Shabbat Parashat Yitro - 5783

Shabbat Parashat Yitro - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller And you shall set bounds around it for the people, saying, guard yourself from ascending the mountain or touching its edge. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die. [Shemot 19:12] Why would God need to tell Moshe to set bounds around the mountain? Wouldn't a simple command to the people not to approach be enough? Then in verses 21 and 24 He repeats the warnings about the people dying if they approach from curiosity, to the point He directs Moshe to go back down and take action. Rashi tells us that Moshe was to set up signs marking the boundary beyond which the people may not pass, and then seems to indicate that the "saying guard yourselves" shifts the burden from Moshe to the people themselves, relieving Moshe of any blame should they cross the line. He sees verses 21 and 24, not as repetitions but as expansion of the details as to what the end of our verse means. Rav Hirsch reads the section that Moshe misunderstood the level of perfection the people had reached, thinking them to have excelled sufficiently to have attained Divine connection. Our section tells Moshe that, although he is there, the people are not yet. The following verses tell Moshe that all of the people needed this protection still, none were exempted or at that level. Malbim understands these verses to teach that there are multiple levels of knowledge of God, and to differentiate between the capabilities of individuals in this. Things Moshe might understand are beyond the comprehension of others. Rav Soloveitchik sees the opposite. Animals need a physical boundary, but people can physically restrain themselves if given instructions. The bounds that our verse directs Moshe to set are not flags or fences, but words telling the people where they may not cross and why. For a Jew, there is no fence or partition, rather an intangible separation from what he is prohibited. "The imaginary line that the Jew lives by is stronger than any fence." This is the sense of right and wrong we implement by keeping the Torah.