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Parshat Ki Tissa 5755

MOSHE'S RADIANCE

The ink that shone

The two Tablets of Testimony were in Moshe's hands when he came down from the mountain, and although Moshe did not realize it, the skin of his face shone after Hashem had spoken to him. Aharon and all Bnai Yisroel looked at Moshe and saw that the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him... and [Moshe] put a mask on his face.
(Sh'mot 34:29-30,33)
After Moshe finished writing the Torah, there was a small amount of ink left over in the pen. Hashem dabbed the ink onto Moshe's head, and it was from this ink that Moshe's radiance stemmed.
(Yalkut Shimoni #407)
The Midrash in the Yalkut associates a drop of ink leftover from the writing of the Torah, with Moshe Rabbeinu's radiance. The Midrash obviously requires some added explanation. What is the meaning of identifying this ink as being the cause of Moshe's radiance? Also, why was there any extra ink -- couldn't Hashem have apportioned the exact amount of ink necessary?

The Beit Halevi (Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik the first, c. 1900, in Drush #18, printed after section 2 of his responsa) offers a striking and compelling suggestion for the deeper meaning of this Midrash.

II

To write or not to write?

The Beit Halevi quotes another Midrash as an introduction to his explanation.

When Hashem gave the Torah, He revealed to Moshe the Biblical text (i.e., the Written Law), the Mishnah (the Oral Law), the Aggadah and the Talmud (explanations for the laws given in the Mishnah) -- as it says (Sh'mot 20:1), "G-d spoke *all* these words, saying...." This includes even questions that would one day be brought up for discussion by students before their teachers. Hashem then told Moshe, "Now, go and teach it to Bnai Yisroel!" Moshe said to Him, "Why don't You write it down for them?" He answered, I would have liked to have the Oral Law committed to writing as well, but I know that the Bnai Yisroel will eventually be subjugated by the nations of the world and that their enemies will take away the Written Torah from them and appropriate it for themselves (as in the times of Ptolemy -see Megilla 9a). If everything were to be written down, the nations of the world would take the entire Torah from the Bnai Yisroel, and then My children would be just like the other nation. Therefore, the text of the Torah will be committed to writing, but the rest of the Law will be transmitted orally, so that the Bnai Yisroel will always be unique.
(Yalkut Shimoni #405 -- see also Tosafot, Gittin 60b)
The Midrash tells us that the only reason the Oral Law was not written down was to ensure the enduring uniqueness of the Bnai Yisroel. The Beit Halevi poses a question regarding this assertion from a statement in the Gemara (Eruvin 54a). The Gemara says that if the first Tablets had never been broken (i.e, if the sin of the Golden Calf had never taken place) no nation would have been able to exercise dominion over the Bnai Yisroel -- they would have been invincible. The Gemara proves this point from the Pasuk in Sh'mot (32: 16), which relates that "[the writing] on the Tablets was engraved ('Harut')." An exegetic alteration of the Masoretic punctuation of the verse renders it, "[the writing] on the Tablets was able to bring freedom ('Herut')." At the time that the Torah was originally given, it was not yet Israel's destiny to become subjugated by the nations of the world. What then, was the reason that Hashem did not write down the Oral Law? The reason given in the Yalkut should not have applied. Since the Jews were not destined to become subjugated to the other nations, the Oral Law could have been given to them in written form!

It must be, concludes the Beit Halevi, that the first Tablets did indeed contain the entire body of Torah Law, and not only the Written Law! It is only with reference to the *second* set of Tablets -the ones which were not broken -- that the Yalkut asserts that the Oral Law was not written down. At the time of the writing of the second Tablets it had already been decreed that Israel would be undergoing subjugation by the nations!

It might be asked, how it is possible to imagine that the entire body of Jewish Law -- Oral and Written -- was written on just two Tablets. This is really not a difficulty, however, when we remember that the Tablets were "the work of G-d" and the writing on them was "the writing of G-d" [Sh'mot 16]. The entire matter of the words inscribed on the Tablets was miraculous, as the Gemara [Shabbat 104a] points out (albeit in a different context).

III

Textual support for non-identical sets of Tablets

The Beit Halevi brings some convincing textual proofs for his thesis that the first Tablets, unlike the second ones, contained much more than just the "Ten Commandments."

