The Gifts G-d Gave You (and Continues to Give)

There’s a stereotypical and all too much “played-out” idea in pop culture about a couple’s wedding anniversary.  Most of you have seen or heard the rendition, probably more than once:

Wife (to husband):  Did you forget what today is?

Husband:  No.  Of course not…

Wife: Yes, you did.

Husband:  No, I didn’t.  I know what today is!  It’s… today…. is… um… Oh, my gosh, how could I forget!  Today is the day that the Yankees– 

Wife:  You did forget! Today is our wedding anniversary! 

Such a scene is usually used to play off the common belief that husbands are insensitive, while women are sentimental and anticipate any opportunity to relive their most cherished memories, like their wedding anniversary.

Keep the above scene in mind, and replace the characters.  Imagine that the “hopeful and sentimental wife” is your soul, and the “bumbling out-of-touch husband” is your body.  While your soul hopes you’ll take every opportunity to rekindle your deep love for spirituality and Hashem (G-d), your body is comfortable to just get through the day without too much effort.

I have good news: today is your anniversary and you’re being warned in advance – you have the opportunity to look and feel like a hero, the first-class all-star husband with a happy marriage.  And today is not just any anniversary…

Today is the day you were given an amazing strength and influence on the entire world around you.  And every year, on this day, you get to relive this, and more than that, you get to recharge this special strength with the same enthusiasm and freshness as if it’s the first time you’re receiving this gift.  Not only that, but you can multiply this special strength 3,000 times over.

Today is Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the month) of the eleventh month of the Jewish calendar.  

This month is called Shvat. Over 3,000 years ago, on this very day, Moshe Rabeinu (Moses) gave each and every one of us a very powerful gift; a gift we can put to unlimited use.

So, what is this gift?

The Torah tells us:

“These are the words which Moshe spoke to all of the Jewish people…and it was in the 40^th year in the eleventh month(Shvat), on the first of the month(Rosh Chodesh), Moshe spoke to the Jewish people all that Hashem commanded him … (and) Moshe began explaining the Torah.” [Devarim (also referred to as Deuteronomy) 1:1, 3, 5]

Rashi explains that the words ‘Moshe began explaining the Torah,’ actually refers to the fact that Moshe (on first day of Shvat) explained the entire Torah to the Jewish people in all 70 languages.  (G-d created 70 distinct nations in this world, each with their own unique language, or tongue.)

There are a few opinions as to why Moshe thought it was necessary to do this. 

One idea is that Moshe was concerned that among the few million Jews who were then present may have been unfamiliar with the original language that the Torah was given and written in – referred to as לשון הקדוש –  the ‘Holy Tongue.’

But if that was case though then why would Moshe wait 40 years after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai and only then, 37 days before his passing, take the time to teach the Torah in a language everyone could understand?  So this explanation is lacking, as it leaves us with another question.

A different answer given as to why Moshe elucidated the Torah in all 70 languages, is that he was preparing the Jews for the times when they would live in exile among the 70 nations, so they should be able to access the Torah then in any local language.  But again, this answer leaves us with a different question:  Why not simply leave such a task up to the spiritual juggernauts of those times (during the future exiles)?

So why did Moshe translate and explain the entire Torah in 70 languages to all the Jews who were then alive (even though the vast majority of them were all fluent in the original ‘Holy Tongue’)?

Here’s the answer:  It has to do with the section (or the ‘book’) of the Torah where we learn about this event – the Book of Devarim.

This story is told over in the fifth book of the Torah, the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), which is commonly referred to as “Mishneh Torah,” which can be translated as “A Repetition of the Torah.”  

In this last book of the “Written Torah” (which is all written down in the very Torah scrolls sitting in the Ark at your local synagogue), Moshe recounts everything that took place for 40 years in the desert, and all the Torah’s commandments which he previously taught to the Jewish nation.

Our sages relate that all five books of the Torah were given by Hashem Himself.  

