Elyse Frishman: Emet There is No Place
Mishkan Tefilla: A Reform Siddur pg. 121/239
Shema Uh'virchotecha
EMET, there is no place
where You are not:
even in the wilderness
there is your word.
EMET, that pen stroke of lightning,
white fire, black flame,
stir the soul's passion, guide our sacred way
True and enduring is Torah.
Your truth for us is certain and established,
now and forever more.
Like Moses, Miriam and all Israel,
we sing out and rejoice!
וַיֹּאמַ֗ר יי מִסִּינַ֥י בָּא֙ וְזָרַ֤ח מִשֵּׂעִיר֙ לָ֔מוֹ הוֹפִ֙יעַ֙ מֵהַ֣ר פָּארָ֔ן וְאָתָ֖ה מֵרִבְבֹ֣ת קֹ֑דֶשׁ מִֽימִינ֕וֹ אשדת [אֵ֥שׁ] [דָּ֖ת] לָֽמוֹ׃
He said: The LORD came from Sinai; God shone upon them from Seir; God appeared from Mount Paran, And approached from Ribeboth-kodesh, Lightning flashing at them from His right.
אש דת. שֶׁהָיְתָה כְתוּבָה מֵאָז לְפָנָיו בְּאֵשׁ שְׁחֹרָה עַל גַּב אֵשׁ לְבָנָה...; דָּ"אַ — אש דת כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ, שֶׁנִּתְּנָה לָהֶם מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ:
אשדת (“fire, Law”, or “fire of Law”) — i.e. the Law which had been written before him in black fire upon white fire... Another explanation of אש דת: Understand this as the Targum has it: a law which was given them from the midst of the fire.
(יח) וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלּ֔וֹ מִ֠פְּנֵי אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרַ֥ד עָלָ֛יו יי בָּאֵ֑שׁ וַיַּ֤עַל עֲשָׁנוֹ֙ כְּעֶ֣שֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁ֔ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָהָ֖ר מְאֹֽד׃
(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.
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים, זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: יי בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ (משלי ג, יט). וּכְשֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ נִתְיָעֵץ בַּתּוֹרָה וּבָרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: לִי עֵצָה וְתוּשִׁיָּה אֲנִי בִינָה לִי גְבוּרָה (משלי ח, יד). וְהַתּוֹרָה בַּמֶּה הָיְתָה כְתוּבָה? עַל גַּבֵּי אֵשׁ לְבָנָה בְּאֵשׁ שְׁחוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים שְׁחוֹרוֹת כָּעוֹרֵב (שה״ש ה, יא). מַהוּ קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים? עַל כָּל קוֹץ וָקוֹץ. תִּלֵּי תִלִּים שֶׁל הֲלָכוֹת. כֵּיצַד? כָּתוּב בָּהּ, וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי (ויקרא כב, לב), אִם אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה חֵי״ת הֵ״א, אַתָּה מַחֲרִיב אֶת הָעוֹלָם. כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ (תהלים קנ, ו), אִם אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה הֵ״א חֵי״ת, אַתָּה מַחֲרִיב אֶת הָעוֹלָם.
God Created: (Gen. 1:1). This is why it is written: The Lord with wisdom founded the earth (Prov. 3:19). That is, when the Holy One, blessed be God, was about to create this world, God consulted the Torah and then began creation. As it is said Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine (Prov. 8:14).
How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire, as is said: His locks are curled and black as a raven (Song 5:11). What is meant by His locks are curled?
Heaps and heaps of law. (The word taltalim (“curls”) is read as tille tillim (“heaps upon heaps”)
How so?
It is written Profane not My Holy
Name (Lev. 22:2); but if you should change the het in the word yehallelu (“profane”) into a heh, the word would read “praise,” and you would thereby destroy the world.
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6), if you should alter the heh in the word tehallel (“praise”) into a het, the word would read “profane,” and you would thereby destroy the world.
