Deuteronômio 33:4 Midrash: Midrash Tehillim, Midrash Tanchuma, Shir HaShirim Rabbah & Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition)

Another interpretation of “But his delight is in the Torah of God” (Psalms 1:2): This is what Scripture said, “Oh! Let all who are thirsty come for water, [and he who has no money, let him acquire [food] and eat it, and come and acquire without money, and without cost, wine and milk]” (Isaiah 55:1). Just as water comes from the heavens, as it is said, “When [God] bellows, there is a rumbling of water in the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:13); so too, words of Torah were given from the heavens, as it is said “You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from the heavens” (Exodus 20:19). Just as water is free to all, so too are words of Torah free for all, as it is said, “[let him who has no money] acquire [food] and eat it, and come and acquire without money, and without cost, wine and milk.” Just as water descends into the world with thunder and lightning, as it is said, “The voice of God is upon the waters” (Psalms 29:3), so too [regarding] words of Torah, “On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, [and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled]” (Exodus 19:16). Just as water [gives] life to all; so too, words of Torah [give] life to all, as it is said, “For they are [a source of] life to those who find them” (Proverbs 4:22). And it is written, “For this is not a trifling thing for you: [it is your very life]” (Deuteronomy 32:47). Just as water descends drop by drop only to form [great] rivers, so too [regarding] words of Torah. A person learns a single halakha one day, and a single halakha on the next day, until he becomes a flowing stream. Rabbi Oniya said, “What is water made for? To [water] gardens and orchards [irrespective of their quality]. Could it be that the same is true regarding words of Torah [that they enter the hearts of a person irrespective of their spiritual or ethical standing]? The verse states [otherwise, as it says,] “For the paths of God are upright; [the righteous can walk on them, while sinners stumble on them]” (Hosea 14:10). [As this teaching appears in Shir HaShirim Rabba 1:2:8, it says: “Rabbi Ḥanina of Caesarea said: Just as water is drawn to gardens, orchards, lavatories, and bathhouses, could it be that the same is true regarding words of Torah? The verse states [otherwise, as it says]: “For the ways of the Lord are upright; [the righteous can walk on them, while sinners stumble on them]” (Hosea 14:10).”] Rabbi [Yehuda Ha-Nassi] said, just as water covers the nakedness of the sea, so too words of Torah cover the nakedness of Israel, as it is said, “love covers up all faults” (Proverbs 10:12). Just as with water, an adult isn’t ashamed to ask a child to give him water to drink, so too with words of Torah, an adult isn’t embarrassed to ask a child to teach him a chapter or a halakha. Just as with water, if a person is thirsty for it, he won’t be too lazy to drink, so too with Torah, a student is not too lazy to go to his Rabbi to learn from him. There was a story of Rabbi Yossi who went to learn from his Rabbi, etc. [This is the Midrash alluding to a story that appears in Eruvin 47b – It teaches that a person, and even a priest, is allowed to leave the land of Israel in order to learn Torah from the teacher that is most suited to them. This Yossi (who is called Yosef in the Talmudic version of the story), was a priest based in Israel who travelled all the way to Tzidon, outside of Israel, to learn Torah from the teacher who was most suited to his style of learning, even though the greatest sage of that generation lived in Israel. Since the greatest sage didn’t suit Yossi’s style of learning, Yossi wasn’t too lazy to walk all the way to Tzidon, and to leave the holiness of the land of Israel]. Regarding that which is written “[Moses charged us with [observing] the Torah;] it is a heritage of the congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4): [it is a heritage] to all those that congregate with Jacob. [This entails that] even the convert that toils in the Torah is equal to a high priest, as it is said, “[You shall keep My laws and My rules,] which a person shall observe and live by them: [I am God]” (Leviticus 18:5). [The word “person,” in this context, is understood as applying to any human being, and thus:] Priests, Levites, and Israelites are not mentioned [in this context] but rather [any] person [including a convert]. See what is written, “The families of the scribes that dwelt at Jabez: [the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites; these are the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab]” (I Chronicles 2:55). [The Talmud identifies these “Kenites” as the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, some of whom merited to sit as members of the Sanhedrin (Sotah 11a) – their status, as converts, did not get in the way of their becoming leading Torah sages]. And Shamaya and Avtalyion were descendants of Sisera [the Canaanite general], and they [nevertheless] taught Torah to the masses as members of the Great Assembly. Therefore it is written, “God spoke these words to your entire congregation” (Deuteronomy 5:19) [paying no heed to matters of status or pedigree].

