English translation — ברכה

Sicha 1<pg>217</pg>

A.

On the verse "And for all the strong hand etc. which Moses did before the eyes of all Israel" — the conclusion and seal of Parshat Beracha and of the entire Torah — Rashi explains the words "before the eyes of all Israel": that his heart lifted him to break the tablets before their eyes, as it is stated<sup>1</sup>

And I broke them before your eyes, and the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with his mind<sup>2</sup>

to his view, as it is stated<sup>3</sup>

Which you broke — may your strength be straight that you broke.

And the source to explain that "before the eyes of all Israel" refers to the breaking of the tablets is in the Sifri on the verse,

And this is its language: At the breaking of the tablets it is said..

And I broke them before your eyes, and here it says which Moses made before the eyes of all Israel.

And at first glance it is perplexing: This explanation is not at all according to the simple meaning,

for the verses here speak in praise of Moses and the greatness of his virtues,

And as Rashi explains on the verses here⁴

: "Whom the Lord knew face to face" — that his heart was bold with Him and he spoke with Him at any time he wished; "and for all the strong hand" — that he received the Torah in tablets in his hands; "and for all the great awe" — miracles and mighty deeds in the great and awesome wilderness —

And how fitting,

that after great and wondrous virtues such as these,

the verse would conclude

(with "before the eyes of all Israel" —)

that "his heart lifted him up to break the tablets before their eyes"?

!

And Rashi — who in his commentary on the Torah came "only for the plain meaning of the verse"⁵

— should have explained like several of the plain-sense interpreters of the verse⁶,

that "before the eyes of all Israel"

(is not a matter in itself,

but rather)

comes in continuation of "the strong hand" and "the great awe" — that "were done before the eyes of all Israel"⁷.

Commentators of Rashi<sup>8</sup>

wrote,

that for this reason Rashi adds

(from another place in Chazal<sup>9</sup>)

"And the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with his opinion, as it is said, 'which you broke — may your strength be straight that you broke'" — to emphasize that although the breaking of the tablets in itself is not a matter of virtue,

nevertheless there is in this something of praise regarding Moses, for "the Name agreed with his hand"<sup>10</sup>.

<pg>218</pg>

But this answer requires examination,

for after all the breaking of the tablets itself is an undesirable thing and the opposite of praise entirely.

And it is very forced to say that in order to hint "that G-d agreed with him,"

the verse would include the matter of the breaking of the tablets

(a matter which in itself is utterly undesirable)

with all the wonderful virtues of Moses

(his prophecy,

the signs in the land of Egypt,

the receiving of the tablets, etc.),

and especially — at their conclusion and seal!

[And particularly, the content of this praise "G-d agreed with him" — we find regarding Moses in a lofty and good matter,

"Moses added one day on his own"¹¹

; in addition to this that we find several times,

that through his prayer Moses effected that the Holy One, blessed be He, would annul a decree upon Israel and the like¹²

— and what reason that the verse brought the matter that the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed — specifically regarding the breaking of the tablets

(connected with the sin of the Golden Calf about which it is said¹³

"And on the day of My visitation I will visit upon them, etc.")¹⁴].

And furthermore — the main point is missing from the book: in the language of the verse

("before the eyes of all Israel")

is hinted only regarding the matter of the breaking of the tablets before their eyes,

and there is here no hint at all to the praise of Moses

(the agreement of the Name through him).

2.

Also one must understand:

A)

Rashi precisely says "to break the tablets before their eyes, as it is said 'and I broke them before your eyes',"

because in this is the hint in the language of the verse "before the eyes of all Israel".

But this itself requires a reason — why did the verse come to hint at the matter of the breaking of the tablets specifically in the manner of the breaking that was "before the eyes of all Israel",

which prima facie is only a secondary matter¹⁵

[And in particular,

that it is not a matter unique to the breaking of the tablets specifically,

for several of the matters enumerated in the verses here were done "before the eyes of all Israel",

as above from the commentators]?

B)

What is the precision in Rashi's language "his heart lifted him up¹⁶

to break the tablets" — for prima facie

(a)

he should have said briefly "that he broke the tablets";

(b)

at any rate, Rashi should have used "it arose in his mind" — as a continuation of Rashi's own language "and the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with his opinion",

and what is the relevance of lifting of the heart to the breaking of the tablets?

3.

