Why was Moses Silent?!

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Aaron L Raskin’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

The Talmud tells us in the tractate of Shabbos, page 86, side B. On Rosh Chodesh, Sivan, on the first day of the month of Sivan, the Jewish people arrived at Mount Sinai, Midbar Sinai. And they came to Isha Chad b'Lev Echad, one person with one heart. They were all united as one. And at that time, Moses began to prepare the Jewish people to receive the Torah. And each day he told them something else. However, day one, says the Gemara, he says nothing to them. V'lo amar lohu v'lo midi. Moses does not instruct them to do anything on that first day. Why not? Says the Gemara, mishum chusha d'urcha, because of the weakening of the journey. They traveled, they were tired. One day you have to relax. One day you're able to take off to get back to yourself. That seems to be the external reason of the Talmud. But really, being that already Moses began to prepare for Sinai, we must say that this was also part of the preparation. The fact that he said nothing, that saying nothing is also an order. That that saying nothing is also part of our preparation for Sinai. How do we understand this? What really happened at Sinai? What really happened when God gave us the Torah on Mount Sinai on the holiday of Shavuos? Officially, he gave us the Ten Commandments. But in general, he taught us the entire Torah. For Moses went up 40 days, 40 nights, and studied the entire Torah. But even that is an incomplete answer. Because we knew the Torah.

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1. 0:00The Talmud tells us in the tractate of Shabbos, page 86, side B. On Rosh Chodesh,…
2. 0:31the Jewish people to receive the Torah. And each day he told them something else. However,…
3. 1:03you have to relax. One day you're able to take off to get back to yourself.…
4. 1:34How do we understand this? What really happened at Sinai? What really happened when God gave…
5. 2:04We knew the Torah before it was given. The Talmud says Abraham, Isaac, Jacob studied the…
6. 2:35followed the 613 commandments of the Torah." Lot, when the angels came to visit him, was…
7. 3:05put his essence into the Torah. In other words, there are two aspects of Torah. There's…
8. 3:36for the preparation to receive the Torah, to receive the Torah which is beyond intellect, what…
9. 4:07that I am nothing before God then you become the ultimate vessel to receive everything from…
10. 4:39The weakening of the yeshus, the arrogance and haughtiness. And once this was weakened and this…

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