The Torah rarely gives specific instructions as to how a particular commandment should be carried out in the future. In fact, when we do find both a command and its execution described in Tanakh, they are usually not identical, and the discrepancies have naturally drawn the attention of commentators from the times of the Tannaim and Amoraim up to modern times.
In this shiur, we will examine the ceremony of the blessings and curses and the placing of the stones in the Jordan River, in order to understand the unit and explain some of the related disagreements between commentators.
Putting up the stones after crossing the Jordan
And it shall be, on the day when you pass over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself great stones, and plaster them with plaster. And you shall write upon them all the words of this law, when you have passed over…
And it shall be, when you have passed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, on Mount Eval, and you shalt plaster them with plaster. And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones… And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law very clearly. (Devarim 27:2-8)
I have noted in previous shiurim that the Torah sometimes uses similar phrases as a type of "parentheses" in order to set apart an aside, as it were, that interrupts the flow of the text. This principle may help us understand the unit on setting up the stones after crossing the Jordan.
We see that the Torah repeats the command to write on the stones: "And you shall write upon them all the words of this law"; and then "And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law, very clearly." There are two ways of explaining this repetition:
It may be that the verses in between these two iterations, which describe setting up the stones, are a parenthetical comment. Bnei Yisrael were only commanded once to write upon the stones, but there is dual significance to the setting up of the stones: one aspect is that the law must be written on them; the other is that they must be set up as an altar. To emphasize this, the Torah sandwiches the command to set up the stones as an altar in between the two statements of the command to write the words of the Torah on them.
Two sets of stones are to be set up. The first is meant only to be written on; the second stones have the law written on them too, but they also serve as an altar. These two sets of stones are introduced with similar language: "And it shall be, on the day when you pass over the Jordan"; "And it shall be, when you have passed over the Jordan."
Sefer Yehoshua in fact describes two instances of setting up stones (besides the setting of the stones in the Jordan itself): after Bnei Yisrael cross over, they set up stones at Gilgal (Yehoshua 4:20); after the war of Ai, they set up an altar and also write upon it (Yehoshua 8:30-32). The text notes explicitly that the latter action (after the war of Ai) was performed "as it is written in the law of Moshe," but it is actually the first setting up of stones, immediately after crossing the Jordan, that seems to accord better with the command in our parasha.
The Amoraim debate this question in Massekhet Sota (35b). Some maintain that the second setting up of stones actually took place on the day they crossed the Jordan, but for some reason it was written only after the victory of the war of Ai, while others maintain that both units are written in their proper chronological place – which would mean Yehoshua did not in fact follow the command completely as the Torah describes it.[1] In Malbim's view, both units appear in their respective chronological place, and Moshe did indeed issue a dual command: to set up stones on the day of the crossing of the Jordan, and to set up another set of stones on Mount Eval. Either way, it is not clear why there was a need to set up stones twice, or why the stones serve as an altar only the second time.
What was written on the stones?
Another problem that arises in light of the command in our parasha pertains to the writing on the stones: what was supposed to be written on them, and what was supposed to be read out to the nation?
We find in Sefer Yehoshua that Yehoshua inscribed the stones with the entire "Mishneh Torah" that Moshe had written (Yehoshua 8:32) – in other words, at the very least, all of Sefer Devarim.[2] Regarding the reading before the nation, the Navi tells us that Yehoshua read "all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse" (v. 34). This suggests that Yehoshua read the entire Torah, not only the blessings and the curses. But why would Yehoshua do so without having been commanded to by Moshe, and why does the Navi take the trouble to make special mention of "the blessing and the curse" when they are included within "all the words of the Torah"?
It happens that the commentators disagree as to which blessings and curses were uttered at the ceremony on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval. It is conventionally held that the twelve commands of Chapter 27 were read twice – once in the form of a curse (e.g., "Cursed is the man who makes an idol," v. 15), as they are presented in the Torah, and once in the form of a blessing ("Blessed is the man who does not make an idol"). Ibn Ezra disagrees with this convention, and writes that the phrase, "the blessing and the curse," refers to the blessings and curses in Chapter 28. This is easier to accept, since otherwise it is difficult to understand why the Torah only writes the curses, without the blessings.
