Matan Torah

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1. Nothing is Nearer than Him

   Haftarot: Yitro

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   God’s exaltation is beyond all measure; how then can He act within the confines of the world He created? God's transcendence stands in contradiction to His involvement in our material world. Yeshayahu’s message is that wherever we find a description of God’s exaltation, we also find a description of His providence.

2. "Hak'hel:" The Septennial National Assembly

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Why is the mitzvah of Hak’hel only mentioned in Moshe’s final days? What is the purpose of Hak’hel? This article debates the matter, with special focus on the Rambam’s view, and discusses the division of the Torah into parashot in relation to the mitzvah of Hak’hel.

3. 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?

4. 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.

5. The Golden Calf - Ibn Ezra and Ramban

   Rabbi Chanoch Waxman

   תאריך פרסום: 2008 | | 37 minutes

   How is it possible that Am Yisrael committed the sin of the Golden Calf so soon after receiving the Torah? This shiur presents the opinions of Ibn Ezra and Ramban, who offer answers to this question from two different perspectives. Rabbi Waxman merges these two answers and sheds light on the episode of the sin of the Golden Calf, and on the role of Moshe as both the leader of Am Yisrael and as the intermediary between them and God. 

6. Shavuot

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 14 minutes

   According to our tradition, the Torah was given on the 6th of Sivan, the day on which we observe the holiday of Shavuot, but only received by Am Yisrael on the 7th of Sivan. By celebrating Shavuot on the day of the giving of the Torah rather than on the day of its reception (which we essentially celebrate every day when we learn Torah) we reconnect our Torah with the voice of God. 

7. Ramban on Yitro: Hearing God's Voice at Har Sinai

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 36 minutes

   We examine Ramban’s comments on verse 9, wherein God tells Moshe that He will come in the “thickness of cloud” so that the people will hear God speaking to Moshe and believe in Moshe forever. What was the purpose of God speaking to Moshe in front of Bnei Yisrael? Why was it insufficient for Moshe to receive all of the Torah without Bnei Yisrael present?  And why was some content experienced this way, and not all? Experiencing a shared prophetic experience adds a meaningful dimension to the acceptance of the Torah and to the appreciation of prophecy.

8. Haste for Guests and at Sinai

   Rabbi David Silverberg

9. Na'aseh Ve'nishma & Sefer Habrit: What Did We Know & When?

   Rabbi Moshe Shulman

   תאריך פרסום: תשעד | |

   Every year on Shavuot we talk about the significance of the fact that when Bnei Yisrael were offered the Torah, they said "Na'aseh venishma" - "we will do and we will listen." Why are we so enthralled by this, and are we really so enthralled by the acceptance of the Torah before even knowning what the Torah said?

    When did Bnei Yisrael make this declaration - before the Torah was given, afterward, or something else?  From where does the "gvura" of this declaration come from? And what does was the "Sefer haBrit" that came up in the Covenant of the Basins?

    

10. Moshe's Evolving Leadership and Legacy

    Rabbi Moshe Aberman | 16 minutes

    Alongside the evolvement of the nation is the story of the evolvement of Moshe, the initially reluctant recipient of leadership. God promises Moshe at Sinai that his interpretation, given as part of the Oral Torah- will continue alongside God’s word in the Written Torah. Moshe grows one step further- becoming part and parcel of the Torah.

11. Ki Tisa, Purim, and the Readiness for the Torah

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 18 minutes

    In this shiur, we examine Ki Tisa and its connection to Purim. How could Bnei Yisrael commit the Sin of the Golden Calf so soon after Matan Torah? A midrash relates that God forced them to receive the Torah at that time, but that centuries later, during the rule of Ahashverosh, the people accepted the Torah of their own free will. What does it mean that they were "forced?" We consider the idea that Bnei Yisrael needed more time to become ready to receive the Torah.

12. Shavuot: A New Holiday

    Rabbi Jay Kelman

13. Accepting the Torah – Then and Now

    Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein

    In Parashat Yitro, in the preparations for receiving the Torah, we are told that Moshe came to the people and they all said, “All that God has said – we shall do” (19:8). In parashat Mishpatim, as they are about to enter into the covenant of the basins, we are told: “He took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, and all the people said: All that God has spoken – we shall do and we shall obey” (24:7).

    We may ask what happened in between, and what brought about such a revolutionary change in such a short time that Bnei Yisrael were able to declare, “Na’aseh ve-nishma," rather than merely promising, “Na’aseh”? 

    What was added in Mishpatim, and what facilitated the transition from “na’aseh” to “na’aseh ve-nishma,” was threefold: first, the purely religious aspect of the revelation at Sinai, including its experiential and personal dimension; second – and no less important – the involvement in study and the deepening knowledge of Torah; and third, Torah experience and knowledge implemented on both the personal and societal levels.

    [Based on a Sicha by Harav Aharon Lichtenstein (summarized by Shaul Barth with Reuven Ziegler and translated by Kaeren Fish)]

14. Two Essential Lessons Before Receiving the Torah

    Rabbi Yehuda Amital

    Two incidents appear in Parashat Yitro before the account of the giving of the Torah, yet their actual chronology is nonetheless unclear:  the arrival of Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law (Shemot 18:1-12); and Yitro's critique and improvement of the judicial system (Shemot 18:12-27).

    There is a classical dispute about whether these incidents occurred prior to the giving of the Torah, or whether they really happened after the giving of the Torah, and are for some reason written out of place.  

     Why do we need to hear of Am Yisrael's having a system of justice even before the giving of the Torah? In order to impress upon us that there is a morality, a basic system of right and wrong, even before the giving of formal commandments. 

