Talmud Torah as Devotion

There was a manichean who saw Raba engrossed in his studies while the finger[s] of his hand were under his feet, and he ground them down, so that his fingers drained of blood. He said to him: ‘you rash people, who gave precedence to your mouth over your ears: you still persist in your rashness. You should have listened first! If it is within your powers, accept; if not, you should not have accepted.’ Said he to him, ‘We who walked in wholeness, of us it is written, The innocence of the upright shall guide them. (Prov. 11:3) But of others, who walked in perversity, it is written, but the deviousness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

(3) The innocence of the upright guides them; The deviousness of the treacherous casts them to ruin.

(7) And he took the book of the covenant, and read it aloud to the people; and they said: ‘All that the LORD hath spoken
will we do, and we will listen.’

And they stood under the mount:(Ex. 19:17) R. Abdimi b. Hama b. Hasa said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned the mountain upon them like an [inverted] cask, and said to them,’If you accept the Torah, ‘tis well; if not, here shall be your grave.’

R. Aha b. Jacob observed: This furnishes a strong protest against the Torah. Said Raba, Yet even so, they re-accepted it in the days of Ahasuerus, for it is written, [the Jews] confirmed, and took upon them [etc.]: they confirmed what they had accepted long before.

Hezekiah said: What is meant by, (Tehilim 76:9)"You caused judgement to be heard from Heaven; The earth feared, and was tranquil"? If it feared, why was it tranquil, and if it was tranquil, why did it fear? (Answer) But at first it feared, yet subsequently it was tranquil. And why did it fear? — Even in accordance with Resh Lakish. For Resh Lakish said: Why is it written, And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day; What is the purpose of the additional ‘the’? This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, established a covenant with the Works of Creation at the beginning and said, ‘If Israel accepts the Torah, you shall exist; but if not, I will turn you back into chaos.

R. Simla lectured: When the Israelites gave precedence to ‘we will do’ over ‘we will listen’ 600,000 ministering angels came and set two crowns upon each Israelite, one as a reward for ‘we will do,’ and the other as a reward for ‘we will listen’. But as soon as Israel sinned, 1,200,000 destroying angels descended and removed the crowns, as it is said, (Ex. 33:6) And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb. R. Hama son of R. Hanina said: At Horeb they put them on and at Horeb they gave them up. At Horeb they put them on, as we have stated. At Horeb they gave them up, for it is written, And [the children of Israel] stripped themselves, etc. R. Johanan observed: And Moses was privileged and received them all, for it is stated, And Moses took the tent. Resh Lakish said: [Yet] the Holy One, blessed be He, will return them to us in the future, for it is said, (Is. 35:10) and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; the joy from of old shall be upon their heads.

R. Eleazar said: When the Israelites committed to doing before hearing a Heavenly Voice went forth and exclaimed to them, Who has revealed to My children this secret, which is employed by the Ministering Angels? as it is written, Bless the Lord, oh His angels you mighty ones who fulfill his word, to hearken to the voice of his word: first they fulfill and then they hearken.

R. Hama son of R. Hanina said: What is meant by, As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, [So is my beloved among the sons] (Song of Songs 2:3) Why were the Israelites compared to an apple tree? To teach you: just as the fruit of the apple tree precedes its leaves, so did the Israelites give precedence to ‘we will do’ over ‘we will hearken’.