Chasidut על שבת 209:9
Kedushat Levi
Another angle of the words: אנכי ה' אלוקיך. Our sages in Shabbat 105 state: “the word אנכי in this verse is an acronym, i.e. composed of the respective first letters in the statement: אמירה נעימה כתיבה יהיבה, “a pleasant and benevolent utterance was enshrined in written form.”
We have a rule first postulated by David in psalms 16,8 that a person should at all times consider himself as facing the Lord, i.e. שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד, “I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence;” it is difficult, or even impossible to formulate this rule as an imperative, as it is impossible for mortal man to constantly live up to such a lofty ideal. The rule of which we spoke therefore means that when a person serves the Lord in order to provide the Lord with pleasure and satisfaction, the fact that he has done so awakens in him the feeling that G’d is all-present at all times.
The word אמירה we have quoted from the Talmud in Shabbat 105 is another word for the word דבור, speech, word, which by definition is not something that is ongoing without interruption, i.e. תמיד. On the other hand, once words have been written down they assume constancy as they are constantly available to be referred to. This is what the Talmud alluded to when saying: אמירה נעימה, “the words spoken by people worshipping Hashem are pleasant as they are intended to cause Him pleasure;” the word נעימה being an alternate for the word תענוג. The words ”כתיבה יהיבה” that form the second part of that saying, refer to the constancy of the impression left by these words being due to their arousing the feeling in the worshipper that G’d’ is all present at all times.
We have a rule first postulated by David in psalms 16,8 that a person should at all times consider himself as facing the Lord, i.e. שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד, “I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence;” it is difficult, or even impossible to formulate this rule as an imperative, as it is impossible for mortal man to constantly live up to such a lofty ideal. The rule of which we spoke therefore means that when a person serves the Lord in order to provide the Lord with pleasure and satisfaction, the fact that he has done so awakens in him the feeling that G’d is all-present at all times.
The word אמירה we have quoted from the Talmud in Shabbat 105 is another word for the word דבור, speech, word, which by definition is not something that is ongoing without interruption, i.e. תמיד. On the other hand, once words have been written down they assume constancy as they are constantly available to be referred to. This is what the Talmud alluded to when saying: אמירה נעימה, “the words spoken by people worshipping Hashem are pleasant as they are intended to cause Him pleasure;” the word נעימה being an alternate for the word תענוג. The words ”כתיבה יהיבה” that form the second part of that saying, refer to the constancy of the impression left by these words being due to their arousing the feeling in the worshipper that G’d’ is all present at all times.
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Kedushat Levi
Careful analysis of Yitro’s words will show that he spoke of two separate acts of “saving” the Jewish people. Yitro had heard not only about the physical salvation the Israelites had experienced but also about the manner in which the spirit of the Jewish people, a people downtrodden by many years of slavery, had been transformed in a short space of time to being the most steadfast people, afraid of no human force on earth.
This brings us to another nuance in the exegesis in Shabbat 105 according to which the word אנכי is an acronym for the words אנא נפשי כתבית יהבית, “I Myself have written it and handed it over.” We know that another meaning of the word נפש is רצון, will, desire, as in Genesis 23,8: אם יש את נפשכם, “if it is your desire, etc.” The word אנכי accordingly sums up G’d’s message that by committing the Torah to writing, He had expressed His will, and desire. By handing over this document to the Jewish people, He had authorized them to interpret it and to guide their lives by means of these interpretations.
Upon hearing this daring exegesis some people might consider that G’d had taken a great chance that His people would exploit this authority to pervert the Torah by “being victorious” over Him. The reverse is true, however. G’d is pleased when as a result of our delving more deeply into the hidden parts of the Torah we discover heretofore unknown aspects of it. We have it on the authority of Baba Metzia 59 where in a halachic discussion among the various sages one of them called upon G’d to demonstrate that his opinion was the correct one, and he wanted the wall to collapse to prove this and the wall really began to bend, that the opposing scholar quoted Deuteronomy 30,12 where the Torah is described as not being a possession of heaven, i.e. לא בשמים היא, to stop the wall from falling. A heavenly voice was heard by the people present exclaiming that נצחוני בני מצחוני, “My children have triumphed over Me, My children.” [Students of that episode in the Talmud will find that that there are also other interpretations of that episode. Ed.] Another quotation from the Talmud Pessachim 119 reads as follows: the opening words in psalms 4 למנצח בנגינות מזמור לדוד, translated literally, as “a psalm to the victor by David,” that the point David is making is that whereas in interpersonal relations the loser in a competition is downcast, not so when the contestants are man and G’d respectively. It is G’d’s nature to rejoice in His children having prevailed over Him.” As proof of this interpretation the Talmud there quotes: psalms 106,23 ויאמר להשמידם לולי משה בחירו עמד בפרץ לפניו להשיב חמתו מהשחית, “He had already said that he would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen, confronted Him in the breach to avert His destructive wrath.” This reflects another interpretation on Shabbat 105 where the introductory words of the Ten Commandments are described as אמירה נעימה כתיבה יהבה, (compare page 431) When a son wins a game of chess against his father for the first time, the father derives great satisfaction of having taught his son so well. Similarly, if during a discussion on the meaning of a certain verse in the Torah, the “son,” i.e. one of the Torah scholars, has shown outstanding skill and understanding of the Torah’s deeper meaning, the author, G’d, derives great satisfaction from this.
