Moses vs. the Angels
Your Timeline for Thursday, May 21 - 5 Sivan, 5786
Good morning and chag sameach for the holiday of Shavuot tonight! The holiday of Shavuot is one rife with meaning and purpose for our daily lives. Afterall, the Torah is our guidebook to navigating the world, in all of its mundane and consternating messiness. (Indeed, that is the very premise of this newsletter: To explore how the Torah can speak to the vicissitudes of modern life.
There’s a fascinating discussion in the Talmud about Moses’s experience receiving the Torah on High which speaks to the very cutting edge of innovation.
The Daily Thought:
The Talmud (Menachot 29b) shares a conversation between Moses and G-d. Moses was “up there” receiving the Torah when he witnessed G-d, as it were, tying the crowns that sit atop each letter in the Torah.
The world was waiting for the Torah, Moses remarked. Why was it being held up for seemingly ornamental reasons?
G-d responded:
“There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, [named] Akiva ben Yosef … ; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot.”
It is for the great sage Rabbi Akiva’s sake that the crowns needed to be added to the letters of the Torah. But Moses did not know this Akiva, and he pressed on, asking G-d to show him the man.
The Talmud continues:
G-d said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient.
When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this?
Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.
Moses had discovered the inherent tension that exists in the Torah. On the one hand, the Torah is part of the timeless chain that begins at Sinai and stretches to this very day. It’s a system of continuous revelation that uniquely allows us to mentally grasp the very thoughts of the Creator.
And yet Torah is also innovative. We apply the Torah to our modern lives, we seek to not just repeat its concepts but uniquely discover something new, a chiddush, a novel insight never before shared with the world. That too is Torah.
As the Sages put it: ”Everything that a diligent student is destined to innovate was given to Moses on Sinai.”
So what exactly put Moses at ease? When he understood that he was being given the Divine data set, a bastion of knowledge and a set of rules that allow us to compress the infinite potential of the Torah, unpack it, and apply it to whatever scenarios that may come to be.
The fidelity to that tradition allows the Torah to transcend the limitations of time and space. We can both explore discussions that were never before possible—from the nature of the soul to AI and beyond—and at the same time, know that we are pearls on that transcendent chain, illuminating the cosmos from Sinai.
Asides:
Who was Rabbi Akiva? Get to know his Life and Teachings
Explore the transmission of the Torah in Scroll Down, a delightfully humorous 10-part video series unpacking the process of the Torah’s transmission and exposition through the ages.
📖 Today’s Complete Daily Study:
Psalms: Chapters 29-34
Rambam: 3 Chapters, 1 Chapter, Sefer Hamitzvot
Hayom Yom: Today’s Hayom Yom
Today’s Features:
These Jews are hitting the gym - and the Shul! Lift & Learn is an 18-week program running from Thanksgiving to Passover in which participants set two goals: one physical, one spiritual — logging workouts and Jewish practice each week, and holding each other accountable.
Why do so many read the Tikkun, instead of engaging in deep learning? There is a widespread custom to stay up the entire night of Shavuot learning Torah. While some spend the night learning whatever Torah topic they fancy, many have the custom of specifically learning a special booklet known as the Tikkun Leil Shavuot.
California Fire Forces Evacuations Amid Shavuot Preparations. A brush fire broke out Monday morning in Simi Valley, tore through nearly 1,400 acres, and forced thousands to evacuate just days before Shavuot. With the fire now largely contained, attention is shifting toward the holiday. “After a tense event like this,” says Rabbi Nosson Gurary, “it’s important for the community to be together, and we’re expecting a large crowd.”
Chassidic Texts Have Long Been Studied in Yeshivah. Now They’re Being Studied at Princeton. Every summer, students compete for fellowships at top institutions. This summer, ten scholars from Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton won spots in the Princeton Institute for Hasidic Thought’s Meturgeman Translation Fellowship — spending their time translating Hasidic texts from Yiddish and Hebrew into English. Founded in January 2025, PIHT has already carved a unique niche — treating Chassidic texts not as a subject of historical inquiry, but as a living philosophical tradition.
Is your menu set for Shavuot tonight? We’ve got so many amazing Shavuot recipes for you! Blintzes, cheesecake, and many other traditional Shavuot delicacies. And a dose of healthy and kid-friendly recipes too . . .
Chag Sameach:
Holiday Candle Lighting Times:
New York: 7:54pm Miami: 7:45pm
Jerusalem: 6:53pm Tel Aviv: 7:13pm
Los Angeles: 7:35pm London: 8:36pm
Do you have questions or comments? Please leave a comment or reply to this email—I’d love to hear from you!