Class 001 – Why Does the Posuk Begin with Behar Sinai?
1. The Unusual Opening of Parshas Behar
As I began reading Parshas Behar, I noticed something unusual in its opening. Typically, the Torah introduces a new section with the phrase, “Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leymor”—Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying. However, in this week’s parsha, the posuk begins, “Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe behar Sinai leymor”—Hashem spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai, saying. The addition of behar Sinai—at Mount Sinai—is striking and prompts Rashi to comment, as he often does when something is out of the ordinary.
On a simple, literal level, behar Sinai would mean that Hashem spoke to Moshe while he was on Mount Sinai. But this raises questions, especially when compared to other places in the Torah where the location of Hashem’s communication is specified differently.
2. Contrasting with the Opening of Vayikra
To understand this better, let’s look at the beginning of Sefer Vayikra. There, the posuk says, “Vayikra el Moshe vayedaber eilav Hashem me’Ohel Moed”—Hashem called to Moshe and spoke to him from the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting). This teaches us that after the Mishkan was built on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, Hashem communicated with Moshe from the Ohel Moed. The process was that Hashem would call Moshe, only Moshe would hear, and then Moshe would enter to receive the instructions.
The implication is that, from that point on, all the mitzvos and halachos that Hashem taught Moshe were conveyed from the Ohel Moed. Even though Moshe had already learned the Torah at Har Sinai, the actual communication to the Jewish people happened later, from the Ohel Moed, as they traveled in the desert.
3. The Summary at the End of Chumash Vayikra
At the end of Parshas Bechukosai, the Torah summarizes: “Eileh hamitzvos asher tziva Hashem es Moshe el bnei Yisrael behar Sinai”—these are the mitzvos that Hashem commanded Moshe for the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. This seems to contradict the earlier statement that Hashem spoke to Moshe from the Ohel Moed. If the Torah began Sefer Vayikra by saying that the mitzvos were given from the Ohel Moed, why does it now say they were given behar Sinai?
We know that Moshe Rabbeinu spent three sets of forty days on Har Sinai after Matan Torah, receiving the Torah and the luchos. So which is it? Were the mitzvos given at Har Sinai or from the Ohel Moed?
4. Reconciling the Two Locations of Revelation
The understanding is that Moshe Rabbeinu received all the Torah and mitzvos from Hashem at Har Sinai, but he did not immediately transmit everything to the Jewish people. Instead, whenever Hashem wanted Moshe to teach a particular halacha to the people, He would instruct Moshe again, often from the Ohel Moed, and Moshe would then convey it to the nation. The end of Vayikra, therefore, is emphasizing that even though the communication to the people happened later, the content itself was already given to Moshe at Har Sinai.
This means that the mitzvos Moshe taught after the Mishkan was built were not new; they were already taught to him at Har Sinai. The Torah is clarifying that the source of all these mitzvos is Har Sinai, even if their transmission to the people occurred later.
5. The Role of Mishneh Torah and New Details
Another question arises when we consider Sefer Devarim, known as Mishneh Torah, where Moshe Rabbeinu reviews the Torah with the Jewish people before they enter Eretz Yisrael. In Devarim, many mitzvos and details are repeated, and sometimes new details appear that were not mentioned in the earlier Chumashim. One might think that these new details were taught to Moshe only later, in Arvos Moav, and not at Har Sinai.
However, Rashi explains that this is not the case. Even though some details are only mentioned later, all the mitzvos and their specifics were already given to Moshe at Har Sinai. The Torah’s mention of behar Sinai by Shemitah is meant to teach us that just as all the details of Shemitah were given at Har Sinai, so too, all the mitzvos—including their details—were given then, even if they are only recorded later in the Torah.
6. The Unique Mention of Behar Sinai by Shemitah
It is noteworthy that the Torah singles out Shemitah with the phrase behar Sinai. Rashi asks: Why is Shemitah specifically associated with Har Sinai? The answer is that just as Shemitah’s details were all given at Har Sinai and not added to later, so too, all the mitzvos were given in their entirety at Har Sinai. The Torah is teaching us that the process for Shemitah is a model for all mitzvos—their general principles and details were all given at Har Sinai, even if they are only elaborated on later.
This is the simple explanation, though the Rebbe offers a different approach, which we will discuss another time. For now, this is the straightforward understanding of why the posuk emphasizes behar Sinai in connection with Shemitah.
7. The Rebbe’s Interpretation of Behar Sinai
The Rebbe interprets behar Sinai not as “on Mount Sinai” in the literal sense, but as “while they were still encamped by Mount Sinai.” According to this, the phrase behar Sinai leymor means that Hashem spoke to Moshe while the Jewish people were still camped at the mountain, before they began their journeys in the desert. The encampment at Har Sinai lasted until the Torah records their departure in the twentieth year, as described in Parshas Bamidbar.
Understanding how this interpretation fits with Rashi’s explanation is a subject for further study, and we will explore it in more depth in a future shiur, be’ezras Hashem.