These words: This is what the verse stated, "Have I not written you thirds with counsels (moatsot) and knowledge" (Proverbs 22:20). The numerical equivalent of counsels is six hundred and six. [That,] and the seven commandments that the Sons of Noach were commanded, is six hundred and thirteen. And so [too,] does it state (Isaiah 5:1), "my beloved had a vineyard in a fertile corner": "A vineyard" - that is Israel, as it is stated (Isaiah 27:2), "a vineyard of wine, sing to it." "And he separated it" (Isaiah 5:2) - with Avraham, that he cast away the residue from him, such as Yishmael. "And he cleared it of stones" - with Yitschak, that he took Esav away from him. "And he planted it with choice vines" - that is Yaakov, as all of the plantings that came out from him were good and desirable, like this choice vine which is completely good. And this is [the meaning of] "all of it was true seed" (Jeremiah 2:21). Choice vine (sorek) has a numerical equivalent of six hundred and six, [together with] the seven commandments of the Children of Noach - behold, that is six hundred and thirteen. It is written (Proverbs 3:19), "The Lord established the earth with wisdom" - and there is no wisdom besides Torah. And what is its name? Confidant (Amon), as it is written (Proverbs 8:30), "And I was a confidant with Him." And it was not called Torah until it was given at Sinai. The numerical equivalent of Torah comes to six hundred and eleven. And the two that are subtracted from six hundred and thirteen are the two that were given by the mouth of the Almighty. And this is what is stated by the verse, "God spoke one, I heard two" (Psalms 62:12). This is [the meaning of] "Moshe commanded us the Torah" (Deuteronomy 33:4) - Moshe commanded us [commandments] according to the numerical equivalent of Torah. And the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us the [remaining] two, as I explained in Parshat Vayishma Yitro. And it is an inheritance for Yaakov, and not for the [other] nations of the world, as it is stated (Psalms 147:19), "He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and His judgments to Israel, He did not do this with any nation." And it is written about it, "each day," as it is stated (Proverbs 8:30), "And I was a confidant with Him and I was His delight each day." And a day is not less than a thousand years, as it is stated (Psalms 90:4), "As a thousand years in Your eyes is like the day, yesterday." Upon what was it written before it was given? If upon silver and gold, gold and silver had not been created. Rather it was written on the forearm of the Holy One, blessed be He. And so every man [should] understand and fathom with his mind and his intelligence to contemplate the Torah day and night - as it is written (Joshua 1:8), "and you shall contemplate about it day and night" - and good deeds. And it is as the Sages said: The world is half guilty and half meritorious - if one comes and commit sins such that the sins outweigh the merits, it comes out that the world becomes guilty through him; but if the transgressions are of equal weight to the merits and one comes and performs one commandment, the merits will outweigh the transgressions. Happy is he who brings merit to the world! And if he has not learned as is fitting him, let him do his actions with faithfulness. Elihayu, may his memory be blessed, said, "I was once walking on the way and I found a man, and he was mocking me and taunting me. I said to him, 'What [can] you answer on the day of judgement, since you have not studied Torah.' He said, 'I have what to answer - it is [because of] the understanding and intelligence and heart that were not given to me from the Heavens.' I said to him, 'What is your craft?' He said to me, 'I am a trapper of birds and fish.' I said to him, 'Who gave you knowledge and heart to take flax and spin it and weave it to make traps, and to catch fish and birds with them and to sell them?' He said to me, 'It is the understanding and the knowledge that were given to me from the Heavens.' I said to him, 'To take flax and to weave and spin and catch fish and birds you were given understanding and intelligence; but to acquire the Torah, they were not given to you? Behold, it is written (Deuteronomy 30:14), "But the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to do it."' [So] he immediately thought in his heart and raised his voice in crying. I said to him, 'My son, Let it not be bad to you, as all those that come to the world are rebuked once they come and are pulled away from Torah, as it is stated (Isaiah 19:9), "And embarrassed will be the workers of flax, the combers and weavers of holes."' And it is about him and those similar to him, and those that do like his deeds. And the last word is the fear of the Lord; and those that do it with faithfulness - his craft will be counted and he is fitting for life in the world to come.'"

Another matter, “let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: An angel would take the utterance from before the Holy One blessed be He,⁷²This is referring to the Ten Commandments. each and every utterance, and circulate them before each and every Israelite and say to him: ‘Do you accept this utterance upon yourself? There are such and such laws in it, there are such and such punishments in it, there are such and such decrees in it, and so many commandments, and so many a fortiori inferences, there are such and such rewards in it.’ The Israelite would say to him: ‘Yes.’ [The angel] would then say to him: ‘Do you accept the divinity of the Holy One blessed be He?’ And he would say to him: ‘Yes, yes.’ Immediately he would kiss him on his mouth; that is what is written: “You have been shown in order to know [that the Lord, He is God]” (Deuteronomy 4:35), by means of an agent.
