The lord said to moshe,

"go down, warn the

people

Not to break through to the lord to gaze,

 lest many of them perish".

(Shemot 19:21)

Warn the people not to break

through – when I will speak with them, lest, having risen to the level

face-to-face prophecy like you, they will think that they can ascend to be

close to you.

                                                                                                                                    (Seforno

ibid. ibid.)

Moshe was charged: "You

shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, 'Beware of going up the

mountain" (19:12), and this is

followed by another command: "Go down and warn the people not to break

through to the lord to gaze, lest many of them perish" Moshe replies: "The people cannot come

up to Mt. Sinai, for You warned us saying, 'Set bounds about the mountain and

sanctify it" (19:23).

R. Menachem

Mendel of Kotsk, explaining Moshe's reply, had sharp and scathing words to say.

He explained that Moshe did not understand how an Israelite could even conceive

of disobeying the Lord's word and ascend the mountain. Therefore he found it

difficult to comprehend why, after the order had already been given, and Moshe

has passed it on to the people, the order was repeated. Therefore the Lord

answers him further on: "Go down" (19:24),

in the sense of go down from you greatness 'because others are not like you and

they are in need of additional warning'.

This means that Moshe was obliged

to descend from that spiritual level where he was and from which he looked out

upon the people, and to tell them again and again, and to warn the masses of

Israel who need repeated warning, so that the words are assimilated.

 (Y. Leibowitz: Seven Years of

Discussions on the Weekly Portion, (Heb.), pp. 294-295)

Hornet or teacher of torah

Yael Levin

Moshe

and Barak… to Hulda… to Ezra and Ezra to The Great Assembly

Rav Yehudah Edri

published three books about women in the Bible. The first "Women in the Tanakh" was published in 5770; a composition devoted

to Moshe Rabeinu appeared in 5771; and soon after, also in 5771, appeared "Prophets

in the Tanakh". "Women in the Tanakh" and "Prophets in the Tanaakh"

share the same format, and include articles about Biblical figures. The articles

begin with background material about the respective figures, followed by a

selection of Talmudic quotes. In "Prophets in the Tanakh",

articles about Devorah and Hulda are republished, but, for some unclear reason,

the entry on Miriam does not reappear.

Rav Edri's books quickly gained

popularity among the general public. But there is room for criticism of his

work, and this article is dedicated to examination of a selection of Talmudic dicta

relating to Devorah, as an example of the problematical nature of this and

other entries.

Rav Edri chose to begin the

Talmudic selections with a quotation from Talmud Bavli, Tractate Megilla (14b), which looks at Devora and Hulda through

a negative prism: "Said Rav Nachman: Haughtiness

does not befit women. There were two haughty women, and their names are

hateful, one being called a hornet [Devorah] and the other a weasel [Hulda]. Of

the hornet it is written, 'And she sent and called Barak', instead of going to

him. Of the weasel it is written, 'Say to the man' instead of 'say to the king'."

Rav Nachman explains the significance

of Devorah and Hulda's names in the context of the animal

world. Dvorah is perceived as having a negative image because she sent for

Barak instead of going to him.

Further on,

Rav Edri quotes the item appearing a bit earlier in Megilla (14a) regarding Dvorah's

being one of the seven prophetesses. But the decision to place the quote

denigrating Devorah and Hulda

at the outset of the Talmudic quotes lifts more than one eyebrow, especially since

it reverses the order of appearance in the Talmud itself. Thus Devorah is

unjustly drawn in a negative light from the beginning, an unfortunate decision.

It seems that

Rav Nachman's critical slant towards Devorah is based

upon the Talmudic statement which uses Devorah to illustrate the perception

that when one is haughty, his prophecy departs from him: "Said Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav:

Every one who is haughty, if he is a scholar, his wisdom leaves him, if he is a

prophet, his prophecy leaves him […] from Devorah, as is written 'Deliverance

ceased, ceased in Israel, Till you arose, O Devorah, Arose, O mother, in Israel

etc.'and it is further written 'Awake, awake, O

Devorah! Awake, awake, strike up the chant, etc.'" (Pesahim 66b).

Rav Nahman's dictum is

problematic in light of the fact that Devorah, in her call to Barak, was

executing the command of God, and this was a prophecy which had to be realized (see RaDaK loc.cit.). There is a basis for

assuming that Rav Nachman's

pronouncements resulted from his personal experience with his wife, Yilta, and

allude to her. Yilta, daughter of the Head of the Diaspora, is revealed in

Talmudic sources to be a person with strong opinions who is cognizant of her

position and values her worth. It is especially worth recalling the story in

which she broke 400 jugs of wine because Ulah did not give her the respect warranted

by her wisdom and her station, and did not send her a cup of blessing [the cup

of wine over which the Grace after Meals was recited] (Berhachot 51b).

