – it is not fitting to think its value to be little and its purpose to be lacking. Rather there is great understanding in it, as it contains amazing riddles and beautiful wonders.

(14) As when one observes these homilies with intellectual observation, [matters] of the true good – about which there is nothing higher – are understood from them. And from them are revealed theological matters and true things that the men of wisdom would keep away and did not want to reveal, and all that the philosophers attained over the generations. And if you glance at it according to its simple meaning, you will see matters about which nothing is farther from the intellect than them.

(15) And they did this thing for wondrous ends: One of them it to sharpen the ideas of their students and to draw their hearts.

(16) And also to blind the eyes of fools who will never illuminate their hearts. And if they had shown them the illumination of truths, they would have turned their faces [away] from them, according to the shortcomings of their natures. As it is stated about them and those similar to them, "We do not reveal the secret to them" – because their intellect is not complete in order to accept the truths with according clarity.

(17) And likewise, some of the sages did not want to reveal the secrets of wisdom to some [other sages]. And they already mentioned (Chagigah 13a) that an honored man of the sages initiated with men who were experts in the wisdom of the Story of Creation (maaseh bereishit) whereas he was an expert in the Story of the Chariot (maaseh merkavah): He said to them, "Teach me the Story of Creation and I will teach you the Story of the Chariot"; and they said to him, "The matter is good." And when they taught him the Story of Creation, he abstained from teaching them the Story of the Chariot.

(18) And God forbid that he did this because of an evil heart to prevent [them from] wisdom or to have an advantage over them; as these traits are ugly in one of the silly ones – all the more so, with these honored pious ones. Rather, he did this thing because he saw himself to be fitting to receive that which was with them and that they were not fitting to receive that which was with him.

(19) And he brought the words of Shlomo about this matter (Song of Songs 4:11), "honey and milk under your tongue." And they, peace be upon them, explained and said that the sweet wisdoms that a soul finds pleasant – just like the palate finds honey and milk pleasant – must be hidden; and they should not be spoken about and they should not be raised to the lips or tongue in any fashion. And this is [the meaning of] what he said, "under your tongue" – that these matters are not from what is fitting to teach and to analyze in the gatherings of wisdom.

(20) And nonetheless, they should hint hidden hints in writing. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, removes the mask of foolishness from the heart of the one that He wants – after he has exerted himself and accustomed himself to wisdoms – then he will understand [something] of them, according to his wisdom.

(21) And a person has no [access] to wisdom and its pursuit and its efforts, but rather [must] leave its realm to the Creator and pray to Him and supplicate that He make him understand it and teach him and reveal to him the hidden secrets of Scripture; as we found with David, peace be upon him, who did this when he said (Psalms 119:18), "Open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Your Torah." And when the Holy One, blessed be He, opens the eyes of a person and shows him what He shows him, it is fitting for him to conceal it, as we have said.

(22) And if he hints to them, he should hint [only[ slightly to one who has a complete intellect and is known [as a man of] truth, as they elucidated and revealed in many episodes in the Talmud. And hence, it is not fitting for a wise man to reveal that which he has known from the secrets, except to someone who is greater than him or like him. As if he reveals it to a fool, even if [the latter] will not disdain it, it will not find favor in his eyes. And hence the sage said (Proverbs 23:9), "Do not speak to a fool, for he will disdain your sensible words."

(23) And also as teaching to the masses requires that it be by way of a riddle and a parable – so that it includes the women, the youths and the children before their intellects mature; and then they will reflect upon and comprehend the matters of these hints. And about this matter, Shlomo, peace be upon him, hinted when he said (Proverbs 1:6), "To understand a proverb and an expression, the words of the wise and their riddles."

(24) And on account of these causes, the sages, peace be upon them, arranged their words in homilies – in a manner that will push off the intellect of the fool, according to his thinking.

(25) And it is not fitting to attribute the lack to that homily, but rather one should think that the lack comes from his intellect. And when he sees one of their parables that is very hard to comprehend even its simple meaning, it is fitting for him to be very perturbed by his intellect that did not understand the matter – to the point that there would be a lack in matters of faith, that it be completely foreign in his eyes. As behold, minds have meliority – one over the other – according to the meliority of temperaments. And [just] like we find the temperament of one man to be more straight then another man, so [too], the intellect of one man is more complete than the intellect of another man.

(26) And there is no doubt that the intellect of one who knows an illustrious thing is not like the intellect of one is [trying to] comprehend that thing. As the one is called actual intellect and the [other] is called potential intellect. And because of this, there are things that are absolutely true and lucid in the eyes of some men; and for another man, they are foreign and impossible – in accordance with [their] level of wisdom.