And from all the above it is forced to say,

that according to Rashi, in the action of the breaking of the tablets itself there is a most elevated matter that indicates the greatness and praise of Moshe Rabbeinu.

[And in the continuation of Rashi's language "and the Holy One blessed be He agreed with his opinion" the intention is not that this is all the content of the praise,

but rather — an additional proof that in the breaking of the tablets there is praise]¹⁷.

<pg>219</pg>

And since this is said after all the wondrous virtues of Moshe Rabbeinu,

it is understood,

as above,

that not only does the breaking of the tablets have a virtue,

but that this virtue surpasses the virtues enumerated before this

(including the receiving of the tablets — "that he received the Torah on tablets in his hands").

And with this another difficulty in the matter is resolved: the principle is known¹⁸

that "one concludes with good" — and how is it possible,

that the conclusion and seal of the entire Torah

("its conclu­sion

(completion)

of the Torah"¹⁹)

should be in the manner of the breaking of the tablets,

an entirely undesirable matter?

And this question is also regarding Rashi's language itself,

that he concludes his commentary on the Torah with the word "that you broke" — for ostensibly,

even if there is a necessity to explain that "before the eyes of all Israel" refers to the breaking of the tablets,

it would have been appropriate for Rashi to arrange his words so that their conclusion would not be with the word "that you broke"²⁰,

an undesirable matter,

but rather with the words "may your strength be firm" or "the Holy One blessed be He agreed with his opinion" and the like²¹.

And it must be said,

as above,

that in the breaking of the tablets itself there is a matter of superiority and great praise for Moses,

therefore the Torah concludes with "before the eyes of all Israel",

"that his heart lifted him to break the tablets"²²

; and therefore Rashi also concludes his commentary on the Torah specifically with the word "that you broke".

4.

And one can explain all this according to what Rashi wrote earlier in its place,

in explaining the reason for the breaking of the tablets:

On the verse²³

"Carve for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones etc." Rashi explains²⁴

"Carve for yourself — a parable of a king who went to a country overseas and left his betrothed with the maidservants; because of the corruption of the maidservants, a bad name went out about her. The groomsman stood up and tore her marriage contract, saying: If the king says to kill her, say to him: She is not yet your wife..

The king is the Holy One, blessed be He; the maidservants are the mixed multitude; and the groomsman is Moses; the betrothed of the Holy One, blessed be He is Israel."

And this is,

that Moses' intention in breaking the tablets was to protect Israel and save them from punishment etc.

(like the tearing of the marriage contract by the groomsman).

And even that in its place exactly,

on the verse²⁵

"And he cast from his hands the tablets and broke them etc.",

Rashi explains²⁶

"He said: Just as the Passover-offering, which is one of the commandments, the Torah said²⁷

any alien shall not eat of it, the entire Torah is here, and all of Israel are apostates, and I shall give it to them"

(with a question mark)

— that is, that the breaking of the tablets was because Israel were not worthy to receive the Torah,

Now, from this that Rashi does not bring the two matters as two explanations,

it is understood,

that <pg>220</pg>

Rashi's method: both are present in it,

that there were two intentions for Moses in breaking the tablets: a)

for the honor of the Torah — that he did not want to give them to "apostates",

b)

for the protection of Israel.

And it can be said,

that the first reason

("All Israel are apostates and I will give them to them")

comes primarily to explain the absence of giving the tablets to Israel — but it is not a reason

(sufficient)

for the breaking of the tablets

(for this is the opposite of the honor of the Torah²⁸)

; whereas for the second reason it is well explained what brought him to break the tablets²⁹

— analogous to the tearing of the marriage contract by the groomsman³⁰.

And from this it is understood regarding our matter — the praise and virtue of Moshe in the breaking of the tablets,

that the content of the praise

(to which Rashi intends here)

is emphasized

(mainly)

in the reason that the breaking of the tablets is for the sake of saving Israel&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;,

analogous to the tearing of the marriage contract by the groomsman to save the king's betrothed,

because of which it was said to him "Carve for yourself..

which you broke — may your strength be true that you broke"&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;.

5.

And based on this, one may explain wherein is the virtue of Moshe's praise in the breaking of the tablets more than his other virtues:

It is understood simply — the plain meaning of Scripture — the greatness and preciousness of the value of the tablets and especially in the eyes of Moshe Rabbeinu,

since "the tablets were the work of G-d...

the writing of G-d"³³,

and he merited to receive them from the Holy One, blessed be He, in His honor and by Himself³⁴

— in addition to his love for words of Torah in general³⁵.

