The Temptation of Temptation:Emmanuel Levinas, Nine Talmudic Readings

The Temptation of Temptation: Emmanuel Levinas, Nine Talmudic Readings

During this morning’s session, there was a call to action: It is high time for interpretations to come to an end so that the world can finally undergo some changes! I was going to give up my commentary. But I regained some confidence when I thought of the impossibility of escaping all discourse, even at the moment when the world is in the process of changing. Will it not be necessary to put some questions to the comrades who are changing the world? And how is one to escape the horizons opened up by this questioning speech?
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

The temptation of temptation may well describe the condition of Western man. In the first place it describes his moral attitudes. He is for an open life, eager to try everything, to experience everything, "in a hurry to live. Impatient to feel..." Oh, above all, we cannot close ourselves off to any possibility. We cannot let life pass us by!
...The temptation of temptation is not the attractive pull exerted by this or that pleasure, to which the tempted one risks giving himself over body and soul. What tempts the one tempted by temptation is not pleasure but the ambiguity of a situation in which pleasure is still possible but in respect to which the Ego keeps its liberty, has not yet given up its security, has kept its distance.
...One must experience everything through one’s own self but experience it without having experienced it yet, before engaging oneself in the world. For experiencing itself is already committing oneself, choosing, living, limiting oneself. To know is to experience without experiencing, before living. We want to know before we do. But we want only a knowledge completely tested through our own evidence.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

שבת פ״ח א:ה׳

״וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר״, אָמַר רַב אַבְדִּימִי בַּר חָמָא בַּר חַסָּא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּפָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הָהָר כְּגִיגִית, וְאָמַר לָהֶם: אִם אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים הַתּוֹרָה מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — שָׁם תְּהֵא קְבוּרַתְכֶם. אָמַר רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: מִכָּאן מוֹדָעָא רַבָּה לְאוֹרָיְיתָא.

Shabbat 88a:5

“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: this teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be God, overturned the mountain over them like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, here will be your grave. Rav Aha bar Jacob said: That is a great warning concerning the Torah.

Israel is placed below the mountain, if we translate the text literally. The mountain is thus changed into an upside-down bucket. It threatens to crush the tribes of Israel if they refuse the gift of the Law. What wonderful circumstances in which to exercise one’s free will—a sword of Damocles! The Israelites coming out of Egypt are about to receive the Torah. The negative freedom of those set free is about to transform itself into the freedom of the Law, engraved in stone, into a freedom of responsibilities. Is one already responsible when one chooses responsibility? This is the problem suggested by Rav Abdimi. Does liberty begin in freedom? According to Rav Abdimi, this would be a vicious circle. Does he think, then, that the choice for responsibility is made under threat and that the Torah would not have been chosen freely?
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

אָמַר רָבָא: אַף עַל פִּי כֵן הֲדוּר קַבְּלוּהָ בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: ״קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים״ — קִיְּימוּ מַה שֶּׁקִּיבְּלוּ כְּבָר.

Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews acknowledged, and accepted" (Esther 9:27). They acknowledged what they accepted.

A charming story! Esther, but also Haman; dangers and miracles. What a good thing it is to be Jewish! Unless such incidents would inspire one to pull out. From now on, one would rather live without triumphs and without Haman, without miracles and without disasters...
The Torah itself is exposed to danger because being in itself is nothing but violence, and nothing can be more exposed to violence than the Torah, which says no to it. The Law essentially dwells in the fragile human conscience, which protects it badly and where it runs every risk. Those who accept this Law also go from one danger to the next. The story of Haman irritated by Mordecai attests to this danger. But the irresistible weight of being can be shaken only by this incautious conscience. Being receives a challenge from the Torah, which jeopardizes its pretention of keeping itself above or beyond good and evil. In challenging the absurd “that’s the way it is” claimed by the Power of the powerful, the man of the Torah transforms being into human history. Meaningful movement jolts the Real. If you do not accept the Torah, you will not leave this place of desolation and death, this desert which lays to waste all the splendors of the earth. You will not be able to begin history, to break the block of being stupidly sufficient unto itself, like Haman drinking with King Ahasuerus. You will not be able to exorcise fatality, the coherence of determined events. Only the Torah, a seemingly utopian knowledge, assures man of a place.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

שבת פ״ח א:ו׳

אָמַר חִזְקִיָּה, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״מִשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁמַעְתָּ דִּין אֶרֶץ יָרְאָה וְשָׁקָטָה״, אִם יָרְאָה — לָמָּה שָׁקְטָה? וְאִם שָׁקְטָה — לָמָּה יָרְאָה? אֶלָּא בַּתְּחִילָּה יָרְאָה וּלְבַסּוֹף שָׁקְטָה. וְלָמָּה יָרְאָה? כִּדְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ. דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי״, ה׳ יְתֵירָה לָמָּה לִי? — מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהִתְנָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עִם מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית וְאָמַר לָהֶם: אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל מְקַבְּלִים הַתּוֹרָה — אַתֶּם מִתְקַיְּימִין, וְאִם לָאו — אֲנִי מַחֲזִיר אֶתְכֶם לְתוֹהוּ וָבוֹהוּ.

Shabbat 88a:6

Ḥezekiah said: It is written: “From the heavens You uttered judgment; the earth feared, and stood still (calm)” (Psalms 76:9)? If it was afraid, why did it stay calm; and if it remained calm, why was it afraid? Rather: At first, it was afraid, and in the end, it became calm.

And why was the earth afraid? The answer is in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: What does the verse mean: “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)? Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, which does not appear on any of the other days? It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be God, established a condition with the works of Creation, and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah [on the sixth day of Sivan], you will continue to exist; and if they do not, I will return you to chaos and disorder.

The mountain turned upside down like a tub above the Israelites thus threatened the universe. God, therefore, did not create without concerning himself with the meaning of creation. Being has a meaning. The meaning of being, the meaning of creation, is to realize the Torah. The world is here so that the ethical order has the possibility of being fulfilled. The act by which the Israelites accept the Torah is the act which gives meaning to reality. To refuse the Torah is to bring being back to nothingness.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

שבת פ״ח א:ז׳

דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי סִימַאי: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״ בָּאוּ שִׁשִּׁים רִיבּוֹא שֶׁל מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, לְכׇל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל קָשְׁרוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי כְתָרִים, אֶחָד כְּנֶגֶד ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ וְאֶחָד כְּנֶגֶד ״נִשְׁמָע״. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁחָטְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, יָרְדוּ מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים רִיבּוֹא מַלְאֲכֵי חַבָּלָה וּפֵירְקוּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּתְנַצְּלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת עֶדְיָם מֵהַר חוֹרֵב״. אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא: בְּחוֹרֵב טָעֲנוּ, בְּחוֹרֵב פֵּרְקוּ. בְּחוֹרֵב טָעֲנוּ — כְּדַאֲמַרַן, בְּחוֹרֵב פֵּרְקוּ — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיִּתְנַצְּלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳״. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: וְכוּלָּן זָכָה מֹשֶׁה וּנְטָלָן. דִּסְמִיךְ לֵיהּ: ״וּמֹשֶׁה יִקַּח אֶת הָאֹהֶל״. אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: עָתִיד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַחֲזִירָן לָנוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּפְדוּיֵי ה׳ יְשֻׁבוּן וּבָאוּ צִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם״ — שִׂמְחָה שֶׁמֵּעוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם.

Shabbat 88a:7

Rabbi Simai taught: When Israel gave precedence to “We will do” over “We will hear,” 600,000 angels came and tied two crowns to each and every member of the Jewish people, one corresponding to “We will do” and one corresponding to “We will hear.” And when the people sinned, 1,200,000 angels of destruction descended and removed them, as it is stated: “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward” (Exodus 33:6). Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: At Horeb they put them on, as we have said; at Horeb they removed them, as it is written: “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Moses merited to keep them all [the crowns], and took them. Because right after, it is stated: “And Moses would take the tent [ohel]” (Exodus 33:7) The word ohel is interpreted as an allusion to an aura or illumination [hila]. Reish Lakish said: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be God, will return them to us, as it is stated: “And the ransomed of the Eternal shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads” (Isaiah 35:10). The joy that they once had will once again be upon their heads.

The text may be speaking to us of those times in which Judaism is practiced or studied only by a tiny minority, perhaps by only one man, when it seems to be completely contained in treatises, immobilized between book bindings, and when living Jews have lost all influence as Jews. The text affirms, without, alas, proving it, that even in those conditions, Judaism has not lost all its luster. Moses, even if he loses his kingdom, remains a crowned king. The young student who spoke yesterday, anxious that in order to rediscover his Judaism he always addressed himself to Jews who had themselves lost it, can put his mind at rest. The masters of the Talmud foresaw the situation. They find it serious but not desperate. Judaism has not lost its radiance because, for a time, it happens to live only in a few consciences or to have gone back into the books that transmit it, like Moses’ mind withdrawn to his tent...
Moses will... not remain the only one crowned. Judaism will come out of the books which contain it and come out of the narrow circles which practice it. The messianic promise is not possible unless the original perfection is given back to each person individually, unless each person finds his own crown again.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

שבת פ״ח א:ח׳

אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״ יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לָהֶן: מִי גִּלָּה לְבָנַי רָז זֶה שֶׁמַּלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בּוֹ? דִּכְתִיב: ״בָּרְכוּ ה׳ מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ״ — בְּרֵישָׁא ״עֹשֵׂי״, וַהֲדַר ״לִשְׁמֹעַ״. אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא: מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״כְּתַפּוּחַ בַּעֲצֵי הַיַּעַר וְגוֹ׳״ — לָמָּה נִמְשְׁלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְתַפּוּחַ, לוֹמַר לָךְ: מָה תַּפּוּחַ זֶה פִּרְיוֹ קוֹדֶם לְעָלָיו, אַף יִשְׂרָאֵל הִקְדִּימוּ ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״.

