Friday, May 12, 2023

Source For Teaching For Free

 גמרא ברכות כ"ב.

דְּתַנְיָא: {דברים ד':ט'} "וְהוֹדַעְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְלִבְנֵי בָנֶיךָ", וּכְתִיב בָּתְרֵיהּ "יוֹם אֲשֶׁר עָמַדְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּחוֹרֵב", מָה לְהַלָּן בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה וּבִרְתֵת וּבְזִיעַ, אַף כָּאן בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה וּבִרְתֵת וּבְזִיעַ.

As it was taught in a braisa: It is written: “And you shall impart them to your children and your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9), and it is written thereafter: “The day that you stood before the Lord your God at Chorev” (Deuteronomy 4:10). Just as below, the Revelation at Sinai was in reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling, so too here, in every generation, Torah must be studied with a sense of reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling.

נדרים ל"ז. 

דִּכְתִיב: ״וְאֹתִי צִוָּה ה׳ בָּעֵת הַהִיא לְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם״, וּכְתִיב: ״רְאֵה לִמַּדְתִּי אֶתְכֶם חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוַּנִי ה׳״, מָה אֲנִי בְּחִנָּם — אַף אַתֶּם נָמֵי בְּחִנָּם. מִקְרָא נָמֵי בְּחִנָּם!

Based on that which is written, which Moshe said to the people: “And Hashem commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and laws” (Deuteronomy 4:14), and also that which is written: “Behold, I have taught you statutes and laws, as the Hashem my God commanded me, that you should do so in the midst of the land where you go in to possess it” (Deuteronomy 4:5), God said: Just as I teach you for free, without payment, so too you also shall teach for free. 

The question is - Why don't we derive from the pasuk quoted by the Gemara in Brachos that just as at Sinai we were taught for free, so for the generations? Why different psukim [in the Gemara in Nedarim]??