Did you ever wonder where the term
Yishar Koach (
יישר כוח) comes from? It literary means
“may your strength be firm” and is one of the most common ways to congratulate somebody after an Aliya to the Torah. Eliezer Segal wrote that it can probably be traced to ancient times.
While the Sephardic Torah scrolls were housed in a special box that can stand safely on the reading table, the Ashkenazic Torah was hand held by the reader. It could be understood that by-standers would encourage the reader to maintain the requisite vigor. Thus, Yishar koach became an encouragement to the reader,
“May you have strength not to cause the Torah to fall.”
The Gemara relates Yishar Koach in Shabbat 87a within the context of giving the Torah at Sinai. The sages teach us that when Moses broke the tablets God approved it and said: “Yishar Koach that you broke them” (Shabbat 87a).
'He broke the Tables': how did he learn [this]? He argued: If the Passover sacrifice, which is but one of the six hundred and thirteen precepts, yet the Torah said, there shall no alien eat thereof: here is the whole Torah, and the Israelites are apostates, how much more so! And how do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave His approval? Because it is said, which thou brakest, and Resh Lakish interpreted this: All strength to thee that thou brakest it.
Certainly, God and Moses had a special relationship. We further learn from Rabbi Yosi that God wanted to give the Torah on Friday, but Moses asked him to delay it by one day, so that the Torah will be given on Shabbat, the 7
th day in Sivan. God agreed to this as well and gave the Torah on the 7
th day of Sivan. The problem is that we celebrate Shavuot -
Zeman matan Torateinu - the time of the giving of our Torah - on the 6
th day of Sivan, not on the 7
th.
To exercise your power and create your own midrash, what in your mind is significant in Moses’ action of breaking the tablets, and why did God approve such an action?
Jews do not worship "things". We are specifically forbidden to have idols. Had the tablets existed intact they would have become objects of worship. It's interesting that the story of the golden calf is included in the Mt. Sinai experience. The clear message is Judaism is an intellectual religion that depends upon voluntary acceptance of moral law.
ReplyDeleteThe Jews at Mt. Sinai said naaseh v'nishma - we agree to do and we will listen. These three elements - the broken tablets, the abonimable golden calf and the pledge to intellectually evaluate and absorb our religion make the Jewish people unique. We have no accoutrements - other than the mezzuzah which is a household enhancement designed to remind us to THINK!
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Bernie.
ReplyDeleteI find Shabbat 87a powerful because of Rabbi Yosi’s idea that Moses, a human being, had the authority to act on his own mind – and in the presence of God. God’s approval shows that all of us, humans, have the permission to act out of free will. Our emotions and actions are not always pre-determined by the will of God, as you said: “Judaism is an intellectual religion that depends upon voluntary acceptance of moral law”. The Golden Calf episode probably came right here, to give Moses the opportunity to respond to such an act. Of course, this is a totally midrash on my part.
There are few points to comment on;
I have a personal problem with your comment that “Jews do not worship ‘things’”. Jews treat the Torah scroll, the Talit with its Tzitzits, or the 5 books of the Torah with much admiration and with a sense of holiness. Jews meditate on, kiss them , or just look at them as concrete reminders of the Jewish faith. The Mezuzah is only one out of many amulets that are there to remind us of the oneness of God.
The broken tablets were stored in the ark that the Israelites carried with them in the desert, so certainly, the ark itself became a “thing” as well. And of course, the 2nd set of tablets were NOT broken.