כְּדָת֙ מַֽה־לַּעֲשׂ֔וֹת בַּמַּלְכָּ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֑י עַ֣ל ׀ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־עָשְׂתָ֗ה אֶֽת־מַאֲמַר֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ בְּיַ֖ד הַסָּרִיסִֽים׃ (ס)
װאָס דאַרף מען טאָן לױט געזעץ צו דער מלכּה וַשתּי פֿאַר װאָס זי האָט ניט געטאָן דעם אָנזאָג פֿון מלך אַחַשוֵרוֹש דורך דער האַנט פֿון די קאַמערדינער.
Haamek Sheilah
THE FOUR LEVELS OF TORAH
WHEN [GOD GAVE the Torah to the Jewish people,] “He came with some of the sacred myriads;1The translation I have provided is from Rashi’s commentary on the Torah. Since God came with only some of his sacred myriads, it can mean that God is modest, as explained by Rashi on that verse. In other words, God did not wish to reveal His entire essence to Israel because He intended man to discover the Torah by his own efforts. and in His right hand was esh-das, a fire of law, for them [Israel].”2Deut. 33:2. The Netziv quotes this verse at the beginning of each of the three sections and in the introduction to his Torah commentary, Ha’amek Davar. This verse describes both the nature of the Torah and the manner in which it was revealed to Israel. More importantly, it expresses the betrothal of God and Israel that was achieved through the Revelation of the Torah to the Jewish people. The Netziv in other sections of this book describes how the nature of Torah is similar to several characteristics of fire. See the Sifrei on the passage of Ve-zos ha-beracha, 3:2: “This verse teaches us that the words of Torah are comparable to fire. Just as fire was given from Heaven, so are the words of Torah given from Heaven, as it is written, ‘You have seen that from Heaven I spoke to you’ (Ex. 20:16). Just as fire sustains the world, so do the words of Torah sustain the world. Just as one who approaches fire becomes singed, while he who distances himself from it cannot warm himself because [he has allowed] the fire to grow cold, so it is with the words of Torah. He who uses them [for personal gain] becomes lost from the world. If he separates himself from it, he experiences death, and if he toils over it, it brings him life. Just as fire will be used in this world and in the World to Come, so will the words of Torah be used in this world and in the World to Come. Just as whoever uses fire gets a mark on his body, so those scholars who toil [in the Torah] are distinguishable among mankind by the way they walk, the way they speak and the way they dress in the marketplace.” This verse describes two categories of Torah law. The first is laws that are obvious to all – laws that clearly define what an individual may and may not do. This class of laws is referred to as das, law, similar to the word das in Esther 1:15: [“Then the King conferred with the experts”… as to what should be done ke-das, legally, [to Queen Vashti…].”3Esther 1:15. The second category described in the verse consists of those laws that remain hidden until one brings them to light through analysis and analogy. This category of laws is referred to as esh (fire). In the same way that many sparks can come from a single flame, [so may an unlimited number of laws be derived from the Torah]. Each spark can create a flame whose size is limited only by the amount of fuel added or by the means used to increase the flame.4One such technique, for example, could be the fanning of the flame. The fuel or techniques may be symbolic of the toil one applies to Torah study, or it may represent the spiritual and cognitive development of the individual. Such is the way of Torah, as it is written: “Like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces.”5Jer. 23:2. This means that from a single law, “a rock,” many other laws, “the pieces,” may be derived. See the Netziv in Part 2, chapter 10, translating and interpreting tractates Shabbos 88a and Sanhedrin 34a, which describe the verse in Jeremiah as follows: “In the academy of R. Yishmael it was taught, ‘like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.’ Just as a hammer causes a rock to emit many sparks, so can a verse be explained in many ways.” According to the Netziv, this metaphor refers to the various opinions that result from disagreement. Another way of translating this gemara is: “Just as a rock can shatter a rock into many pieces, so can a verse be explained in many ways.” This approach of the Netziv is explained in depth in Section 2, chapter 10.
WHEN [GOD GAVE the Torah to the Jewish people,] “He came with some of the sacred myriads;1The translation I have provided is from Rashi’s commentary on the Torah. Since God came with only some of his sacred myriads, it can mean that God is modest, as explained by Rashi on that verse. In other words, God did not wish to reveal His entire essence to Israel because He intended man to discover the Torah by his own efforts. and in His right hand was esh-das, a fire of law, for them [Israel].”2Deut. 33:2. The Netziv quotes this verse at the beginning of each of the three sections and in the introduction to his Torah commentary, Ha’amek Davar. This verse describes both the nature of the Torah and the manner in which it was revealed to Israel. More importantly, it expresses the betrothal of God and Israel that was achieved through the Revelation of the Torah to the Jewish people. The Netziv in other sections of this book describes how the nature of Torah is similar to several characteristics of fire. See the Sifrei on the passage of Ve-zos ha-beracha, 3:2: “This verse teaches us that the words of Torah are comparable to fire. Just as fire was given from Heaven, so are the words of Torah given from Heaven, as it is written, ‘You have seen that from Heaven I spoke to you’ (Ex. 20:16). Just as fire sustains the world, so do the words of Torah sustain the world. Just as one who approaches fire becomes singed, while he who distances himself from it cannot warm himself because [he has allowed] the fire to grow cold, so it is with the words of Torah. He who uses them [for personal gain] becomes lost from the world. If he separates himself from it, he experiences death, and if he toils over it, it brings him life. Just as fire will be used in this world and in the World to Come, so will the words of Torah be used in this world and in the World to Come. Just as whoever uses fire gets a mark on his body, so those scholars who toil [in the Torah] are distinguishable among mankind by the way they walk, the way they speak and the way they dress in the marketplace.” This verse describes two categories of Torah law. The first is laws that are obvious to all – laws that clearly define what an individual may and may not do. This class of laws is referred to as das, law, similar to the word das in Esther 1:15: [“Then the King conferred with the experts”… as to what should be done ke-das, legally, [to Queen Vashti…].”3Esther 1:15. The second category described in the verse consists of those laws that remain hidden until one brings them to light through analysis and analogy. This category of laws is referred to as esh (fire). In the same way that many sparks can come from a single flame, [so may an unlimited number of laws be derived from the Torah]. Each spark can create a flame whose size is limited only by the amount of fuel added or by the means used to increase the flame.4One such technique, for example, could be the fanning of the flame. The fuel or techniques may be symbolic of the toil one applies to Torah study, or it may represent the spiritual and cognitive development of the individual. Such is the way of Torah, as it is written: “Like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces.”5Jer. 23:2. This means that from a single law, “a rock,” many other laws, “the pieces,” may be derived. See the Netziv in Part 2, chapter 10, translating and interpreting tractates Shabbos 88a and Sanhedrin 34a, which describe the verse in Jeremiah as follows: “In the academy of R. Yishmael it was taught, ‘like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.’ Just as a hammer causes a rock to emit many sparks, so can a verse be explained in many ways.” According to the Netziv, this metaphor refers to the various opinions that result from disagreement. Another way of translating this gemara is: “Just as a rock can shatter a rock into many pieces, so can a verse be explained in many ways.” This approach of the Netziv is explained in depth in Section 2, chapter 10.
Rashi
and the evening depart When will it become light and when will the time of arising come, and when will the evening depart? [The word מדד ] is an expression of (Gen. 31:40) “and sleep was banished (ותדד).” The “mem” is a defective radical, as in מאמר, statement; משמר, watch.
Rashi
the buttery words of his mouth Heb. מחמאת, an expression of חמאה butter. The first “mem” is a defective radical in the word, like the “mem” of מעשה and the “mem” of מאמר.