(27) And behold, I will give you a lucid parable: For example, if we would ask one of the learned men of medicine and mathematics and music who is swift in natural science and wise and learned, but he is uninitiated and devoid of the wisdom of geometry and astronomy, and we would say to him, "What do you say about a man who claims that the mass of the sun that we see as if it is a small circle, and he says that it is the mass of a sphere and the size of that sphere is one hundred and sixty six and three eighths (166.375) times the size of the sphere of the earth; and that the sphere of the earth according to which we have made these measurements is a sphere the circumference of which is twenty-four thousand (Roman) miles"; and that in this way, he be able to come to know how many miles there are in the measurement of the size of the sphere of the sun,

(28) there is no doubt that this man of clear thought who is learned in all of the wisdoms that we said will not find it in himself to maintain such a belief, and all of this will be far-fetched in his eyes and unfathomable.

(29) And his learned question that will come to him at first thought is that this claim is null; as how is it possible for a man standing on one (small) measure of the earth to know the size of the mass of the sun and its circumference and the measure of its surface, until his mind encompasses it, [just] like it encompasses the measurement of a part of the earth?

(30) And he will also say, "How is this possible? And behold, the mass of the sun is extremely far, and even the correct sight of the mass of the sun is impossible for us; and we only perceive its radiance alone. And how can a man come to the level that he is able to measure it and be exact in its measurement to three eighths [of a Roman mile]? This thing is worthless like nothing else." And there will be no doubt in his heart that this claim is null and that it cannot be.

(31) But when he accustoms himself to the study of the books of measurements and the wisdoms of what is fit – spheres and the rest of values that are evaluated one against the other – and he goes from there to the organized book about this matter and that which is similar to it – I mean to say, the well-known book of the properties of the planets: the book of Almagest – then this claim will become clear to him and it will be considered a true claim that has no doubt and that has proof to it.

(32) And there will be no difference for him between the mass of the sun being this size and the sun existing. And his mind will accustom itself to believe the thing that if first strongly pushed off and he will [now] believe it with complete belief.

(33) Behold this can be. And we did not agree about this man to whom we asked this matter that he should be lacking from the other wisdoms, but [rather] that he be well learned and of a clear nature and wise; and that the question that we asked him be from the questions of scholastics, which is a [only] step through which to get to theology.

(34) All the more so will the matter be with one who has no wisdom at all and has not accustomed himself to any of the ways of scholastic wisdom, but [rather] 'has gone from the intellect of his mother to the intellect of his wife,' when we ask him one of the theological questions that are hidden in the homilies. There is no doubt that they [will be] far-fetched in his eyes, like the distance of the heavens from the earth, and his mind will be too small to understand any part of them.

(35) And therefore it is fitting that we judge these homilies favorably and that we investigate them well. And we should not hasten to distance any of their matters, but [rather] when one of their words is far-fetched in our eyes, we should train ourselves in the wisdoms until we can understand their content in that thing – if our hearts can encompass this great thing. As behold, the sages – even though they had a desire to learn and they were good in thought and effort, the company of pious and honored men and the distancing of everything that there is in the world – would attribute the lack to themselves, when they evaluated themselves according to [those who were] before them.

(36) And that is [the meaning of] what they said (Eruvin 53b), "The hearts of the early ones are like the opening of a hall, and of the later ones are [not] even like a needle for crevices."

(37) And all the more so, us; as wisdom has disappeared from us. And [it is] like the prophet informed us (Isaiah 29:14), "And the wisdom of its wise shall fail, and the understanding of its sage shall vanish" – the verse identified each one of us with four things: weakness of intellect; strengthening of desire; laziness in seeking wisdom and alacrity in benefit from the world – 'the four bad afflictions.' And how can we not attribute the lack to ourselves when we evaluate [ourselves in comparison] to them?

(38) And since they, peace be upon them, knew about this matter that all of their words were clear and immaculate and that there was no dross in them, they commanded about them and warned that a person should not mock them. And they said (Gittin 57b), "Anyone who mocks the words of the sage is judged in burning excrement, etc." – and you do not have any greater burning excrement than the foolishness that brought him to mock [them].

(39) And therefore, you will not ever find one who distances their words except for a man seeking desire and who gives precedence to tangible pleasures, who has not enlightened his heart with any of the bright lights.

(40) And since they knew the truth of their words, they spent all of their days in this occupation, and commanded to pore over it all of the night and part of the day, and considered it to be the end of wisdom. And so it is.

(41) And they said (Berakhot 8a), "The Holy One, blessed be He, only has in His world the four cubits of the law (halakha) alone." And put your heart to this thing – since if you examine it according to its simple meaning, you will find it very far from the truth; as if the four cubits of the law alone are the appropriate focus and the other wisdoms and traits are thrown behind His back. And at the time of Shem and Ever and after it, when there was no halakha, can we say the there is no share in the world to the Holy One, blessed be He, at all?

(42) But if you investigate this matter intellectually, you will see in it a wonderful thing from the wisdoms, and it will add a great principle about the disciplines. And I will elucidate them for you in order that it be an example for the rest of what comes to your hand. And hence, place your heart to it as is fit.