However, the first four books Moshe transcribed the direct word of G-d, while in the fifth book, Devarim, Moshe said these words ‘in his own voice,’ or according to his understanding.  This is evident by the fact that the first four books are written in the third-person (“And G-d spoke to Moshe…”), while the fifth book is written in the first and second-person (“And G-d spoke to me…”)

How could any part of the Torah be anything but Hashem’s voice and His words?

Maimonides relates that if even one letter of Torah is believed to come from anyone or anywhere except from Hashem Himself, this would deny the absolute truth of Torah, and such a belief cannot and is not accepted in our faith. 

So how can we explain the idea that Moshe said the “Mishneh Torah” in his “own” words? 

The Talmud explains that Moshe said the Book of Devarim with Divine Inspiration (רוח הקודש), and therefore, each word was G-d’s word and Moshe was again His holy mouthpiece. 

But then how is “Mishneh Torah” (Devarim) different from the first four books of Torah? 

The first four books are Hashem’s very words as they only pass through Moshe’s throat, mouth and hands as he said over the Torah and wrote the Torah scroll.  Moshe was no more and no less than a completely nullified conduit to reveal G-d’s word in this world.

In “Mishneh Torah,” Moshe received G-d’s word and then, before saying it over to the Jewish people, Moshe digested these words and shared them only after he processed the messages Hashem had sent to him.

In other words, in the first case (the first four books of the Torah), Moshe acted like a soldier who carries out his orders, regardless if he understands why the General believes such actions will help win the battle.  In the second case (Mishneh Torah), Moshe realized a new role where he passes along the General’s orders with a full understanding of how these actions are part of an overall army strategy (even before he delivers the orders to his unit).

If we look at the entire Torah we see that Hashem always spoke to Moshe, and then Moshe shared Hashem’s teachings and desires with the Jewish people.  So everything we have in Torah was given to us by Moshe, as it says “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai.” [Ethics of Our Fathers]  Also, Maimonides relates that the entire Torah was said by Moshe as he received it from Hashem (including all of Mishneh Torah).

Back to the main question at hand: Why did Moshe say the Torah over in each of the 70 languages? And why do we learn about this specifically in Mishneh Torah?

Everything we have in Torah and Judaism is rooted in the way we first learned it from Moshe in the desert over 3,000 years ago.  Moshe then empowered all of us with two great principles.

One principle is based on the idea that according to the Zohar, the entire Oral Torah is rooted in the Mishneh Torah.

The Oral Torah is the root of Halacha, or Jewish law, which tell us how to perform each mitzvah, thereby directing every facet of daily Jewish life.  The essential idea behind Jewish law is that is the very expression of G-d’s Will here on earth. 

Why do we put on Tefillin, or eat kosher, or keep Shabbat – this is the expression of G-d’s Will and it transforms this world in a holy abode for the Almighty. 

But how do we derive all the specific laws for each mitzvah enabling us to correctly fulfill G-d’s Will? How do we know what Tefillin should look like, or how to prepare kosher meat, or how to cut a cucumber on Shabbat (besides the fact that Moshe showed us how to do all these things)? 

It’s all derived from the Oral Torah, and Oral Torah demands that a Jew understands and derives with their own intellectual prowess the basis for each aspect of each Jewish law. 

In other words, the great sages who established the Code of Jewish Law and the Rabbis of today who apply it in modern times must do so with their own intellectual grasp of Torah. (True, the entire Torah and its applications were given by Hashem to Moshe at Mount Sinai, but G-d wants that His Will be revealed through the Jews learning Torah and applying its wisdom, every day.)  And after they provide a halachic ruling, it’s not their ruling, but it’s 100% G-d’s Will, and it is part and parcel of G-d’s Torah – nothing is ‘man-made,’ G-d forbid.

So where did we get the strength to look into Torah, derive the practical observation of G-d’s Torah, and then conclude that a human being (a certified orthodox Rabbi) can express the Divine will with his words, and we can all conclude, “This is the expression of G-d’s Will here on earth”?

Moshe empowered us with this great strength and responsibility by saying the Mishneh Torah only after he understood it, according to his capacity.    

