Shabbat 87a — the Talmud in English

On the third

of the week,

he told them the mitzva of restriction,

that they should observe the boundaries on the mountain.

On the fourth

of the week,

he instituted separation

until Shabbat, on which the Torah was given. And it was the seventh of the month [and although the restriction is written after the separation, it was said one day earlier, as will be explained below. And see Rashi].

And the Rabbis hold: the month was established on the second day of the week.

On the second day of the week he told them nothing at all, because of the weakness caused by the journey. On the third he told them

“And you shall be to Me.” On the fourth he told them

the mitzva of restriction.

On the fifth they instituted separation.

And it follows that the Shabbat on which the Torah was given was on the sixth of the month.

It was objected:

it is written,

“And you shall sanctify them today and tomorrow”—

is this difficult for Rabbi Yosei?

For according to his words, they separated for three days.

And we answer:

Rabbi Yosei could say to you: Moses added one day on his own initiative!

For indeed, the command of the Holy One, blessed is He, was that they should separate on Wednesday and Thursday, and that they should receive the Torah on Friday. But Moses added, on his own initiative, one day of separation, and the receiving of the Torah was delayed until Shabbat.

For it was taught in a beraita: Moses did three things on his own initiative, and the Holy One, blessed is He, agreed with him:

a.

He added one day on his own initiative.

b.

And he separated from the woman,

not returning to Zipporah, his wife, after the giving of the Torah, as did all Israel.

c.

And he broke the tablets.

And we explain: This one who

added one day on his own initiative—

what did Moses expound

Moses?

He expounded as follows: “And you shall sanctify them

today and tomorrow”;

it implies

today

is like tomorrow: just as tomorrow has its night with it, so today has its night with it.

And

behold,

the night of this day

of today has already

departed,

it has passed, and it is not possible to separate during it.

And infer from this: the two days

that the Merciful One said—

apart from this day,

from the day of the statement! [But this is not a complete exposition; rather, “today” implies today ממש, for otherwise it would not be “on his own initiative.” Tosafot, sv “Today”].

And from where do we know that the Holy One, blessed is He, agreed with him?

For the Divine Presence did not rest

on Mount Sinai

until the morning of Shabbat.

That is, the Torah was not given until Shabbat.

And he separated from the woman—

what did he expound?

He made a kal va-chomer for himself ,

saying: Just as

Israel, with whom the Divine Presence spoke only for one hour, and for whom He set a time

when He would speak with them,

the Torah said, “And let them be ready

for three days;

do not approach

a woman”—

I, with whom the Divine Presence speaks at every hour, and for whom He does not set a time

so that I would know when to separate,

all the more so

that I must always separate from the woman.

And from where do we know that the Holy One, blessed is He, agreed with him?

For it is written

after the giving of the Torah:

“Go, say to them, ‘Return to your tents’”,

that is, He permitted them to return to their wives.

And it is written afterward, “But you

stand here with Me”,

that you are not permitted to return to your wife.

And some say

that it is learned from here:

It is written, after Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses concerning the fact that he separated from his wife, that the Holy One, blessed is He, rebuked them and said to them:

“Mouth to mouth I speak with him.”

That is, I explicitly told him to do so [according to Rashi at the end of the section of Beha'alotekha].

He broke the tablets—

what did he expound?

He said: Just as

a Paschal offering,

which is one of the 613 mitzvot, the Torah said, “No alien-born person may eat of it.”

That is, a renegade, whose deeds have become alien to his Father in Heaven.

Here is the entire Torah,

which is all dependent on these tablets,

and Israel

are now in the category of

renegades,

because they worshiped the calf—

all the more so

that they are unfit to receive the tablets.

And from where do we know that the Holy One, blessed is He, agreed with him?

As it is said, “Which you broke.”

And Reish Lakish said: Your strength is affirmed for having broken them!

For “which” is an expression of affirmation, meaning that the Holy One, blessed is He, affirmed him and praised him for breaking them.

Come and hear:

it is written,

“And let them be ready for the third day”—

is this difficult for Rabbi Yosei?

For according to him, the receiving of the Torah was on the fourth day from their separation.

And we answer:

We have said that Moses added one day on his own initiative.

Indeed, in Moses’ command to the people it was not said “for the third day,” but rather “let them be ready for three days.” That is, they were to separate for three complete days.

Come and hear:

it was taught:

Third

[below it explains why it was third] was on

the third

of

the third day of the week.

This is difficult for the Rabbis!

For according to their words, the month was established on the second day of the week, and the third day of the week was the second day of the month.

And we answer:

The Rabbis could say to you: Whose view is this

this beraita—

it is Rabbi Yosei’s.

And we explain: This “third”—

third with regard to what

is it?

As it was taught:

it is written,

“And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord,”

for they had said, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we shall do.” And afterward

it is written: “And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you, and they will also believe in you forever.

”

And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.”

And

what did the Holy One, blessed is He, say to Moses

between “And Moses brought back” and “And Moses told”?

And what did Moses say to Israel?

That is, was it not stated in the meantime only, “Behold, I am coming to you, and so on,” which is not a matter that Moses needed to tell Israel? It follows that one must ask:

And what did Israel say to Moses?

For they had nothing to answer Moses.

And

likewise,

what did Moses answer before the Omnipotent?

For Moses had nothing to say to the Holy One, blessed is He.

Rather,

this is the mitzva of restriction.

Although it is written afterward, it was said to Moses together with “Behold, I am coming to you” , and Moses went down and told it to Israel. The next day he went up [early] and reported that Israel had accepted upon themselves the mitzva of restriction. This is the meaning of “And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord” [and then the mitzva of separation was told to him].

These are the words of Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Judah.

Rabbi says

[he does not come to dispute the words of the one before him, but to add]: The change in wording between “brought back” and “told” comes to expound as follows: when Moses began to draw the hearts of Israel toward accepting the Torah and explained to them the reward and punishment connected with it, the order was that

at first he explained its punishment,

of the Torah.

For it is written, “And Moses brought back”—

things that unsettle

[as in “and he went astray”]

a person’s mind,

preventing him from accepting the matters out of fear of punishment. Nevertheless, they accepted it upon themselves.

And in the end he explained the reward for it ,

for it is written, “And Moses told”—

And some say: At first he explained its reward, as it is written, “And Moses brought back”—

things that draw a person’s heart, like a story.

And some say: At first he explained the reward for it, for it is written, “And Moses brought back”—

things that restore a person’s mind; and in the end he explained its punishment, for it is written, “And Moses told”—

things that are difficult for a person, like bitter vegetables

[a bitter vegetable].

And those matters had already begun from the beginning of the month [the statement above that because of the weakness caused by the journey he told them nothing on the first day means specifically matters from the mouth of the Omnipotent, but on his own Moses told them the reward and punishment of the mitzvot, Ritba]. And the “third” mentioned is the third from the beginning of Moses’ words.

And the beraita says that that day was the third of the month and the third day of the week.

Come and hear:

it was taught:

Sixth—

the sixth of the month, the sixth day of the week.

This is difficult for the Rabbis,

for according to their words, the sixth day of the week was the fifth of the month.

And we answer:

This too—

it is Rabbi Yosei’s.

And we explain: This

sixth—

with regard to what

is it the sixth? [Rashi explains that here it is impossible to say, as above, that it was the sixth from Moses’ words, since Moses spoke with them only during the first three days].