And nevertheless,

when Moshe Rabbeinu saw,

the faithful shepherd and lover of Israel,

that there was room for concern,

that the existence of the tablets

(which are analogous to a "ketubah")

could harm Israel, G-d forbid,

he did not hesitate at all for a moment

(and did not even ask the Holy One, blessed be He),

and immediately and at once broke the tablets in order to save them from punishment.

And not only that,

but rather that the breaking of the tablets was in order to save only the smallest part that were in the lowest state,

who stumbled in the sin of the calf³⁶,

and despite this,

in order to protect them Moshe Rabbeinu did not hesitate to break the tablets

(and the first ones).

<pg>221</pg>

And this is the wondrous virtue of Moshe Rabbeinu,

the leader of Israel,

the faithful shepherd of Israel: not only did he abandon his entire existence in order to protect the entirety of Israel

(and as it is said "And if not, erase me now from Your book",

"from the entire Torah entirely"³⁷),

but moreover,

that he broke the tablets that he received from the hand of the Holy One Blessed be He in His honor and Himself,

in order to protect those who stumbled in the sin of the calf!

And therefore,

after the Torah enumerates several great and wondrous virtues of Moshe Rabbeinu,

the Torah concludes with the greatest virtue — "before the eyes of all Israel",

"that his heart lifted him to break the tablets",

a greater virtue than the receiving of the tablets

("the strong hand")

— because,

only through the breaking of the tablets was the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu's self-sacrifice for Israel expressed,

that in order to protect them he broke the tablets.

6.

And with this is also resolved the precise wording of Rashi

(above sec. 2)

— "that his heart lifted him to break the tablets": this wording

(lifting of the heart)

indicates a movement of generosity for a good matter

(like the wording regarding the donation of the Mishkan "every man whose heart lifted him"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;,

and elsewhere&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;)

— that is,

that the breaking of the tablets was a result of the greatness of the feeling of love for Israel in Moshe's heart,

to the extent of giving his life for the protection of Israel.

And therefore Rashi states "his heart lifted him" and not "it entered his mind" — because the feeling of love of his heart for Israel is what brought him to break the tablets.

And one may add

(in the manner of a hint, at least)

— that in the phrase "his heart lifted him to break the tablets" Rashi hints,

that in order "to break the tablets" Moses needed a matter of elevation and raising

("lifted him")

in the feeling of the heart,

for the honor of the Torah and his fear of it were very great,

and therefore,

in order "to break the tablets" he needed to lift the love in the heart even more⁴⁰,

namely to arouse in his heart a love of Israel so great — until it would overcome his fear and honor of the Torah,

and to break the tablets in order to save Israel⁴¹.

And it can be said that this is also the reason for that which the verse hints at the matter of the breaking of the tablets in the words "before the eyes of all Israel": that Moshe broke the tablets "before the eyes of all Israel"

("And I broke them before your eyes"),

it is a)

the praise of Moshe,

that his self-sacrifice for Israel overcame even the opposite of the honor of the Torah before the eyes of all Israel.

And to add regarding the hint b)

in order to implant in the heart of all Israel,

until the end of all generations,

the matter of love of Israel with utmost perfection.

Thus,

that in the words "before the eyes of all Israel" is hinted the praise of Moshe in the breaking of the tablets — the greatness of his love of Israel.

7.

However, it still requires explanation:

According to the principle⁴²

that "everything follows the seal," it stands to reason,

that the conclusion and seal<pg>222</pg>

The Torah

("completion of the Torah")

should be regarding the matter that expresses

(completeness)

the superiority of the Torah.

And it is perplexing: even though according to the above it follows,

that the conclusion of the Torah is in a good thing — the praise of Moshe regarding the greatness of his love and self-sacrifice for Israel,

and also there is in it something of the great virtue of Israel,

that even when they are in the lowest state,

behold, in order to protect them and save them from punishment etc., it is worthwhile even to break the Tablets,

However,

Regarding the Torah itself — this is the opposite of praise,

since,

the breaking of the tablets is the "nullification of Torah"⁴³

(and the opposite of the honor of the Torah⁴⁴)

!

And one must say the explanation in this:

It is brought in Tanna Devei Eliyahu Raba⁴⁵

: "Two things exist in the world..

