Updates & Insights

"Nadav and Avihu passed away about nine months later (Vayikra 10:1–2) while the elders were killed around a year later (Rashi on Devarim 11:16)."

This reference is actually to Rashi on Bamidbar 11:16.

The following is the text of Rashi there:

אספה לי. הֲרֵי תְשׁוּבָה לִתְלוּנָתְךָ שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ לֹא אוּכַל אָנֹכִי לְבַדִּי; וְהַזְּקֵנִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הֵיכָן הָיוּ? וַהֲלֹא אַף בְּמִצְרַיִם יָשְׁבוּ עִמָּהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ג') "לֵךְ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל"? אֶלָּא בְּאֵשׁ תַּבְעֵרָה מֵתוּ; וּרְאוּיִים הָיוּ לְכָךְ מִסִּינַי, דִּכְתִיב "וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים" (שם כ"ד) — שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ קַלּוּת רֹאשׁ כְּנוֹשֵׁךְ פִּתּוֹ וּמְדַבֵּר בִּפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, וְזֶהוּ "וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ", וְלֹא רָצָה הַקָּבָּ"ה לִתֵּן אֲבֵלוּת בְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה וּפָרַע לָהֶם כָּאן (תנחומא):

Chapter 15, titled "We Are Not Experts," examines the Gemara in Kiddushin,¹ which identifies the middle letter of the Sefer Torah as the vav of the word gachon² (גחון). The Gemara records Rav Yosef's inquiry as to which half of the Torah that letter actually falls in. His colleagues propose: "Let's bring a Sefer Torah and count them. Didn't Rabbah bar bar Chanah say that they did not move from there until they brought a Sefer Torah and counted?", to which Rav Yosef responds, "אִינְהוּ בְּקִיאִי בַּחֲסֵירוֹת וִיתֵרוֹת אֲנַן לָא בְּקִיאִינַן - They were experts in the missing and extra letters. We are not experts in this regard."

Footnote 11 includes: "See Shabbos 49b and the Ben Yehoyada there."

The reference to the Ben Yehoyada was included as a subtle response to a prominent talmid chochom and rov who suggested that Rav Yosef's statement "אֲנַן לָא בְּקִיאִינַן - We are not experts in this regard" should not be taken literally as an admission of inability to verify whether the vav of gachon is indeed the middle letter. According to his interpretation, the counting is certainly possible and the midpoint of the vav of gachon is verifiable,³ but Rav Yosef simply had no interest in investing the time when it could be better spent learning Torah.

The example offered was: "Suppose someone were asked how many kal vachomers appear in the Gemara. One would likely reply, 'I don't know' - not because the answer is unknowable, but because there is no reason to count, and doing so would not constitute time well spent."

However, the Ben Yehoyada's comment on Shabbos 49b forecloses this interpretation entirely. To the contrary, the Sages were willing and eager to count every letter - notwithstanding the considerable time and effort, but it was Rav Yosef's reply that rendered the effort futile: "They were experts in the missing and extra letters. We are not experts in this regard."

For full context, the Gemara in Shabbos⁴records a statement of Rabbi Shimon that the word "melacha" (labor) appears in the Torah exactly 39 times. The Gemara then presents a dilemma raised by the very same Rav Yosef as in Kiddushin, and the exchange is strikingly parallel:⁵

בָּעֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: ״וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ״, מִמִּנְיָנָא הוּא, אוֹ לָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: וְלַיְתֵי סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וְלִימְנֵי. מִי לָא אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן לֹא זָזוּ מִשָּׁם עַד שֶׁהֵבִיאוּ סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וּמְנָאוּם!

Rav Yosef asked: The pasuk says "And he [Yosef] came into the house to do his labor"⁶ -- is this instance [of "labor"] counted [as part of the 39 instances], or not?

Abaye said to him: Let us bring a Sefer Torah and count! Did not Rabbah bar bar Chanah say in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: They did not move from there until they brought a Sefer Torah and counted them?

