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Week 81 - Tuesday - 12 June 2001

SOTAH: CHAPTER 7: MISHNAH 5

How so with the Blessings and the Curses? When Israel crossed the Jordan and came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Samaria near Shekhem which adjoins Elon Moreh, as it is said (Deut. 11:30): "are they not across the Jordan, etc.,"' and elsewhere it says (Gen. 12:6): "and Abram passed through the land, unto the place of Shekhem, until Elon Moreh"; just as the Elon Moreh mentioned there is Shekhem, so here Elon Moreh mentioned is Shekhem. Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim, and six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Ebal, and the priests and Levites and the Ark stood below, in between. The priests surrounded the Ark, and the Levites surrounded the priests, and all Israel were on this side and on that, as it is said (Josh. 8:33): "And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the Ark and on that side, etc." They turned toward Mount Gerizim and began the blessing: "Blessed be the man that makes not a graven or molten image," and both these and those responded Amen. They turned toward Mount Ebal and began the curse: "Cursed be the man that makes a graven or molten image" (Deut. 27:15), and both these and those responded Amen, until they completed the Blessings and the Curses. Afterwards, they brought the stones and built the altar and plastered it with plaster, and wrote upon it all the words of the Torah in seventy languages, as it is said (ibid.), 27:8): "Very plainly." And they took the stones and came and spent the night in their place.

Kehati

It is written in the Torah (Deut. 11:29). "And it shall come to pass, when the Lord your God shall bring you into the land whither you go to possess it, and you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal." As explained in the previous mishnayot, the Blessings and the Curses were said in Hebrew; this we infer from the identical terminology of "voice" in the case of Moses. This mishnah elaborates the details of this commandment.

How so with - what procedures did they follow with the Blessings and the Curses? - uttered by the Levites on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal? When Israel crossed the Jordan - in the days of Joshua bin Nun, and came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Samaria - prominent landmarks in that area near Shekhem which adjoins Elon Moreh - in accordance with the directions given to Israel when they were in the wilderness, as it is said: "are they not across the Jordan, etc." - beyond the Jordan, i.e., on the far side of the Jordan, in the west, seeing that the Israelites were at the time east of the Jordan; this verse concludes with the words: near Elon Moreh; and elsewhere it says -

Scripture states: "and Abram passed through the land, unto the place of Shekhem, until Elon Moreh" - we infer the meaning of one from the other; just as the Elon Moreh mentioned there - in connection with Abraham - is Shekhem - as it is explicitly stated there: until the place of Shekhem, so here Elon Moreh mentioned - in connection with the Blessings and the Curses, is Shekhem - some interpret the description used here, (Deut. 11:30) mul haGilgal, meaning "far from Gilgal," (see Rashi's Torah commentary); the Gemara, however, explains: "near Gilgal" (Sot. 33b), which Tosafot understand as "a place overlooking Gilgal."

Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim, and six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Ebal - as it is written (Deut. 27:12-13): These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim...when you cross over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah and Issachar, and Joseph and Benjamin, and these shall stand upon Mount Ebal. ..: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali; and the priests and Levites and the Ark stood below, in between - the mountains. - The Priests surrounded the Ark, and the Levites surrounded the priests - however, not all priests and Levites stood below, since Levi was included in the six tribes which stood on Mount Gerizim; rather, the senior priests and Levites and those qualified to serve (i.e., carrying the Ark) stood below, and the rest went up (Hameiri based on the Jerusalem Talmud; Tosefot Yom Tov). and all Israel were on this side and on that - on the mountains, as it is said: "And all Israel, and their elders and their officers - the Biblical text omits their and reads: and officers - and their judges, stood on this side of the Ark and on that side, etc." - and the verse continues, "before the priests and Levites, that bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, as well as the stranger as the home-born."

They - the Levites - turned toward Mount Gerizim and began the blessing: Blessed be the man that makes not a graven or molten image - each "Cursed be he" occurring in this chapter (Deut. 27), was preceded by a blessing uttered toward Mount Gerizim, and both these and those - all of Israel who stood on Mount Gerizim and on Mount Ebal, responded Amen - it is stated regarding the curses: "and all the people shall respond and say: Amen," and Scripture compared the blessings to the curses.

