Revelation

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The Oral Law and the Two Versions of the Ten Commandments (Audio)
Rabbi Yitzchak Blau | 10 minutes
The Ten Commandments in Devarim are slightly different from their presentation in Shemot. Which version was given out loud, and which appeared on the tablets? Different approaches are examined, each with fascinating ideas pertaining to revelation, prophecy, and the connection between the written and the Oral Law.
The Final Vision (Part 2)
Rabbi Yaakov Medan
The revelation of God or an angel leaves an impact both on those viewing the revelation and those in the vicinity of the revelation. The angel prophesied four Persian kings – five including Koresh – until the fall of the empire to Alexander the Great and the Greeks. Various attempts are made to reconcile this prophecy with the Sages, who talk of three Persian kings, and with conventional historical research, which talks of ten. The vision Daniel sees describes in minute detail and with great accuracy, the history of Greek rule in Eretz Yisrael. After Alexander the Great, the split of his kingdom into Ptolemy in the south and Seleucus in the North leads to many battles in Eretz Yisrael and ultimately to an internal rift and a spiritual struggle within the Jewish Nation.
Eliyahu in Horev (Part 3)
The Double Revelation of God's Angel to Eliyahu (Part 2)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
Eliyahu flees from his mission and from his nation. Against his will, Eliyahu’s legs carry him to the wilderness, to the exact spot where the historical foundations of the nation lie – Mount Horev. Mount Horev is meant to remind Eliyahu of Israel's merit before God, for having accepted His Torah at this mountain and having entered into a covenant with Him. Does Eliyahu accept this lesson?
Eliyahu in Horev (Part 3)
The Double Revelation of God's Angel to Eliyahu (Part 3)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
The narrative draws a clear parallel between Eliyahu and Moshe after the Sin of the Golden Calf at Horev. Eliyahu is expected to examine the ways of Moshe. Even when the prophet comes to convey stern reproof, when he is with God his task is to be a spokesperson for Israel's defense. Eliyahu, in contrast, has the opposite intention.
Eliyahu in Horev (Part 5)
Revelation in a "Small, Silent Voice" (Part 1)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
The verse that precedes God’s revelation to Eliyahu might be viewed as part of God’s speech, or as part of the narrative. From the description of the revelation it would seem that the wind, the earthquake and the fire are not expressions of God's revelation. God controls them but is not identified with them. These verses emphasize the distinction between the destructive natural forces and God Himself.
Eliyahu in Horev (Part 5)
Revelation in a "Small, Silent Voice" (Part 2)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
According to the metaphoric explanation of God’s revelation to Eliyahu, the way to reach the nation is not through harsh measures but rather through soft ones. According to the literal understanding of God’s revelation, there are the forces of destruction that God unleashes in order to punish His creations but those are not expressions of God. Therefore, Eliyahu should be praying not for punishment but for mercy.
The Waters of Sinai
Rabbi Chanoch Waxman
Why does the Torah repeat the requirement to distance the nation from the mountain? Is this the first arrival of Bnei Yisrael at Sinai, or had they been there before, in the story of Massa u-Meriva? Why does the Torah parallel God's revelation at Sinai with the nation's previous request for water?
Yitro: Standing in Awe
Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish
תאריך פרסום: תשס"ו | | 45 minutes
Parashat Beshallah and Yitro share a rare feature: for both parshiyyot, some have the custom to stand during one of the aliyyot during the Torah reading. These sections, Song at the Sea and the Giving of the Torah, are two of the most significant in Moshe’s career and in the development of the people of Israel. Examining these stories together presents a picture of the Israelites’ transition into a permanent relationship with God.
Prophet in Distress
Rabbi Alex Israel
Eliyahu had orchestrated a three-year drought that had brought the nation to its knees. This had culminated in the decisive religious contest at Mt. Carmel that had exposed the falsity of the Baal, bringing king and country to proclaim faith in God alone. It had been an excruciating process, with Eliyahu living in exile for three years. Indeed, he had succeeding in turning the king around. But now the entire project, this huge educational endeavor, lay shattered, in ruins. It was not Izevel's death threat alone. Izevel's confidence highlighted the understanding that she was in control, and that the transformation of national priorities would be a more arduous, complex, and protracted process. All of this leads to Eliyahu's feeling of dejection and his rejection of his role as a prophet. Unlike Moshe, he is unable to be zealous towards the sinner but to invoke God's mercy on the nation as a whole.
God's Voice Speaking from Amidst the Fire
Rabbi Amnon Bazak
תאריך פרסום: תשע"ו | | 12 minutes
What is the meaning of the central role of fire and sound in the three descriptions of the Revelation at Sinai in Sefer Devarim?
Haste for Guests and at Sinai
Rabbi David Silverberg
Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Cloud
Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot
How does God reveal Himself in the world? In this shiur we shall examine this manner of Divine immanence which comes to the world through concretization of God through some entity or phenomenon. We shall also try to propose new interpretations of a number of well-known biblical events that have at their center a revelation of God's glory.
Master and Beloved
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
On the one hand, the Torah is a book of commandments incumbent upon us, God's servants, to perform. Yet, on the other hand, there exists within this framework of commandments an emotional side, the experiential element in the service of God. Here it is possible to feel closeness to God, not as a master, but as a friend; not as a ruler, but as a groom and a beloved.

Israel stood at a momentous event - thunder and lightning, the blasts of the shofar, the Almighty Himself speaking and commanding. With all this enveloping them, they must have felt uplifted to tremendous spiritual heights.

But the greatness of Israel was that they knew how to be engrossed in the event, 'they would hear the command,' but they did not settle for hearing the voice alone. Israel also 'analyzed it' - using their intellect, they tried to understand and gain wisdom.

It is this dialectic that forms the matrix of the relationship between the Jewish Nation and God, and between Israel and the Torah.

Adapted from a Sicha given on Shavuot 5745 (1985) - summarized by Roni Kleinman, translated by Menachem Weinberg
Moshe Hid His Face, For He Was Afraid to Look at God
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
Both Moshe and Bnei Yisrael recoiled when they encountered God. Was this fear or awe? An examination reveals this question to be pertinent to our lives as well.

Based on a sicha of Harav Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l (adapted by Shaul Barth and translated by Kaeren Fish)