Shabbat 88a:8

Rabbi Elazar said: When the Jewish people accorded precedence to “We will do” over “We will hear,” a Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Who revealed to my children this secret that the ministering angels use? As it is written: “Bless the Eternal, you angels of God, you mighty in strength, that fulfill God's word, hearkening unto the voice of God's word” (Psalms 103:20). At first, they fulfill, and then afterward, they hearken. Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons.” (Song of Songs 2:3)? Why were the Jewish people likened to an apple tree? To tell you that just as on an apple tree, its fruit grows before its leaves, so too, the Jewish people accorded precedence to “We will do” over “We will hear.”

But where has anyone ever seen apple trees bearing fruit before leaves? Rav Hama says it is so: such apple trees exist! The Tosafists ask the same question. Nothing proves, they say, that the Hebrew text is speaking of apple trees and apples. It is citron trees that are being discussed here. Citrons stay on the tree for two years and can thus seem to be waiting for leaves. The image is beautiful. Here we are, in a marvelous orchard, where the fruits come before the leaves. Marvel of marvels: a history whose conclusion precedes its development. All is there from the beginning. The fruit which negates the seed is the image par excellence of the negativity of history and dialectics. The fruit is there from all eternity. History does not grow but extends. The final order awaits the leaves among which other fruits will appear.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas

שבת פ״ח א:ט׳-פ״ח ב:א׳

הָהוּא מִינָא דְּחַזְיֵיהּ לְרָבָא דְּקָא מְעַיֵּין בִּשְׁמַעְתָּא, וְיָתְבָה אֶצְבְּעָתָא דִידֵיהּ תּוּתֵי כַּרְעָא וְקָא מָיֵיץ בְּהוּ, וְקָא מַבְּעָן אֶצְבְּעָתֵיהּ דְּמָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: עַמָּא פְּזִיזָא, דְּקַדְּמִיתוּ פּוּמַּיְיכוּ לְאוּדְנַיְיכוּ, אַכַּתִּי בְּפַחְזוּתַיְיכוּ קָיְימִיתוּ. בְּרֵישָׁא אִיבַּעְיָא לְכוּ לְמִשְׁמַע, אִי מָצִיתוּ — קַבְּלִיתוּ, וְאִי לָא — לָא קַבְּלִיתוּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אֲנַן דְּסָגֵינַן בִּשְׁלִימוּתָא כְּתִיב בַּן: ״תֻּמַּת יְשָׁרִים תַּנְחֵם״, הָנָךְ אִינָשֵׁי דְּסָגַן בַּעֲלִילוּתָא כְּתִיב בְּהוּ: ״וְסֶלֶף בּוֹגְדִים יְשָׁדֵּם״.

Shabbat 88a:9-88b:1

A heretic saw that Rava was immersed in study, holding his fingers beneath his foot so tightly that blood spurted from it. The heretic said to Rava: You impulsive nation, who accorded precedence to your mouths over your ears. You still bear your impulsiveness. You should have listened in order to know if you were able to accept, and if you were not able to accept, you should not have accepted. He said to him: It is written about us, who walk in integrity: “The integrity of the upright will guide them” (Proverbs 11:3), whereas about those people who walk in deceit, it is written: “And the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.”

One might have expected to see Raba meditating dreamily, while caressing his beard or rubbing his hands. Raba’s gesture is odd: he rubs his foot so hard that blood spurts out. That was the degree to which he forgot himself in study! As if by chance, to rub in such a way that blood spurts out is perhaps the way one must “rub” the text to arrive at the life it conceals... To the degree that [a reading] rests on the trust granted the author, it can only consist in this violence done to words to tear from them the secret that time and conventions have covered over with their sedimentations, a process begun as soon as these words appear in the open air of history. One must, by rubbing, remove this layer which corrodes them....

Intelligibility does not begin in self-certainty, in the coincidence with oneself from which one can give oneself time and a provisional morality, try everything, and let oneself be tempted by everything. Intelligibility is a fidelity to the true; it is incorruptible and prior to any human enterprise; it protects this enterprise like the cloud which, according to the Talmud, covered the Israelites in the desert. Consciousness is the urgency of a destination leading to the other person and not an eternal return to self...
We think, like our text, that consciousness and seeking, taken as their own preconditions, are, like naïveté, the temptation of temptation, a tortuous path leading to ruin. The bogdim are the unfaithful, breaking a fundamental covenant. To them are opposed the yesharim, the upright. Uprightness, an original fidelity to an indissoluble alliance, a belonging with, consists in confirming this alliance and not in engaging oneself headfirst for the sake of engaging oneself.
Will it be said that this prior alliance was not freely chosen? But one reasons as though the ego had witnessed the creation of the world and as though the world had emerged out of its free will. This is the presumptuousness of the philosopher. Scripture makes Job a reproach of it.
— Nine Talmudic Readings by Emmanuel Levinas