English translation — וילך ב

A.

One of the commandments that Jews were commanded at the end of the forty years,

and immediately adjacent

(at least to the day)

the passing of Moses,

is the commandment of writing a Torah scroll.

As one learns from the verse¹

"And now, write for yourselves this song,"

that "it is a positive commandment upon every single Jewish man to write a Torah scroll for himself"².

Since the command "And now write for yourselves the song etc." came as a preparation for the entry into the land — "For I will bring them to the land etc. and this song will testify etc."³

— it is understood,

that every Jew immediately

(and now)

needed to fulfill this very command and write a Torah scroll for himself.

It is puzzling: the command "And now write, etc." was given and said to Jews on the day of Moses' passing

(7th of Adar)⁴

— and one does not find that it should be mentioned anywhere,

that in <b>one</b> day more than <b>sixty myriads</b> of Jews should endeavor to process hides etc. and write

(at least <b>begin</b>*⁴

in writing that which is from)

a

Torah scroll!

– here it is a <b>practical</b> one].

In addition to the fact that Jews were occupied with the mourning of Moshe for thirty days

; and afterwards,

on the tenth of Nisan,

the Jews crossed

(and with the preparation of several preparations for this)

the Jordan -

And to note,

that in order to write so many Torah scrolls

(more than six hundred thousand!)

one must have a <b>huge multitude</b> of parchment sheets

(which must be "from what is permitted in your mouth"),

ink <b>etc.</b>,

the preparation of all these things is connected with a very great amount of time,

occupation etc.

And furthermore it is also not plausible to say,

that each one could himself write a Torah scroll

(as we see today tangibly,

that only a minority are skilled and are expert scribes to write a Sefer Torah).

And especially in the manner of "beautifying before Him" — on parchment,

ink,

quill and beautiful writing

— is indeed a priori and regarding — a multitude of people — meant only through an agent.

2.

In the manner of the above is also the question

In that Chazal¹³

say,

that on the day of his passing Moshe Rabbeinu wrote "13 Torah scrolls,

12 for the 12 tribes,

and one he placed in the Ark" — at first glance: how is it possible¹⁴

to write 13 Torah scrolls in one day?

explain

explain the simple meaning in this,

that Moshe on that day only <b>completed</b> writing the Sifrei Torah*

Because in general, "everything that he heard in one day he wrote, and so each day, and there was nothing missing in the entire Torah except the conclusion of the last portions."

Following this, one can add even regarding the sedras Nitzavim and onward — that just as we find that Moshe wrote "and Moshe died"

(referring to the future?)

he could likewise write the aforementioned sedras

(at least most of them)

in the days before his passing

that one cannot say that he <b>said</b> them to the Jewish people before the day of his passing].

And likewise one could seemingly answer also regarding all Jews — according to what the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;

describes the order of study of the Jews in the desert,

that after they heard the commandment and halachos from Moshe and Aharon etc.,

they &lt;b&gt;wrote down &lt;/b&gt; "that commandment on scrolls"

(from which they would then study)

It turns out,

that during the 40 years in the desert

(also)

among the Jews were written most, if not all, of the portions of the Torah,

"And there was lacking ..

only the conclusion of the last portions."

One can therefore say,

that after the command "And now write for yourselves this song," every Jew only completed the writing of his Torah scroll¹⁸.

3.

It is however forced to explain it thus,

because:

a)

The answer can be said only according to the one who says¹⁹

that "the Torah was given scroll by scroll,"

or even according to the one who says¹⁹

"the Torah was given sealed" — according to the explanation of the Tosafot²⁰,

that this means "that it was written in order"

"in order" as they come in the Torah: since "there is no earlier and later in the Torah" and there are portions which were said "before those writings that precede them,"

they refrained from writing these portions until those portions which are "written before them" were said,

and then

one wrote all these portions connected with the portion on the order]

— but not according to <b>Rashi</b>²¹,

who explains that "sealed it was given" means — "it was not written until the end of 40 after all the portions were all said."

b)

In general it is puzzling whether the Rambam means to say,

that <b>each and every one</b> of Israel — every bar chiyuva — used to write by himself in scrolls all the portions of the Torah²²

during the forty years

(and especially since a large part of those who entered Eretz Yisrael were born in the desert).

c)

And the main point: in the words of Chazal²³

one finds only,

that Moshe wrote thirteen Sifrei Torah.

If every responsible person of that generation had

(after the command "And now write for yourselves" etc.)

written a "Torah scroll for himself" — it would,

at first glance,

have needed to be mentioned in the words of Chazal,

as above,

as above.