     

    Based on a sicha by Harav Yehuda Amital (summarized by Ramon Widmonte)

15. The Shofar of Sinai

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    "And it happened on the third day in the morning, there was thundering and lightning and a heavy cloud upon the mountain, and THE SOUND OF A SHOFAR WAS VERY LOUD, and the whole nation in the camp trembled ... and the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder."

    Throughout this shofar blast, which is becoming increasingly louder and stronger, the Shekhina is upon the mountain. If during this time it is forbidden for the people to ascend the mountain - or even to touch its very edge - then how are we to understand God's words, "When the shofar sounds long, they shall ascend the mountain?"

    The nation is fearful of the shofar blasts and the fire, and therefore they move away from the site. At the same time they ask Moshe to intercede between God and themselves. During the long blast of the shofar the nation was indeed supposed to ascend the mountain and hear God's words directly, but because of their fright at the loud noise and great fire, Moshe alone ended up ascending alone to "the cloud where God was."

     

    Translated by Kaeren Fish

16. "Examine it Through and Through - For All is Contained Therein"

    Rabbi Jonathan Mishkin

    What is so special about the Aseret Ha-dibrot? Why have they captured the imagination of generations of Jews who insist on their transcendent nature? Are the thirteen verses in question holier than other parts of the Torah?

17. A Desert Gift

    Rabbi Moshe Taragin

    The blazing provision of Torah certainly highlights both its transcendence as well as the terror seized the audience at Har Sinai. The ambience of Matan Torah – at least as portrayed by Parashat Yitro – is dominated by billowing mountains; the mountain was transformed into a terrifying furnace.

    However, the symbolism of desert and the manner in which this climate contributed to Matan Torah is far less obvious. The Midrash equates the three, suggesting that the wilderness and dunes reflected an essential facet of Har Sinai. In fact, the pivotal role of a desert environment is already established by the  Biblical text in Bamidbar 21:18. What special aspects of Torah does a desert setting demonstrate?

     

18. Moshe and the Giving of the Torah

    Rabbi Yair Kahn

    Immediately prior to the Asseret Ha-dibbrot (Ten Commandments), an enigmatic dialogue is recorded (19:21-25).  God orders Moshe to warn the nation not to attempt to catch a glimpse of God.  Moshe argues that this is unnecessary, since Mt. Sinai was already placed out of limits to Am Yisrael (the Jewish People).  Nevertheless, God overrules Moshe and insists that the nation be warned.  Moshe complies and warns the people.  Suddenly, directly following this warning, while Moshe is still among the people, Am Yisrael experience revelation.  Some obvious questions arise.  Why did God insist on repeating the warning to the people? What is so significant about this strange debate that it is recorded in the Torah? Is there any connection between this warning or debate and the mass revelation that followed?

     

19. To Whom Did God Speak at Sinai?

    Rabbi Yaakov Medan

    The Torah is ambiguous about the question of whether the Revelation at Mount Sinai was only to Moshe – "Lo, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever" (Shemot 19:9) – or to the entire people – "For on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai" (Shemot 19:11).

    Another question arises as well: Did the glory of God reach the foot of the mountain, down to the Israelite camp – "And Mount Sinai smoked in every part, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke of it ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly" (Shemot 19:18) – or did God's glory rest only on the top of the mountain – "And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moshe up to the top of the mount; and Moshe went up" (Shemot 19:20)? Furthermore, if all the people stood at the foot of the mountain, to where did the priests ascend after the sweeping warning not to go up the mountain or even touch its perimeter?

     

    Translated by David Strauss

20. And All the People Saw the Sounds

    Rabbi Itamar Eldar

    What does the Torah mean by the paradoxical statement that “all the people saw the sounds” at Sinai? We shall explore the writings of the Sefat Emet, Degel Machane Ephraim, R Yosef Gikatilla and the Nazir to understand the interplay between seeing and hearing, objective and subjective, humility and infinity.

     

    Translated by David Strauss

21. Matan Torah - Parshat Yitro

    Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

    Parshat Yitro describes the historic event of Matan Torah, but the manner in which it does so is not as simple as meets the eye. This shiur contains two parts:

    Part I serves as a general introduction to the methodology of analyzing the 'structure' of parshiot to find their 'theme'.

    Part II discusses the significance of the Torah's PRESENTATION of the events that take place when the Torah is given at Har Sinai.

22. Ruth and Boaz: Models of Commitment

    Rabbi David Silverberg

23. Primordial Wisdom

    Rabbi Shlomo Dov Rosen

24. The "Gap" in the Torah's Description of Shavuot

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell

25. Moshe Fasting on the Mountain: Being Great by Being Good

    Rabbi David Silverberg

26. Meaning of the Omer, Counting, and Shavuot

    Rabbi Yehuda Rock

    תאריך פרסום: 5777 | | Hour and 5 minutes

    Was Shavuot the same time as Matan Torah? It is supposed to be the 50th day- after the first day of Pesach. Shavuot did not always take place on a fixed date – when calendar wasn’t fixed, the day could vary, just as the number of days in the preceding months could vary. In the Torah, Shavuot is always described in agricultural terms - the only regel (pilgrimage holiday) not to be explicitly linked with a historical commemoration. Did Hazal (the Rabbinic Sages) simply decide to link Shavuot with the Giving of the Torah, or are there strong hints within the Torah as well? If so, why are they not explicitly linked? What can we understand - and what are we meant to appreciate about Shavuot from the way the Torah describes the commandments surrounding Shavuot?

     

27. From Sinai, Back to Sinai

    Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom | 54 minutes

    Through a two-part discussion of the sequential narrative of the book of Exodus, and specifically the date of Matan Torah relating to the manna and the story of Moshe at the burning bush, we can gain a deeper understanding of Moshe as the representative of God.  

    Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com

28. Tikkun Leil Shavuot – Strengthen or Repair?

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky