~ As we read the introduction to the revelation on Mount Sinai, I'd like you to think: Why do we have these pyrotechniques? What is their purpose?
~ For the Hebrew mavens, how many voices - the Hebrew word, kol - can you find in the revelation in Har Sinai? What do you make of it?
(טז) וַיְהִי֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜י בִּֽהְיֹ֣ת הַבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְהִי֩ קֹלֹ֨ת וּבְרָקִ֜ים וְעָנָ֤ן כָּבֵד֙ עַל־הָהָ֔ר וְקֹ֥ל שֹׁפָ֖ר חָזָ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃
(יז) וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹקִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃
(יח) וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלּ֔וֹ מִ֠פְּנֵי אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרַ֥ד עָלָ֛יו ה' בָּאֵ֑שׁ וַיַּ֤עַל עֲשָׁנוֹ֙ כְּעֶ֣שֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁ֔ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָהָ֖ר מְאֹֽד׃
(יט) וַיְהִי֙ ק֣וֹל הַשּׁוֹפָ֔ר הוֹלֵ֖ךְ וְחָזֵ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד מֹשֶׁ֣ה יְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהָאֱלֹקִ֖ים יַעֲנֶ֥נּוּ בְקֽוֹל׃
(16) On the third day, as morning dawned, there was voices [of thunder], and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud voice of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.
(17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.
(18) Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the LORD had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
(19) The voice of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in a voice.
(טו) וְכָל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃
(15) All the people witnessed the voices and lightning, the voice of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance.
(ו) עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:
(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Shabbat at twilight. And these are they: The mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach in Numbers 16:32]; and the mouth of the well [that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness in Numbers 21:17]; and the mouth of the donkey [that spoke to Bilaam in Numbers 22:28–30]; and the rainbow [that served as a covenant after the flood in Genesis 9:13]; and the manna [that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 16:4–21]; and the staff [of Moshe]; and the shamir [the worm that helped build the Temple without metal tools]; and the letters; and the writing; and the tablets. And some say, also the destructive spirits, and the burial place of Moshe, our teacher, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say, also the [first] tongs, made with tongs.
(יג) ר' חנניא בן דוסא אומר, אותו האיל שנברא בין השמשות לא יצא ממנו דבר לבטלה. אפרו של איל הוא יסוד על גבי המזבח הפנימי, גידי האיל אלו עשרה נבלים של כנור שהיה דוד מנגן בהם, עורו של איל הוא אזור מתניו של אליהו ז"ל, שנ' איש בעל שער וכו', קרניו של איל, של שמאל שתקע בו בהר סיני שנ' ויהי במשוך בקרן היובל, ושל ימין שהיא גדולה משל שמאל שהוא עתיד לתקוע בה לעתיד לבא, שנ' והיה ביום ההוא יתקע בשופר גדול והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ.
(13) Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said: From that ram, which was created at the twilight, nothing came forth which was useless. The ashes of the ram were the base which was upon the top of the inner altar. The sinews of the ram were the strings of the harp whereon David played. The ram's skin was the girdle (around) the loins of Elijah, may he be remembered for good, as it is said, "And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins" (2 Kings 1:8). The horn of the ram of the left side (was the one) with which God blew upon Mount Sinai, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass, that when the ram's horn sounds long" (Josh. 6:5). (The horn) of the right side, which is larger than that of the left, is destined in the future to be sounded in the world that is to come, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown" (Isa. 27:13); and it is said, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9).
Avot seems to reflect the notion that all of time can be divided into two epochs: the time of creation, and the time post-creation. Once the week of creation ended, the world was set, unchangeable. The reality that existed when Sabbath began would have to persist for eternity. So if there was anything that would later need to be changed, God would need to “create” it before Sabbath. At twilight, we find God rapidly creating ten things that need to be in place for later in history.