Ibn Ezra's explanation also helps us explain the role of the Leviim in the blessing and the curse. On one hand, the Leviim are commanded to declare the blessing and the curse to Bnei Yisrael; on the other hand, the Leviim themselves are one of the tribes that stand on the side of the blessing.[3] Based on Ibn Ezra's interpretation, we can explain quite simply that Moshe declared the blessings and the curses while the Leviim stood with the rest of the tribes, but the commands ("Cursed be the man…") were uttered by the Leviim themselves, to all of Israel.
Why were the Leviim chosen to declare these commands to all the other tribes? Rashbam and Ibn Ezra suggest that all these commands deal with actions that are performed in secret; even actions that are performed out in the open are portrayed here as being performed in secret. Am Yisrael was commanded to accept upon itself that anyone who would perform any of these actions in secret would be banished from the nation. It is the tribe of Levi that is supposed to teach Bnei Yisrael the Torah and the commandments, and hence it is they who declare the new commandments before the people. At the same time, the tribe of Levi are subject to the blessings and the curses just like any other tribe; therefore, while the unit of rebuke is read out, they stand with the other tribes.
If we accept this explanation, which distinguishes between the commands and the unit of rebuke, we may go a step further and conclude that the term "Torah" (law) in Sefer Yehoshua refers to the oaths that Bnei Yisrael were required to make, and especially the final one – "Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah" (28:26). Yehoshua, then, read out "the Torah [i.e., oaths – the blessings and the curses]" to the people.
Covering the stones with plaster
Why did Moshe command that the stones be covered with plaster? Some commentators have suggested that the purpose of the plaster was to preserve the writing, but presumably the writing would be better preserved if it were written on the stone itself.
If we assume that Moshe commanded that two sets of stones should be set up (meaning, the second command was not merely a repetition of the first), then Bnei Yisrael were commanded the second time to write on the stones of the altar, and these were the same stones that they were commanded to cover with plaster (27:4-5). Admittedly, since the stones of the altar were natural, whole stones and it was prohibited use an iron instrument on them, it would have been impossible to write on them without first plastering them.[4] It may be, then, that the function of the plaster was to facilitate the inscription on the stones of the altar – but this doesn't answer the question of why it was necessary to plaster the first set of stones (v. 2), which was not made into an altar.
There is a fundamental difference between the two sets of stones: the first is set up "on the day you cross over the Jordan," but no exact time is given for the second.[5] Moreover, from the language describing the first set, it seems that it was actually meant to be set up before crossing the Jordan, since the Torah offers as the reason "in order that you may come to the land" (27:3). This formulation seems to describe an action taken before entering the land, not afterwards.[6] The second set of stones, in contrast, is set up after crossing the Jordan.
We now have two possible ways of explaining the dual setting up of stones:
Just as there is a symbol of the forging of the covenant on one side of the Jordan, so there should be a symbol on the other side. The stones on the eastern side are plastered in order to show that the two sets of stones are identical, even though there is no real need for this in terms of the stones themselves. Similarly, later on, after the tribes pass over the Jordan, they set up an altar that is similar to the altar in the Mishkan, so as to preserve their rights in the Mishkan.
There is a difference between the two sets of stones that symbolizes the difference between the Torah of the wilderness and the Torah of Eretz Yisrael. In the wilderness, there was a constant "giving of the Torah," via Moshe and the Mishkan. In Eretz Yisrael, the authority for transmission of the Torah was given over to Am Yisrael. Therefore, when the first stones are set up, they must be inscribed with "the words of the Torah," while with regard to the second set, the Torah states that the words of the Torah must be written "very clearly" (or "plainly" – be'er heitev). In the first set, the words of the Torah cannot be explained, since the authority for explaining the Torah rests with God. But in the second set, after the entry into the land, it is possible to explain the words of the Torah, since the authority for interpretation has been handed over to Israel.