In Devarim 9:10 we read (concerning the first Tablets), "Hashem then gave me the two stone Tablets that were Written by the finger of G-d, and *upon them* were *all* of the words that Hashem spoke to you on the Mountain." It should be recalled that it is the use of the word *all* that prompted the Yalkut to say that the entire body of Torah -- Written and Oral -- was related to Moshe on Mount Sinai. If so, we may similarly derive from the Pasuk in Devarim that the entire Torah was *written* on the Tablets! The Gemara (Megillah 19b) does, in fact, explain the word *all* in this verse as referring to *all* sections of Jewish Law, right down to the later institution of the reading of the Megillat Esther on Purim. Although the Gemara does not specifically say that all of this was written down on the Tablets, such a conclusion would seem inevitable, when the Gemara's words are seen in the context of the Pasuk. The Pasuk is, after all, describing what *appeared* on the Tablets. (A similar D'rush on this verse can be found in the Yerushalmi Pe'ah 2:1.)

In reference to the second Tablets, however, the Torah repeats several times that what was written on the Tablets was simply "the ten utterances," -- see Shmot 34:28, Devarim 10:4. This description is never given for the first Tablets. The first Tablets indeed had more on them than the ten commandments, but the second ones were very different in this respect. The later Tablets had nothing on them but the Ten Commandments that were given to us on Mount Sinai.

Actually, the Beit Halevi was preceded in the above two observations by the great Torah commentator HaK'tav VeHaKabbalah -

c. 1850 - to Devarim 10:4. Several other indications may be shown to support the Beit Halevi's thesis.

In Sh'mot 24:12 we are told, in reference to the first Tablets, "Hashem said to Moshe, `... I will give you the ... Torah and the commandments that I have written to direct them.' " The Gemara (B'rachot 5a) says that this Pasuk implies that the entire body of Jewish Law -- Torah text, Mishnah, Talmud, etc. was given to Moshe. Yet the verse says, concerning the above words, ."..that I have written," implying that this entire body was indeed committed to writing in the first Tablets.

Also, in the Yalkut Shimoni (#405) we are taught that although the first Tablets were written by the finger of Hashem (Shmot 31:18), when Hashem gave the second Tablets, He told Moshe, "You write!" (Shmot 34:27). (NOTE: Although the Torah seems to state explicitly that *Hashem* Himself recorded the ten commandments on the second Tablets, and not Moshe -- see Shmot 34:1, Devarim 10:2 -- nevertheless, Moshe apparently committed to writing the *remainder* of the written Torah on parchment -- see Ramban to 34:28. The Yalkut here is apparently referring to this document. -MK.).

The Yalkut Shimoni, #392, points out another contrast between the two sets of Tablets. The first Tablets were readable from both sides and were "the work of G-d" (Shmot 32:15-16) -- the Tablets themselves were of a miraculous nature. The second Tablets, on the other hand, were hewn by Moshe himself from ordinary rock (Shmot 34:1). Based on the Beit Halevi's thesis, the need for these differences can be easily explained. The first Tablets, which contained a vast amount of information, had to be made of a supernatural substance, and had to be written in a miraculous handwriting. The second Tablets, which contained only the ten statements, could be written on ordinary hewn stone, and Moshe himself could easily inscribe the Written Law alone in his own hand. Miracles were, therefore, unnecessary in the material and inscription of the second Tablets!

IV

The flying letters

The Beit Halevi uses this thesis to explain the meaning of another Midrash.

When Moshe saw the Bnai Yisroel sinning with the Golden Calf, he looked at the Tablets and saw the words begin to fly off from them. At that point the Tablets became heavy in his hands and they fell down to the ground, shattering.
(Yalkut Shimoni #393)
Once the Bnai Yisroel sinned, their entire destiny changed. That was the point in time at which it was decreed that they would one day become subjugated to the nations of the world, as explained earlier. At this time, then, it became impossible to have both components of the Torah -- the Oral Law and the Written Law -- in writing. Thus Moshe saw the words of the Oral Law "flying off" from the Tablets at this time. Hashem had decided not to commit the Oral Torah to writing, and he removed that part of the miraculous engraving from the miraculous Tablets. These were the "words flying off" from the Tablets!