The Ben Yehoyada writes the following:

מקשים למאי אצטריך להביא סיוע לדבריו מהא דאמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן הנזכר, כי לדבריו אלו שאומר 'לֵיתִי סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וְלִמְנִי' אין צריך ראיה והוכחה?

ונראה לי בס"ד, דבלאו הכי היו אמר להם לא נביא ספר תורה ונמנה, משום ביטול בית המדרש דאיכא טרחא, וגם עובר זמן הרבה עד שיראו כל פסוקי התורה מראש ועד סוף וימנו כל מלאכה ומלאכתו הכתובים בתורה

ולכן הביא דאמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן דהביאו ספר תורה ומנו ולא חשו לביטול בית המדרש, אף על גב דבהך איכא טרחא והעברת זמן יותר למנות כל האותיות עד שיתברר האות שהוא בחצי האותיות.

The question is raised: why did Abaye need to bring proof for his position from the statement of Rabbah bar bar Chanah in the name of Rabbi Yochanan? Surely his suggestion to "bring a Torah scroll and count" requires no proof at all!

It seems to me, with Hashem's help, that without this source, people would have objected: we cannot bring a Torah scroll and count, because it would disrupt the learning in the Beis Hamedrash, involve considerable effort, and take a very long time to go through the entire Torah from start to finish and count every instance of "labor" written in the Torah.

Abaye, therefore, cited the ruling of Rabbah bar bar Chanah in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, where they actually brought a Torah scroll and counted without any concern for disrupting the study hall, even though that case also involved significant effort and actually took even longer, since they had to count every single letter until they identified the one at the exact midpoint of the Torah.

Chapter 13 references several compilations documenting textual discrepancies between Chazal and our Sifrei Torah, Neviim, and Kesuvim. These include the Gilyon HaShas,¹ Haflaah She’ba’arachin,² Darkei Hashinuyim,³and S’dei Chemed.⁴

An additional comprehensive work on this subject is Mishpachas Soferim, authored by Rabbi Shmuel Rosenfeld (d. 1887). The sefer is available on HebrewBooks.org and may also be viewed below:

The following is a fascinating shiur given to students in a yeshiva in South Florida. The shiur is based on the contents of Chapters 20 and 23 of Our Mesorah.

The sightings map referenced throughout the shiur may be found in Our Mesorah on Page 171 as well as in the following link:

Chapter 40 includes a citation from the Chida,¹ who references the Kabbalistic view that the two pesukim of Vayehi Binso'a² found in Parashas Behaaloscha actually constitute a substantial and independent sefer,³ on par with the other books of the Torah. While we currently have access to only these two pesukim, the Kabbalists maintain that the complete sefer of Vayehi Binso'a will be revealed with the arrival of Mashiach.⁴

The idea that Vayehi Binso'a was originally intended to encompass significantly more than what we currently possess finds support in the following Midrash:⁵

וַיְהִי בִּנְסוֹעַ הָאָרוֹן - בֵּין לְמַעְלָה בֵּין לְמַטָּה נָקוּד, רַבִּי אָמַר: סֵפֶר הָיָה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ וְנִגְנַז.

"And it came to pass when the Aron set out” – [This passage contains] indications both above and below. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] explains: It was a book unto itself, and it was hidden away.

In addition to the citation from the Chida on Page 299, the Chida mentions the hidden sefer in a number of additional places, including:

Midbar Kedeimos (Letter Yud, 6)

וְרָאִיתִי בְּסֵפֶר כַּף וְנָקִי… דְּשַׁעַר הַנּוּ"ן נֶעְלַם מִמֹּשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וּלְכָךְ יֵשׁ נוּנִי"ן בְּפָרָשַׁת וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ לִרְמֹז לְנוּ"ן שַׁעֲרֵי בִינָה, וְסֵפֶר וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ גָּדוֹל כְּכָל הַתּוֹרָה, וְלֹא זָכָה מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי אִם פֶּ"ה אוֹתִיּוֹת.