By doing this, Moshe did not only transmit the content of Torah to the Jewish people, but the approach on how to have a Living Torah. 

He taught us: take the Torah, understand it well, and then express it to yourself and someone else.  If you are connected to Moshe (and to the Tzadik of each generation and the present generation) then your expression of Torah, as you understand it, is in fact the expression of G-d’s Will and Wisdom.

(Before we continue, let’s note that this applies to spiritual lessons we can all glean from Torah that bring us inspiration in living a Torah-based life.  Any questions in the observance of Jewish law should always be asked to an accepted rabbinic authority, and by no means am I advising that anyone decide Jewish law on their own.)

Not only did Moshe empower us with the ability to understand the Divine with our own limited minds (as we are “created” beings), and then express the Divine will with our own thoughts and lips, but he gave us another gift.  

When Moshe translated and explained the Torah in all 70 languages, it elevated all languages to the same status as the original language of Torah itself – the “Holy Tongue.”

This affected that now (and for the last 3,000 years) when a Jew learns Torah in French or Spanish, or when you write a Torah thought in English or Finnish, these words immediately become holy – your very words are now considered Torah itself.

For example, if you want to give a Torah class in Portuguese, it’s no different than speaking Torah in
the original “Holy Tongue,” so you cannot do so unless you made the Blessings on the Torah that morning.

If you drop a Torah book on the floor, but the book is written solely in English – it retains the same holiness as a book written in the “Holy Tongue” and it demands the same respect as a Chumash or Tanach.

Moshe clearly bestowed these gifts to the Jewish nation on the first day of the month of Shvat, which we are all now reliving.  As the holy Rabbi Isaac Luria (the AriZal) taught, when a holy day reoccurs, each year on the Jewish calendar, we reap the same spiritual benefits (and more) as when the event first occurred.

This month of Shvat is also marked by the hiloula (the passing of a Tzadik) of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe.  This anniversary will take place on the 10^th of Shvat.  The Previous Rebbe accomplished the very same task as Moshe Rabeinu as it applies to the inner dimensions of Torah.  He toiled to ensure that the more mystical teachings of Torah, in particular Chasidut, be accessible to all Jews by translating them to all 70 languages.  Now, these teachings can be found in English, French, Spanish, Russian, etc.

Such work did not only accomplish that a Jew who does not know the Holy language (Torah Hebrew) or Yiddish can now learn the inner dimensions of Torah, but it also affected that these teachings retain their holy status in every language.  So, when you learn these deep and meaningful Torah concepts in any language, it carries the same spiritual power as the original teachings – enabling any Jew to unite his soul with G-d.  

As the expression goes: the hidden parts of the Torah, connect the hidden parts of the soul, with the hidden aspects of the Almighty.

Let all the above be a lesson for each us – to follow in the pathways paved by the Tzadikim. 

Today is the day that Moshe Rabeinu explained the Torah in 70 languages.  In 10 days we will connect to the Previous Rebbe who dedicated his life the hidden parts of Torah being spread in all 70 languages. 

G-d, through his Holy Messengers (the Tzadikim) is sending us a clear message – use the gifts that you have been given to spread light – reach out to each and every Jew with the written and spoken words of Torah. 

Torah retains all its integrity, spirituality and G-dliness in each and every language. 

Find a Jew and regardless of their mother tongue, teach them Torah in whatever language it may be.  The elixir that is Torah will give life no matter the conduit – no matter the language.

We have 10 days from now until the hiloula of the Previous Rebbe.  Let’s focus on this task for the next 10 days, and with G-d’s Help may we merit to use our powers of intellect, speech, the written word, and all our other G-d given gifts to light up the souls of all around us, and whoever we come in contact with. 

May Hashem guide us and open our eyes to recognize another soul when the opportunity arises, so we may seize the moment, share whatever we know, whatever inspires us, and in whatever language that suits the listener, bringing Moshiach closer with every word until we greet him together, immediately now! 

- Freely based on Likutei Sichos Vol. 36, pg. 38-44

- Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at FreeDigitalPhotos.net