Musar for Eruvin 108:11

We can utilize this thought to answer a problem in the wording of the first Mishnah in tractate Avot. The author says: משה קבל תורה מסיני ומסרוה ליהושע, "Moses received the Torah from Sinai and handed it over to Joshua." Why does the Mishnah change from the term קבל to מסר when describing the transfer of the tradition? Another difficulty is that there is no word of how the transfer from Joshua to the elders, and from the elders to the prophets took place, whereas we find the term מסר used again when the Mishnah describes the transfer of the oral tradition from the prophets to the members of the Great Assembly. A further difficulty is the statement in Eiruvin 54: "How did the oral tradition get taught? Moses learned it from G–d. Then Aaron entered and Moses would teach it to him. After that Aaron's sons entered and Moses taught it to them. After that the elders entered and Moses taught the elders; finally the people at large entered and Moses taught all of them. We do not hear one word in this sequence about Moses handing over the oral tradition specifically to Joshua, as was mentioned in the Mishnah.

The Torah reports here that Moses called Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel. The Talmud Eruvin 54b describes the procedure of Moses explaining the Oral Tradition in the words: "How did Moses teach? Aaron entered and Moses expounded the Torah to him. Afterwards Aaron's sons entered and the procedure was repeated. After this the elders entered and the procedure was again repeated. Finally the whole of Israel approached to be taught the Torah." Here Moses called on the three choicest categories, ignoring the rest of the people for the time being. This was because the paragraph commences with the words ויהי, which – as we have stated – introduces an episode marred by tragedy. Moses knew that the Sanctuary was going to be sanctified through one of the outstanding personalities of Israel. He thought that it might be either himself or his brother Aaron (Torat Kohanim on 10,3). The kind of death experienced by Nadav and Avihu is an excellent death because it testifies to the high degree of sanctity they had achieved. Moses invited the choicest of the people to be taught the Torah first so as to signify that when the need arises to sanctify the name of G–d, i.e. to die for the glorification of His Name, it will be the spiritual leaders of the people who will be chosen for this distinction (sacrifice). When G–d announced the instruction to build the Tabernacle, He said that when all would be completed ושכנתי בתוכם (Exodus 25,8). The building of the house that we read about in Proverbs 9,1-3 refers to the גן עדן of the future when this "house" will have an enduring existence. It refers to the residence of humans at that time.