For Adult’s Only

The Talmud presents us with a most unusual teaching, some of which for many may be familiar (Shabbat 68a):

The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount (vayityztzvu mitakhtit hahar)” (Exodus 19:17).

This verse, when read super-literally, provides the impetus for the following drashah:

Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the [This verse] teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above [the people] like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, fine, but if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to [the obligation to fulfill the] Torah, [namely, that The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding.]

This drashah posits that when the Torah was revealed at Sinai, its acceptance was coerced, with God dangling a mountain over the people’s heads in a threatening manner. In consequence, its acceptance was legally invalid. It is not so difficult to understand what this story infers. God thought he was doing the people a favor. He thought having a law code was for the good and advancement of society, something that would make life better for people, but, as we all know, it is hard to get people to accept that notion and, in fact, people have been rebelling against such an idea ever since. Nobody likes having rules imposed upon them even if it is for their own good.
Still, every good idea has its time and, according to this Talmudic midrash, the people came around to accepting the Torah of their own volition on of all days, Purim:

Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it [willingly] in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “[The people] ordained, and accepted (kimu v’kiblu), [and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The people] ordained what they had already taken upon themselves [through coercion at Sinai.]

Why Purim? Well, the sages, being master textual craftsmen, noted that the description of the people’s acceptance upon themselves of the observance of Purim used the words “kimu v’kiblu – ordained and accepted”. These words provided Rava with the impetus for seeing this acceptance as an reaffirmation of what the people had earlier taken upon themselves at Sinai.

But, let’s take a deeper look at what Rava is saying. Purim, in some ways represents the antithesis of the Torah’s message. It is the one day of the year when the rules are cut loose and unbridled behavior is permitted. On two levels, this may be the point. First of all, once a year somewhat unbridled behavior is fine, but most people would prefer not to live in such a decadent society year-round. And, so, Purim lends itself to an appreciation of the virtues of living within the framework of the Torah. In addition, the “freedom” of Purim creates an atmosphere which might bridge the apprehension to the acceptance of a system which otherwise might feel restrictive.

The teaching of Hizkiya affirms the cosmic significance of this affirmation:

Ḥizkiya said: What is [the meaning of that] which is written: “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent” (Psalms 76:9)? If it was afraid, why was it silent; and if it was silent, why was it afraid? Rather, the meaning is: At first, it was afraid, and in the end, it was silent. “You caused sentence to be heard from heaven” refers to the revelation at Sinai. And why was the earth afraid? It is in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31)? [Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, the definite article, which does not appear on any of the other days?] It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, established a condition with the act of Creation, and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah on the sixth day of Sivan, you will exist; and if they do not accept it, I will return you to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. Therefore, the earth was afraid until the Torah was given to Israel, lest it be returned to a state of chaos. Once the Jewish people accepted the Torah, the earth was calmed. (Adapted from Shabbat 88a)

For Hizkiya, the acceptance of the Torah averted the world’s being caste back into primordial chaos for it is a life of Torah which provides the framework for the good life even though on some level everyone yearns for the bacchanalian spirit of Purim to burst forth.

I’ll drink to that!!