RABBI EPHRAIM SPRECHER Faculty, OU Israel Center
Matan Torah – Unity, Not Uniformity!
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hen Gd gave us the Torah on Shavuot, “the Jewish People all responded with a single voice’, We will keep every word that Gd has spoken’” (Shemot 24:3). Was this one-time phenomenon, in which every Jew was identical to every other in his conduct and thought, an ideal situation? Alternatively, might it not be that beyond every Jew’s obligation to fulfill the 613 Mitzvot and to believe in the tenets of Judaism, he has a variety of options regarding how to live a life of faith? Seemingly, Israel’s division into 12 tribes and the differences between the activities of each are the proof that there exist a variety of options for how the Jewish People must conduct themselves in Eretz Yisrael. Amongst the various tasks is that of serving Gd exclusively, and that task was assigned to the tribe of Levi. As Rambam wrote (Hilchot Shemitah 13:12): “Levi was set apart to worship Gd and to serve Him, and to teach His upright pathways and His 54
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righteous laws to the masses, as it says, ‘They shall teach your Torah to Yaacov and to Israel’ (Devarim 33:10).” But Rambam adds that this tribal role does not prevent any individual on earth who is so motivated from following in Levi’s path and dedicating his life exclusively to learning and teaching Torah. The tribal “togetherness” mentioned in Devarim 33:5 is referring to Unity, NOT Uniformity. In Berachot 35b, Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai debated regarding the respective roles of work versus Torah learning. Rabbi Yishmael derived from the verse, “Gather your grain” (Devarim 11:14) that a person must combine work with Torah learning. In response, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai asks, “[If everyone performs all the seasonal agricultural tasks required], what will be with the Torah?” In his opinion, the ideal person must trust that his agricultural tasks will be done by others. The Talmud then quotes Abaye, “Many followed Rabbi Yishmael and were successful. Many others followed Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and were unsuccessful.” Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin in his book, “Tzidkat HaTzadik”, links the debate between Rabbi Yishmael and