The Rabbis say: The utterance itself would circulate before each and every Israelite, and say to him: ‘Do you accept me upon yourself? There are such and such commandments in me, there are such and such laws in me, there are such and such punishments in me, there are such and such decrees in me, there are such and such commandments in me, and there are such and such a fortiori inferences in me, there are such and such rewards in me.’ He would say to it: ‘Yes, yes.’ Immediately, the utterance would kiss him on his mouth, [and it would appear] as a scholar and teach him Torah. That is what is written: “Lest you forget the matters that your eyes saw” (Deuteronomy 4:9). Matters [devarim] that your eyes saw; how the utterance [dibur] would speak to you.
Another matter, “lest you forget the matters,” Israel heard two commandments from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The reason of the Rabbis is that after all the commandments,⁷³After the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai. it is written: “You speak with us and we will hear” (Exodus 20:16).⁷⁴The Israelites said this to Moses. The implication is that until that time, God himself had been speaking to them. What does Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi do with it? He disagrees, because there is no chronological order in the Torah. Perhaps “you speak with us and we will hear” was stated only after two or three commandments.
Rabbi Azarya – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, adopted his approach – said: It is written: “Moses commanded us the Torah” (Deuteronomy 33:4). The whole Torah in its entirety is six hundred and thirteen commandments. In terms of numerical value, Torah totals six hundred and eleven mitzvot,⁷⁵The word Torah is spelled tav, which is four hundred, vav, which is six, resh, which is two hundred, and heh, which is five, for a total of six hundred and eleven. which Moses spoke to us; however, anokhi and lo yihye lekha⁷⁶The first two of the Ten Commandments. we did not hear from the mouth of Moses, but rather, from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He; that is: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.”
How did the utterance emerge from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He? Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai and the Rabbis, Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: It teaches that the utterance would emerge from the right of the Holy One blessed be He, to the left of Israel, and then circumvent the Israelite camp, which was eighteen mil by eighteen mil and then circumvent from the right of Israel to the left of the Holy One blessed be He. The Holy One blessed be He would receive it in His right and inscribe it on the tablet,⁷⁷The utterance is portrayed as emerging from God’s right side, encircling the Israelite camp, and returning to God’s left side, from which it would be passed to His right side and He would engrave it. and its sound carried from one end of the earth to the other, to uphold what is stated: “The voice of the Lord hews flames of fire” (Psalms 29:7).
The Rabbis say: Is there a left side On High? But is it not written: “Your right, Lord, is glorious in strength; Your right hand, Lord” (Exodus 15:6)?⁷⁸The left hand represents the attribute of justice, but at the time of the giving of the Torah, and at the time of the splitting of the sea, which is the context of this verse, God acted purely with the attribute of mercy (Maharzu). Rather, the utterance would emerge from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He, from His right to the right of Israel, and then circumvent the Israelite camp, eighteen mil by eighteen mil, and then circumvent from the right of Israel to the right of the Holy One blessed be He.⁷⁹Thus, the utterance encircled the Israelite camp from behind and in front, before returning to God’s right side. The Holy One blessed be He would receive it in His right hand and inscribe it on the tablet, and its sound carried from one end of the earth to the other, to uphold what is stated: “The voice of the Lord hews flames of fire” (Psalms 29:7).
Rabbi Berekhya said: Rabbi Ḥelbo taught me: The utterance itself was inscribed on its own, and when it was inscribed its sound went from one end of the earth to the other, as it is stated: “The voice of the Lord hews flames of fire” (Psalms 29:7). I said to Rabbi Ḥelbo: ‘But is it not written: “Written with the finger of God”’ (Exodus 31:18)? He said to me: ‘Strangler, did you think to strangle me?’⁸⁰Do you think to refute me with proof from an explicit verse? I said to him: ‘What, then, is [the meaning of] what is written: “Tablets of stone written with the finger of God”?’ He said to me: ‘Like a student who is writing and his master steadies his hand.’
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehoshua says: Israel heard two commandments from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He: Anokhi and lo yihye lekha; that is what is written: “Let him kiss me with the kisses [mineshikot] of his mouth” and not all of the kisses.⁸¹The term mineshikot can be translated “some of the kisses.” The Rabbis say: Israel heard all the commandments from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin [said] in the name of Rabbi Levi: The reason of the Rabbis is as it is written: “They said to Moses, "You speak to us and we will hear” (Exodus 20:16).⁸²This statement appears after the conclusion of all of the Ten Commandments. What does Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi do with this [verse]? He disagrees because there is no chronological order in the Torah. Perhaps “you speak with us and we will hear” was stated after only two or three commandments.
Rabbi Azarya – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi adopted his approach – said: It is written: “Moses commanded us the Torah” (Deuteronomy 33:4). The whole Torah in its entirety is six hundred and thirteen commandments. In terms of numerical value, Torah totals six hundred and eleven mitzvot [that] Moses spoke to us; however, anokhi and lo yihye lekha we did not hear from the mouth of Moses, but rather, from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He.