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Dialogue Between G-d and the Nations PART 1

Ein Yaakov, Avoda Zara 2b

[In the Messianic era] the nations will argue: Master of the universe! Did You then offer us the Torah, and we turned it down? [Why do You blame us for not studying the Torah]? [The Gemara asks:] But how could they say [that God did not offer them the Torah? He did offer it to them!]. For it says, "God came from Sinai, shone forth from Seir [i.e., Esau and Rome], appeared from Mount Paran [i.e., Ishmael]" (Deuteronomy 33:2). And it says also, "God came from Teman" (Habakkuk 3:3)? What did He have to do in Seir and Mount Paran? R. Yochanan said: This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, offered the Torah to every nation and language group, but no one accepted it until He offered it to Israel who accepted it. [So you see that God did offer the Torah to the nations.]

We must therefore say that this is what they said: Did we then accept the Torah and not observe it? To which the obvious answer is: So, why did you not accept it? To this they would counter: Master of the universe! Did You then hold the mountain over us like a barrel as you did to Israel, [forcing them to accept it], and did we still reject it? For R. Avdimi b. Chama commented on the passage that relates [that before the Giving of the Torah,] "They stood at the foot of the mountain" (Exodus 19:17) [literally translated: "beneath the mountain"]. He said: This teaches us that God held the mountain over [the children of Israel] like a barrel and threatened, "If you will accept the Torah, fine; but if you do not, here will be your graves; [the mountain will be dropped on you]." [Thus Israel was forced to accept the Torah, the nations argued, but He did not force us to accept it.]

The Holy One, blessed be He, will reply immediately, "Let us take a look at history," as it says, "Let us hear the things that have happened" (Isaiah 43:9). [God will ask the nations,] "There are seven [Noachide] commandments 1 that you did accept. Did you observe them?"

[The Gemara interjects:] And how do we know that the nations did not observe them? Because R. Yosef taught: What is the meaning of the verse, "He stands and makes the earth shake; He looks and makes nations tremble" (Habakkuk 3: 6). What did He see? He saw that the nations did not even observe the seven commandments the sons of Noah [i.e., mankind] had taken upon themselves. Seeing that they did not observe them, He released them from them. [The Gemara asks:] Then they profited [from their disobedience]! Mar the son of Ravina said:

3a
The release from those commandments means that even if they would observe them, they would not receive a reward. [Thus they did not benefit from the release.]

[The Gemara asks:] Is that so? Surely we learned in a Baraita: R. Meir used to say: How do we know that even a gentile [who observes the seven Noachide laws] and who engrosses himself in Torah study is equal to a High Priest? For it says, "My laws which man shall carry out and by which he shall live" (Leviticus 18:5). It does not say: which a priest, a Levite or Israelite shall carry out and by which he shall live, but "which man shall carry out." Proof that even a gentile who engages in Torah study is equal to a High Priest. [The Gemara answers:] We must therefore say that they will not receive as great a reward as someone who does a mitzvah that he is commanded to do, but as someone who does a mitzvah without being commanded. For R. Chanina said: He who does a mitzvah that he is commanded to do ranks higher than someone who does a mitzvah that he is not required to do. 2

[The Gemara now resumes its account of the dialogue between God and the nations:]

The nations will then say, "Master of the universe! Has Israel who did accept the Torah observed it?" To which the Holy One, blessed be He, will respond, "I can testify that Israel kept the entire Torah." "Master of the universe," the nations will rebut, "can a father testify on behalf of his son? [And Israel is Your son,] for it says, 'Israel is My son, My firstborn' (Exodus 4:22)." The Holy One, blessed be He, will reply, "Let heaven and earth come and testify that Israel observed the whole Torah." They answered, "Master of the universe! Heaven and earth are biased witnesses, for it says, 'If My covenant with the night and the day would not be, [meaning: if the Torah, which is studied day and night, did not exist,] I would not have set up the laws of heaven and earth'" (Jeremiah 33:25); [thus the existence of heaven and earth depends on the Torah].

[The Gemara briefly digresses:] For R. