Koheles sought to find words of delight, and that which was written in a straightforward manner, even words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads,¹ and like implanted nails are the sayings of the Masters of Collections, coming from one Shepherd. (Koheles 12:10–11)²

footnotes: ¹ Pointed rods used to prod an animal in a particular direction. ² These two verses from Koheles are explored throughout this section.

WHY GOD GAVE ISRAEL THE TWENTY-FOUR BOOKS WHEN [GOD GAVE the Torah to the Jewish people:] “He came with some of the sacred myriads; and in His right hand was eish-das, a fire of law, for them [Israel].”¹, it encompasses the nature of the Torah and its impact upon humankind, especially for those who toil in its study. [At that time] God desired to give the Jewish people the twenty-four sacred books.² (the twelve minor prophets), Ezra and Nehemiah, and Chronicles I and II are considered to be one book each. Tractate Berachos 5a states: R. Levi ben Hama, stated in the name of R. Shimon ben Lakish, “What is the meaning of the verse, ‘…and I shall give you [Moses] the stone *luhos,*³ Torah⁴ and the mitzvah⁵ that I have written to teach them?’⁶ [The word luhosrefers to the Ten Commandments]. Torah refers to Scripture. Mitzvah – this is the Mishnah, and ‘that which I have written’ refers to the Prophets and Hagiographa.’” In Shemos Rabbah, parashah 28, it is written: R. Yitzhak said, “That which the Prophets were to prophesy in the future to subsequent generations was received from Mount Sinai. For Moses said to Israel, ‘[Not with you alone do I seal this covenant…] but with whoever is here, standing with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today,’⁷…[A similar idea is found in the verse], ‘The burden of the word of God to Israel by Malachi,’ [literally, “in the hand of Malachi”].⁸ It does not say ‘in the days of Malachi,’ but ‘in the hand of Malachi,’ for his prophecy was already in his hand since Sinai, but until then he was not granted the right to prophesy. Similarly Isaiah said, ‘From the time that it was, there am I.’⁹ Isaiah said, I was present at the Revelation on Sinai where I received this prophecy. [However], only ‘now has the Lord God¹⁰ as “merciful in judgment.” See Nahmanides for another translation. authorized me to prophesy¹¹ and imbued me with his Divine Spirit,’ for until now no permission was given to him to prophesy.”¹² intimates that God only brought them into the world when permission to prophesy had already been given.

footnotes: ¹ As I wrote in the beginning of Part 1, Chapter 1, this verse from Deut. 33:2 is quoted at the beginning of each of the three sections because, as explained in the Sifrei ² The Twenty-four Books refer to the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographa. Samuel I and II, Kings I and II, the trei-asar ³ The two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. ⁴ Torah means “teaching.” ⁵ Commandment. ⁶ Ex. 24:12. ⁷ Deut. 29:14, 15. ⁸ Mal. 1:1. ⁹ Isa. 48:16. ¹⁰ Rashi, on Deut. 3:24, translates Adonai Elohim ¹¹ Literally, “sent me.” ¹² Since Malachi and Isaiah were born long after the Revelation, they could not have uttered any prophecy earlier because they were not yet alive. The Midrash

[If God desired to give the Jewish people the twenty-four books at Sinai], one can ask a strong question from Tractate Nedarim 22b: “R. Adda, the son of R. Hanina, said: ‘Had Israel not sinned, they would have received only the Five Books of the Torah and the Book of Joshua,¹³… as it is written, ‘For with much wisdom comes much anger.’” This Talmudic passage implies that as each subsequent generation sinned it received another book of the Prophets or Hagiographa, for the [receipt of] prophecy [contained in the twenty-four books] was contingent on Israel sinning [and arousing God’s anger].

footnotes: ¹³ The Book of Joshua would be needed to define the borders of Israel and of the different tribes.

However, if you consider further this statement [of R. Adda in Nedarim], you are compelled to conclude that he is saying just the opposite. If you understood his words simply to indicate that there was prophecy because of Israel’s sins and the needs of the times, you could ask the following questions: First, [what does R. Adda’s statement add], as it is obvious that there is no need for a reproach [from God] unless the people sinned? Further, many of the books of the Hagiographa and Prophets are not concerned with the sins [of Israel]!

However, to quote the commentary attributed to Rashi¹⁴ is not really Rashi’s and is incorrectly attributed to him. [regarding the statement of R. Adda in Nedarim], “Since they [the Jewish people] rebelled and sinned, they received additional wisdom contained in the other books [of the Prophets and Hagiographa] to burden them more.¹⁵ Similarly, it says in Koheles Rabbah 1, on the verse, “… it is an affliction that God has given to the sons of man with which to be concerned”:¹⁶ “R. Hunia applied this [verse] to the Prophets and the Hagiographa, for had Israel been worthy, they would have received only the Five Books, [however], they were given all of the Scriptures [including] the Prophets and Hagiographa so that they should toil in [learning them] as well as the Torah, and perform precepts and righteous acts so as to receive a good reward.’”

footnotes: ¹⁴ The Netziv is expressing the notion that the commentary in Nedarim ¹⁵ In other words, in order to make them work more. This will be explained in the following chapter. ¹⁶ Eccl.1:13.

With this we can explain what is stated in Tractate Betzah 25b, “Why was the Torah given to [the people of] Israel? Because they are impetuous [and the law was given to discipline them].” Rashi comments, “[God] gave them the Torah so that they might study it diligently, for it diminishes the strength [of their evil inclination] and humbles them.” Along these lines, the talmudic and midrashic statements were saying that as [the people of] Israel sinned, they were given additional [sources of] wisdom that entailed [additional] toil to acquire. This explanation answers the difficulty that we had in understanding R. Adda’s statement [in Nedarim], and reconciles it with what is written in Tractate Berachos[that Moses received the Prophets and Hagiographa at Mount Sinai]. When R. Adda said that [because the people of] Israel sinned [they received the twenty-four books], he was not referring to the sins of subsequentgenerations, but only to the sin of the Golden Calf. For when they sinned with the calf, they showed they were a “stiff-necked people” who needed to study and engage in [additional learning] with which to occupy their time. It was for this reason that [God] transmitted to Moses all that would be prophesied in the future.