I have seen in the sefer Kaf v'Naki⁶… that the fiftieth gate [of understanding] was concealed from Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. This is why there are nuns in the passage of Vayehi Binso'a — to allude to the fiftieth gate of understanding. The book of Vayehi Binso'a is as great as the entire Torah, yet [Moshe] merited to receive of it only eighty-five letters.

Chomas Anach (on Zecharia 4:2)

כָּתְבוּ הַמְקֻבָּלִים דְּסֵפֶר וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרוֹן הוּא סֵפֶר גָּדוֹל וְלֹא זָכִינוּ אֶלָּא לִשְׁנֵי פְּסוּקִים, וְלֶעָתִיד לָבֹא שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לִשְׁמֹעַ תּוֹרָה מִפִּיו יִהְיוּ ז' סְפָרִים מְפֻרְסָמִים וְנִכָּרִים... וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁזֶּה רֶמֶז "וְהִנֵּה מְנוֹרַת זָהָב כֻּלָּהּ" — רֶמֶז עַל הַתּוֹרָה, כִּי לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא תִּהְיֶה כֻּלָּהּ, כִּי עַד עַתָּה לֹא זָכִינוּ אֶלָּא לְה' סְפָרִים, אֲבָל לֶעָתִיד תִּהְיֶה מְנוֹרַת זָהָב שֶׁהִיא הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּהּ... "וְשִׁבְעָה נֵרֹתֶיהָ עָלֶיהָ" — רֶמֶז לְז' סְפָרִים שֶׁיִּתְגַּלּוּ.

The Kabbalists have written that the book of Vayehi Binso'a HaAron is a great book of which we have merited only two verses; but in the era of Mashiach, when we will merit to hear Torah from his own mouth, there will be seven books, well known and recognized... It is possible that this is alluded to in the verse “and behold, a menorah entirely of gold"⁷ — an allusion to the Torah, for in the era of Mashiach it will be whole, since until now we have merited only five books, but in the future it will be a "menorah of gold" in its entirety, which is the complete Torah... And "its seven lamps upon it" alludes to the seven books that will be revealed.

Section XIV of the Matan Torah supplement references a rabbinic debate¹ regarding the final eight pesukim of the Torah,² which describe the passing of Moshe. Rav Yehudah holds that these verses were written by Yehoshua, while Rav Shimon maintains that Moshe himself wrote them "be'dema," commonly translated as "with tears."³

The Vilna Gaon⁴ offers a novel interpretation of the word "be'dema":

מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִכְתּוֹב בְּגִלּוּי וַיָּמׇת שָׁם מֹשֶׁה דְּמִיחֲזִי כְּשִׁקְרָא. וְגַם לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִגְמוֹר ע״י יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. כִּי אֶפְשָׁר ס״ת חָסֵר אוֹת א׳. לְכָךְ הוּא אוֹמֵר שֶׁהָיָה כּוֹתֵב בְּדֶמַע. וְהַפֵּירוּשׁ הוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן מְלֵאָתְךָ וְדִמְעֲךָ. וּלְשׁוֹן מְדֻמָּע וְעִרְבּוּב אוֹתִיּוֹת. שֶׁהָיָה כּוֹתֵב מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ ע״פ צֵרוּפֵי תֵּיבוֹת וְהֵם שְׁמוֹתָיו שֶׁל הקב״ה וְלֹא הָיָה נִקְרָא כְּלָל וַיָּמׇת שָׁם מֹשֶׁה רַק תֵּיבוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת ע״פ סוֹדוֹת הַתּוֹרָה. וּלְאַחַר מִיתָתוֹ כְּתָבָן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כְּפִי שֶׁנִּיתַּן לוֹ רְשׁוּת לְגַלּוֹת אֶת הַתּוֹרָה.

