Parshat Hashavua Nitzavim: dots on words in the Torah

Key points in history of Torah for this session
c 5th C BCE: Pentateuch compiled in structure we would recognize today, from earlier sources (JE, P, D, earlier songs/poems)
1st C CE: multiple variants of Pentateuch in parellel, including Pharisees (Rabbinic), Samaritan, Septuagint and Qumran variants
10th C CE: Masoretic text of Pentateuch is finalized (Aaron ben Moses ben Asher) with writing of Aleppo Codex
Early 11th C CE: Leningrad Codex is finished in Cairo (1008-1009). Earliest surviving complete text of the Hebrew Pentateuch

דברים כ״ט:ט׳-י״ד

(ט) אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (י) טַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ׃ (יא) לְעׇבְרְךָ֗ בִּבְרִ֛ית יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּבְאָלָת֑וֹ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כֹּרֵ֥ת עִמְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם׃ (יב) לְמַ֣עַן הָקִֽים־אֹתְךָ֩ הַיּ֨וֹם ׀ ל֜וֹ לְעָ֗ם וְה֤וּא יִֽהְיֶה־לְּךָ֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּר־לָ֑ךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֤ר נִשְׁבַּע֙ לַאֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹֽב׃ (יג) וְלֹ֥א אִתְּכֶ֖ם לְבַדְּכֶ֑ם אָנֹכִ֗י כֹּרֵת֙ אֶת־הַבְּרִ֣ית הַזֹּ֔את וְאֶת־הָאָלָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ (יד) כִּי֩ אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֶשְׁנ֜וֹ פֹּ֗ה עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ עֹמֵ֣ד הַיּ֔וֹם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְאֵ֨ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵינֶ֛נּוּ פֹּ֖ה עִמָּ֥נוּ הַיּֽוֹם׃

Deuteronomy 29:9-14

(9) You stand this day, all of you, before your God יהוה —your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, every householder in Israel, (10) your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer— (11) to enter into the covenant of your God יהוה, which your God יהוה is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions; (12) in order to establish you this day as God’s people and in order to be your God, as promised you and as sworn to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (13) I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, (14) but both with those who are standing here with us this day before our God יהוה and with those who are not with us here this day.

Some historical details, leading to the final verse of this section:

דברים כ״ט:כ״ח

(כח) הַנִּ֨סְתָּרֹ֔ת לַיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵ֙ׄיׄנׄוּ֙ׄ עַׄד־עוֹלָ֔ם לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ {ס}

Deuteronomy 29:28

(28) Concealed acts concern our God יהוה; but with overt acts, it is for us and our children ever to apply all the provisions of this Teaching.

Note the dots on the words "lanu ul'vaneynu a(d)". Why are they there? How have they been understood?

סנהדרין מ״ג ב:י׳-י״א

כתנאי (דברים כט, כח) הנסתרות לה' אלהינו והנגלות לנו ולבנינו עד עולם למה נקוד על לנו ולבנינו ועל עי"ן שבעד מלמד שלא ענש על הנסתרות עד שעברו ישראל את הירדן דברי ר' יהודה א"ל ר' נחמיה וכי ענש על הנסתרות לעולם והלא כבר נאמר עד עולם אלא כשם שלא ענש על הנסתרות כך לא ענש על עונשין שבגלוי עד שעברו ישראל את הירדן

Sanhedrin 43b:10-11

The Gemara notes that this is subject to a dispute between tanna’im. The verse states: “The hidden matters belong to the Lord our God, but those matters that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever [ad olam], that we may do all the words of this Torah” (Deuteronomy 29:28). Why in a Torah scroll are there dots over each of the letters in the words “to us and to our children” and over the letter ayin in the word “forever [ad]”? The dots, which function like erasures that weaken the force of the words, teach that God did not punish the nation for hidden sins until the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River. This is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: And does God ever punish the nation as a whole for hidden sins committed by individuals? But isn’t it already stated: “The hidden matters belong to the Lord our God…forever,” indicating that the Jewish people will never be collectively held responsible for the secret sins of individuals? Rather, the dots over the words teach that just as God did not ever punish the nation as a whole for hidden sins committed by individuals, so too, He did not punish the entire nation for sins committed publicly by individuals until the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River.

Ibn Ezra is helpfully pithy about the 'mainstream' understanding of this verse

אבן עזרא על דברים כ״ט:כ״ח

(א) הנסתרות. הטעם מי שיעבוד עבודת כוכבים בסתר:

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 29:28

(1) THE SECRET THINGS. The reference is to one who serves idols in secret.

Avot d'Rabbi Natan is Ge'onic (700-900 AD), i.e. after the Talmud but before the Aleppo Codex. I have just included the text here relevant to this verse; we will return to the other 9 verses later.