וְאִם אוֹת אַחַת כָּךְ, כָּל שֶׁכֵּן הַתֵּבָה כֻלָּהּ, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים. לְפִיכָךְ דָּוִד מְקַלֵּס וְאוֹמֵר: רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד (תהלים קיט, צו). וְאוֹמֵר: אֲרֻכָּה מֵאֶרֶץ מִדָּה וְגוֹ' (איוב יא, ט).
If a slight change in a single letter can produce such drastic consequences, how much more so the alteration of a complete word. Such, then, is the meaning of His locks are curled. Accordingly David praised God by saying: Thy commandment is exceedingly broad (Ps. 119:96); and elsewhere in Scripture it says: The measure thereof is longer than the earth (Job 11:9).
(שמואל ב כג, ח) אלה שמות הגבורים אשר לדוד יושב בשבת וגו' מאי קאמר א"ר אבהו ה"ק ואלה שמות גבורותיו של דוד יושב בשבת בשעה שהיה יושב בישיבה לא היה יושב על גבי כרים וכסתות אלא על גבי קרקע דכל כמה דהוה רביה עירא היאירי קיים הוה מתני להו לרבנן על גבי כרים וכסתות כי נח נפשיה הוה מתני דוד לרבנן והוה יתיב על גבי קרקע אמרו ליה ליתיב מר אכרים וכסתות לא קביל עליה תחכמוני אמר רב אמר לו הקב"ה הואיל והשפלת עצמך תהא כמוני שאני גוזר גזרה ואתה מבטלה
“These are the names of David’s warriors; Josheb-Basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite; he raised his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time” (II Samuel 23:8).
What is this verse saying? Rabbi Abbahu said: This is what the verse is saying: These are the names of the mighty actions of David. These expressions should not be read as names of people but instead as descriptions of David’s good deeds. Josheb-Basshebeth [yoshev bashevet] indicates that when David would sit [yoshev] in the study hall, he would not sit upon pillows and cushions, as an important person ordinarily would. Rather, he would sit on the ground. For as long as David’s teacher, Ira the Jairite, was alive, Ira would teach the Sages while sitting on pillows and cushions. When Ira passed away, David would teach the Sages, and he did this while sitting on the ground. They said to him: Master, you should sit upon pillows and blankets. He did not accept their suggestions, since in his humility he did not wish to appear as the teacher of the Jewish people.
In this verse, David is described as “a Tahchemonite [taḥkemoni].” Rav said: The Holy One, Blessed be God, said to him: Since you have humbled yourself, be you now like Me [tehe kamoni]. How so? As I issue a decree, and you, owing to your righteousness, may nullify it.
Kedushat Levi Translation and Commentary Arthur Green
Our Rabbis of blessed memory taught, “The Torah was given as black fire on white fire.” (Devarim Rabbah 3:13)
One might say that this alludes to the fact that on account of Mattan Torah (the gift of or giving of Torah) Israel possess great power, as in the saying of our sages “You decreed from below and the blessed Holy One will fulfill it from above” (Ta’anit 23a)
Now the color white includes all colors, for it absorbs all colors. This alludes to God, who is inclusive of all.
This is not the case, however, with the color black, for it does not include the other colors- it is simply black (and excludes all light and color.) This alludes to the human being.
This is what it means that through Mattan Torah the children of Israel merited that the black fire would be “on” that is to say ‘above’ the white fire; Israel would be above, so to speak. The words of Israel would be more operative than the words of the divine; as in the saying of the Rabbis “The blessed Holy One makes a decree, and the Tsaddik/you annuls it.”
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To celebrate Shavu’ot fully means that we recognize the great power we have to shape God’s Torah in this world. While God’s teaching is forever greater and more glorious than ours- containing the full color spectrum- the divine wishes for us to take ownership of it. Every year on this festival we renew our commitment to the covenant by thanking God for this loving and awesome gift and recommitting ourselves to the great responsibility it implies, that of fashioning lives of Torah, knowing that our attempts are always imperfect…