Chasidut zu Schemot 19:9
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י בָּ֣א אֵלֶיךָ֮ בְּעַ֣ב הֶֽעָנָן֒ בַּעֲב֞וּר יִשְׁמַ֤ע הָעָם֙ בְּדַבְּרִ֣י עִמָּ֔ךְ וְגַם־בְּךָ֖ יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַיַּגֵּ֥ד מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃
Der Herr sprach zu Mose: Ich werde nun zu dir kommen in einer dichten Wolke, damit das Volk höre, wenn ich mit dir rede und auch auf immer dir vertraue. — Als Mose die Worte des Volkes sagte dem Herrn,
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 19,9.“and they will also have enduring faith in you.” Rashi understands the word: וגם, “and also,” as referring to the people having faith in the prophets in future generations.
I believe, that this conforms to what Nachmanides has written in his commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus 23,20, commencing with:הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך...ועשית כל אשר דבר אליך, “Here I shall send an angel ahead of you and you shall do all that I will tell you to do,” to tell us that “you must not listen and do what the angel (prophet) tells you unless it conforms to what I tell you,” i.e. you must not listen to prophets when they tell you to violate any of the commandments G’d has revealed in the Torah. The word בך “within you,” are the key to understanding this verse. [The difficulty appears to be also the word לעולם, which normally is understood to mean “forever,” but is a term that cannot be applied in that sense to mortal human beings. Ed.] The Torah hints that if and when future prophets will tell the people what to do and this conforms to what Moses during his lifetime had told them to do, then the people’s faith in such prophets will be not only justified but they are commanded to obey such prophets. Rashi hints at this with the word אחריך, “after you,” which in his commentary is not to be understood as a time frame, i.e. after Moses has died, but as a reference to prophets who would “take after you,” i.e. teach the same Torah without perverting any of it. The Israelites’ duty to have faith in prophets after Moses’ death, is contingent on the loyalty of these prophets to Moses’ Torah.
If we need to look for proof that this interpretation of the word אחריך, is linguistically correct, the Talmud B’rachot 61 refers us to Judges 13,11 וילך מנוח אחרי אשתו, normally translated as “Manoach walked behind his wife,” instead it translates it as “Manoach followed the advice of his wife.” Similarly, here, the Jewish people are to follow that advice of their outstanding leader Moses during all future generations, i.e. לעולם.
Incidentally, we find that in the Zohar the מצות are also referred to as עצות when the author speaks of עיתין דאורייתא, “the Torah’s suggestions.” [I have found עיטין in the Zohar 7 times, only as describing either good or bad advice, never as referring to the Torah. Ed.]
In Maimonides’ hilchot Temurah, near the end, the author the author refers to his having interpreted the word שלישים in Exodus 14,7, normally translated as “captains” to refer to advisors, experts, men who recognize the truth, מועצות. Prophets who do not hand down to their people their true tradition and urge them to abandon some of the laws of the Torah could certainly not qualify for the term “prophet.”
What we have written answers the question asked by many how a “prophet” who performs a miracle or more than one miracle to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people could have been allowed to do so by G’d? The answer is simple. The Torah commands us not to believe the “prophet” on the basis of any so-called miracles he performs unless he does not suggest that the people do anything that contradicts what is their collective tradition since the time of Moses.
The Torah repeats this theme in greater details in Deuteronomy 13,1-5.
The author proceeds now to explain the word לעולם according to a method of exegesis he calls: דרך חדוד אמת.
The Talmud Yevamot 90 states, and this is accepted as a halachically valid conclusion by Maimonides in his introduction to his monumental work Mishneh Torah in the section entitled yessodey hatorah, “fundamental principles of the Torah,” (chapter 9,2) that if a prophet commands violation of a negative Biblical commandment temporarily, when circumstance demand this, as for instance when the prophet Elijah offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel after repairing a defunct altar in violation of the commandment that the only place where this may be done is in the Temple in Jerusalem, the people are not only permitted to obey his command but are obligated to do so on pain of the death penalty. The same principle does not hold true when said prophet commands, even temporarily, to violate a positive commandment of the Torah. Positive commandments of the Torah are never to be abolished, not even temporarily. This is what G’d had in mind when He had Moses write in the Torah that the people would have faith in Moses as a prophet, לעולם, “forever,” (for want of a better word.).