They - the Levites - turned toward Mount Ebal and began the curse: "Cursed be the man that makes a graven or molten image," and both these and those responded Amen - and likewise each curse stated here was first uttered in the form of a blessing and all Israel responded Amen, whereupon they expressed it in the form of a curse, and all Israel responded Amen, until they completed the Blessings and the Curses - as described in that chapter (Deut. 27:15-26):

afterwards they brought the stones - which they extracted from the Jordan; there were twelve, "according to the number of tribes of the children of Israel," and built the altar and plastered it with plaster - as outlined (ibid. 27:4-5): "And it shall be when you have crossed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones…in Mount Ebal and you shall plaster them with plaster. And there shall you build an altar to the Lord your God," and wrote upon it all the words of the Torah in seventy languages - in the script and vernacular of seventy nations, as it is said: "Very plainly" - "and you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law (lit.) explained well."

According to some commentators, the entire Torah was written upon them from "In the beginning" (Genesis) to "in the sight of all Israel" (the end of Deuteronomy), miraculously; according to others, only "the enumeration of the commandments," as articulated in Halakhot Gedolot, (an early halakhic compendium) in the form of instructions. (see Tosefot Yom Tov)

And they took the stones - after sacrificing burnt and peace offerings, eating and rejoicing, thus (ibid., 27: 6-7): "and you shall offer burnt-offerings thereon to the Lord your God. And you shall sacrifice peace-offerings, and shall eat there; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God"; they dismantled the altar and collected the stones, and came and spent the night in their place in the Gilgal, where they erected the stones (Rashi; Bartenura; and see Tiferet Yisrael for an alternative explanation).

SOTAH: CHAPTER 7: MISHNAH 6

How so the blessing of the priests? In the provinces they recited it as three blessings, but in the Temple as one blessing. In the Temple he pronounces the Name as it was written, but in the provinces by its representation. In the provinces the priests raised their hands to shoulder height, but in the Temple above their heads, except for the High Priest who does not raise his hands above the tzitz. R. Yehudah says, the High Priest likewise raised his hands above the tzitz, as it is stated (Lev. 9:22): "And Aaron raised his hands toward the people and he blessed them."

Kehati

It is written in the Torah (Num. 6:22-26): "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying: Thus you shall bless the children of Israel; you shall say unto them: The Lord bless you and protect you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." According to a baraita in the Gemara (Sot. 38a) "Thus shall you bless," implies in the Holy Tongue; here it states "thus shall you bless," and elsewhere it states: "These shall stand to bless the people"; just as there it must be in the Holy Tongue, so here, it must be in the Holy Tongue. R. Yehudah says: We need not learn from "these shall stand to bless," for it states thus - they must say it in this language. This mishnah elaborates the details of the priestly Blessing.

How so the blessing of the priests? - What form did it take? In the provinces - in all places beyond the Temple, including Jerusalem, they recited it - the priests uttered this benediction with three intervals - as - if it were - three blessings - the priests paused between the verses, after each of which the congregation responded Amen, but in the Temple - they uttered it as one blessing - since they did not respond Amen in the Temple the three verses blended into a single blessing, after whose completion the congregation responded Barukh HaShem E-lohei Yisrael min ha-olam ve-ad ha-olam "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel in this world and in the world to come" (Rambam).

In the Temple he pronounces the Name - the Tetragrammaton as it was written YHWH - but in the provinces - he uttered the Name by its representation - aleph-dalet, i.e., the Lord, as is our custom, since the actual Name is permitted in the Temple alone.

In the provinces the priests raised their hands to shoulder height - and not higher - but in the Temple - where the blessing involved the actual Name, and the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) rested above the priest's finger joints, all the priests raised their hands above their heads - except for the High Priest who does not raise his hands above the tzitz - which he wore on his forehead since the Name was written upon it (see Ex. 28:36).

R. Yehudah says, the High Priest likewise raised his hands above the tzitz, as it is stated: "And Aaron raised his hands toward the people and he blessed them" - i.e., with the priestly blessing; the obligation of the "raising of the hands" originates with the High Priest, and this constitutes the basis for this blessing's recital by the ordinary priests, thus (Deut. 18:5): "him and his sons forever" - just as he must "raise his hands," so must his sons "raise their hands"; hence, all must lift their hands above their heads. Other commentators dissociate the mishnah's conclusion - as it is stated: "And Aaron raised his hands toward the people and he blessed them" - from R. Yehudah's ruling; thus our mishnah reverts to the question: From where do we learn the obligation of raising the hands? As it is said: "And Aaron raised his hands toward the people and he blessed them" (Tosefot Yom Tov).

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