From the fact that Chazal speak only about the thirteen Torah scrolls it is evident,

that it was not the greatest novelty — that then were completed more than six hundred thousand Torah scrolls

(or even — begun to be written)²⁴.

D.

One will understand this

Prefacing the famous question: Since it is a positive commandment on every single Jewish man to write a Sefer Torah for himself — why do we not see that Jews in general,

and many of the great ones of Israel in particular,

should fulfill this in practice?

And &lt;b&gt;close to &lt;/b&gt;the time of the obligation of the commandment, beginning from the taste of the commandment of the commandment "write for yourselves &lt;b&gt;and teach it&lt;/b&gt;."

At first glance, one can say the reason for this: It states in the Rosh&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;

(and so is the halacha&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;)

that "nowadays that they write a Sefer Torah and place it in synagogues to read from it in public, it is a positive commandment on every Jewish man ..

to write Chumashim of Torah and Mishnah and Gemara and their commentaries to study in them, he and his sons, for the commandment of writing the Torah is to study in it ..

these are the books that a person is commanded to write" — and according to the ruling of the Shach&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;,

that "nowadays" the "positive commandment is said &lt;b&gt;specifically &lt;/b&gt;about these,

&lt;b&gt;and not &lt;/b&gt;about a Sefer Torah".

And regarding ordinary

(written or printed)

books,

there are indeed many — even from those who have just entered the age of bar mitzvah — who buy books to study in them,

and in this way he thereby fulfills the commandment of "write for yourselves"²⁸.

And although the Rema²⁹

rules that "if one took it thus and did not correct anything in it, it is like one who snatches a mitzvah from the marketplace <b>and he does not </b>fulfill [the obligation] with this"

(and according to all opinions³⁰

it is not a fulfillment of the commandment properly and ab initio)

is the above-mentioned law

(in the Rema)

was said only regarding a Sefer Torah,

for regarding a Sefer Torah there is an obligation of <b>writing</b>; but as for "nowadays",

when one fulfills the mitzvah with ordinary books,

the Rema also agrees that one fulfills the mitzvah by buying books,

as explained elsewhere at length³¹.

5.

But in truth this is not a [valid] answer

(sufficient).

For we do not find in any place,

we do not see it <b>in practice</b> that every bar mitzvah should immediately when he becomes bar mitzvah write

(or at least — acquire; or buy books — as explained at the end of the previous section)

and consequently have books up to a Shulchan Aruch³²

— immediately when he becomes obligated in <b>and you shall teach it</b>.

Also according to several poskim

(Bach)

and the Taz³³

; and likewise several poskim <b>after</b> the Shach³⁴]

is the Rosh not of the opinion to nullify the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah in its simple sense,

rather he intends to <b>add</b>,

that “in our times” has been added

(<b>further</b>)

an obligation “to write Chumashim, Mishnah, Gemara, and their commentaries.”

And since this is so,

the aforementioned difficulty remains in its place: How is it that also several of the great ones of Israel — who have

Certainly meticulous in mitzvos,

to fulfill them in a lechatchila manner &lt;b&gt;and according to all opinions&lt;/b&gt;— they did not endeavor to write a Sefer Torah

(not themselves and even not through an agent)

in order to fulfill also according to the opinion of the aforementioned poskim,

that there is a mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah literally?

Even more: even the great ones of Israel who wrote a Sefer Torah — they did it not immediately after they became obligated in mitzvos,

and even not immediately at the first possibility

(of financial means etc.)

to carry out the matter — but after several years&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

it is necessary to say,

that even before they wrote the Sifrei Torah,

they had fulfilled the commandment and — in their conduct even according to the law of the later authorities and the like — in a manner of l'chatchilah and with hiddur; and their later effort in writing Sifrei Torah,

was

(not because previously there was lacking,

heaven forbid,

the fulfillment of a positive commandment from the Torah,

but rather)

as a matter of addition,

hiddur etc.³⁶.

6.

And one must say the explanation of this:

It is customary among Jews in all the diasporas of Israel,

that in every community there is

a Torah scroll that belongs to the public³⁷.

— in addition to that which individuals write Sifrei Torah and give them over to synagogues

(some give them over properly properly&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

and in some there is a dispute&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;

whether they remain the property of the individual,

or they become the property of the public),

the custom of Israel is that the public hires together a scribe for the writing

(or purchase)

of a Sefer Torah,

which &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;Sifrei Torah are certainly the property of the public,

and consequently every Jew&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;

has a portion in the mitzvah of "write for yourselves etc."