Coming back to why G’d did not introduce the Ten Commandments with reminding the listeners that He was the Creator and therefore had preceded every other phenomenon in the universe, but stressing that He had taken the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, G’d did so because he wanted to be on record concerning His love for His people. He was certain that by doing this He would reinforce the people’s enthusiasm to serve Him rather than any other so-called deities. By using a play on words [in the Hebrew language, Ed.] our author considers the whole episode between slavery-physical redemption, and now spiritual redemption of the Jewish people, as turning צרה into רצה, “suffering and distress into joy and happiness.” Henceforth the Jewish people are always referred to as G’d’s children [even when errant children, Ed.] This factor is an overriding consideration in our relationship to G’d. This also explains that G’d chooses to “live,” i.e. be at home among the Jewish people after they build a Sanctuary for Him here on earth. If, in spite of this, the Israelites were ever to turn to idolatry, this sin would be ever so much harder to atone for.
This brings us to another nuance in the exegesis in Shabbat 105 according to which the word אנכי is an acronym for the words אנא נפשי כתבית יהבית, “I Myself have written it and handed it over.” We know that another meaning of the word נפש is רצון, will, desire, as in Genesis 23,8: אם יש את נפשכם, “if it is your desire, etc.” The word אנכי accordingly sums up G’d’s message that by committing the Torah to writing, He had expressed His will, and desire. By handing over this document to the Jewish people, He had authorized them to interpret it and to guide their lives by means of these interpretations.
Upon hearing this daring exegesis some people might consider that G’d had taken a great chance that His people would exploit this authority to pervert the Torah by “being victorious” over Him. The reverse is true, however. G’d is pleased when as a result of our delving more deeply into the hidden parts of the Torah we discover heretofore unknown aspects of it. We have it on the authority of Baba Metzia 59 where in a halachic discussion among the various sages one of them called upon G’d to demonstrate that his opinion was the correct one, and he wanted the wall to collapse to prove this and the wall really began to bend, that the opposing scholar quoted Deuteronomy 30,12 where the Torah is described as not being a possession of heaven, i.e. לא בשמים היא, to stop the wall from falling. A heavenly voice was heard by the people present exclaiming that נצחוני בני מצחוני, “My children have triumphed over Me, My children.” [Students of that episode in the Talmud will find that that there are also other interpretations of that episode. Ed.] Another quotation from the Talmud Pessachim 119 reads as follows: the opening words in psalms 4 למנצח בנגינות מזמור לדוד, translated literally, as “a psalm to the victor by David,” that the point David is making is that whereas in interpersonal relations the loser in a competition is downcast, not so when the contestants are man and G’d respectively. It is G’d’s nature to rejoice in His children having prevailed over Him.” As proof of this interpretation the Talmud there quotes: psalms 106,23 ויאמר להשמידם לולי משה בחירו עמד בפרץ לפניו להשיב חמתו מהשחית, “He had already said that he would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen, confronted Him in the breach to avert His destructive wrath.” This reflects another interpretation on Shabbat 105 where the introductory words of the Ten Commandments are described as אמירה נעימה כתיבה יהבה, (compare page 431) When a son wins a game of chess against his father for the first time, the father derives great satisfaction of having taught his son so well. Similarly, if during a discussion on the meaning of a certain verse in the Torah, the “son,” i.e. one of the Torah scholars, has shown outstanding skill and understanding of the Torah’s deeper meaning, the author, G’d, derives great satisfaction from this.
Coming back to why G’d did not introduce the Ten Commandments with reminding the listeners that He was the Creator and therefore had preceded every other phenomenon in the universe, but stressing that He had taken the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, G’d did so because he wanted to be on record concerning His love for His people. He was certain that by doing this He would reinforce the people’s enthusiasm to serve Him rather than any other so-called deities. By using a play on words [in the Hebrew language, Ed.] our author considers the whole episode between slavery-physical redemption, and now spiritual redemption of the Jewish people, as turning צרה into רצה, “suffering and distress into joy and happiness.” Henceforth the Jewish people are always referred to as G’d’s children [even when errant children, Ed.] This factor is an overriding consideration in our relationship to G’d. This also explains that G’d chooses to “live,” i.e. be at home among the Jewish people after they build a Sanctuary for Him here on earth. If, in spite of this, the Israelites were ever to turn to idolatry, this sin would be ever so much harder to atone for.
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