Moshe knew that it would be impossible for anyone to be able to interpret the Written Torah properly without the guidance of the Oral Law (and the idea of teaching the Oral Law orally was not yet introduced by Hashem). The Tablets "became heavy in his hands" -- that is, he realized that it was no longer possible for them to be given as an independent entity. Without the Oral Law to go with them, they would be "too heavy to bear." This is what the Midrash means when it relates that the Tablets became heavy in Moshe's hands, and fell to the ground!

According to this Midrash, the Beit Halevi continues, we can understand an expression of the Torah in Sh'mot 34:1 and Devarim 10:2. The Torah says that what was written on the second Tablets was that which was "written on the first Tablets *which you [Moshe] broke*." Most of the material that had originally been engraved on the first Tablets had already "flown off" as soon as the sin of the Golden Calf took place. By the time Moshe broke these Tablets, the only writing left on them was the "Ten Commandments." Only these ten statements that were on the Tablets "when you broke them" were reproduced on the second set of Tablets!

V

The leftover ink

This will now serve to enable us to understand the meaning of the Midrash with which we started, regarding the leftover ink. When it came time for Moshe to write the second set of Tablets, he wanted to make a complete replica of the first Tablets -that is, he wanted to put down in writing *all* aspects of the Torah, Written and Oral. But Hashem explained to him that this was no longer possible, as the Bnai Yisroel were now destined to be exiled among the other nations, as the other Midrash (#405) mentions. This, explains the Beit Halevi, is what is meant by there being "extra ink" which was left over after Moshe finished writing the Torah. There was another section of Torah which was left to be written, but yet could not be written! The "extra ink" from this unwritten part of the Torah -- the Oral Law -- was then dabbed onto Moshe's head.

The Midrash (Shmot Rabba 41:6) tells us that Moshe struggled to learn the Torah for the entire forty days that he was in heaven, but he could not succeed in mastering it completely until Hashem gave it to him "as a gift." Hashem implanted the ideas of the Torah into Moshe's mind so that they would be firmly and clearly entrenched there, as symbolized by the smearing of the ink of the Oral Torah on his head.

This "ink" -- the inculcation of the Oral Torah into Moshe's mind -- was what caused Moshe's radiance. There was now no one in the world who had access to the entire body of Torah Law except for Moshe, for only he knew the secrets of the Oral Torah. Becoming the personal bearer of the Oral Torah gave Moshe a unique status among mankind. It left its mark on him, causing his face to shine. "For a Mitzvah is a candle and the Torah is light!" (Mishlei 6:23 -- see also Parasha-Page, Channuka 5755, where we quoted a Midrash Tanchuma to show that specifically the *Oral* Torah is represented by light.)

VI

We may use the Beit Halevi's idea to interpret yet another passage in the Gemara. Moshe became wealthy from the remaining pieces of the stone from which he carved the Tablets, as it says "Carve for yourself two Tablets..." -- the carvings shall be your own personal property. (Rashi: The stone was of a very rare, expensive type.)

Said R. Yossi b. Chanina: The Torah itself was intended only for Moshe and his descendants, but out of his generosity he shared it with all of Israel, as it says, "Carve for yourself... Write for yourself." Just as the stone remnants were granted to Moshe, so were the words of the Torah.
(Gemara Nedarim 38a)
According to the Beit Halevi the meaning of this enigmatic passage becomes clear. The "remaining pieces" of stone left after Moshe hewed out the new Tablets represent the remainder of the Torah -- the part that had originally been incorporated into the Tablets, but which had to be omitted from the second set. It was from these "remnants" that Moshe became "enriched" -- in a spiritual sense that is -- because he had thus become the only source of this information in the world, a situation whose significance may be seen from the shining of his face.

When the Gemara continues to say that the Torah was originally intended only for Moshe and his descendants, it limits this concept to the area of Torah known as "Pilpula Be'alma" (the ability to derive Laws and wisdom from the letters of the Torah -Rosh ad loc.). Thus the Gemara means to add that just as the Oral Torah was considered the "personal property" of Moshe, so was the Written Torah (or the ability to see hidden secrets in the Written Torah). As pointed out above, the Written Torah cannot be understood properly without the Oral component, so that it is only logical that if the Oral Law was given over to Moshe the Written Torah was as well. Moshe decided, however, to be generous and share his secrets with the rest of the Bnai Yisroel, which is why we still have the Oral Torah with us to this day.


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