Part I
Introduction: An Allusion in the Weekly Parsha
We are told that the sefer Torah that a Jewish king
must have written, "should be with him and he should read in
it all the days of his life" (Devorim 17:19). The
Chasam Sofer zt'l explains the words, "all the days of
his life" as referring not to the duration of his reading but
to its subject. In other words, the king should make the
sefer Torah his guide in every situation in which he
finds himself and conduct his reign according to its
dictates.
We find that in earlier generations when guidance was sought
it was common to ask a child to "tell me the posuk you
have just learned" or to look into a sefer. This
though, could be understood simply as a form of casting lots
and does not reveal anything about Torah's intrinsic
properties.
Dovid Hamelech however said "Your testaments are my pastimes,
my men of counsel" ( Tehillim 119:24). This implies
that guidance can be divined even from one's regular schedule
of Torah study — that even without prior intention a
person's daily shiur or the weekly parsha
provide insight into contemporary events. This happens
because Hashem's spirit speaks through those who learn Torah
with pure motivation and they "merit many qualities" (Ovos
6:1).
A celebration of the Oral Torah was just marked with the
completion of the eleventh cycle of the Daf Yomi study of the
Talmud Bavli and the beginning of the twelfth. In last
week's parsha Hashem tells Moshe Rabbenu, "Write these
things down for yourself because according to [i.e. on the
basis of] these things I have established a covenant with you
and with Yisroel" ( Shemos 34:27). The gemora
(Gittin 60), cites Rav Yochonon's statement: "Hashem only
made a covenant with Klal Yisroel over the things
which were said orally, as the posuk says, `for
according to [lit. al pi, by the word of] these things
. . .' "
The medrash too (Shemos Rabbah 47:1) interprets
this posuk as an allusion to the Oral Torah: " `For
according to these things . . .' — this refers to the
Mishnah and the Talmud which separate Yisroel from the
gentile nations." What makes the Oral Torah so unique and so
distinct from the Written Torah?
Part One: The Covenant
At the Foot of the Mountain
" `And they stood at the foot of the mountain' (Shemos
19:17) — . . .this teaches us that Hakodosh
Boruch Hu overturned the mountain on top of them like a
barrel and told them, `If you accept the Torah, well and
good; if not, your graves will be over there' " (Shabbos
88). Tosafos ask that since the people had already
accepted the Torah when they said na'aseh venishma it
should not have been necessary to hold the mountain over
them. They answer that they might have wanted to retract
after witnessing Hashem's great fire that frightened them so
badly that their souls left their bodies.
The Maharal (Gur Aryeh, parshas Yisro) disagrees with
this approach because it plays down the tremendous merit of
bnei Yisroel's declaration of na'aseh venishma.
He explains that overturning the mountain was a way of
demonstrating Torah's supreme importance and the
impossibility of existing without it.
Hashem in fact made the existence of the entire creation
conditional upon Klal Yisroel's acceptance of Torah.
Without it, the world would have reverted to its original
state of void and emptiness. Suspending the mountain over the
people and telling them that if not for their accepting Torah
they would be buried right there, conveyed the message that
without Torah the world would simply cease to exist.
A third approach can be found in the Medrash
Tanchumah. In parshas Noach the Tanchumah
tells us that, "Yisroel did not accept the Torah until
Hakodosh Boruch Hu overturned the mountain over them
like a barrel as it says, `and they stood . . .' etc. It
cannot be that He held the mountain over them to get them to
accept the Written Torah because when He asked them whether
they would accept the Torah they said na'aseh venishma
since it does not involve toil or anguish and it is small.
Rather, when He told them, `If you accept the Torah, well and
good . . .' He was referring to the Oral Torah which contains
details of both lenient and stringent mitzvos.
"It is as fierce as death and as harsh as the grave, for it
is only studied by one who loves Hakodosh Boruch Hu
with all his heart, soul and means, as it says, `And you
shall love Hashem' (Devorim 6:5) . . . How do we know
that this love refers to study? See what is written
immediately afterwards: `And these things that I am
commanding you today shall be on your hearts . . .' This
refers to study which is in the heart. `And you shall teach
them to your sons . . .' This refers to study which needs to
be sharpened.
"In the second parsha [of the Shema which the
Tanchumah says refers to those who keep mitzvos but do
not occupy themselves with Talmud] it is written, `With all
your heart and soul' but not, `with all your means.' This
tells you that anyone who loves wealth and pleasure cannot
learn the Oral Torah because it involves great anguish and
deprivation of sleep and some wear themselves out and debase
themselves over it. Its reward is therefore given in Olom
Habo, as it says, `The people who made their way in
darkness saw a great light' (Yeshayohu 9:1) . . . "
Covenant of Love
"We learn from this," writes HaRav Wolbe in Alei Shur,
"that the basis of the Oral Torah is love. One who loves
another wants to find out every small detail about his
beloved. Every tiny piece of information is precious to him.
The general principles of the mitzvos were conveyed at Har
Sinai in the Written Torah, but the methods of expounding
the Torah and the halachos that were given directly to
Moshe were conveyed orally. Through Yisroel's great love of
the mitzvos and of the One who commanded them, they devoted
themselves to explaining each of the mitzvos with the result
that we have merited our mighty Shas.
"It takes tremendous toil to clarify every detail of a single
sugya, let alone an entire maseches or the
entire Shas. It was necessary to overturn the mountain
on top of the people in order to get them to undertake this
tremendous burden of toil. Hakodosh Boruch Hu showed
Yisroel that it is imperative to have the Oral Torah in order
to fulfill the Written Torah. He demonstrated His love for
them by giving the Oral Torah to them alone and by not
writing it down, so that the nations would be unable to copy
it. This [in turn] aroused a fierce love of the Oral Torah in
Klal Yisroel."