אבות דרבי נתן ל״ד:ה׳

עשר נקודות בתורה אלו הן ... (דברים כ״ט:כ״ח) הנסתרות לה׳ אלהינו והנגלות לנ״ו ולבנינ״ו נקוד על לנו ולבנינו ועל ע' שבעד למה אלא כך אמר עזרא אם יבא אליהו ויאמר לי מפני מה כתבת כך אומר אני לו כבר נקדתי עליהן ואם אומר לי יפה כתבת אעביר נקודה מעליהן.

Avot DeRabbi Natan 34:5

Ten words in the Torah are marked with dots. They are as follows ... 10. “The hidden things are for the Eternal our God, and the revealed things are for us and our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:30). There are dots above the words “for us and our children,” and above the letter ayin in the word “forever.” Why? For this is what Ezra said: If Elijah comes and says to me: Why did you write it this way? I will say to him: I have already put dots above these words [to indicate I was not certain it was correct]. But if he says to me: You wrote it correctly, then I will remove the dots.

This Talmudic source associates the dots with scribal error - but this is not borne out in alternative versions of the verse that are identical to the Masoretic version.
The Samaritan Pentateuch has almost identical text for the whole verse (Hanistarot and Haniglot are spelled slightly differently), 100% identical on the dotted words, and does NOT have the dots. (Verse starts at penultimate word on top line; Lanu starts in the middle of the second line. The lamed looks like a backwards Hebrew lamed and the nun like a forward Hebrew lamed).

Septuagint version also appears has the same text, although this could not account for minor variations:
28 τὰ κρυπτὰ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, τὰ δὲ φανερὰ ἡμῖν καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις ἡμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ποιεῖν πάντα τὰ ρήματα τοῦ νόμου τούτου.

(I am sorry I do not have access to Qumran texts as I prepare this; I wish I had! If anyone has access and can look these up for dots/variants that would be great!)

So we see that the dots are not universal in late Second Temple time, are present in Rabbinic times, and so predate the Masoretic completion of the Torah. There are many other kinds of dots:
Consonant dots (dageshim)
Vowel dots
Trope marks
We know that Dageshim are not stable in between Rabbinic and Masoretic times:

ברכות ט״ו ב:כ״ח

עָנֵי רָבָא בָּתְרֵיהּ: כְּגוֹן ״עַל לְבָבֶךָ״, ״עַל לְבַבְכֶם״, ״בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ״, ״בְּכָל לְבַבְכֶם״, ״עֵשֶׂב בְּשָׂדְךָ״, ״וַאֲבַדְתֶּם מְהֵרָה״, ״הַכָּנָף פְּתִיל״, ״אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ״.

Berakhot 15b:28

Rava responded after him by way of explanation: For example, one must enunciate al levavekha and not read them as one word. So too, al levavkhem, bekhol levavekha, bekhol levavkhem, esev besadkha, va’avadtem mehera, hakanaf petil, and etkhem me’eretz. Because the last letter of the first word and the first letter of the second are identical, the words are liable to be enunciated together and the correct meaning is liable to be obscured.

This is about how to read the Shema correctly. Note that the words 'Esev Besadecha' and 'Hakanf Petil' pose no problem in Masoretic reading because Masoretic Hebrew grammar places a dagesh in BG"D K'PT letters when they are at the start of a word, and no dagesh when they are at the end of the word, so these letters are pronounced differently. The Talmud must have different dagesh rules!

But Kabbalistic and Chassidic understandings are far more beautiful.
The Beer Mayim Chaim is Rabbi Chaim Tirar of Tchernovitz (1760-1817), 3rd generation Chassidic Master
Resit Chochma is Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas (1518-1587), 3rd generation Lurianist

באר מים חיים, דברים כ״ט:כ״ח

(א) הנסתרות לה' אלהינו. שזה שהשליכם אל ארץ אחרת הוא עבור הנסתרות לה' אלהינו המה ניצוצי הקדושה הנסתרים ונעלמים בכל דבר ודבר אשר על פני תבל ומלואה וצריך להגביהם להשיבם לשורשם מקור מחצבתם.

Be'er Mayim Chaim, Deuteronomy 29:28

...

ראשית חכמה, שער הקדושה ו׳:ב׳

הנגלות הם ו"ה שהם בן ובת התורה והמצוה, והם נגלות מפני שהם נראים לבני אדם באיברים הנגלים כמבואר במאמר.

Reshit Chokhmah, Gate of Holiness 6:2

...

What about the other dotted words? What can we learn from them? Here is each text with the relevant section from Avot d'Rabbi Natan

בראשית ט״ז:ה׳

(ה) וַתֹּ֨אמֶר שָׂרַ֣י אֶל־אַבְרָם֮ חֲמָסִ֣י עָלֶ֒יךָ֒ אָנֹכִ֗י נָתַ֤תִּי שִׁפְחָתִי֙ בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ וַתֵּ֙רֶא֙ כִּ֣י הָרָ֔תָה וָאֵקַ֖ל בְּעֵינֶ֑יהָ יִשְׁפֹּ֥ט יְהֹוָ֖ה בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֶֽיׄךָ׃

Genesis 16:5

(5) And Sarai said to Abram, “The wrong done me is your fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. יהוה decide between you and me!”