It is

important to note that, in contrast to Rav Nachman's derasha which deprecates Devora and Hulda, in

Midrash Tehillim are found explicit expressions of praise for Devorah and

Esther, and here too the point of departure is the comparison of the women to

animals: "[…] "To the leader; on ayyeleth ha-shahar".

This refers to two gazelles, Devorah and Esther; Devora who came from the

tribe of Naftali, regarding whom Yaakov said 'Naftali

is a gazelle let loose', and Esther who was compared to a gazelle 'the gazelle

of dawn' – this refers to Esther" (22a,

Buber ed. P.180)

Continuing his

entry on Devorah, Rav Edri quotes the famous midrash from "Seder Eliyahu Raba": "'And Devorah, wife of Lappidoth,

was a prophetess etc'. And what was the nature of Devorah

that she was able to judge Israel and prophesy about them […] I call upon

heaven and earth to testify: Whether gentile or Israelite, whether man or

woman, manservant or maidservant, the divine spirit rests upon him according to

his actions" (10, Ish Shalom ed., p. 48).

Further on in this quote – brought by Rav Edri but not

in juxtaposition to the first part, Devorah serves as

example of the possibility that the Holy Spirit can rest upon a person

according to his behavior. Devorah would urge her

husband, Lappidoth, who was uneducated, to prepare the wicks for the Shiloh sanctuary, and on his own initiative he would make

thick ones so that they would give greater light, and would bring them to the

sanctuary (p. 48-49)

In "Seder

Eliyahu Rabba" are

found additional articles and derashot in praise of Devorah.

One makes explicit reference to her Torah scholarship; she is presented as one

who taught Torah in public: "A difference explanation for 'And she was

sitting' [etc.] Just as it is not proper for a woman to be alone [with a man

other than her husband] inside the house, so Devorah would go and sit under the

palm tree and teach Torah in public. There it is written 'And

she was sitting' [etc.] between Ramma and Bet-El'" (10. p. 50).

The motif of Devorah sitting under the palm because of her strict

observance of the rule forbidding being secreted with a man other than her

husband ("yichud") is

mentioned in the section about her in the chapter on the seven prophetesses,

but the claim that she taught Torah in public is unique, as far as we know, to "Seder

Eliyahu Rabba". A

detailed analysis of this source will appear elsewhere, but it is worthwhile to

note that later in the text it becomes evident that the editor of the

compilation was personally acquainted with women who studied Torah: "Remember

how many orphans and widows there are in Israel who have nothing, but study

Torah everyday" (19, p. 112).

Yet Rav Edri does not include the

source which teaches that Devorah taught Torah in public. This derasha

appears in the Yalkut Shimoni; no doubt Rav Edri was familiar with this source,

yet he chose not to include it. Rav Edri does mention that Devorah

was, among other things, one of the honest women of Israel and one of the seven

prophetesses, one who prepared wicks for the sanctuary and one who was

stringent in observance of the laws of modesty. Along with this, he chose to

begin the selections on Devorah with a source of a

clearly derogatory nature, one which, as we have shown, is not on a level with

the one numbering her among the seven prophetesses. Rav Edri also refrained

from mentioning the source relating to Devorah's

teaching Torah in public. In other words, he chose to censor material

ostensibly not entirely consonant with views prevalent among certain circles regarding

the status of women in our day –a source portraying a woman fulfilling a public

Torah function. These two points, both together and each separately, cast a

shadow on the entry on Devorah, casting doubt on the author's reliability, and unfairly

staining the image of the prophetess.

On the one

hand, Talmudic literature presents unique sources in praise of Devorah; on the

other there are a few sources which are not complementary, aside from the

above-mentioned two sources in the Babylonian Talmud. Rav Edri himself quotes

the item in Midrash Tehillim "Dark [perhaps 'unfortunate'] the generation

which has a woman for its leader" which has a thematic parallel in the

Book of the Zohar": Woe to the generation which

has no one to judge the people but a woman" (Vayikra 19b). It would seem that the two sources

share the same ideological perception.

In contrast to

these isolated sources, there exists a line of sources lavish in their praise

for Devorah. For example, in the classic midrash Ruth Rabba, Yael,

too, is a judge; Devorah and Yael are both perceived most positively as two

judges who served concurrently (See Y. Levin, "Vatishpot Yael et Yisrael", in "Hashmiini

et Kolech). Most renowned are

the complimentary articles in "Seder Eliyahu Rabba", and even the Zohar contains delightful

articles praising Devorah; it is important to point out that the Zohar has Devorah standing at the

head of one of the women's palaces in Gan Eden (Shelach, 167b).

