Shabbat 87a (פז.) — the Talmud in English

On the third

of the week,

he commanded them regarding the mitzva of setting boundaries

that they should keep away from the mountain.

On the fourth

of the week,

he commanded separation

until Shabbat, on which the Torah was given. And that was the seventh day of the month. [Although the command regarding setting boundaries is written after the command regarding separation, it was stated one day earlier, as explained below. 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 said nothing to them, because of the travelers’ weakness. On the third day he said to them

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

the mitzva of setting boundaries.

On the fifth day he commanded separation.

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

The Gemara raises an objection:

It is written:

“And you shall sanctify yourselves today and tomorrow”—

is this difficult according to Rabbi Yosei?

For according to his view, 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 be He, was that they separate on Wednesday and Thursday and receive the Torah on Friday. But Moses added one day of separation on his own initiative, and the giving of the Torah was delayed until Shabbat.

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

1.

He added one day on his own initiative.

2.

And he separated from his wife,

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

3.

And he broke the Tablets.

And we explain: Regarding the fact that he

added one day on his own initiative—

what did

Moses expound?

This is what he expounded: “And you shall sanctify yourselves

today and tomorrow”;

this indicates that

today

is like tomorrow: Just as tomorrow includes its night, so today includes its night.

And

behold,

the night of this day

has already

passed,

and it is no longer possible to separate during it.

And learn from this: The two days

that the Merciful One said—

apart from this day,

from the day on which the statement was made. [This is not a complete exposition; rather, “today” indicates today literally, for otherwise it would not be “on his own initiative.” Tosafot, s.v. Hayom.]

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

For the Shekhina did not rest

upon Mount Sinai

until Shabbat morning.

That is, the Torah was not given until Shabbat.

And he separated from his wife—

what did he expound?

He derived a kal va-chomer for himself,

saying: What

of Israel, with whom the Shekhina spoke only for a single hour, and for whom He set a time

when He would speak with them—

the Torah said, “Be ready

for three days

and do not approach

a woman”—

I, with whom the Shekhina speaks at every hour, and for whom He has not set a time

when I should separate,

all the more so

I must always separate from my wife.

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

As it is written

after the giving of the Torah:

“Go, say to them: Return to your tents”,

meaning that He permitted them to return to their wives.

And afterward it is written, “But you

stand here with Me”,

meaning that you are not permitted to return to your wife.

And some say

that it is learned from here:

It is written that after Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses because he had separated from his wife, the Holy One, blessed be 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 portion Beha’alotekha.]

He broke the Tablets—

what did he expound?

He said: What

of a

Paschal offering, which is only one of the 613 mitzvot, concerning which the Torah said, “No foreigner may eat of it”—

that is, an apostate, whose deeds have become foreign to his Father in Heaven—

the entire Torah is here,

all of it being dependent upon these Tablets,

and Israel

are now in the category of

apostates,

because they worshipped the calf—

all the more so

they are unfit to receive the Tablets.

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

As it is stated: “Which you broke.”

And Reish Lakish said: May your strength be firm for having broken them!

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

Come and hear:

It is written:

“And be ready for the third day”—

is this difficult according to Rabbi Yosei?

For according to him, the Torah was given on the fourth day after their separation.

And we answer:

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

Indeed, in Moses’ command to the people it was not stated, “For the third day,” but rather, “Be ready for three days,” meaning that they should separate for three complete days.

Come and hear:

It was taught in a beraita:

The third

[below the Gemara explains why it was called the third] was

the third day of the month, and

the

third day of the week.

This is difficult according to the Rabbis!

For according to them, 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”—

the third of what

is it?

It is in accordance with that which was taught in a beraita:

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 will 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.”

”

But

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

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

what did Moses say to Israel?

That is, in the interim only “Behold, I am coming to you, and so on” is stated, which is not something Moses needed to tell Israel. It follows that one must ask:

And what did Israel say to Moses?

There was nothing for them to answer Moses.

And

likewise,

what did Moses respond before the Divine Presence?

There was nothing for Moses to say to the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rather,

this refers to the mitzva of setting boundaries.

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

These are the words of Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda.

Rabbi says

[he does not come to dispute the words of the previous opinion, but to add to them]: The change in wording between “brought back” and “told” comes to teach the following: When Moses began to draw the hearts of Israel toward acceptance of the Torah and explained to them the reward and punishment associated with it, the order was that

at first he explained its punishment

of the Torah.

As 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 matter out of fear of punishment. Nevertheless, they accepted it upon themselves.

And in the end he explained the reward for it,

as 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 an aggadic teaching.

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

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

things that are difficult for a person, like bitter herbs

[a bitter vegetable].

Those matters had already begun on the first of the month [the statement above that he said nothing to them on the first day because of the travelers’ weakness refers specifically to matters spoken by the Divine command; but on his own initiative Moses told them the reward and punishment of the mitzvot, Ritva]. And the “third” mentioned here is the third day from the beginning of Moses’ words.

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

Come and hear:

It was taught in a beraita:

The sixth—

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

This is difficult according to the Rabbis,

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

And we answer:

This too—

it is Rabbi Yosei’s.

And we explain: This

sixth—

the sixth of what

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