Page 45 - HaMizrachi # 23 Sukkot Simchat Torah 2020 USA

HOLIDAY READING

Rabbi Shalom Rosner

The Gift the Angels Don’t Have

he Gemara (Shabbat) tells us Torah. If you live by the pshat of the Moshe Rabbeinu writing about his
that when Moshe Rabbeinu Torah – like human beings do – you own demise.
Twent up to Har Sinai, the mal- can appreciate even the deeper levels.
achim (angels) confronted him, com- The Vilna Gaon suggests a fascinat-
plaining that G-d was giving the Torah The angels, who do not live by the ing idea. ע ַ מ ָ ּ ד can mean tears, but it
to Moshe and not to them. Moshe Torah, cannot change their apprecia- could also come from the word ַ ע ֵ מֹו ּ ד ִ מ,
responds, “It says in Your Torah, ‘I tion level. mixed up. The Ramban tells us that on
am the L-rd your G-d who brought a deeper level, the entire Torah spells
you out of the land of Egypt.’ Angels, out the names of G-d. When Moshe
were you taken out of Egypt? It says in “” As we take a step Rabbeinu received the Torah from
Your Torah don’t worship other gods. back from that G-d, he received it in a decoded fash-
Angels, do you ever have a desire to Gemara, let us look ion. It didn’t spell out the names of
worship other gods? It says in the G-d anymore. The Torah was spelled
Torah ‘honor your father and your to Simchat Torah, out in a way mere mortals could
mother.’ Angels, do you have parents? when we essentially understand. The Vilna Gaon suggests
It says in the Torah ‘don’t kill, don’t celebrate the many that the last eight verses of the Torah
steal, don’t covet.’ Angels. Do these were given to Moshe ע ַ מ ֶ ד ְּ ב – as a mix-
apply to you?” different levels ture – in its pristine, original, coded
of understanding and ‘mixed-up’ state. It did not say ת ָ מָּי ַ ו
The Gemara says the angels recog- ה ׁ ֶ שֹמ ם ׁ ָ ש (and Moshe died there). It said
nized the truth of Moshe’s argument and appreciating the name of G-d on a hidden, deeper
and gave the Torah to him with no the Torah. level. After Moshe died, G-d decoded
complaints. They even gave him gifts it for Yehoshua bin Nun to spell out
on his way down. the exact verses.
As we take a step back from that
Many commentaries ask, what were Gemara, let us look to Simchat Torah, As we celebrate Simchat Torah, the
the malachim thinking? They knew when we essentially celebrate the end of the festive cycle, both of the
what it said in the Torah, they knew many different levels of understanding Yamim Noraim and the Shalosh
who it was for and yet they still wanted and appreciating the Torah. Regalim, let us recognize the unique
it. Why? gift of Torah. Let us try to live it on
The Gemara (Menachot 30) describes a pshat level and as we grow level by
Some commentaries suggest the mala- a machloket tannaim regarding the
chim knew the Torah existed on many author of the last eight verses of the level, may we be zoche to appreciate
different levels. ס ֵ ּ ד ְ ר ַּ פ stands for ,ט ַ ׁש ָּ פ Torah that describe Moshe Rabbe- it even more and plunge the Divine
דֹוס ְ ו ׁש ַ ר ָ ּ ד ,ז ֶ מ ֶ ר. Four different levels of depths of its wisdom.
interpretation, from the simple to the inu’s death. One opinion says Moshe
mystically sublime. The angels recog- Rabbeinu wrote them ע ַ מ ֶ ד ְּ ב – in
nized that the pshat, the simple inter- tears. How could Moshe have written
pretation, didn’t apply to them. But them? Can one describe one’s own
they wanted to have the Torah in order death after the fact? What does that
to appreciate the deeper ideas. The mean? The second opinion holds that
Gemara answers that, yes, the deeper Yehoshua bin Nun wrote the last eight Rabbi Shalom Rosner is a Rebbe at
ideas and all the different levels are verses. That sounds a little strange too, Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh and Rabbi of the
significant, but only if you live by the but it is certainly more logical than Nofei HaShemesh community.

| 45