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Share(א) ויתן. ריקי מוח יתמהו מה עשה משה בהר ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה. ולא ידעו אם יעמוד שם עם השם כמספר הזה וכפל כפלו שנים, לא יוכל לדעת חלק מאלף ממעשי השם ודרכיו וסוד כל המצות שצוהו. כי יחשבו כי המעשה העיקר. ואיננו רק הלב והמעשה...וקדמונינו אמרו "רחמנא לבא בעי." ושרש כל המצות עד שיאהב את השם בכל נפשו וידבק בו וזה לא יהיה שלם אם לא יכיר מעשי השם בעליונים ובשפלים וידע דרכיו.
Empty-headed people wonder, “What did Moses do on the mountain for forty days and forty nights?” They do not know that if Moses spent this number and double its double in years with God, he would barely know one part of a thousand of God’s work and ways, and the secret of all the laws which God commanded him. Because they think that [the mere] observance [of the commandments] is the most important thing. This is not so. What is important is heart together with deed. And those before us said, “God desires the heart.” (Sanhedrin 6b). And the root of all the mitzvot is that a person should love God with all their soul and to attach themselves to God. This cannot be completely accomplished if a person does not know the ways of God and is not aware of God’s work and God's ways.
According to the Ibn Ezra (above), why was Moshe on Har Sinai for so long?
ואתייא כה' דאמר רבי מנא: "כי לא דבר רק הוא מכם", ואם הוא רק מכם הוא, למה? שאין אתם יגיעין בתורה.
Said R. Mana: “For it is not an empty thing for you (lit. from you)”—And if it is empty, then it is from you. Why? Because you do not toil in Torah.
According to the above source, what should we do to make Torah not empty from our perspective?
(6) Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.”
After reading the above source, why does it make sense that the mitzvot have a meaningful basis?
(א) מבני אדם אנשים שיכבד עליהם נתינת סיבה למצוה מן המצוות והטוב אצלם - שלא יושכל למצוה ולאזהרה ענין כלל. ואשר יביאם אל זה הוא חלי שימצאוהו בנפשם ולא יוכלו להגות בו ולא ידעו לומר אותו. והוא שהם יחשבו שאם היו אלו התורות מועילות בזה המציאות ומפני כך וכך נצטוינו בהם ויהיו כאילו באו ממחשבת והסתכלות בעל שכל; אמנם כאשר יהיה דבר שלא יושכל לו ענין כלל ולא יביא לתועלת יהיה בלא ספק מאת האלוק כי לא תביא מחשבת אנוש לדבר מזה. וכאילו אלו חלושי הדעות - היה האדם אצלם יותר שלם מעושהו כי האדם הוא אשר יאמר ויעשה מה שמביא לתכלית אחת והאלוק לא יעשה כן אבל יצונו לעשות מה שלא יועילנו עשותו ויזהירנו מעשות מה שלא יזיקנו עשותו. חלילה לו חלילה! אבל הענין בהפך זה! והכונה כולה להועילנו
(1) THERE are persons who find it difficult to give a reason for any of the commandments, and consider it right to assume that the commandments and prohibitions have no rational basis whatever. They are led to adopt this theory by a certain disease in their soul, the existence of which they perceive, but which they are unable to discuss or to describe. For they imagine that these precepts, if they were useful in any respect, and were commanded because of their usefulness, would seem to originate in the thought and reason of some intelligent being. But as things which are not objects of reason and serve no purpose, they would undoubtedly be attributed to God, because no thought of man could have produced them. According to the theory of those weak-minded persons, man is more perfect than his Creator. For what man says or does has a certain object, whilst the actions of God are different; He commands us to do what is of no use to us, and forbids us to do what is harmless. Far be this! On the contrary, the sole object of the Law is to benefit us.
What is the Rambam's opinion (above) as to whether mitzvot have reasons? What is his argument that he makes to support this? (read carefully!)
והרי כי כל דבר שבתורה בכלל (general) ובפרט (and specifics)
הכל דברי חכמה, ולא כמו שחשב הוא כי לדברים הפרטיים אין טעם כלל כי לא היה זה תורה של חכמה.
Translate the Tiferet Yisrael (above)
(ח) רָאוּי לָאָדָם לְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּמִשְׁפְּטֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה וְלֵידַע סוֹף עִנְיָנָם כְּפִי כֹּחוֹ. וְדָבָר שֶׁלֹּא יִמְצָא לוֹ טַעַם וְלֹא יֵדַע לוֹ עִלָּה אַל יְהִי קַל בְּעֵינָיו
(8) One ought to consider the laws of the Torah and to penetrate into their ultimate significance as much as he can. If, however, he cannot discover the reason and is ignorant of the basic cause of a law, he should not regard it with contempt.
מַתְנִי׳ הָאוֹמֵר: ״עַל קַן צִיפּוֹר יַגִּיעוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ״...מְשַׁתְּקִין אוֹתוֹ.
MISHNA: One who recites in davening: Just as Your mercy is extended to a bird’s nest, as You have commanded us to send away the mother before taking her chicks or eggs (Deuteronomy 22:6–7), so too extend Your mercy to us...they silence him.
The Gemara explains why this person is silenced (please below read in the original Aramaic and use the translation if needed):
Two amora’im in Eretz Yisrael disputed this question; Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei bar Zevida; one said that this was because he engenders jealousy among God’s creations, as it appears as though he is protesting the fact that the Lord favored one creature over all others. And one said that this was because he transforms the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, into expressions of mercy, when they are nothing but decrees.
How could you argue that mitzvot still have reasons/meaning, given the second statement (above)?
The religious act begins with the sacrifice of one's self, and ends with the finding of that self. But man cannot find himself without sacrificing himself prior to the finding.
What does Rav Soloveitchik mean?
Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to be engrossed in the words of Torah.
Hashem our God, please make the words of Your Torah sweet/pleasant in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people Israel. And may we and our descendants [and the descendants of our descendants] and the descendants of Your people the House of Israel, all know Your Name and be students of Your Torah for its own sake. Blessed are You, Adonoy Who teaches Torah to His people, Israel.
Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the Universe Who chose us from among all the peoples and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Hashem, Giver of the Torah!