From this point onward [referring to the final verses of the Torah], Moshe could not write openly "And Moshe died there," because it would appear false. Nor could he leave it to be completed by Yehoshua, because it is impossible that the Sefer Torah should be missing even a single letter. Therefore, the Gemara says that he was writing be'dema. The meaning is from the language of "Your fullness offering and your heave offering"⁵ (meleiascha ve'dim'acha), and from the language of meduma (a mixture) and the mixing of letters. For from this point onward, he was writing according to combinations of words, and these were the Names of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It did not read at all as "And Moshe died there," but rather as different words, according to the secrets of the Torah. After his passing, Yehoshua wrote them out as they appear now, according to the permission he was given to reveal the Torah.

Chapter 22 discusses Ezra HaSofer updating the Sefer Torah’s script from Kesav Ivri (an ancient “Hebrew script” also known as Paleo-Hebrew) to Kesav Ashuris (“Assyrian script,” the currently used script. This change occurred at the end of Galus Bavel,¹ shortly after the Purim story.²

The Meshech Chochmah³ argues that the phrase⁴ "ככתבם וכזמנם - according to their writing and according to their time" teaches that the Megillah must be written in whatever script Jews are using at the time of its composition. Since the script changed from Kesav Ivri to Kesav Ashuris  (via Ezra), the valid script for the Megillah is determined by its era. The elongated vav in "ויזתא - Vayzasa"⁵ serves as proof that this particular letter was never altered by Ezra,⁶ unlike all other letters that underwent the script change.

משך חכמה, מגילת אסתר ט׳

ככתבם וכזמנם. הנה הלועז ששמע אשורי יצא, ומקודם היה הכתב עברי. והיה צ"ל כתוב בכתב עברי ואחרי זה היה כתוב בכתב אשורי, וצ"ל כתוב בכתב אשורי, לכן אמר ככתבם וכזמנם כזמן שיהיה אז הכתב אצל היהודים, כן תכתב המגילה ולכן דריש מוי"ו דויזתא דלזקפיה כמורדיא דלוברת, הוראה בוי"ו שלא נשתנה אחרי זה ע"י עזרא שבכולהו נשתנה ועיין פרק כ"ג ודו"ק.

Chapter 40, "A Mystical Perspective," presents the Heichal Haberachah's¹ position that the varying versions of mesorah found throughout Chazal carry profound significance and validity on an elevated spiritual plane. What may appear on the surface as contradictions between differing traditions in the Gemara and Midrashim, each in fact possesses its own inherent spiritual truth. The following sources lend further support to this principle:

Minchas Shai on Bamidbar 23:9

אִצְטַעַרְנָא כָּל יוֹמַאי עַל מַאי דַּחֲזֵינַן בְּכַמָּה דּוּכְתֵּי עַל פְּלוּגְתֵּיהּ טוּבָא בֵּין מָארֵי דְתַלְמוּדָא דְאַגַּדְתָּא וּמָארֵי דְמַסֹּרְתָּא בַּחֲסֵרֵי וְיִתֵּרֵי. וְהַשְׁתָּא דְּאִתְחֲזֵי לִי הָדֵין לִישָׁנָא דְהַאי סִפְרָא קַדִּישָׁא, אָמִינָא דִּילְמָא מַאן דְּיִזְכֶּי נָמֵי לְמֵינְדַּע מַאי נִינְהוּ מְתִיבְתָּא עִילָּאָה וּמְתִיבְתָּא דִּרְקִיעָא, וְאוֹרַיְּיתָא הֵיכִי כְּתִיבָא בְּהָנֵי מְתִיבְתֵּי, יִזְכֶּה נָמֵי לְמֵינְדַּע טַעְמֵי דְּהָלֵין פְּלוּגְתֵּי דְרַבָּנַן קַשִּׁישֵׁי, דְּחָכְמַת אֱלָהִין אִשְׁתְּכַחַת בְּהוֹן, הֲווֹ בְּקִיאֵי בְּרָזֵי עִילָּאֵי דְהָנָךְ מְתִיבְתֵּי, וְאִינְהוּ דְּאָמְרֵי כְּחַד מִינַּיְיהוּ, וְאִיתָא לְהַאי וְאִיתָא לְהַאי, וְלָא פְּלִיגֵן אַהֲדָדֵי.

