07 Jun THE PURPOSE OF MATTAN TORAH – EMUNAH

The purpose of
mattan Torah is to
believe in Hashem.
As the Vilna Gaon zt’l (Mishlei 19:22)
עיקר נתינת- התורה לישראל- הוא ,writes
was Torah The “, בכדי שישימו -’בטחונם בה
given, primarily, so that they will place
their trust in Hashem.” Similarly, the
Ramban (end of parashas Bo) writes,
“If one doesn’t believe that everything
that happens to us is miraculous and
that the concept of nature doesn’t exist,
he doesn’t have a portion in the Torah.”
The Aseres HaDibros begin with וידבר
אלקים -את כל- הדברים האלה – לאמר, אנכי ה‘
אלקיך- Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhenzk
zt’l translates it as follows: “Hashem

taught – כל הדברים האלה ,the entire To-
rah, so a Yid will be able to believe in

אנכי- ה‘ אלקיך“ say and Hashem

The Degel Machanah Efraim (begin-
ning of parashas Ekev) writes, “The

main thing is emunah. My grandfather,

the Baal Shem Tov zt’l, would empha-
size the importance of emunah. Emu-
nah is the basis of avodas Hashem and

the foundation of the Torah. As Dovid
HaMelech said (Tehillim 119:86)
אמונה -מצותיך כל ’ , All your mitzvos are
about emunah.’”
The commentaries ask, why does the
Aseres HaDibros begin with, ’ה אנכי
am I, ” אלקיך – אשר הוצאתיך – מארץ מצרים
Hashem your G-d Who took you out of
Mitzrayim”? Why doesn’t it say ’ ה אנכי

וארץ שמים ברא אשר – אלקיך , I am Hash-
em your G-d Who created heaven and

earth”?
To answer, we quote the Rosh who
writes, “Trust in Hashem with all your
heart and believe in His hashgachah

pratis… Believe that Hashem sees ev-
erything you do and examines your

heart and your thoughts. Whoever
doesn’t believe in yetzias Mitzrayim
[which showed us that Hashem leads
the world with hashgachah pratis], also
doesn’t believe in “ אלקיך‘ ה אנכי “ and
[belief in hashgachah pratis] is the
foundation of the entire Torah.”
The Rosh is saying that – אלקיך‘ ה אנכי
two us teaches אשר הוצאתיך – מארץ מצרים
aspects of emunah. אלקיך‘ ה אנכי teaches
us that there is G-d, the creator. אשר
that us teaches הוצאתיך -מארץ מצרים
Hashem controls the world and leads us
with hashgachah pratis, as He did when

He took us out of Mitzrayim. This sec-
ond lesson ‘ would be lacking if it stat-
ed ’ וארץ – שמים ברא אשר – אלקיך ה אנכי –

“I am Hashem your G-d who created
heaven and earth.”

Everything is for the Good Another as-
pect of emunah, which we acquire with

mattan Torah, is the belief that every-
thing is for the good. When Naomi left

Beis Lechem to live in Moav, she was a
wealthy woman; she was married and
had two sons. When she returned to
Beis Lechem, Eretz Yisrael, more than
ten years later, she was a poor, childless
widow. The women of Beis Lechem
were shocked to see her so distraught
and broken. Naomi told them (Rus
1:20), “Don’t call me Naomi (pleasant).
Call me bitter because Hashem made
my life very bitter.” The Chasam Sofer

zt’l (Drashos vol.2, p.299.) writes an-
other reason Naomi felt so bitter. When

Noami returned to Eretz Yisrael, she

hoped that her husband’s wealthy neph-
ew, Boaz, would help her settle down in

Eretz Yisrael. Noami didn’t want to
speak with Boaz directly. As the
Chasam Sofer writes, “It isn’t the way
of tzanuah women to meet with men.
And, indeed, we never find Naomi
meeting or speaking to Boaz.” Naomi
planned to approach Boaz’s wife and
ask her to speak to her husband on her

behalf. “However, when Naomi arrived
in Beis Lechem, the levayah of Boaz’s
wife was taking place (see Bava Basra
91.).” Naomi’s plans and hopes were
dashed. But ultimately, it was all for her
benefit, as the Chasam Sofer writes.
“The petirah of Boaz’s wife was for
Naomi’s benefit because Rus came and
took her place [Rus married Boaz]. And
from this marriage, Rus bore a child,
which Naomi raised as her own. So, it
was Hashem’s plan, and for the good.
But at the time, Naomi didn’t realize

that. She thought it was bad for her [be-
cause she relied on Boaz’s wife to be

her contact]. Therefore, she said , המר כי

מאוד לי – י‘שד ,Hashem made it very bit-
ter for me.’”