But regarding a matter that belongs to a public there is a dispute&lt;sup&gt;41&lt;/sup&gt;

whether one can say about it that the individual

(as a private person)

has his own portion in it

(congregation)

does not mean merely a combination of many individuals,

but it is a new reality; therefore there must be the caution of giving it over to the public properly properly]

Even more: even if one would say that it is considered like a Sefer Torah of partners — but many Acharonim hold&lt;sup&gt;42&lt;/sup&gt;

that

one does not fulfill [the obligation] with a Sefer Torah of partners,

rather each one must write a Sefer Torah <b>for himself </b>—

So indeed the question returns to its place: how can one fulfill the commandment of writing a Sefer Torah by having a share in a communal Sefer Torah?

7.

So the explanation in this is: regarding an esrog

(and its species)

the law is⁴³

that one does not fulfill [the obligation] through partnership,

rather it must be "entirely his own"⁴⁴,

and nevertheless "the custom in a place where an esrog is not commonly found is that the entire community buys an esrog in partnership ...

because since they acquired it to fulfill [the obligation] with it, presumably it is as if they stipulated that all the community members give their share to whoever takes it to fulfill [the obligation] with it on condition that they return it to them"⁴⁵.

And likewise it must be said in our case: since because of the situation of not wealth etc. not everyone has the ability to write a Sefer Torah for himself,

he fulfills thereby that which the community writes a Sefer Torah together because "presumably it is as if they specified that all the community give their portion" to each one of the community

("on condition that they return it to them")

so that the Sefer Torah

(and its writing)

should entirely belong to him and can fulfill the commandment of "write for yourselves etc. and learn it etc."⁴⁶.

And moreover — this is not a Sefer Torah of <b>partnership</b>,

but it is

(at the time needed)

entirely his from the outset,

as follows.

Ch.

At first glance, however, this is not an excuse,

because a Sefer Torah is not comparable to an esrog:

By an esrog it is sufficient that the esrog is <b>acquired</b> to him — "his own",

and therefore it helps that the congregation transfers ownership of the esrog to him

(at the time of his taking it)

But regarding a Sefer Torah, it is not enough that he should have a Sefer Torah,

rather everyone must &lt;b&gt;write &lt;/b&gt; it

(either himself or through his agent).

Therefore the law is&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;,

that "even if his ancestors left him a Sefer Torah,

it is a mitzvah to write his own"; and even more: according to the Rema&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;,

even when one &lt;b&gt;buys &lt;/b&gt; a Sefer Torah "and he did not write anything in it,

it is like one who snatches a mitzvah from the marketplace and he does not fulfill [the mitzvah] with this" —

Now what will avail that "the entire congregation gives their portion" to each one of the congregation — after all is this still not better than buying

(by oneself)

a Sefer Torah?

Is the explanation in this: here it is speaking about a Sefer Torah of the public,

which belongs to the public; and consequently there is on this the rule

that "the heart of the court stipulates upon them."

D.

E.

That the transfer of the Sefer Torah to each individual is

(not from the side of each individual in particular,

but)

because "the heart of the court stipulates" and transfers the Sefer Torah to each individual.

And based on this one can say that the "stipulates"

From "Lev Beis Din" in the aforementioned matter is⁴⁹,

Not only that the Sefer Torah should be "his",

But moreover,

That also the <b>writing</b> of the Torah is for him⁵⁰

— Immediately at the time of the writing of the Torah, "Lev Beis Din stipulates" that the writing is on behalf of each one of the congregation⁵¹,

And

At the time when he will need to fulfill the "Vehlimadah" in the Sefer Torah — at the time of his Aliyah to the Torah — it is in a Sefer Torah which was written

(Only)

For him⁵².

And the court does not need to state this condition explicitly to the scribe who writes the Torah scroll,

because the matter of "the heart of the court stipulates" is⁵³

even when that one does not know of it and does not think about it.

As one finds it in many places; for example: in the law⁵⁴

of "for the sake of six things the offering is offered,"

that "even one who did not have in mind for the sake of any one of all these, it is valid, because it is a condition of the court."

9.

Based on this, one may say even more than this:

Also those who were born after the congregation wrote the Sefer Torah

(That the “Lev Beis Din Mataneh” from the time of writing is apparently not applicable

(And it requires examination)

upon them),

Since however that one must correct a Sefer Torah

And “whoever corrects a Sefer Torah even one letter, it is as if he wrote it entirely”&lt;sup&gt;55&lt;/sup&gt;,

it is possible to say,

that according to all opinions — “Lev Beis Din Mataneh” applies that the correction of the Sefer Torah should be considered as the writing of the Torah for all those who were born

(And reached the age of commandments)

between the writing of the Torah and the correction,

and so too between one correction and another correction.