There is a dot above the letter yod in the term, “and you.” This teaches that Sarah did not say this to Abraham, but to Hagar. Some say that it means she was speaking about those who caused the fighting “between me and you.”

בראשית י״ח:ט׳

(ט) וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵׄלָ֔יׄוׄ אַיֵּ֖ה שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּ֥ה בָאֹֽהֶל׃

Genesis 18:9

(9) They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.”

There are dots above the letters aleph, yod, and vav in the term, “to him,” to indicate that they already knew where she was, but they nevertheless inquired about her.

בראשית י״ט:ל״ג

(לג) וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָ אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֛ן יַ֖יִן בַּלַּ֣יְלָה ה֑וּא וַתָּבֹ֤א הַבְּכִירָה֙ וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣ב אֶת־אָבִ֔יהָ וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּ וּבְקוּׄמָֽהּ׃

Genesis 19:33

(33) That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.

There is a dot above the letter vav in the term, “When she arose” the first time it is used [with regard to Lot’s older daughter]. This teaches that he was not aware of what happened until the (younger daughter) arose.

בראשית ל״ג:ד׳

(ד) וַיָּ֨רׇץ עֵשָׂ֤ו לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃

Genesis 33:4

(4) Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.

The term for, “and kissed him,” has dots above every letter, to teach that he did not kiss him sincerely. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: It means that this kiss was sincere, but every other one he gave Jacob was not.

בראשית ל״ז:י״ב

(יב) וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ אֶחָ֑יו לִרְע֛וֹת אֶׄתׄ־צֹ֥אן אֲבִיהֶ֖ם בִּשְׁכֶֽם׃

Genesis 37:12

(12) One time, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem,

There are dots on the word just before “flocks.” This teaches that they did not actually go to shepherd the flocks, but to eat and drink (and indulge their temptations).

במדבר ג׳:ל״ט

(לט) כׇּל־פְּקוּדֵ֨י הַלְוִיִּ֜ם אֲשֶׁר֩ פָּקַ֨ד מֹשֶׁ֧ה וְׄאַׄהֲׄרֹ֛ׄןׄ עַל־פִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם כׇּל־זָכָר֙ מִבֶּן־חֹ֣דֶשׁ וָמַ֔עְלָה שְׁנַ֥יִם וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ {ס}

Numbers 3:39

(39) All the Levites who were recorded, whom at יהוה’s command Moses and Aaron recorded by their clans, all the males from the age of one month up, came to 22,000.

There are dots above Aaron’s name. Why? To teach that Aaron himself was not counted in this record.

במדבר ט׳:י׳

(י) דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ אִ֣ישׁ כִּי־יִהְיֶֽה־טָמֵ֣א ׀ לָנֶ֡פֶשׁ אוֹ֩ בְדֶ֨רֶךְ רְחֹקָ֜הׄ לָכֶ֗ם א֚וֹ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְעָ֥שָׂה פֶ֖סַח לַיהֹוָֽה׃

Numbers 9:10

(10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any party—whether you or your posterity—who is defiled by a corpse or is on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to יהוה,

There is a dot above the letter hei in the word “long.” This teaches that this does not really mean a long journey, but any exiting the boundaries of the outer court of the Temple.

במדבר כ״א:ל׳

(ל) וַנִּירָ֛ם אָבַ֥ד חֶשְׁבּ֖וֹן עַד־דִּיבֹ֑ן וַנַּשִּׁ֣ים עַד־נֹ֔פַח אֲשֶׁ֖רׄ עַד־מֵֽידְבָֽא׃

Numbers 21:30

(30) Yet we have cast them down utterly,
Heshbon along with Dibon;
We have wrought desolation at Nophah,
Which is hard by Medeba.

There is a dot above the letter reish in the word “which.” Why? To teach that they destroyed the idolaters but not the countries themselves (whereas the practice of idolaters was to destroy entire countries).

במדבר כ״ט:ט״ו

(טו) וְעִשָּׂרוֹׄן֙ עִשָּׂר֔וֹן לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ הָאֶחָ֑ד לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה עָשָׂ֖ר כְּבָשִֽׂים׃

Numbers 29:15

(15) and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs.

[This verse delineates the meal offering that accompanies the burnt offering] on the first day of the Sukkot festival. There is a dot above the letter vav in the [first occurrence of the] word “tenth.” Why? To teach that there is only one-tenth [measure] for each.

In summary, we have three traditional interpretations for the dots:
1. Indication of delay and/or reduction of Divine punishment for hidden sins
2. Indication of scribal uncertainty and possible error
3. Indication that we can acccess the Divine secrets in the universe through revelation
However we can also see that:
(i) Scribal error is unlikely to be correct in this case (!)
(ii) Traditional interpretation for the other dot phrases points to hidden meanings, specifically that things are not as they appear to be especially in our narrative texts.