Torah min hashamayim and what happens when it comes down

Abaye asked Rabbah: Is it permitted to write out a scroll [containing a passage] for a child to learn from? This is a problem alike for one who holds that the Torah was transmitted [to Moses] scroll by scroll,¹⁰ and for one who holds that the Torah was transmitted entire. It is a problem for one who holds that the Torah was transmitted scroll by scroll: since it was transmitted scroll by scroll, may we also write separate scrolls, or do we say that since it has all been joined together it must remain so? It is equally a problem for one who holds that the Torah was transmitted entire: since it was transmitted entire, is it improper to write [separate scrolls], or do we say that since we cannot dispense with this we do write them? — He replied: We do not write. What is the reason? — Because we do not write.¹¹ He then raised an objection: 'She¹² also made a tablet of gold on which was written the section of the Sotah'?¹³ — R. Simeon b. Lakish had [already] explained in the name of R. Jannai: Only the first letters¹⁴ [of each word were written there]. He then raised [the following objection]: 'As he¹⁵ writes he looks at the tablet and writes what is written in the tablet'? — Read, 'He writes according to what is written in the tablet.' He then raised [the following objection]: 'As he writes he looks at the tablet and writes what is written in the tablet, If one lay, if one did not lie.'¹⁶ — What is meant is that it was written irregularly.¹⁷ On this point Tannaim differ [as we were taught]: 'A scroll should not be written for a child to learn from; if, however, it is the intention of the writer to complete it, he may do so. R. Judah says: He may write from Bereshith¹⁸ to [the story of the generation of the] Flood, or in the Priests' Law¹⁹ up to, And it came to pass on the eighth day.'²⁰

R. Johanan said in the name of R. Bana'ah: The Torah was transmitted in separate scrolls, as it says, Then said I, Lo I am come, in the roll of the book it is written of me.²¹ R. Simeon b. Lakish said: The Torah was transmitted entire, as it says, Take this book of the law.²² What does the other make of this verse 'Take etc.'? — This refers to the time after it had been joined together. And what does the other [Resh Lakish] make of the verse, 'in a roll of the book written of me'? — That is [to indicate] that the whole Torah is called a roll, as it is written, And he said unto me, what seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll.²³ Or perhaps [it is called roll] for the reason given by R. Levi, since R. Levi said: Eight sections were given forth²⁴ on the day on which the Tabernacle was set up. They are: the section of the priests,²⁵ the section of the Levites,²⁶ the section of the unclean,²⁷ the section of the sending of the unclean [out of the camp],²⁸ the section commencing 'After the death',²⁹

he section dealing with the drinking of wine [by priests],¹ the section of the lights² [of the candlestick], and the section of the red heifer.³

R. Eleazar said: The greater portion of the Torah is contained in the written Law⁴ and only the smaller portion was transmitted orally,⁵ as it says, Though I wrote for him the major portion of [the precepts of] my law, they were counted a strange thing.⁶ R. Johanan. on the other hand, said that the greater part was transmitted orally and only the smaller part is contained in the written law, as it says, For by the mouth of these words.⁷ But what does he make of the words, 'Though I write for him the major portion of my law'? — This is a rhetorical question: Should I have written for him the major portion of my law? [Even now] is it not accounted a strange thing for him? And what does the other make of the words, 'For by the mouth of these words'? — That implies that they are difficult to master.⁸

R. Judah b. Nahmani the public orator⁹ of R. Simeon b. Lakish discoursed as follows: It is written, Write thou these words,¹⁰ and it is written, For according to the mouth of these words.¹¹ 'What are we to make of this? — It means: The words which are written thou art not at liberty to say by heart, and the words transmitted orally thou art not at liberty to recite from writing. A Tanna of the school of R. Ishmael taught: [It is written] These:¹² these thou mayest write, but thou mayest not write halachoth. R. Johanan said: God made a covenant with Israel only for the sake of that which was transmitted orally, as it says, For by the mouth of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel

Was given scroll by scroll - when a portion (parashah) was said to Moshe, he would write it, and at the end of forty years, when the portions were done/finished he connected them with sinews and sowed them together.