“ המר שד‘י -לי מאוד of teivos roshei The
,Hashem made it very bitter for me”
spell שלמה .This hints that although
Naomi thought matters were bitter for
her, it was all for the good, preparing

the way for the birth of Dovid HaMel-
ech and Shlomo HaMelech [who were

descendants of Boaz and Rus].
אמונה זה סדר – ,say) 31 shabbos (Chazal
זרעים emunah hints to Seder Zeraim
(which discusses the halachos related to
agriculture, such as the halachos of
terumah and maasar).

Why is it called אמונה ? What is the con-
nection between agriculture and emu-
nah? Perhaps we can explain it this

way: Agriculture reminds us that when
everything seems lost, good things will
sprout from it. One plants seeds in the
earth, they rot, and it looks like nothing
will come from it. But these seeds will

sprout, and soon the field will be cov-
ered with produce. Similarly, we must

believe that even when we go through a

difficult period, something extraordi-
nary will sprout from it. Aharon’s chil-
dren Elazar and Isamar were greater

than the seventy zekenim of the Sanhe-
drin. The

proof is

the Gema-
ra (Eiruvin

54:) that
t e a c h e s
t h a t
M o s h e
Rabbeinu

taught To-
rah to

A h a r o n ,
then to
Elazar and
I s a m a r ,
and then to

the seventy zekeinim. Elazar and Isa-
mar were taught before the Sanhedrin,

which indicates that Elazar and Isamar
were on a higher level.
Furthermore, the Gemara explains that
Torah study requires review, and Elazar
and Isamar would teach the Sanhedrin,
to repeat what they heard from Moshe
rabbeinu. So, Elazar and Isamar taught
the seventy zekenim, which that means
Elazar and Isamar were greater. Yet, by
mattan Torah, the seventy elders of
Sanhedrin were permitted to go on Har
Sinai, but Elazar and Isamar had to

stand at a distance. As the Torah (Sh-
emos 24:1) says,

Hashem said to
Moshe, ‘Go up on
the mountain, you,
Aharon, Nadav and

Avihu, and the sev-
enty elders of Yis-
rael.’” Elazar and

Isamar aren’t mentioned. Nadav and
Avihu were Aharon’s older children.
They were permitted to go up on Har
Sinai. Moshe, Aharon, and the seventy
zekenim were also allowed to ascend

the mountain, but not Elazar and Isa-
mar. Why? Why were they denied this

privilege? They were greater than the

elders of the Sanhedrin! If the Sanhe-
drin could be on the mountain, why

couldn’t they? In retrospect, the reason

was understood. The Tur (in his com-
mentary on Chumash) teaches that Na-
dav and Avihu and the seventy elders of

Sanhedrin were punished because they
didn’t have the proper yiras Shamayim
when they were on Har Sinai. As the
Midrash (Tanchuma, Behalascha 16)
states, “They were lightheaded when
they went up to Har Sinai and saw the
Shechinah. As it states (shemos 24)
‘They saw Hashem, and they ate and
drank.’ This analogous to a slave who
eats his lunch as he serves his master. It
isn’t respectful. [Similarly, they
watched Hashem on Har Sinai without
the proper respect, and] they deserved
to be punished for this. But Hashem
didn’t want to punish them on the day

He gave the Torah to Bnei Yisrael be-
cause the day of mattan Torah is special

to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Therefore, it

states (Shemos 24), Bnei Yisrael, Hash-
em didn’t put forth His hand.’ This

means Hashem refrained from punish-
ing them, and the punishments were

postponed for a later date. Nadav and
Avihu received their punishment when

they entered Ohel Moed with their ke-
tores (and fire came out and burnt

them), and the seventy elders were

burned when they had the taavah (temp-
tation for meat). As it states,. Who were

the אספסוף ? were the seventy elders of
Sanhedrin. What does it say about
fire s’Hashem’ ‘- ותבער בם – אש ה ?them
burned them’”

So, in retrospect, Elazar and Isamar un-
derstood that it was for their benefit that

they were banned from ascending the

mountain. Had Elazar and Isamar as-
cended the mountain and gaze at the

Shechinah without the required respect,
they too would die, and Aharon would
be left without Children.