Chasidut for Sanhedrin 215:23
לא יפנה דרך כרמים מלמד שהיו מפנים דרך כרמים אמר לו ומי מעכב אמר להם פרידה אחת יש לי להוציא מכם
R. Oshaia said: As an illustration of Resh Lakish's view, to what may this be compared? To a phial of spikenard oil lying amidst refuse: [if] it is fragrant where it is, how much more so amidst spices!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Thus, if Noah was righteous even when his entire surroundings were evil, how much more so had he lived amongst righteous men! ');"><sup>45</sup></span> And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, [both man and cattle].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. VII, 23. ');"><sup>46</sup></span> If man sinned, how did the beasts sin? — A Tanna taught on the authority of R. Joshua b. Karha: This may be compared to a man who set up a bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every variety [of food]. Subsequently his son died, whereupon he arose and broke up the feast,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'broke up the canopy. ');"><sup>47</sup></span> saying, 'Have I prepared all this for any but my son? Now that he is dead, what need have I of the banquet?' Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said too, 'Did I create the animals and beasts for aught but man: now that man has sinned, what need have I of the animals and beasts?' All that was in the dry land died;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. VII, 22. ');"><sup>48</sup></span> but not the fish in the sea. R. Jose of Caesarea taught: What is meant by the verse, He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: [he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards]?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Job XXIV, 18. ');"><sup>49</sup></span> This teaches that the righteous Noah rebuked them, urging, 'Repent; for if not, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring a deluge upon you.and cause your bodies to float upon the water like gourds, as it is written, He is light [i.e., floats] upon the waters. Moreover, ye shall be taken as a curse for all future generations,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'all that come into the world.' ');"><sup>50</sup></span> as it is written, their portion is cursed' in the earth. He beholdeth not the way of the vineyards:' this teaches that they looked by the way of the vineyards.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. p. 743, n. 5. The passage is out of place here and the Wilna Gaon deletes it. ');"><sup>51</sup></span> They said to him, 'Who then prevents him?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If He has such power, what prevents him from using it? ');"><sup>52</sup></span> — He replied.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The speaker now is God. ');"><sup>53</sup></span> 'I have one dear one<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'pigeon'. [A better reading: 'He (God) has one dear one, (the speaker being Noah).] ');"><sup>54</sup></span> to draw out from you.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' One righteous man who must first die, so that he may not suffer your punishment, viz., Methuselah. ');"><sup>55</sup></span>
Kedushat Levi
In the Talmud Shabbat 87, the point is made that there were three instances in which Moses added to G’d’s instructions without first obtaining G’d’s consent but that subsequently G’d thanked Moses for having added these items arbitrarily. One is that he divorced his wife, another that he smashed the first set of the Tablets, the third one quoted there being the third preparatory day before the revelation at Mount Sinai. [If Moses’ addition was approved by G’d, why is it not listed as another addition made by Moses and subsequently approved, which would account for the words: על פי ה' in verse 3? Ed.]
On folio 57 in Pessachim the Talmud relates a conversation between the king [Agrippas II ? Ed.] and his queen when the king and queen disagreed as to which animal provides tastier meat, the king preferring a young kid, whereas the queen preferred lamb. In order to settle their disagreement they agreed to abide by the opinion of the High Priest. The High Priest, in a quandary and forced to use diplomacy, waved his hand, and said that if a kid were better, surely it would be required as the animal to be used for the daily communal sacrifices. The king, angry at the High Priest for having waved his hand, a sign of disrespect for the king, ordered his right hand to be cut off. [The Talmud continues with this story. Ed.] Our author questions the relevance of this story in the Talmud to the fate of this High Priest, which is described in further detail there in the Talmud.
Our author also has a problem with the Talmud’s blanket statement that the generation of the adult Israelites that wandered through the desert after leaving Egypt have no share in the world to come. (Sanhedrin 110) [There too this statement is challenged and has to be qualified. Ed.] The statement appears firmly founded on Numbers 14,35 זאת אעשה לכל העדה הרעה הזאת הנועדים עלי, במדבר הזה יתמו ושם ימותו, “Thus I will do to all that wicked community that banded together against Me; in this very desert they will expire, and there they will die “
We shall explain all this so that it will become clear. There are times in the year when the Creator awakens in man feelings that stir his desire to worship Him with a full heart. Such times have been described in the Torah as מועדים לשמחה חגים וזמנים לששון, “festivals for rejoicing and assemblies and festivals for rallying the seasons, etc.” (from the amidah prayer on every holiday.) On those predetermined days G’d and His angels are in a joyous frame of mind, and the joy that has communicated itself to His angels results in a spillover of joyful inspiration for His people who observe the rituals prescribed for these days. Having experienced this psychological lift, the Jew on these holydays finds it far easier to devote his attention both in prayer and in gratitude to his Creator.
Moses’ intention when telling the people to prepare themselves for the revelation at Mount Sinai for an extra day was that they should use their own spiritual resources to generate the right frame of mind to get the maximum spiritual benefit from G’d’s manifesting Himself on Mount Sinai. Every Jew experiences some degree of heavenly assist, as we have a tradition that a heavenly voice calls to man every day asking him to return to G’d through penitence. (Chagigah 15). If a person has accumulated sufficient merits he hears this heavenly voice. When a person has attained the level when he hears this voice but ignores it, he forfeits his claim to life in the hereafter. The Jewish people, collectively, were on an extremely high spiritual level while in the desert, seeing that they hosted the Tabernacle, G’d’s residence on earth, but they did not respond to this heavenly assist to become penitents.