What are the implications of this? In a way, we can say that there are no miracles - everything has been created beforehand, they are just waiting for the time to show up. Everything, then, can be a wondrous thing: we need just to have our eyes open to it. Maimonides will help us here:
והענין אשר נלך סביבו כבר התבאר והוא שהפסד זה העולם והשתנותו ממה שהוא או השתנות דבר מטבעו והמשכו לפי השינוי ההוא - הוא דבר שלא בא אלינו בזה דבר נביא ולא דבר 'חכמים' עוד. כי אמרם "שיתא אלפי שנין הוי עלמא וחד חרוב" - אינו העדר המציאות לגמרי לאמרו 'וחד חרוב' - הורה על השאר הזמן. וזה עוד - מאמר 'יחיד' והוא על צורה אחת; ואשר תמצא לכל ה'חכמים' תמיד והוא - יסוד יעשה ממנו ראיה כל אחד מ'חכמי המשנה' ו'חכמי התלמוד' הוא - אמרו "אין כל חדש תחת השמש" ושאין שם התחדשות בשום פנים ולא בשום סיבה; עד שמי שלקח 'שמים חדשים וארץ חדשה' לפי מה שיחשב אמר "אף שמים וארץ שעתידין להבראות - כבר הן ברויין ועומדין שנאמר 'עומדים לפני' - 'יעמדו' ולא נאמר אלא 'עומדין'" והביא ראיה באמרו 'אין כל חדש תחת השמש'. ולא תחשוב שזה סותר למה שבארתיו; אבל אפשר שהוא רוצה שהענינים ההם היעודים הטבע המחיב אותם אז - מ'ששת ימי בראשית' הוא נברא - וזה אמת: ואמנם אמרתי שלא ישתנה דבר מטבעו וימשך על השינוי ההוא - להשמר מן הנפלאות; כי אף על פי שנהפך המטה לנחש ונהפכו המים לדם והיד הטהורה הנכבדת - לבנה מבלתי סיבה טבעית מחיבת אותם - הענינים ההם והדומה להם לא ימשכו ולא שבו טבע אחר אבל כמו שאמרו 'ז"ל' "עולם כמנהגו הולך". זהו דעתי והוא שצריך שיאמן - אף על פי שה'חכמים ז"ל' כבר אמרו בנפלאות דברים זרים מאד תמצאם כתובים ב'בראשית רבה' ו'במדרש קוהלת'. והענין ההוא הוא שהם רואים שהנפלאות הם ממה שבטבע גם כן על צד אחד - וזה שהם אמרו כי כשברא האלוה זה המציאות והטביע על אלו הטבעים שם בטבעים ההם - שיתחדש בהם כל מה שנתחדש מהנפלאות בעת חידושם ואות הנביא - שהודיעהו האלוה בעת אשר יאמר בו מה שיאמר ויפעל הדבר ההוא כמו שהושם בטבעו בשורש מה שהוטבע. וזה - אם הוא כמו שתראהו - הוא מורה על מעלת האומר והיות קשה בעיניו מאד שישתנה טבע אחר 'מעשה בראשית' או יתחדש רצון אחר אחר שהונחו כן; וכאלו הוא יראה על דרך משל שהושם בטבע המים שידבקו ויגרו ממעלה למטה תמיד רק בעת ההיא שטבעו בו המצרים והמים ההם לבד הם שיחלקו: וכבר העירותיך על עיקר זה המאמר ושזה כולו - בריחה מהתחדשות דבר. שם נאמר "אמר רבי יונתן תנאים התנה הקב"ה עם הים שיהא נקרע לפני ישראל - הדא היא "וישב הים לפנות בוקר לאיתנו"; אמר רבי ירמיה בן אלעזר לא עם הים בלבד התנה הקב"ה אלא עם כל מה שנברא בששת ימי בראשית - הדא היא "אני ידי נטו שמים וכל צבאם צויתי" צויתי את הים שיקרע את האור - שלא תזיק לחנניה מישאל ועזריה את האריות - שלא יזיקו לדניאל את הדג - שיקיא את יונה". והוא ההקש בשאר:
Our opinion, in support of which we have quoted these passages, is clearly established, namely, that no prophet or sage has ever announced the destruction of the Universe, or a change of its present condition, or a permanent change of any of its properties. When our Sages say, "The world remains six thousand years, and one thousand years it will be waste," they do not mean a complete cessation of existing things; the phrase "one thousand years it will be waste" distinctly shows that time will continue: besides, this is the individual opinion of one Rabbi, and in accordance with one particular theory. But on the other hand the words, "There is nothing new under the sun" (Eccles. 1:9), in the sense that no new creation takes place in any way and under any circumstances, express the general opinion of our Sages, and include a principle which every one of the sages of the Mishnah and the Talmud recognizes and makes use of in his arguments. Even those who understand the words "new heavens and a new earth" in their literal sense hold that the heavens, which will in future be formed, have already been created and are in existence, and that for this reason the present tense "remain" is used, and not the future "will remain." They support their view by citing the text, "There is nothing new under the sun." Do not imagine that this is opposed to our opinion. They mean, perhaps, to say that the natural laws, by which the promised future condition of Israel will be effected, have been in existence since the days of the Creation, and in that they are perfectly correct. When I said that no prophet ever announced "a permanent change of any of its properties," one needs to be careful regarding wonders. For although the rod was turned into a serpent, the water into blood, the pure and noble hand into a leprous one, without the existence of any natural cause that could effect these or similar phenomena, these changes were not permanent, they have not become a physical property. On the contrary, the Universe continues its regular course. This is my opinion; this should be our belief. Our Sages said very strange things as regards miracles: they are found in Bereshit Rabba, and in Midrash Koheleth, that the miracles are to some extent also natural: for they say, when God created the Universe with its present physical properties, He made it part of these properties, that they should produce certain miracles at certain times, and the sign of a prophet consisted in the fact that God told him to declare when a certain thing will take place, but the thing itself was effected according to the fixed laws of Nature. If this is really the meaning of the passage referred to, it testifies to the greatness of the author, and shows that he held it to be impossible that there should be a change in the laws of Nature, or a change in the will of God [as regards the physical properties of things] after they have once been established. The author therefore assumes, e.g., that God gave the waters the property of joining together, and of flowing in a downward direction, and of separating only at the time when the Egyptians were drowned, and only in a particular place. I have already pointed out to you the source of this passage, and it only tends to oppose the hypothesis of a new creation. It is said there: R. Yonatan said, God made an agreement with the sea that it should divide before the Israelites: thus it is said, "And the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared" (Exod. 14:27). R. Jeremiah, son of Elazar, said: Not only with the sea, but with all that has been created in the six days of the beginning [was the agreement made]: this is referred to in the words, "I, even my hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded" (Isa. 45:12); i.e., I have commanded the sea to divide, the fire not to hurt Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, the lions not to harm Daniel, and the fish to spit out Jonah. The same is the case with the rest of the miracles.