Was given closed - Was only written at the end of forty years, after all the portions were said; and those that were said to him in the first year, and the second year, were committed to heart until he wrote them.

Torah was given closed - this opinion is surprising, given that it is written (Shemot 24:7) and he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the ears of the people - and Rashi's explanation, twice [one on 24:7, the other on 24:4] on the Chumash: "from Genesis until here." And it seems that one has to explain that it was not given closed, that it was not written until the end - rather, it was written in a certain order, since there are portions that were said before those that were written after, and were not written until it was said to him 'this you will write before that one'. And this is brought by the words of Rabbi Levi that the portions were not said in order. And he could have proven this from several verses, since "there is no before and after in the Torah". But, since this is an statement of Rabbi Levi, it is brought [to the discussion]. And Rabbeinu Tam has a different version: "Rabbi Levi says" [this would indicate that Rabbi Levi] is not being quoted in [direct] connection [to the Gemara].

Most part in written form - Most of the Torah is dependent on midrash (exegesis), that was written to be interpreted, in 'general and specific', and 'two words' and the rest of the rules through which the Torah is interpreted.

Our Rabbis taught: The order of the Prophets is, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. Let us examine this. Hosea came first, as it is written, God spake first to Hosea.¹¹ But did God speak first to Hosea? Were there not many prophets between Moses and Hosea? R. Johanan, however, has explained that [what It means is that] he was the first of the four prophets who prophesied at that period,¹² namely, Hosea, Isaiah, Amos and Micah. Should not then Hosea come first? — Since his prophecy is written along with¹³ those of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, and Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi came at the end of the prophets, he is reckoned with them. But why should he not be written separately and placed first? — Since his book is so small, it might be lost [if copied separately]. Let us see again. Isaiah was prior to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Then why should not Isaiah be placed first? — Because the Book of Kings ends with a record of destruction and Jeremiah speaks throughout of destruction and Ezekiel commences with destruction and ends with consolation and Isaiah is full of consolation;¹⁴ therefore we put destruction next to destruction and consolation next to consolation.

The order of the Hagiographa is Ruth, the Book of Psalms, Job, Prophets, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel and the Scroll of Esther, Ezra and Chronicles.¹⁵ Now on the view that Job lived in the days of Moses, should not the book of Job come first? — We do not begin with a record of suffering. But Ruth also is a record of suffering?¹⁶ — It is a suffering with a sequel [of happiness], as R. Johanan said: Why was her name called Ruth? — Because there issued from her David who replenished¹⁷ the Holy One, blessed be He, with hymns and praises.

Who wrote the Scriptures? — Moses wrote his own book and the portion of Balaam¹⁸ and Job. Joshua wrote the book which bears his name and [the last] eight verses of the Pentateuch.¹⁹ Samuel wrote the book which bears his name and the Book of Judges and Ruth. David wrote the Book of Psalms, including in it the work of the elders, namely, Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman, Yeduthun, Asaph,

and the three sons of Korah.¹ Jeremiah wrote the book which bears his name, the Book of Kings, and Lamentations. Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote (Mnemonic YMSHK)² Isaiah,³ Proverbs,⁴ the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. The Men of the Great Assembly wrote (Mnemonic KNDG)⁵ Ezekiel,⁶ the Twelve Minor Prophets,⁷ Daniel and the Scroll of Esther. Ezra wrote the book that bears his name⁸ and the genealogies of the Book of Chronicles up to his own time. This confirms the opinion of Rab, since Rab Judah has said in the name of Rab: Ezra did not leave Babylon to go up to Eretz Yisrael until he had written his own genealogy. Who then finished it [the Book of Chronicles]? — Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