I believe, that this conforms to what Nachmanides has written in his commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus 23,20, commencing with:הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך...ועשית כל אשר דבר אליך, “Here I shall send an angel ahead of you and you shall do all that I will tell you to do,” to tell us that “you must not listen and do what the angel (prophet) tells you unless it conforms to what I tell you,” i.e. you must not listen to prophets when they tell you to violate any of the commandments G’d has revealed in the Torah. The word בך “within you,” are the key to understanding this verse. [The difficulty appears to be also the word לעולם, which normally is understood to mean “forever,” but is a term that cannot be applied in that sense to mortal human beings. Ed.] The Torah hints that if and when future prophets will tell the people what to do and this conforms to what Moses during his lifetime had told them to do, then the people’s faith in such prophets will be not only justified but they are commanded to obey such prophets. Rashi hints at this with the word אחריך, “after you,” which in his commentary is not to be understood as a time frame, i.e. after Moses has died, but as a reference to prophets who would “take after you,” i.e. teach the same Torah without perverting any of it. The Israelites’ duty to have faith in prophets after Moses’ death, is contingent on the loyalty of these prophets to Moses’ Torah.
If we need to look for proof that this interpretation of the word אחריך, is linguistically correct, the Talmud B’rachot 61 refers us to Judges 13,11 וילך מנוח אחרי אשתו, normally translated as “Manoach walked behind his wife,” instead it translates it as “Manoach followed the advice of his wife.” Similarly, here, the Jewish people are to follow that advice of their outstanding leader Moses during all future generations, i.e. לעולם.
Incidentally, we find that in the Zohar the מצות are also referred to as עצות when the author speaks of עיתין דאורייתא, “the Torah’s suggestions.” [I have found עיטין in the Zohar 7 times, only as describing either good or bad advice, never as referring to the Torah. Ed.]
In Maimonides’ hilchot Temurah, near the end, the author the author refers to his having interpreted the word שלישים in Exodus 14,7, normally translated as “captains” to refer to advisors, experts, men who recognize the truth, מועצות. Prophets who do not hand down to their people their true tradition and urge them to abandon some of the laws of the Torah could certainly not qualify for the term “prophet.”
What we have written answers the question asked by many how a “prophet” who performs a miracle or more than one miracle to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people could have been allowed to do so by G’d? The answer is simple. The Torah commands us not to believe the “prophet” on the basis of any so-called miracles he performs unless he does not suggest that the people do anything that contradicts what is their collective tradition since the time of Moses.
The Torah repeats this theme in greater details in Deuteronomy 13,1-5.
The author proceeds now to explain the word לעולם according to a method of exegesis he calls: דרך חדוד אמת.
The Talmud Yevamot 90 states, and this is accepted as a halachically valid conclusion by Maimonides in his introduction to his monumental work Mishneh Torah in the section entitled yessodey hatorah, “fundamental principles of the Torah,” (chapter 9,2) that if a prophet commands violation of a negative Biblical commandment temporarily, when circumstance demand this, as for instance when the prophet Elijah offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel after repairing a defunct altar in violation of the commandment that the only place where this may be done is in the Temple in Jerusalem, the people are not only permitted to obey his command but are obligated to do so on pain of the death penalty. The same principle does not hold true when said prophet commands, even temporarily, to violate a positive commandment of the Torah. Positive commandments of the Torah are never to be abolished, not even temporarily. This is what G’d had in mind when He had Moses write in the Torah that the people would have faith in Moses as a prophet, לעולם, “forever,” (for want of a better word.).
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 7,16. “and behold so far you have not listened.” The words: “so far,” appear strange, and sound as if G’d had already performed a number of miracles, whereas in fact He had only brought on one plague, i.e. the waters of the Nile turning into blood. We may be able to understand this turn of phrase when considering a statement by our sages when they compared Moses’ prophecies as characterized by the word זה and that of the other prophets by the word: כה. (Sifri Mattot, 2) On the face of it this statement appears strange as Moses frequently introduced his prophecies with the words: כה אמר ה'.
