Pemikiran Yahudi Ulangan 33:4: Akeidat Yitzchak, Derush Chiddushei HaLevanah, For the Perplexed & HaEmunot veHaDeot

The Talmud Makkot 23, relates in the name of Rabbi Simlai: "Moses was given 613 commandments at Sinai. 365 are "don'ts," corresponding to the number of days in the solar year, and 248 are "do's," corresponding to the number of limbs in the body." Rabbi Hamnuna added that the reason the Torah writes "Moses commanded us the Torah," is that the Hebrew word Torah has a numerical value of 611. 611 commandments were communicated to Israel by Moses. The first two of the ten commandments, Israel had heard directly from G'd at Mount Sinai.

This problem is solved when the Torah instructs remembrances together with things which we had to learn. The Talmud (Berachot 20) says "everything which is subject to observance,becomes subject to remembrance." This means that every act such as Sabbath observance, triggers memory cells which reminds the one performing the commandment of the purpose of the Sabbath legislation and the process of creation by G-d. "Observe the month of spring, for during it you came out of Egypt" (Exodus 13,4) This means that the Passover observances will trigger memories related to the Exodus. Or, regarding the observance of Purim "these days will be remembered through their observance." (Esther 9,28) Remembering Amalek is especially underlined, since no specific act triggers the memory. This is why the commandment ends with the words "do not forget!" In the absence of a mitzvah act, the danger of forgetting is much greater. Reading the portion of the attack of Amalek substitutes for an act. In all the foregoing situations, the Torah provides the antidote to forgetting. In view of these memory aids provided, not remembering a commandment which mentions remembrance becomes culpable. People who fail to make notations of important events in their calendar can be faulted for not remembering them. This is why the chief of Pharaoh's cupbearers, of whom the Torah says that "he did not remember Joseph but forgot him," refers to this a a sin. (Genesis 41,9) One of the sins of the cupbearer referred to, was not remembering Joseph's request to be mentioned to Pharaoh as deserving release from prison. When David says in Psalms 119,45, "I swore I will keep Your words," he did so to remind himself of commandments he might otherwise have overlooked. The Talmud Baba Metzia 5, states that though a man's honesty may be suspect, his oath is believed. David swore to himself that if he were to be remiss, he would bear the additional burden of a false oath, a severe enough sin to jog his memory not to forget to observe the mitzvot in question. When Solomon says in Proverbs 10,5, "he who accumulates in summer is a wise person," he would apply this same kind of reasoning to him who reinforces his memory by vowing not to forget to keep the mitzvah. He who feels bothered by the fact that a certain mitzvah is incumbent upon him, has already reason to rejoice over taking the oath, just as a person taking a laxative realises joyfully that the medicine is about to help as soon as his stomach starts convulsing.

In our opening Midrash, Rabbi Meir takes the view that wine, -because it causes confusion of the mind-, is unwholesome. Rabbi Yehudah, on the other hand, holds that far from confusing the mind, wine confers blessings upon those who drink it; it improves the digestion, temperament etc. when consumed in moderation. The Bible is full of quotations attesting to the virtues of wine. As the wine cellar is open to all who wish to buy, so Sinai was open to all who wished to learn Torah, to help them control the urge to let the demands of the flesh dominate, a tendencey that has existed since the first sin in Eden. This is why the Talmud (Yevamot 103) claims that the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai divested themselves of the impurities ingested by man in Eden, due to the serpent. For this reason too, our sages in Sanhedrin 90, say that all of Israel has a share in the world to come. If the Talmud in Sanhedrin 90, had meant that every Jew, whether religious or secular has eternal life, that would be unfair discrimination against the gentiles, and would make the life of the pious Jew unrewarding. The sinner could then look forward to the same destiny. Also, the second statement in that Mishnah, which lists a number of exclusions to the general rule, would contradict the first statement. Therefore, the correct understanding of the statement is that the term "Israelite" is not applied to someone who is merely of Jewish parentage, but to someone who lives up to the expectations of Judaism. It refers to Jews who live in accordance with the lessons learned at Sinai. Such a person is assured of eternal life. Therefore we understand the word "Israelite" as a righteous person, and conversely, "a righteous person" is an "Israelite." When the Mishnah goes on to adduce scriptural proof for its statement, the quotation "and your people who are all righteous will inherit the earth for all future times," makes perfect sense. We read in Tzefaniah 3,13, "the remnant of Israel will not commit iniquities." This seems to presuppose that it is possible to bear the name Israel, and yet commit all kinds of sins? When Tzefaniah talks about the "remnant" however, he refers to those who, though they share the Jewish tradition, are not necessarily aware of Torah. We see that Moses distinguishes between two sets of Jews. (Deut. 33,4) "Moses commanded us Torah, a hereditary tradition to the community of Jacob." The elite of the people are familiar with Torah and its details; the multitude treasures tradition handed down as such, but without deeper knowledge of same. Acquiring new habits is difficult, unless a satisfactory rationale is provided. Continuing a long established tradition does not make intellectual demands on those who practice them. The men of the great assembly may have been called such, because due to the cessation of activities by the prophets, it fell to their lot to make certain innovations to insure the continuance of Judaism as we know it. They established their claim to fame by three things. (Mishnah Avot 1) They advised moderation in the application of justice, searched for a concensus. 2) They tried to put Torah on a broad base, by enrolling many students in the academies; and once having done these two things, 3) they were able to construct "fences" around Torah, and have those "fences" respected by the people at large. If the interpretation of the Mishnah would be the standard one, i.e. that of "be circumspect before deciding legal matters," a later statement at the end of the chapter, that "justice is one of the pillars of the world," should have appeared before the statement in the name of Shimon Hatzaddik. The latter had been a member of the men of the great assembly, and was also the author of the opening statement of the first Mishnah. Having understood the function of the men of the great assembly, we can now understand the statement of the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 35, which interprets the verse "your friendship is dearer than wine" (Song of Songs 1,1) to mean that the Midrashic interpretations of Torah are dearer to Israel than the original text, even. The general order in which forbidden foods are listed, is such that the intake of animals that the Torah considers as only mildly damaging, is listed first, whereas those foods that the Torah considers as severely harmful to the development of the ideal Jewish personality, are listed later. The very fact that animals which are poisonous, or any plants that are poisonous are omitted in the list, clearly shows that the Torah's concern in this legislation is not our physical health.