And according to the explanation it will turn out that even the communities that only &lt;b&gt;purchased &lt;/b&gt;a Sefer Torah,

is "lev beis din matanah" that during the proofreading of the Sefer Torah

from time to time,

(from time to time)

this is on behalf of every obligated person of that community,

he thereby fulfills the mitzvah of &lt;b&gt;writing &lt;/b&gt;a Sefer Torah.

Yud.

One must however still understand:

At first glance, there is yet another difference between the etrog of the congregation and the Torah scroll of the congregation

— as the later authorities⁵⁶

distinguish between a Torah scroll of partners and an etrog of partners

that "if they bought it for the purpose of the mitzvah, they fulfill their obligation with it automatically

(and one does not need to explicitly stipulate that one gives it to the other partner as a conditional gift to be returned)

for with this intention they acquired it"]

By an etrog, a gift on condition to return helps,

since the etrog needs to be "his" only at the time of taking it; unlike by a Sefer Torah where one needs to have it to learn in it&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;,

here does not help any

gift on condition to return,

because at the moment that he gives it to the other,

he does not have a Sefer Torah to learn in it.

But this is not so.

Because the difference between a Sefer Torah and an esrog,

has a place only in the early generations when the primary study was in a Sefer Torah⁵⁸

However, regarding a Sefer Torah nowadays,

the "and he shall teach" in a Sefer Torah consists

(according to the actual custom of Israel)

primarily⁵⁹

in that they read from it in public⁶⁰.

Consequently,

understandably,

that even according to the opinions that one is not yotze

(also according to the Rosh)

the mitzvah only with books,

but one must also write a Sefer Torah,

is however not an obligation that the Sefer Torah should be in his possession at all times and at every hour⁶¹

; it is sufficient when one has his own Sefer Torah at the time one fulfills the "U'lemadah" — when one goes up to the Torah and one reads in it.

Yes.

Another detail in this: a Sefer Torah of a congregation is different than a Sefer Torah of partners:

By a Sefer Torah of partners, the division of the Sefer Torah between them depends on the opinion of the partners.

And since the "ולמדה" has no limited time

(not like an etrog whose taking is at a specific time),

one cannot say that "they fulfill with it presumably" because "with this intention" the partners wrote the Sefer Torah

(to give the other as a gift on condition to return when he wants only to fulfill the "ולמדה"),

and especially since it can be that both will want to learn in the Sefer Torah at the same time.

However, regarding a Sefer Torah of a congregation,

it is indeed acquired to the public to read in it in public,

and one therefore does not need to stipulate any condition etc.,

rather "the heart of the court stipulates" that at the time each one ascends to the Torah the Sefer Torah is his,

"his own",

and even more — that the writing of the Torah was for him,

in order to be able to fulfill through this the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah.

12.

According to all the above, one can say,

that in this manner Jews fulfilled the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah for the first time⁶²

Since it was a time that it was impossible that every Jew could write a Sefer Torah for himself*⁶²

And especially that "and you shall teach" and how to fulfill mitzvos begins from "HaChodesh HaZeh" etc.,

Moshe Rabbeinu wrote for them thirteen Sifrei Torah — a Sefer Torah for each tribe — they were Sifrei Torah of the community,

and consequently "the court stipulates upon them" that when each one will learn from the Sefer Torah, ab initio Moshe Rabbeinu wrote the Sefer Torah for him⁶³.

And one can say that this itself is the reason why the command regarding writing a Sefer Torah was said in such a situation — that at that time there was no possibility that every Jew could fulfill the mitzvah of writing except with a communal Sefer Torah —

This comes to teach for future generations,

that at a time of a situation which is in multiplicity of years that not every Jew can write a Sefer Torah for himself,

the mitzvah is ab initio that one fulfills it with a communal Sefer Torah.

13.

From all that was said above, the greatness of the matter of acquiring a letter in a Sefer Torah of the community is also understood.

Then one fulfills the commandment not only from the aspect of "the heart of the court is a condition"

(which is effective,

as above,

even when one does not participate in the writing of the scroll by purchasing a letter),

rather one has thereby also the advantage of an action <b>in actuality</b>

(with one's money)

in the writing of the Torah,

What then is this certainly not a "snatcher of a mitzvah from the marketplace",

but "as if he received it from Mount Sinai"⁶⁴.

And through this that all Jews will have a letter in a Sefer Torah — which the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah is the "completion" of all the 613 mitzvos⁶⁵

— will one speedily actually merit the end of the exile⁶⁶,

our exile that all Jews go out from with,

with the coming of Moshiach our righteous one,

What he will write "Mishneh Torah"⁶⁷

"for the name of the king,"

which "will be with him always etc. as it is said and it will be with him and he will read in it all the days of his life"⁶⁸.

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