RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

2/12/2023

​Parashat Mishpatim 5783, 2023: "Torah from Heaven"

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha concludes with the introduction to Kabbalat HaLuchot HaRishonim (Receiving of the First Tablets of the Law) by Moshe Rabbeinu: “And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them.’ … and Moshe ascended to the mount of Elokim…” (Sefer Shemot 24:12-13)  These pasukim are a foundational source in establishing the theological principle of “Torah min HaShamayim—the Divine nature of the holy Torah.” Due to its singular import, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) includes this doctrine in his celebrated 13 Principles of Faith (Yud Gimmel Ikkarim): “The eighth Principle of Faith is that the Torah has been revealed from Heaven. This implies our belief that the entire Torah found in our hands today is the [same as] that which was given to Moshe by the Omnipotent One.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin, Introduction to Perek Chalek, this and the following translations, J. Abelson with my extensive emendations)  
 
Hashem’s role at this transformative moment in world history is well-defined. What is less clear, however, is the part Moshe played in this process. Fortunately, the Rambam clarifies this issue: “Moshe was like a scribe writing from dictation who wrote down what he heard in its entirety, inclusive of its chronicles, its narratives and its mitzvot. It is in this sense that he is termed “mechokake—lawgiver.” (Sefer Bamidbar 21:18) The Rambam was exceptionally exact in his wording. As such, this statement informs us of the precise process in which Moshe was engaged, that is, that he did not create the mitzvot or compose the chronicles and narratives, as many have spuriously claimed. Instead, he acted as a faithful sofer (scribe) and recorded verbatim that which he heard from Hashem. Therefore, since every word of the Torah is divrei Hashem (the words of Hashem):

There is no difference between verses like “And the sons of Cham were Cush and Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan” (Sefer Bereishit 10:6) and… “I am Hashem your G-d,” (Sefer Shemot 20:2) and “Shema Yisrael,” (Sefer Devarim 6:4). They are equally of Divine origin and are within the category of the “Law of Hashem, which is perfect, pure, holy and true.” (See Sefer Tehillim 19:8)
 
In addition, the Rambam emphasizes that Moshe received the Oral Law (Torah she’beal peh) at the same time he received the Written Law (Torah she’bichtav). Consequently, Torah she’beal peh is a constitutive element of Torah min HaShamayim:

So, too, is its [that is, Torah she’bichtav] accepted interpretation (perushah hamekubal) [that is, Torah she’beal peh], directly from the Omnipotent One. And that which we do today regarding the form [tzurah, the manner of fulfilling the mitzvot] of succah, lulav, shofar, tzitzit and tefillin, and other mitzvot besides these, is precisely the same form that Hashem said to Moshe, and he subsequently said to us.
 
According to the Rambam, the direct proof text for Torah min HaShamayim is Sefer Bamidbar 16:28, wherein Moshe was aggressively challenged by Korach and his rebellious assembly: “Moshe said, ‘With this you shall know that Hashem sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not of my own device--ki lo m’libi.’” In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains the expression, “ki lo m’libi,” as “I [Moshe] did according to the word of Hashem(sh’asiti al pi hadibbur) and gave Aharon the kahuna gedolah, his sons the deputy kahuna, and Elitzaphon the leadership of b’nai Kehati.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In stark contrast, the Rambam perceives the phrase, “ki lo m’libi,” in its most universal sense, that everything Moshe said to the Jewish people in Hashem’s name and did on their behalf, was al pi hadibbur mamash--according to the actual words of Hashem. In short, all that Moshe shared was Torah min HaShamayim.
 
May the Master of the Universe aid us in our acceptance and fulfillment of Torah min HaShamayim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav


Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770