Torah and Israel, but I do not know which of them is first⁴⁶,

I said to him: My son, the way of human beings says that the Torah preceded..

But I say that Israel preceded."

And superficially it is not understood: What is the doubt "which of them is first"

(to the extent that they need Elijah to innovate "I say that Israel preceded")

— behold, the entire matter of the Torah is not possible without Israel, to whom the commandments of the Torah were said

(as the continuation in Tanna Devei Eliyahu Raba⁴⁷

— which is not understood from the outset, what did he think?

!)

And they are the ones who fulfill them,

and it is necessarily so that Israel preceded,

and as is explicit in the Midrash⁴⁸

"The thought of Israel preceded everything..

Were it not..

Israel destined to receive the Torah, He would not write in the Torah 'Command the children of Israel, Speak to the children of Israel'?"

But the explanation in this — that from the statement "Command the children of Israel, speak to the children of Israel" is learned

(only)

priority in time,

but regarding priority in level one could say that the main thing is the Torah

(that the Torah preceded in level and importance to Israel),

and the superiority of Israel is that only they have the power and ability to fulfill the commandments of the Torah⁴⁹

; and this is the innovation of "I say"⁵⁰,

that this priority is primarily priority in level,

the superiority of Israel,

"Israel preceded."

And perhaps one could say more than this, that the Torah was given in order to reveal the superiority of Israel⁵¹.

<pg>223</pg>

And this is also the content of the difference between the two reasons for the breaking of the tablets in Rashi's commentary:

In the first reason — "All of Israel are apostates and I will give it to them" — the superiority of the Torah over Israel is emphasized,

that the superiority of Israel is in this, that they fulfill and carry out the commandments of the Torah,

therefore,

when they are "apostates" one should not give them the Torah;

Whereas in the second reason — the superiority of Israel over the Torah is emphasized,

to such an extent,

that they break the tablets in order to save Israel — for Israel preceded the Torah

(and the Torah is for Israel)⁵².

8.

And with this will be understood the connection of "before the eyes of all Israel"

(the breaking of the tablets)

with "the conclusion of the Torah":

In "the conclusion of the Torah",

its end and seal of the entire Torah as a whole,

the place where the content of the entire Torah as a whole comes.

And this matter is emphasized in the words,

in the matter "before the eyes of all Israel",

"that his heart lifted him to break the tablets before their eyes" — to tell you,

that when one finishes the entire Torah as a whole,

one knows,

that the completeness and purpose of the Torah is — "Command the children of Israel, speak to the children of Israel",

"Israel preceded"

(because of this "his heart lifted him to break the tablets").

And this matter is emphasized in Simchat Torah — when they read "before the eyes of all Israel",

"and they make a feast of drinking for the completion of the Torah"⁵³

:

On Simchat Torah

(the second festival day of Shemini Atzeret)

the superiority of Israel is emphasized and revealed — "one bull, one ram"⁵⁴

(which they then read in the Torah for the maftir),

"corresponding to Israel"⁵⁵,

"a unique bull..

corresponding to a unique nation,

a parable of a king..

said to his friend: make for me a small feast so that I may enjoy from you"⁵⁶,

that is,

that the matter of Simchat Torah is — "they shall be yours alone and no strangers with you"⁵⁷,

and in the language of the Zohar⁵⁸

— "there is found with the King only Israel alone".

And furthermore,

but the emphasis and revelation of the superiority of Israel on Simchat Torah is — also regarding the Torah:

On "Simchat Torah" — two explanations⁵⁹

: a)

the joy of Israel in the Torah

("they rejoice..

in the study of Torah"⁵³),

namely that through the Torah is made<pg>224</pg>

Joy in Israel,

b)

the joy of the Torah,

by means of this that Israel cause joy to the Torah⁶⁰,

and to such an extent that "Israel are the groom and the Torah..

is the bride",

that is,

that Israel are "those who influence regarding the Torah"⁶¹.

And this matter — that it is in the power of Israel to cause joy to the Torah — is because of the virtue of Israel,

that they preceded the Torah,

"Israel preceded".

And since on Simchat Torah the superiority of Israel is revealed, that they preceded

(also)

the Torah,

therefore we read in the "conclusion of the Torah",

"before the eyes of all Israel"

(the breaking of the tablets in order to protect Israel),

in which is expressed the completeness and purpose of the Torah — "Command the children of Israel, speak to the children of Israel."

(From the talk of the night of Simchat Torah 5747)