Tiberian Tradition of the Torah

 

When I began studying Biblical Hebrew in 2017, I knew we were being taught in the Tiberian Tradition of the Torah, but until this morning, I didn't really know what that meant.

    As I was reading through the first 3 daily aliyahs and Ibn Ezra's commentary on them - can you believe the week is already three days old?! - a couple of things became a stark reality for me - although, of course, I had known them as unrelated facts before, now the information has gelled as a unit in my mind.

    Firstly, we're so used to Torah scrolls being placed in Arks that somehow in my mind I equated the Torah scroll with the Tablets containing the Ten  Commandments. But of course this is not so.

    Whether there was 1 ark or 3 arks, or whether the 3 became 1, doesn't really matter here. The tablets that God wrote the 10 Words on were shattered by Moses when he came down the mountain and saw the children of Israel sinning with the golden calf. Upon writing exactly the same words on another set of tablets, we are told that the tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant by Moses. There is discusson as to whether it was the first set, the second set, or both - but in any case, what was placed in the Ark were the tablets, not the Torah as we know it. Moses wrote that later, and was instructed to put it beside the Ark of the Covenant.

    So when we see Torah scrolls safeguarded in covers and arks today - as they should be - I suddenly realised this morning that this is One Layer Removed from God's original words to us.

    Secondly, in Sh'mot 25:31, it says:

וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מְנֹרַ֖ת זָהָ֣ב טָה֑וֹר מִקְשָׁ֞ה תֵּעָשֶׂ֤ה *(בספרי ספרד ואשכנז תֵּיעָשֶׂ֤ה) הַמְּנוֹרָה֙ יְרֵכָ֣הּ וְקָנָ֔הּ גְּבִיעֶ֛יהָ כַּפְתֹּרֶ֥יהָ וּפְרָחֶ֖יהָ מִמֶּ֥נָּה יִהְיֽוּ׃

You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and petals shall be of one piece.

(quoted from Sefaria)

    

Ibn Ezra's commentary on the word תֵּעָשֶׂ֤ה is:

    I have seen copies of Scripture which the wise men of Tiberias have examined. Behold, I found the word te’aseh (be made) spelled with a yod. Fifteen of their wise men *Tiberian scholars. The scholars of Tiberias were known for their work in preserving the text of Scripture (massorah). The Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali families were active there. In fact, Maimonides recommended the Torah Scroll written by Aaron ben Asher in 930 C.E. as a model for all Torah scrolls. swore that they checked every word, vowel, full and deficient spelling, three times. I did not find this to be the case with the books of Scripture in Spain, France, and on the other side of the sea. Our sages said that the additional yod in te’aseh alludes to the ten *Yod is numerically equivalent to 10. candlesticks which Solomon would make.

(quoted from Sefaria)

    When I read this, I thought: If we have "lost" the first true tablets with God's Words on them, that's the first level of loss. If, in addition, we have "lost" the true and faithful rendition of the Torah Moshe himself wrote all those years ago - for example the missing Yod from Ta'aseh - that's already the second level of loss. Then, I have heard it said that until King Solomon wrote the Song of Songs, no one had any clue what the Torah was all about.

        Since I only have a vague inkling about one of the verses in Song of Songs, I'm asking myself: Where do I stand in the understanding of the Torah?

    If what we have today is 3 times removed from what we had at first, how sad is that? I found myself crying in the kitchen over the seeming fact that HaShem is so far removed from us today, in this last generation, that He is very hard to find unless you are looking for Him with a passion.

    I, for one, am doing just that to the best of my ability - yet, even so, how close can I really get to Him? And why is it like this? 

    These questions made me cry yesterday, with longing for God. Today they are still running around in my mind, but I am not distraught anymore. I know that HaShem loves us and He looks after us. He will never abandon us. That is enough comfort for me today. He will answer all my questions one day. I will wait patiently every day - as the Rambam said - even if He tarry.

    Today we saw Shiri, Ariel and Kfir laid to rest, in each others arms. The heart breaks and there are no words. Those demons, those monsters! Their husband and father has lost his soulmate and now faces a life without his beloveds. The heart breaks all over again.

    How despicable that Hamas paraded their murdered victims on a stage and blamed Israel for their death! There is no end to their evil heartedness, apparently. Wake up world!!!

    It is now the end of the day after I started writing this. And I am thankful for this day that HaShem gave me. I have been doing stuff since I woke up this morning. 

    I started with the washing of the hands and the prayers for that and the bathroom, prayed Shacharit with a friend, taught a couple of Hebrew classes, added content to my Hebrew curriculum, baked 2 tomato and onion loaves, cleaned the kitchen and did some washing, even attended to some of my plants, most especially my sugar snap peas, which have not come up after 2 weeks, so I planted a newer lot, as well as my German Chamomile, which I think I may have covered with too much sand for them to see the sun and germinate. I've been moving them all over the lounge to the spots where the sun hits to try and coax them into life. I'll give them another week and if I don't see little green things sticking up out of the ground, I will plant some more seeds and be very careful to only put a little bit of sand on top of them!

    As I end this day, I am grateful for this beautiful day God gave to me and I am also thankful for my mom and my family and friends. I will entrust my body and soul to HaShem for safekeeping as I sleep later on this evening, and pray for another day - tomorrow - to serve Him and with His help, love my fellow man to the best of my ability.

Layla tov! 🌛🌟