Shavu'ot



//SEFER SH’MOT, PEREK 19 PARASHAT YITRO//


 * טו וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶל-הָעָם, הֱיוּ נְכֹנִים, לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים: אַל-תִּגְּשׁוּ, אֶל-אִשָּׁה. || 15 And he said unto the people: 'Be ready on the third day; do not approach a woman.' ||
 * טז וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיֹת הַבֹּקֶר, וַיְהִי קֹלֹת וּבְרָקִים וְעָנָן כָּבֵד עַל-הָהָר, וְקֹל שֹׁפָר, חָזָק מְאֹד; וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל-הָעָם, אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּחֲנֶה. || 16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the exceedingly loud voice of a shofar loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. ||
 * יז וַיּוֹצֵא מֹשֶׁה אֶת-הָעָם לִקְרַאת הָאֱלֹהִים, מִן-הַמַּחֲנֶה; וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ , בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר. || 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood under the mount. ||
 * יח וְהַר סִינַי, עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו יְהוָה, בָּאֵשׁ; וַיַּעַל עֲשָׁנוֹ כְּעֶשֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁן, וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל-הָהָר מְאֹד. || 18 Now Mount Sinai was altogether smokey because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. ||
 * יט וַיְהִי קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר, הוֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד; מֹשֶׁה יְדַבֵּר, וְהָאֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶנּוּ בְקוֹל. || 19 And when the voice of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. ||
 * כ וַיֵּרֶד יְהוָה עַל-הַר סִינַי, אֶל-רֹאשׁ הָהָר; וַיִּקְרָא יְהוָה לְמֹשֶׁה אֶל-רֹאשׁ הָהָר, וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה. || 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. ||

**Part 1.**
==**Read the short quotation from the Torah's telling of God meeting B'nei Yisra'el at Mount Sinai and work with a partner to answer the following questions:**==

1) Describe the scene at Mount Sinai as B'nei Yisra'el was gathered at the mountain preparing to receive the Torah.

2) What do you think was the purpose of all of the "special effects" at Mount Sinai at this event?

3) Given the scene at Mount Sinai, what do you think the mindset and emotions of B'nei Yisra'el might have been like as they were gathered standing there?

4) Read verse 17 very carefully. a) Do you think that this verse is to be read literally? Why or why not? b) If you were a Torah commentator, how would you explain the phrase "under the mount?"



Midash from Talmud Shabbat 88a: And they stood under the mount: R. Abdimi b. Hama b. Hasa said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be God, overturned the mountain upon them like an [inverted] cask, and said to them, 'If ye accept the Torah, 'tis well; if not, there shall be your burial.'
 * Part 2. **

Questions based on the Midrash: 1) What is Rabbi Abdimi's inspiration/source for this Midrash?

2) Do you think that God is optimistic that B'nei Yisra'el would accept the Torah when it was to be offered to them? Why or why not?

3) There is another famous Midrash that teaches that God first went to several other and larger nations and offered them the Torah before coming to B'nei Yisra'el. They all turned the Torah down because of the things it prohibits (does not allow: murder, theft, disloyalty to a spouse...etc.). Now that you know this other midrash, do you have a better understanding for why Rabbi Abdimi wrote his midrash the way that he did? Explain your answer.

4) If Rabbi Abdimi's midrash is true, then did B'nei Yisra'el willingly accept the Torah? Does it matter to you if they did or did not? Why?

5) How is Ruth's behavior with Naomi an answer to this Midrash?

= Part 3. Written Reflection = **A. These are THINKING questions, NOT research questions.** **B. This writing assessment activity is completely open notes and sources, so if you want to use your homework assignments from parts 1 and 2, then you are more than welcome to do so.** **C. You are to write/type your answers in complete sentences and paragraphs. You will not be marked for spelling, but I need to be able to understand what you are trying to say.** **D. Your answers should be COMPLETE and THOUGHTFUL. While they are not ESSAY questions, they will require you to express your ideas in a paragraph.** **E. I want this assignment turned in ON PAPER, not by email or shared document. So, when you are done, please print it out for me, but save a copy until you get it back with a mark from me.** **F. You should be able to complete the entire assignment IN CLASS IF YOU WORK EFFICIENTLY. If you need more time, then bring it by my office NO LATER THAN TUESDAY. We do not have class on Friday because it is Maccabiyah Sports Day next week, so I won't be able to collect it then.**
 * Directions ** :

**GOOD LUCK!!!**

A little bit later on in the text of Parashat Yitro (after what we studied above about the setting/scene at Mount Sinai), the Torah teaches us that when God offered B'nei Yisra'el the Torah, they all responded with the words "Na'aseh v'nishma/We will do it and we will learn it" in ONE UNITED VOICE without even knowing what was in it. Think about B'nei Yisra'el's response of NA'ASEH V'NISHMA, especially compared to (based on the midrash in #3 above) the rejection of the Torah by other nations and answer the following questions:

1. What does the response show about B'nei Yisra'el's approach to the Torah?

2. How is the response a reflection of B'nei Yisra'el special relationship with God?

3. There is another famous midrash that explains that it wasn't just the people of B'nei Yisra'el who left Egypt who were at Mount Sinai, but ALL OF US were there and we all accepted the Torah at that time. We just don't remember it. So, what are some things that we ALREADY do or CAN do to show that we ourselves accept the Torah?

4. Why is this an important issue for you to be thinking about at this time in your life? How is it relevant and related?