The Master has said: Joshua wrote the book which bears his name and the last eight verses of the Pentateuch. This statement is in agreement with the authority who says that eight verses in the Torah were written by Joshua, as it has been taught: [It is written], So Moses the servant of the Lord died there.⁹ Now is it possible that Moses being dead could have written the words, 'Moses died there'? The truth is, however, that up to this point Moses wrote, from this point Joshua wrote. This is the opinion of R. Judah, or, according to others, of R. Nehemiah. Said R. Simeon to him: Can [we imagine the] scroll of the Law being short of one word, and is it not written, Take this book of the Law?¹⁰ No; what we must say is that up to this point the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moses repeated and wrote, and from this point God dictated and Moses wrote with tears, as it says of another occasion, Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.¹¹ Which of these two authorities is followed in the rule laid down by R. Joshua b. Abba which he said in the name of R. Giddal who said it in the name of Rab: The last eight verses of the Torah must be read [in the Synagogue service] by one person alone?¹² — It follows R. Judah and not R. Simeon. I may even say, however, that it follows R. Simeon, [who would say that] since they differ [from the rest of the Torah] in one way, they differ in another.

[You say that] Joshua wrote his book. But is it not written, And Joshua son of Nun the servant of the Lord died?¹³ — It was completed by Eleazar. But it is also written in it, And Eleazar the son of Aaron died?¹⁴ — Phineas finished it. [You say that] Samuel wrote the book that bears his name. But is it not written in it, Now Samuel was dead?¹⁵ — It was completed by Gad the seer and Nathan the prophet. [You say that] David wrote the Psalms, including work of the ten elders. Why is not Ethan the Ezrahite also reckoned with? — Ethan the Ezrahite is Abraham. [The proof is that] it is written in the Psalms, Ethan the Ezrahite,¹⁶ and it is written elsewhere, Who hath raised up righteousness from the East.¹⁷

[The passage above] reckons both Moses and Heman. But has not Rab said that Moses is Heman, [the proof being] that the name Heman is found here [in the Psalms] and it is written elsewhere [of Moses], In all my house he is faithful?¹⁸ — There were two Hemans.

Rabbi Yehudah said, "Rav said, "When Moshe ascended to the heavens, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and attaching crowns to the letters. He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! Who is staying your hand?" He said to him, "There is one man man who will exist after many generations, and Akiva the son of Yosef is his name, who will in the future expound on every crown and crown piles and piles of laws." He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! Show him to me." He said to him, "Turn backwards." He went and sat at the end of eight rows [of students in Rabbi Akiva's Beit Midrash], and he did not know what they were talking [about]. He got upset. As soon as he got to one [other] thing, his students said to him, "Our teacher, from where do you learn this?" He said to them, "It is a law [that was taught] to Moshe at Sinai." He calmed down. He returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him, "Master of the Universe! You have a man like this, and You are giving the Torah through me?" He said to Him, "Be silent. This is what I have decided." He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! You have shown me his Torah; show me his reward." He said to him, "Turn backwards." He turned backwards, and saw that they were tearing his skin with iron combs. He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! Such Torah, and such reward!" He said to him, "Be silent. This is what I have decided."

It was taught elsewhere, If he cut it into sections (lit. vertebrae), and placed sand between every section, Rabbi Eliezer rules it pure and the Sages rule it impure.

