Covenant and Coercion (Copy)

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שבת פ״ח א:ט״ז-ל״ב

(שמות יט, יז) ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר א"ר אבדימי בר חמא בר חסא מלמד שכפה הקב"ה עליהם את ההר כגיגית ואמר להם אם אתם מקבלים התורה מוטב ואם לאו שם תהא קבורתכם א"ר אחא בר יעקב מכאן מודעא רבה לאורייתא אמר רבא אעפ"כ הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש דכתיב (אסתר ט, כז) קימו וקבלו היהודים קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר...כדריש לקיש דאמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב (בראשית א, לא) ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום הששי ה' יתירה למה לי מלמד שהתנה הקב"ה עם מעשה בראשית ואמר להם אם ישראל מקבלים התורה אתם מתקיימין ואם לאו אני מחזיר אתכם לתוהו ובוהו:

Shabbat 88a:5-6

"And they stood at the bottom of the mountain (Exodus 19:17)-" Rabbi Avdimi the son of Chama the son of Chasa said, "This teaches that the Holy Blessed One held the mountain over them like a barrel and said, 'If you accept the Torah, it is good. And if not, here shall be your graves." Rav Acha Bar Yaakov said, "From here there is a great claim against the Torah!" Rav said, "Even so, they accepted it again [willingly] in the days of Ahasuerus, as it is written, (Esther 9:27) 'They upheld and accepted' - they upheld what they already accepted." ... According to Resh Lakish, it is written: (Genesis 1:31) "Then it was evening and it was morning of 'the' sixth day." 'The' is extra. Why do I have it? It teaches that God made a condition with the act of creation and said to it, "If Israel accepts the Torah, you will exist; if not, I will return you to chaos."

שמות י״ט:י״ז

וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃

Exodus 19:17

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

אסתר ט׳:כ״ז

קִיְּמ֣וּ וקבל [וְקִבְּל֣וּ] הַיְּהוּדִים֩ ׀ עֲלֵיהֶ֨ם ׀ וְעַל־זַרְעָ֜ם וְעַ֨ל כָּל־הַנִּלְוִ֤ים עֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א יַעֲב֔וֹר לִהְי֣וֹת עֹשִׂ֗ים אֵ֣ת שְׁנֵ֤י הַיָּמִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה כִּכְתָבָ֖ם וְכִזְמַנָּ֑ם בְּכָל־שָׁנָ֖ה וְשָׁנָֽה׃

Esther 9:27

the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof, every year;

1) According to the Talmud, what happened at Mt. Sinai?

1. Gd threatened to destroy the Israelights if they did not accept the Torah (by holding the mountain over them).
What does it mean: "From here there is a great claim against the Torah"?

Added by: Hedda Morton

2) Why do you think the rabbis propose this reading of text of the Torah that describes the experience at Sinai? It is clearly not the only way to read the verses, and certainly not the most obvious!
How, if at all, does it change the relationship between the Jewish people and the Torah if this relationship began under duress?

Question 2 really is related to the word chaos. What does that mean? In a work by Emmanuel Levinas I read that he understood the concept of chaos in the context of spirit. If we accepted Torah, we would be spiritually alive. Without it we would be dead - not physically but spiritually. That always spoke to me.

Added by: Peter Eckstein

3) What is the significance of saying that the story of Esther contains the moment when the Jewish people willingly accepted the Torah? Why do you think that rabbis choose that moment?

3. At the time of Esther, the Jewish people were under the threat of death because they had accepted the Torah. Esther knew the Torah was worth fighting for, but once again, the threat of extinction was a way of underscoring how precarious the position of the Jews was. Jewish lives were on the line. Esther had to act in a timely and significant manner, one that would bring the results she desired.

Added by: Hedda Morton

As to Hedda's point, there is also a key point to the "absence" of God in Esther. If God is not in the book, then one could say that there is no coercive force, so now the acceptance of Torah is no longer under duress.

Added by: Rabbi Adam Schaffer

What Adam said!

Added by: Peter Eckstein

3. At the time of Esther, the Jewish people were under the threat of death because they had accepted the Torah. The

Added by: Hedda Morton

4) The final piece of this passage suggests that all of creation is predicated on the Jewish people accepting the Torah. What does this assertion say about the relationship between the Jewish people and the Torah? Why do you think the rabbis would say this?

5) What other comments or questions do you have about this text?

Peter Eckstein

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