Building on what we read, Maimonides indicates that there are no miracles outside of nature: all was programmed, as we can read on the piece of Avot. Even the opening of the Sea of Reeds was pre-programmed, so to speak, to reconfigure itself at a precise point in time. In that sense, everything that happened in Egypt - and we can say, also at the Revelation of the Torah, is not a miracle in the sense of an unnatural creation made haphazardly just for that moment. All the situations were already arranged to spring up when needed.
In that same passage, which I have not brought to you but that you can read on Sefaria, which has the entire Guide translated, Maimonides explains that a prophet is something like the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court: he cannot change reality, but knows precisely when these things, that seem to be aberrations from the norm will eventually take place. And by using this knowledge, the prophet appears to be in control of nature. But in fact, no one is.
According to Maimonides – and Pirkei Avot – God’s greatness is not revealed in strange miracles. In fact, these miracles are an illusion, because all is encoded in creation. God’s real greatness is in the regularity, in the laws of nature and the world all around us, that operates so smoothly with so little need for intervention.
But I also want to point out that there are things in Avot that were created in the twilight and are not raw materials of future miracles. Some seem to be simply setting up the world to run smoothly later on. It is hard to know precisely what was intended by “the script and the writing,” but conceivably this is simply a reflection on the miraculous nature of human written communication. (The association with the tablets may suggest that it is specific writing, though.)
The quaintest of the items on the list is the last: tongs. Here we have a solution for what is said to be a logical conundrum. In order to make tongs, one needs to hold the metal in the fire and then hammer. But with what does one hold the metal in the fire, if not with tongs? So where does the first pair of tongs come from? Our mishnah suggests a simple answer: they were created at twilight.
So let's remind ourselves what kind of theology we have here. With the mouth of the earth that would swallow Korah, the mouth of the donkey that would speak to Balaam, and the ram of Abraham that would take Isaac’s place on the altar, God created tongs which made possible technology.
In this view, the world is comforting: all we need is already here. We have all we need. It is also terrifying because, according to Avot and Maimonides, we cannot expect further interventions. “There is nothing new under the sun,” as Kohelet says, and Maimonides quotes that in this context. Nature will not change for us, even if things are going horrible, whether among human beings or in nature. We have to deal with it. Finally, this is also empowering: the first pair of tongs, our ability to make technological advances, is there. With those first pair of tongues we can make more pairs.
So what to make of the voices? Let's look at this midrash:
Further said R. Chelbo in the name of R. Huna: "He who does not cheer the bridegroom, whose wedding feast he has enjoyed, transgresses against the five voices (the passage where voice is mentioned five times) (Jer. 33:11.) The voice of gladness, the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say Praise ye the Lord of Hosts." And if he does cheer him, what will his reward be? R. Simon b. Lakish said: "He will merit the Torah, which was given with five voices, as it is said (Ex. 19) "and it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were voices, and the voice of the shofar, etc.. And the voice of the shofar was, etc., And God answered him with a loud voice." Really? Behold it is written "and the people saw the voices"! (Ex. 20:15) [there are more than five!] Actually those two voices were before the revelation. R. Abahu said: ["To cheer the bridegroom is considered meritorious] as if he brought a thanksgiving offering; for it is said (Jer. 33:11) "of those that bring thanksgiving offering unto the house of the Lord." R. Nachman b. Isaac said: "It is as if he had rebuilt one of the ruins of Jerusalem, for it is said (Jer. 33:11) For I will cause their captivity to return, as at the first, says Ad-nai."
This is why the Torah is given in five voices: so we are aware of our own power of making others rejoice. It is not by accident: we have all we need, within us and in nature itself, to support each other and the planet in this journey called Life. Let's use this, all our powers, already in us and in nature, to truly make the world a place worthy of God’s presence.