This apparent contradiction has been dealt with by the Rivash, (Rabbi Yitzchok bar Rabbi Sheshet) in his commentary on Exodus 19, 9 בעבור ישמע העם בדברי עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם “in order that the people can hear when I speak with you (Moses( and they will also have complete faith in you forever.” The Rivash writes that there is a difference between what a person sees with his own eyes and between what he knows through use of his intelligence to be the truth. In spite of what his brain tells him is the truth, he still tends to trust his eyes more than he trusts his intellect. This principle also became manifest during the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, and again during the revelation at Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In spite of the people having witnessed any number of miracles during the period immediately preceding the Exodus so that their faith in G’d should have become absolute, there was a further need to strengthen their belief at Mount Sinai. In spite of all the miracles that Moses had been instrumental in performing ever since he returned from Midian to Egypt, G’d still found it necessary to make the people hear Him speak to Moses directly, before they would believe in him absolutely. The famous proverb: “seeing is believing,” applied to the Jewish people also.
This apparent contradiction has been dealt with by the Rivash, (Rabbi Yitzchok bar Rabbi Sheshet) in his commentary on Exodus 19, 9 בעבור ישמע העם בדברי עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם “in order that the people can hear when I speak with you (Moses( and they will also have complete faith in you forever.” The Rivash writes that there is a difference between what a person sees with his own eyes and between what he knows through use of his intelligence to be the truth. In spite of what his brain tells him is the truth, he still tends to trust his eyes more than he trusts his intellect. This principle also became manifest during the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, and again during the revelation at Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In spite of the people having witnessed any number of miracles during the period immediately preceding the Exodus so that their faith in G’d should have become absolute, there was a further need to strengthen their belief at Mount Sinai. In spite of all the miracles that Moses had been instrumental in performing ever since he returned from Midian to Egypt, G’d still found it necessary to make the people hear Him speak to Moses directly, before they would believe in him absolutely. The famous proverb: “seeing is believing,” applied to the Jewish people also.
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Kedushat Levi
With trumpets and the voice of the Shofar, sound out before Adonai the King (Psalms 98:6). Let us explain in the manner of parable and metaphor - that of a moral king who traveled to a great forest to amuse himself in hunting animals and birds. He came to a valley in the forest and couldn't find the path straight, true path of the king to return home. He saw villagers in the forest and asked them about the path but they didn't recognize the king and they don't know how to answer him. Because they'd never known the straight, true path of the king! Finally, he found a wise and understanding man and asked him about the path. The wise man understood that this was the king and he became shocked and drew back. He heard him and immediately showed him the path, because in his great wisdom he knew the straight, true path of the king, and he took the king to his palace and sat him down upon his throne. He found favor in the eyes of the king, who lifted him up among the ministers of the kingdom, and dressed him in fine clothing, and appointed him to his treasury. After some time, the man sinned against the king and the king became angry and ordered the highest ministers in the kingdom to judge the man according to his transgressions against the king's commandments. The man suffered much because he knew the judgement would go extremely bad for him, according to the manner that he had sinned against the king. He threw himself down before the king and begged for his life and implored him that before the verdict was passed that he might grant a request in one matter: to dress him in his original clothes that he was wearing at the time he took the king from the woods. The king agreed to do so. And so it was that when he dressed the man in those clothes, the king remembered the great kindness the man did did for him in returning him to his palace and sitting him on his throne. His compassion was stirred and he forgave the sin against him and restored the man to his place. Now this has been a parable: so too with us, the people of the House of Israel - that at the time of the giving of the Torah, the Holy Blessed One offered every nation in every language that they might accept the Torah, but they did not want it. But us, the people of the House of Israel, accepted the Torah with great joy and gladness, and we preceded understanding with action. We accepted upon ourselves the yoke of Heavenly Rule and made it our King over us and accepted God's commandments and holy Torah. And now we have trespassed and rebelled against God. And on Rosh Hashanah, we are afraid of the day of judgement, of the hidden verdict against each person according to their deeds. Therefore, we sound the shofar and dress in the clothes we wore at the time of the giving of the Torah, when we accepted the Torah and raised God as our King with the shofar, as it is written, "the voice of the shofar grew louder," (Exodus 19:19). This is in order that God will remember us according to that merit and forgive us our sins and trespasses and exempt us from judgement and write us for a long, good life, amen, may it be God's will.
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