This comprises the Jewish people's covenant with Hakodosh
Boruch Hu. In every covenant between two parties, each
side makes a commitment. Klal Yisroel undertook the
toil and labor required to understand everything that Chazal
extracted using the methods of expounding the Torah —
and this will only be done by those who love Hashem with all
their heart, soul and means. For His part, Hakodosh Boruch
Hu "gives wisdom; from His mouth, understanding and
comprehension" ( Mishlei 2:6). "The wisdom imparted to
Hashem's loved ones comes from His mouth and nowhere else"
(Rashi, Niddah 70 ).
Part Two: Reshaping
Down into the Depths
"Rabbi Yochonon said, `The hearts of the earlier generations
were wide open, like the entrance to the antechamber
[Ulam of the Beis Hamikdosh] and those of the
later generations were less open, like the entrance to the
chamber [Heichal of the actual Mikdosh] while
ours are like the eye of a fine needle.' Abaye [several
generations after Rabbi Yochonon] said, `In gemora, we
are like a peg that only goes into a narrow hole in the wall
with great difficulty' — we only understand what we
hear with great difficulty. Rava said, `In logic, we are like
a finger placed onto hard wax' — that cannot penetrate
but just becomes slightly attached. Rav Ashi said, `In
forgetfulness, we are like a finger placed into a pit'
— we forget things as easily as a finger is placed into
the opening of a pit" (Eruvin 53, Rashi).
By this yardstick, what was left for those who followed after
the Amoraim — the Geonim, Rishonim and Acharonim? What
frame of reference remains for us to use in evaluating Rav
Saadyah Gaon, the Rambam and the Ramban, the Mechaber and the
Vilna Gaon? If people's hearts were so utterly unreceptive
and uncomprehending, how did Torah undergo renewal in
subsequent generations? How have new insights and Torah
secrets become revealed even to very recent generations? And
how are we at all able to attempt the study of the Oral
Torah?
In Alei Shur (vol. II, pp. 128-32), HaRav Wolbe
enlightens us on this subject. In the mishnah, Chazal
portray how life will be prior to Moshiach's arrival
(Sotah 49): "Impertinence will greatly increase;
prices will be tremendously high; the vine will yield its
fruit but wine will be expensive; government will become
heretical; there will be no rebuke . . . the wisdom of
scribes will be befouled and those who fear sin will be
despised; the truth will vanish; youths will shame elders . .
. and upon whom can we lean? Upon our Father in Heaven."
"It is wondrous to see how Chazal with their spirit of
holiness saw all of this centuries ago with a degree of
clarity that we appreciate as we see everything unfold with
such awe-inspiring precision. This is not a process of the
diminishing stature of later generations such as the one
described in the preceding mishnah: `When Rabbi Meir
died those who drew parables ceased to exist; when Ben Azai
died . . ..when Rebbi died humility and fear of sin ceased to
exist.'
"Our mishnah [however] is describing a situation in
which the foundations of life crumble — economic life,
society, family life, morality and political life. Chazal
reassure us that even in such a state of affairs we can place
our trust in our Father in Heaven with complete confidence.
The Planner of all generations, who revealed the future to
Chazal in their holy spirit, is close even to our generation.
Moreover, `I am with the latter generations' (Yeshayohu
41:4), which means that the generation that precedes
Moshiach will enjoy particular Heavenly assistance and
Providence.
Decay that Precedes Rebirth
"Why will this general disintegration precede
Moshiach's arrival? The gemora (Sanhedrin 97)
brings this mishnah, citing as a source the
posuk that deals with tzora'as, "He has turned
completely white; he is pure" ( Vayikra 13:13). The
connection between a posuk dealing with leprosy and
our topic seems unfathomable at first glance. The Maharal
(Netzach Yisroel, perek 35) explains that leprosy that
erupts over part of a person's body is a sign of decay
— when his sister was stricken with leprosy Moshe
Rabbenu prayed, "May she not be as though dead . . . half of
whose flesh is consumed" (Bamidbar 12:12). Such a
person is tomei and his place is outside the town; his
affliction is an aberration of the natural order.
"If the leprosy erupts over a person's entire body however,
showing utter and complete decay, the Maharal explains that
it is a sign that his earlier state is null and void and that
he is about to experience a completely new state of being. In
this case, he is tohor."
It is the same, he says, with the generation that precedes
Moshiach. The total disintegration of the old way of
life that then takes place is unlike the deterioration and
descent that took place in the generations following the
destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh that are mentioned
in the mishnah. Rather, it represents the complete
annulment of the old state of affairs in preparation for the
world's renewal.
In the Days of Moshiach there will be a new type of
existence; Hashem yisborach's unity will be openly
revealed and evil will vanish. That world can only appear
after everything that our existing world order depends upon
is lost. Amidst all the troubles and travails — both
material and spiritual — that afflict the generation
before Moshiach's arrival, our Father in Heaven is all
that we have to rely on.
"This is how Hashem, who arranged all the generations in
advance, runs his world. In their holiness, Chazal foresaw
what this generation would look like. Everything we are
experiencing is ordained from Above and we rely upon Hashem
and His promise that He will remain close to the latter
generations. It is one of the wonders of Hashem's perfection
that even in such a situation, He continues bestowing His
wisdom upon us, not only on the Amoraim, the Geonim and the
Rishonim but even on the very latest generations. Even though
our hearts' capacity for understanding is nothing like that
of the Tannaim, Torah's hidden teachings continue to be
discovered, generation after generation, thanks to Hashem's
mercy on His people and His promise that Torah will never be
forgotten.
End of Part I
HaRav Eliyahu Moshe Ehrentreu delivers several Daf Yomi
shiurim in Petach Tikva each day.
