Let’s read a little Talmud together…
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: He came to receive the Torah.
The angels said before Him: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by You 974 generations before the creation of the world, and You seek to give it to flesh and blood? [… Surely] the rightful place of God’s majesty, the Torah, is in the heavens.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Provide them with an answer as to why the Torah should be given to the people.
Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, I am afraid lest they burn me with the breath of their mouths. God said to him: Grasp My throne of glory for strength and protection, and provide them with an answer. […]
Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving me, what is written in it? God said to him: “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of Egypt from the house of bondage”.
Moses said to the angels: Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Why should the Torah be yours?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall have no other gods before Me”.
Moses said to the angels: Do you dwell among the nations who worship idols that you require this special warning?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: “Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it”.
Moses asked the angels: Do you perform labour that you require rest from it?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”, meaning that it is prohibited to swear falsely.
Moses asked the angels: Do you conduct business with one another that may lead you to swear falsely?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: “Honour your father and your mother”.
Moses asked the angels: Do you have a father or a mother that would render the commandment to honour them relevant to you?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal”.
Moses asked the angels: Is there jealousy among you, or is there an evil inclination within you that would render these commandments relevant?
Immediately they agreed with the Holy One, Blessed be He, that He made the right decision to give the Torah to the people […]
(From B. Shabbat 88/89)
The Talmud can be read on many levels, and on the surface, this conversation between Moses, the angels and the divine might be difficult to imagine, let alone believe. But just a scratch at its colourful surface reveals that its primary focus lies beyond the unimaginable and incredible. It seems to be that the angels were ultimately forced to concede that the splendour of the Torah was not intended for them, but for impure human ‘flesh and blood’.
The pure and the perfect have no need for the Torah. But those of us who struggle with the challenge of being imperfect - while trying to be the best person we can be - might just draw solace and courage from it. Each time Moses questions the angels, he stresses features of our humanness that can make us better human beings: our capacity to overcome oppression, to survive in the midst of idolatry in all its multiple forms without conceding to it, to work in order to survive, to create beauty in the midst of ugliness, to love each other.
The final blow forcing the angels to concede is their freedom from jealousy and from the evil inclination. The angels are so in awe of the human ability to do the right thing while living in constant temptation to do the wrong thing, or at least settle for second or third best, that they immediately agree that God made the right decision to give the Torah to Moses and to us.
Look around at the imperfect flesh and blood surrounding you – look in the mirror, look at your community, your rabbi. Should we not be in awe of our fellow human beings as the angels were? We all reach for the divine in our lives, strive to be good, to do the right thing, in the midst of constant struggle and constant temptation.
On this Pride Shabbat. let’s be proud of ourselves and each other knowing that we are created in the image of the divine and that the angels are in awe of us.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Brian
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