פרשת יתרו וקבלת התורה
This week’s Parsha records how we, as the Jewish people, fulfilled our destiny by receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. Although this monumental occasion has colossal significance for every Jew, it is perhaps best appreciated by those who study in Yeshiva and have daily access to the wisdom and depth of the holy Torah. Let us examine the verses which relate to this epic occurrence in order to attempt to gain a deeper understanding of its significance.
The verse says, “And the Jewish people were located under the mountain.” The Gemorah in Shabbos (88b) asks why this verse says that they were under the mountain instead of saying that they were at the mountain. The Gemorah interpolates from this strange language that Hashem actually held the mountain over the Jewish people like a hovering barrel and told them that if they accepted the Torah, that would be fine, but if they didn’t, that He would drop the mountain on them and pulverize them all. The Midrash and many of the Rishonim voice the obvious question – what was the need for this imposing display of force when the Jews had already willingly agreed to accept the Torah with the legendary remark, “נעשה ונשמע”? One of the answers given, which is also found in the Midrash in Parshas Noach is that although the Jews had willingly agreed to accept the Torah, this was only referring to the Written Law, whereas the Oral Law, which involves tremendous toil, dedication, and commitment was not as readily accepted, and the only person who would take on something like that is somebody who is deeply in love with Hashem, and for this reason, He needed to actively coerce the Jews into accepting it out of fear. However, the good news is that the Gemorah goes on to say that even though the initial introduction to the Torah was done forcefully, the Jews went and accepted the Torah again willingly during the aftermath of the Purim story. When the Jews saw the incredible miracles which Hashem performed for them in Shushan, they responded by reaccepting the Torah out of their own volition.
The famous Tzadik, R’ Aryeh Finkel of the Mir Yeshiva asks an interesting question on this Chazal. While it is true that the Jews certainly witnessed great miracles during the time of Purim, hadn’t the Jews in the desert been exposed to supernatural occurrences on a scale so massive that it makes the Purim story seem like a joke? The ten plagues, the miraculous exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the Manna, were just some of the phenomenon that Hashem performed for the Jews in the desert. The Midrash says that lowliest member of the Jewish people reached the highest level of prophecy during the splitting of the sea. The story of Purim seems to pale in comparison. Why then were the Jews able to accept the Oral Law out of love specifically then, what they were seemingly not able to do at Sinai?
R’ Aryeh explains that ironically, it was specifically because of the greatness of the miracles at Sinai that the Jews were incapable of properly receiving the Torah. He learns, based on the Meshech Chochma and the Maharal, that there was no literal mountain placed on their heads, but rather a metaphorical mountain which was composed of the motivation which came from all they had seen. During the exodus, the Jews had seen so much that their free will was tampered with and the “choice” to receive the Torah was meaningless. They were essentially like angels, who were powerless to make a decision of their own. During the Purim story, however, where the miracles performed were under the subterfuge of “nature”, and could have easily been rationalized as a fortunate series of events, the Jews had the ability to choose for themselves what to believe in, and they wisely chose Hashem. This ability to choose is exactly what made their choice meaningful.
The Gemorah in Succah, (48) implies that this ability to choose to learn and keep the Torah out of our own volition, and to do it enthusiastically is our birthright, and the entire purpose for the human race, and more specifically, for the Jewish people. The Torah commands us to have every male leave his home three times a year and go up to Jerusalem to “greet” Hashem. We find that for almost a millennia while the Temples were standing, the Jews faithfully fulfilled this dictum, showing no concern for the obvious risks involved with leaving their womenfolk, children and property in a completely unguarded environment. Such was their level of esteem for the holy Torah’s commandment, which could only come from an unbridled love for the Creator, and an unprecedented trust in him. But the Gemorah comments that this trait is not new to the Jewish people, rather a direct inheritance from Avraham Avinu. Avraham was the first human being to dedicate his life to the idea that there is a Creator that man cannot see, and that it is incumbent upon every human being to do the same. The Gemorah goes on to say that when a Jew successfully overcomes his natural inclination for worry, he is called, “Bas Nadiv”, the offspring of Avraham who was called a Nadiv because he donated his entire life to Hashem. When we emulate Avraham’s ways, Hashem responds to this powerful display of trust by reciprocating and showering His unfathomable love and admiration upon us, and calling us “Children of Avraham.”
The Mashgiach would conclude by saying something that our senior Rosh Yeshiva has said many times. It can get discouraging to think about all the great people of the past generations, and their accomplishments, and to compare them to our own, and one wonders what exactly Hashem wants with our generation, when He already saw people like the Vilna Gaon, Rashi, and all the authors of the Mishnah and the Gemorah. But there is something that we can offer that none of them could have. Since our generation is so much weaker than any in the past, our free will is that much stronger and our capacity for love is therefore boundless. If the Jews in the Purim story were free compared to the Jews at Sinai, then our generation has got to be around a million freer then they were. And precisely because of this gap, we have the ability to choose to love Hashem and His Torah like no other generation in the history of the world, and our choice is that much more precious to Hashem than any other generations’ choice. When we choose to delight in the Torah and its wisdom and sweetness, despite all the distractions and temptations this generation has to offer, it is impossible to imagine the esteem in which Hashem holds that choice.
I would just like to conclude with an incident I heard this week concerning The Steipler Gaon. There was a non-religious Israeli man around forty years ago, who had recently been introduced to the ways of the Torah, and was touched by its depth and beauty, and therefore decided to begin a life of Torah observance. He found every part of Torah performance to be filled with significance, and his life had found new meaning, but the one thing he couldn’t get his head around was the Gemorah. The idea of learning a completely new set of grammar skills and a new language was mind boggling for him, as I’m sure many of us can commiserate, but he was taught that this was an inextricable part of a religious man’s life, and he therefore persevered in this daunting task. After much arduous labor, sweat, and blood, he finally managed to complete one page of Gemorah, which he proceeded to review dozens of times until he completely mastered it. After he had finished, the people around him asked him what he had accomplished in all these months. He responded that he knew one page of Gemorah. At first, they thought he was joking, but when they realized he wasn’t, they began to mock him and made all sorts of silly jokes. Their derision made him depressed and he went to go see the Steipler for encouragement. When the Steipler heard what happened, he told the man, “I just want you to know, that I am being perfectly honest with you now. All of the Torah that I have learned, and my brother in law the Chazon Ish has learned, and the books we have put out, are not as precious to Hashem as your one page of Gemorah, because you did it out of genuine love and dedication!”
May we all merit to choose to serve Hashem always with great enthusiasm!