In this week’s shiur I would like to explore a very interesting pattern in Jewish history, which repeats itself over and over again. It is especially pertinent since we just celebrated Purim.
Let us begin with a question – “When was Matan Torah?” Now we will see what caliber of talmid chacham you are.
Many talmidei chachamim will answer “It is actually a machloket in the Gemara (Shabbat 86b and Yoma 4b). According to the Chachamim it was on 6th Sivan and according to R’ Yossi, it was on the 7th of Sivan.”
That’s a pretty good answer, but it is the wrong answer. A bigger talmid chacham will (like any good Jew) answer the question with another question – “Which Matan Torah?”
What do you mean “Which Matan Torah?” were there more than one Matan Torah?
And the answer is “Yes, there are actually six Matan Torah’s!” Let us examine them one by one and we will see an interesting pattern emerge.
The first planned Matan Torah in history was in Gan Eden.
In Bereishit it describes how HaKadosh Baruch Hu placed two trees in Gan Eden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge (Bereishit 2:9). The Tree of Life, Eitz HaChaim, is the Torah. HaKadosh Baruch Hu wanted to give the Torah to Adam HaRishon, so He commanded Adam to eat only from the Eitz HaChaim – “Mi’Kol Eitz HaGan” (ibid. 16). Sefer Meir Panim (chap. 2, pg. 162) proves that the word “Kol” is referring to the Eitz HaChaim, the Torah.
However, as we all know, something went wrong. The “snake” appeared and interfered with the impending Matan Torah. As a result, HaKadosh Baruch Hu postponed this Matan Torah and meanwhile stationed guardian angels to prevent access to the Eitz HaChaim.
The second Matan Torah was supposed to take place in the generation of Noach (Bereishit Rabbah 34:11).
For this reason, HaKadosh Baruch Hu heaped abundance and prosperity on this generation. He gave them a perfect climate. When they sowed seeds, it yielded crops for 40 years! Nobody ever became ill. They possessed superhuman strength and they all lived to over 800 years of age. This was the very same situation that Am Yisrael exiting Egypt were in before Matan Torah. HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave them Clouds of Glory, to provide a perfect climate environment and protection from the elements. HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave them unlimited free food (mann) and water (Well of Miriam) that cured all their physical ailments and gave them superhuman strength.
Instead of expressing gratitude to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for this abundance, the “snake,” the yetzer hara, preyed upon Noach’s generation, who rejected HaKadosh Baruch Hu and became a depraved society worthy only of destruction.
The third Matan Torah was when HaKadosh Baruch Hu left Egypt, 2,448 years after Gan Eden. Again, HaKadosh Baruch Hu set the stage for the great event, by giving Am Yisrael mann to eat and water from the Well of Miriam to drink, to raise them to the level of Adam HaRishon before the sin.
As the momentous day drew nearer (6th or 7th of Sivan, as above), once again the “snake” appeared, in the form of its gilgul – Amalek, who targeted the tribe of Dan at the rear of the camp.
Am Yisrael won that battle, but Amalek managed to inflict damage. The resulting Matan Torah was not as perfect as it was intended to be. Yes, Am Yisrael declared “Na’aseh ve’Nishma,” but in order to get them to accept the Torah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu had to “dangle the mountain over their heads” and threaten them (Shabbat 88a). Why was it necessary to threaten them? The Gemara (and the Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 3, 4) say that Am Yisrael willingly accepted receiving the written Torah, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu had to threaten them to also accept the oral Torah. In the end Am Yisrael accepted both, but the latter was not accepted willingly. An aftermath of this was the sin with the golden calf.
The fourth Matan Torah took place at Mei Meriva.
As Am Yisrael were poised to enter Eretz Yisrael, after wandering for forty years in the Midbar, HaKadosh Baruch Hu planned a “reenactment” of Matan Torah. Moshe was supposed to speak to the rock and there would be a great Kiddush Hashem and the water (a symbol for the Torah) would flow from the rock.
As before, the “snake” appeared, this time in the form of scoffers who ridiculed Moshe (Yalkut Shimoni 763). As a result, instead of speaking to the rock as HaKadosh Baruch Hu commanded, Moshe struck the rock. In the end the water gushed forth, but the damage had been done once again. Moshe was punished and did not enter Eretz Yisrael.
Fast forward to the story of Purim. During this episode another momentous occasion was planned – the fifth Matan Torah.
This Matan Torah was an event almost on the same scale of the Matan Torah at Har Sinai, because in this Matan Torah, Am Yisrael were to finally accept both parts of the Torah willingly, including the written and the oral law (Shabbat 88a).
Like all the episodes of Matan Torah that preceded it, this too had to have interference from the “snake,” this time in the form of Haman, a descendant of Amalek, the same Amalek that tried to hamper the Matan Torah at Har Sinai. As with the prior episodes, this interference also inflicted damage. Although on Purim Am Yisrael completed the circle of Har Sinai’s Matan Torah by willingly accepting the oral law, this did not instigate a mass return from Bavel to Eretz Yisrael – the vast majority of Babylonian Jews remained in Bavel. Once again, we had an opportunity to herald the era of Mashiach and we missed it.
The sixth and final Matan Torah does not have a known date. It will occur sometime in the future, when Mashiach arrives.
In the time of Mashiach we will receive the Torah once again, but on a much higher level than ever before. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 91b) compares the Torah we have received until now, to the Torah in the time of Mashiach as the light of the moon compared to the light of the sun.
As with all occurrences of Matan Torah, as we have seen, so too will the final, 6th Matan Torah be preceded by an Amalek/snake episode. However, unlike the prior Matan Torah episodes, this final one will in no way be diminished, because in the time of the Mashiach, Amalek will be finally wiped out, as will the yetzer hara, the “snake.”
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: How old was Betzalel when he was appointed to build the Mishkan?
Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: What is the hat of the Kohen Gadol called? Mitznefet. The regular Kohen’s hat is called a Migba’at.