I have been troubled all my days over what we see in many places concerning the many disputes between the masters of the Talmud and Aggadah and the masters of the Mesorah regarding chaseiros and yeseiros. And now that the language of this holy book [the Zohar] has been revealed to me, I say: perhaps whoever merits to know what the Heavenly Academy (Mesivta Ila'ah) and the Academy of the Firmament (Mesivta d'Rakia) are, and how the Torah is written in these academies – he will also merit to know the reasons for these disputes of the elder sages, in whom divine wisdom was found. They were experts in the supernal mysteries of these academies, and those who speak as one of them [say]: 'this one is valid and that one is valid,' and they do not contradict one another.

Shaar HaGilgulim, Hakdamah 40

The Shaar HaGilgulim² cites the Zohar on the pasuk³ וַיְהִי בְּיוֹם כַּלּוֹת מֹשֶׁה (“On the day that Moshe finished”), where Chazal⁴ expound כַּלַּת (meaning, a bride), a deficient spelling that does not appear in our Sifrei Torah, in which the word is written כַּלּוֹת, full with a vav. The Zohar resolves the apparent discrepancy with a foundational principle:⁵ דְּהָכִי כְּתִיב חָסֵר בַּתּוֹרָה לְמַעְלָה בַּשָּׁמַיִם, וְלֹא בַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּתְּנָה לָנוּ דְּנָעוּ מַעְגְּלוֹתֶיהָ. 

Thus it is written deficient in the Torah above in the heavens, but not in the Torah that was given to us, whose paths have shifted.

Zohar, Balak 31:340 (Zohar III, 203b)

Another passage of the Zohar⁶ explains similarly: Our Sifrei Torah read the words⁷ וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ (“and I behold them as hills”), with a vav, yet in the loftiest heavenly realms the word is written deficiently – וּמִגְּבָעֹת, without a vav. וְדָא הוּא וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ, בִּמְתִיבְתָּא עִלָּאָה, גְּבָעֹת חָסֵר ו'. (רמאה דכלא ההיא עלאה דכלא) בִּמְתִיבְתָּא דִּרְקִיעָא, וּמִגְּבָעוֹת בְּאָת ו'.

And this is the meaning of "and I behold them as hills" [ּוּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ]: in the Heavenly Academy, "גְּבָעֹת" is written deficient, without a vav. (The highest [academy] of all is that supernal one of all.) In the [lower] Academy of the Firmament, "וּמִגְּבָעוֹת" is written with a vav.

Chapter 41, "Current Disputes," identifies two letters in the Sefer Torah for which variations exist in the mesorah: daka¹ (with an aleph, דַּכָּא, or hei, דַּכָּה) and va'yehi² (וַיְהִי) or va'yihiyu (וַיִּהְיוּ). One dispute concerning the spacing between parshiyos in Parashas Tzav is also addressed.

These disputes are highlighted because they are directly discussed by the halachic authorities (as is detailed in Chapter 45). The differences in spelling of daka and va'yehi also bear slightly on the meaning of the words themselves: daka spelled with an aleph means "humbled," while with a hei it is a feminine form;³ va'yehi is singular, whereas va'yihiyu is plural.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the Yemenite tradition contains a small number of additional minor spelling variations relative to Sephardic and Ashkenazic Sifrei Torah. All of these are classic cases of chaseiros and yeseiros and carry no change in meaning or pronunciation:

• Bereishis 4:13 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: מנשוא | Yemenite: מנשא
• Bereishis 7:11 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: מעינות | Yemenite: מעינת
• Bereishis 41:45 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: פוטי פרע | Yemenite: פוטיפרע
• Shemos 25:31 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: תיעשה | Yemenite: תעשה
• Shemos 28:26 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: האפוד | Yemenite: האפד
• Bamidbar 10:10 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: חדשכם | Yemenite: חדשיכם
• Bamidbar 22:5 - Ashkenaz/Sephard: בעור | Yemenite: בער