(א) משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:
(1) Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly.
They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples and make a fence for the Torah.
1. What's the connection between the two parts of the Mishna? They seem unrelated, so why not just separate them?
2. Why list all the levels of the Mesorah? Couldn't it have said that Moshe received from Hashem and passed it on through the generations until the Men of the Great Assembly?
3. There were many other steps of the Mesorah that are not included in this list. Why specifically these five?
4. A prophet cannot use his gift of prophecy to pass a Torah law. Why are prophets included in the Mesorah of the oral tradition?
5. If Moshe is the greatest prophet of all time, why not call him a prophet here since they have included prophets in the oral tradition?
מה' טובא הוו כדתניא הרבה נביאים עמדו להם לישראל כפלים כיוצאי מצרים אלא נבואה שהוצרכה לדורות נכתבה ושלא הוצרכה לא נכתבה
However, only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only prophecy that was needed for future generations was written down in the Bible for posterity, but that which was not needed, as it was not pertinent to later generations, was not written.
When Moses charged us with the Teaching As the heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. And he would then return to the camp; but his attendant, Joshua son of Nun, a youth, would not stir out of the Tent.
He who tends a fig tree will enjoy its fruit, And he who cares for his master will be honored.
רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר אין זקן אלא מי שקנה חכמה שנאמר ה׳ קנני ראשית דרכו
Rabbi Yosei HaGelili says: An “elder [zaken]” means nothing other than one who has acquired wisdom. He interprets the word zaken as a contraction of the phrase zeh kanna, meaning: This one has acquired. Elsewhere the word kanna is used in reference to wisdom, as it is stated that wisdom says: “The Lord acquired me [kanani] at the beginning of His way” (Proverbs 8:22).
Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul’s servants, stated this entire verse only as malicious speech, in an attempt to incite Saul to be jealous of David. “Who knows how to play” means that he knows how to ask complex and germane questions about Torah matters... “And the Lord is with him” means that the halakha is ruled in accordance with his opinion in every area of halakha.
עמד רבי יהושע על רגליו ואמר (דברים ל, יב) לא בשמים היא מאי לא בשמים היא אמר רבי ירמיה שכבר נתנה תורה מהר סיני אין אנו משגיחין בבת קול שכבר כתבת בהר סיני בתורה (שמות כג, ב) אחרי רבים להטות
Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion.
אין לו להקב"ה בעולמו אלא ארבע אמות של הלכה
Brachot, 8b
There is not for G-d in his world except for the Four Amot of Halacha
And this is why the second part of the Mishna makes sense that it follows the chain of transmission listed in the first part:
We need to follow the path of the Men of the Great Assembly by interacting within the public domain of the material world. We need to take the רשות הרבים and transform it into a place where the אחדות of 'ה is felt and made visible. When we do this, we will gather many students - הרבה - who study G-d's wisdom and stand them upright so they can continue from one generation to the next, in an eternal chain of tradition.
The Rebbe describes how G-d himself conducts Himself in the ways that the sages instruct us to in the first Mishna.
הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין
Hashem is compassionate in His Judgement of the Jewish people, knowing the particular temptations of the current exile we are in.
וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה -
Hashem desires that all his children, even those who have strayed - should be able to study Torah. Not just those who have been included in the doors of the study hall, but even the wickedest ones amongst the Jewish people; they too should become children who are learning G-d's ways.
וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:
Through the multiple ways in which Torah is elucidated, there are many ways for those who are first becoming familiar with Judaism can connect to Torah. The various fences that protect Jewish law also act as access points and welcoming gates for everyone to find an entry and a way into Torah study, and then continue their exploration within Torah, having found their place of connection.
רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר, רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מב) ה' חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר:
(Makkot 3:16) Rabbi Chananya ben Akashia says, The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted to give Israel merit; therefore He multiplied for them Torah and commandments, as it said, "The Lord desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the Torah great and glorious," (Isaiah 42:21).
When every Jew has a connection to Torah through its fences, it will lead to every Jew becoming a student of Hashem's ways, which will then lead to the Messianic era. Because of the learning of Torah and acceptance of Mitzvot, Moshiach will not be ushered in through negative judgment but will be a "Triumph through Stillness and Quiet" (Isaiah 30:15)