Noteworthy are two exceptional sources

dealing with Devorah, which would seem to preclude any doubt about her stature

and her greatness. The first includes Devorah and

Hulda in a list of those who pass on the Torah (beginning of Seder Tanaim V'Amoraim", composed in Gaonic period, 9^th

cent., Babylon): "Moshe

received Torah from Sinai and passed it to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders,

and the Elders to Othniel, and Othniel to Ehud, to Shamgar, to Devorah and

Barak, to Gideon […] to Isaiah, to Micah Hamorashti, to Yoel, to Nahum, to

Havakkuk, to Zephania, to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel, to Hulda, to Haggai, to

Zecharia, to Ezra and Ezra to the Great Assembly" (Seder Tanaim

Va'Amoraim, K. Kahana ed., Frankfort Am Main, 5695,

pp.1-2). Another noteworthy

selection appears in "Taamei Mesoret

HaMikra", attributed to R. Yehuda HaChasid (died 1217) in which Dvorah is equated with the

matriarchs (p.

20).

From an educational standpoint, Rav Edri's entry on Devorah is disastrous, a cause for tears.

His books are widespread (in part because of special sales in "Tsomet" bookstores), but they never underwent

professional critique or benefitted from an advisory committee; it is essential

that they undergo revision. The national-religious public would do well to

avoid using these compositions until they are updated, or at least to exercise

selectivity in their use, and the educators should be aware of the situation as

described. Length considerations permitted focusing on a single female figure

in this article. It should be noted that in his composition on women in the

Tanakh, there are also other problematic entries, among them the entries on

Miriam the prophetess.

In contrast to the unreliable portrait of

Devorah in Rav Edri's books, perusal of sources

relating to her generally conceive of her as an image of splendor and example:

one of the prophetesses who arose for the Jewish nation, a judge alongside

Yael, one who passed on the Torah, the equivalent of the matriarchs, one

standing at the head of the woman's palace in Gan Eden. Dvorah is an

inspirational figure worthy of emulation, a worthy paradigm for female

leadership. This is the image of Devorah which should

always be before our eyes.                    

(Dr. Yael Levin is, among other things, editor of a

recently published anthology of prayer, "Sim

Shalom", prayers for the peace of he world, a compilation from 'Likutei Tefillot'", published

by "Magid" (Koren)

in Yerushalayim)

"You shall also seek out

from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men, who spurn ill-gotten

gain"

It is told that at the time of

the establishment of the State, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon, z"l,

first Minister of Religions of the State of Israel, proposed to Ben Gurion the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin. Ben Gurion's reply was: "Let's assume that you will be

able to find among the Jewish people seventy men who are "men of

caliber" and also "God-fearing and men of

truth." But "men who spurn ill-gotten gain"?!!

Replied Rabbi Maimon:

"For money you can get that too."

"Other gods"

"You shall have no other

gods" – are they really gods? Is it not

written, "And have committed their gods to the flames and have

destroyed them, for they are not gods"? What then are we to learn from

"other gods"? But [the meaning is that] others consider

them to be gods. An alternative explanation: "other gods" – they

delay the good from coming into the world. [Translator note: The root a'ch'r' means both 'other' and 'to delay"] Another

explanation: "Other gods" – they are others

to their worshippers, as is written, "If they cry out to it, it does

not answer; it cannot save them from distress" (Isaiah 46:7)

 (Mechilta, Parashat

Yitro, Mashechet D'BaChodesh, Parasha 5)

"Please do not bury me in

Egypt" – why?... Lest they make me an object of idolatry.

 (Yalkut Shimoni,

Bereishit, Chap. 47, 156)

Let us now discuss anger. There

is the short-tempered person of whom it is written "One who is quick to

anger is like one who worships idolatrously". This is the person who

becomes furious whenever his will is contradicted, becoming filled with rage,

to the point where he loses good judgment. Such a person would destroy the

world if only he could, because his intelligence has no control over him; like

all animals of prey, he is unreasonable, and of him it is written (Job 8): "You who tear yourself to

pieces in anger – will earth's order be disrupted for your sake?" It

is easy for him to transgress all sorts of sins in the world if his fury

carries him there, for he has no motivation other than his anger – wherever it

leads him, he follows.

(Mesillot Yesharim,

Chapter 11)

Included in the widespread

idolatry in today's world is a powerful reality: the concentration of all

thought and activity towards the accumulation of wealth and the success of

possessions. They are the mighty gods upon whom they lean, they are supported

by their faith; by sanctification of their names, they deny the existence of

God above.

(Quoted from the "Baal HaAkedah" by

Prof. Nechama Leibowitz z"l, in "New Studies in the Book of Shemot" , p. 234)

The names change, the

multiplicity remains. Culture and civilization, nation and state, nationality

and race, economy and class – here you see an partial

list of the pantheon of contemporary gods. Who can deny the existence of these

gods? Never had an 'idol worshipper' bowed to his god with greater sacrifice,

greater faith, than does modern man… therefore, even until this day, in man's

heart a war is waged – between the worship of the One and worship of the many,

and the outcome of this battle is uncertain.

(From "Franz Rosenzweig: Jehuda Halevi – Anmerkungen", translated and quoted by Prof. Nechama Leibowitz z"l)

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