The revelation at Mount Sinai and the ceremony at Mount Eval
The revolution entailed in the "giving of the Torah" upon entering the Land is reflected in the ceremony at Mount Eval. Many commentators note that the ceremony is reminiscent of the Revelation at Sinai: God forges a covenant with Am Yisrael, and the entire nation stands and accepts the Torah.[7] However, attention should also be paid to the difference between the two occasions: at Sinai, Am Yisrael stands at the foot of the mountain and God appears to the nation from above, while at Mount Eval, the Leviim stand below and Am Yisrael (in two separate groups) stand above them. This difference reflects the change noted above: the authority for giving the Torah passes from God to Am Yisrael. Similarly, after the crossing of the Jordan, the writing of the Torah – which was originally performed by God and by Moshe – becomes the responsibility of Am Yisrael, and it is they who must inscribe the Torah upon the stones. Yehoshua functions as the representative of the nation, and it is he – rather than the kohanim, as representatives of God – who does the writing.
Now it is clear why the first set of stones does not function as an altar: the covenant that is inscribed on them was forged already at Sinai and there is no need to establish it again. Only the second covenant, which is renewed with the crossing of the Jordan, needs to be written on the stones of the altar. This is also the reason Bnei Yisrael are made to swear here concerning the mitzvot and the transgressions that are carried out in secret: while Am Yisrael were in the wilderness, God was responsible for the Torah, and He would punish those who transgressed in secret. Once Am Yisrael entered the Land, the authority for enforcing the law and for punishment shifts to the nation, thus they must swear to remove anyone who transgresses in secret. If this understanding is correct, then obviously the Leviim must have declared all the commands as blessings, too, since the aim was not to teach Bnei Yisrael new laws but to curse those who transgressed in secret.
In light of the above, we can explain another difficulty that arises from the parasha. The Torah notes explicitly that the command regarding the stones was uttered by Moshe and the elders of Israel (27:1), and the verses that follow – "This day you have become a nation…" (v. 9) – were uttered by Moshe and the kohanim. The commands (the blessings and curses), on the other hand, were uttered by Moshe alone (v. 11). On the basis of the discussion above, we may say that the command concerning the stones belongs fundamentally to Bnei Yisrael, and therefore it is spoken by Moshe and the elders of Israel – the representatives of the people. The command that follows, unconnected to the stones, is given by God's representatives – Moshe and the Leviim. The oaths, i.e., the blessings and the curses, were uttered by Moshe alone – just as all of the Torah is transmitted by him, signifying that God agrees to the covenant of the blessings and curses and agrees to forgive the people for transgressions carried out in secret.
(Translated by Kaeren Fish; edited by Sarah Rudolph)
[1] Aside from the opinion of R. Shilo, who seems to support this view, it is hinted to in Chazal's teaching that the angel that appeared to Yehoshua reproached him for insufficient involvement in Torah. (Editor's note: See Eiruvin 63b.] We can understand this as indicating that Yehoshua was supposed to write the law upon the stones but did not do so.
[2] Some opinions maintain that he wrote only the "main headings" from Sefer Devarim.
[3] Chazal propose that the elders of the Leviim read out the blessings and the curses to the people, while the rest of the tribe of Levi stood with the other tribes.
[4] Chiseling would necessarily damage the wholeness of the stones, and it is exceedingly difficult to write with ink on unpolished stone.
[5] Although a plain reading of the text suggests that the second set is also to be set up soon after crossing the Jordan.
[6] This may be why Yehoshua sets up stones in the Jordan River itself, even though he is not commanded to do so. The text records that he set up stones on the shore as a memorial, but no reason is given for his setting up stones in the Jordan – where, presumably, they were immediately covered with water.
[7] The angel that appears to Yehoshua also recalls Sinai, through the command, "Remove your shoes from your feet" (Yehoshua 5:15). Perhaps God was angry with Yehoshua because he did not perform the ceremony at Mount Eval immediately upon crossing the Jordan, and instead waited until after the conquest of Yericho and Ai. Notably, Yaakov, upon returning to Eretz Yisrael, likewise did not immediately fulfill his vow (as discussed in the shiur on Parashat Vayishlach).
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