This is the “oven of Achnai.” What is Achnai? Said Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Shmuel: That they surrounded it with words [of debate] like an Achnai snake, and declared it impure. It was taught: On that day R. Eliezer answered all the answers on earth and they did not accept it from him. He said, “If the law is like me, the carob tree will prove it”; the carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred Amah, some say four hundred Amah. They said: “We do not bring proof from a carob tree.”... He went and said “If the law is like me the water channel will prove it”; the water channel flowed in reverse direction. They said: “We do not bring proof from a water channel.” He went and said “If the law is as I say the walls of the House of Study will prove it”; the walls of the House of Study inclined to fall. R. Yehoshua protested at them, saying to them “If scholars defeat each other in the law, how does it better you?” They did not fall because of the honor of R.Yehoshua and they did not straighten, because of the honor of R. Eliezer, and they still incline and stand.[R. Eliezer] went and said, “If the law is like me, from Heaven they will prove it”; a heavenly voice came out and said, “What have you with R. Eliezer, who the law is like him in every place?” R. Yehoshua stood on his feet and said “[The Torah] is not in heaven,” (Deuteronomy 30:12). What does "[The Torah] is not in heaven" mean? R. Yirmiyah said: “That the Torah was already given at Sinai, we do not pay attention to a heavenly voice, since You already wrote at Sinai in the Torah, “After the majority to incline,” (Exodus 23:2). R. Natan met the prophet Elijah and said to him, “What did the Holy One Blessed be He do in that hour?” He said to him: “He smiled and said, “My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.” They said: On that day they burned all the pure things R. Eliezer had declared pure; they voted upon him and excommunicated him. They asked “Who will go and inform him?” R. Akiva said, “I will go, lest an improper person inform him and all the earth will be destroyed.” What did R. Akiva do? He dressed in black and sat before him at a distance of four Amot. R. Eliezer said: “Akiva, what is today from all days?” He said, “My master, it appears to me your friends distanced themselves from you.” R. Eliezer too tore his clothes, removed his shoes and sat on the ground his eyes flowed tears. The earth was stricken, a third in olives, a third in wheat, a third in barley. Some say: even dough in a woman’s hand spoiled.... It was taught: Great was that day that every place R. Eliezer put his eyes was burned.... And even R. Gamliel was on a ship; a wave stood upon him to drown him. He said: It appears to me this is only because of R.Eliezer b. Hyrkanos. He stood on his feet and said, “Master of the world, it is revealed and known before You that not for my honor I did nor for the honor of my father’s house but for Your honor that controversies not multiply in Israel.” The sea rested from its anger. Ima Shalom, wife of R. Eliezer, was R. Gamliel’s sister; from then she did not allow R. Eliezer to fall on his face in prayer. One day the New Moon became miscalculated for her between a twenty-nine or thirty day month. Some say: a poor man came and stood at the gate, she brought out bread to him. She found R. Eliezer fallen in prayer and said, “Get up, you have killed my brother.” Meanwhile a ram’s horn blast went out from R. Gamliel’s house [to announce] that he died. [R. Eliezer] asked, “How did you know?” She said, “So I have received a tradition from the house of my father’s father: “All gates are closed but the gates of verbal oppression.”

It was taught: There was an old sage in Yavneh who would give 150 reasons for declaring a rodent pure. Ravina said, I can judge and make pure [a rodent]: If a snake, which, when it dies, increases impurity, is still pure [in its lifetime], a rodent, which doesn't increase impurity when it dies, is it not all the more so? But it's nothing; it's like making an average thorn. Rabbi Abba said in the name of Shmuel, For three years, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai argued. One said, 'The halakha is like us,' and the other said, 'The halakha is like us.' A heavenly voice spoke: "These and these are the words of the living God, and the halakha is like the House of Hillel." A question was raised: Since the heavenly voice declared: "Both these and those are the words of the Living God," why was the halacha established to follow the opinion of Hillel? It is because the students of Hillel were kind and gracious. They taught their own ideas as well as the ideas from the students of Shammai. Not only for this reason, but they went so far as to teach Shammai's opinions first. Like that which we taught, One whose head and majority of his body are in the Sukkah and his table are in the [adjacent] house, Beis Shamai said it is invalid, and Beis Hillel said it is valid. Beis Hillel said to Beis Shamai, Is there not a story in our hands that the elders of Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel went to visit R' Yochanan ben HaChornis, and they found him sitting with his head and majority of his body in the Sukkah and his table in the house? [Doesn't this imply it's permissible?] Beis Shamai said back to them, From there you bring a proof? Even they said to him that if this is how you act, you never fulfilled the mitzvah of Sukkah in your life! [This story is] to teach you that whoever degrades himself, Hashem raises him, and whoever raises himself, Hashem degrades him. Whoever runs toward greatness, greatness flees from him, and whoever flees from greatness, greatness runs toward him. Whoever uses his time wisely, the time stretches out, and whoever procrastinates, the time stands still.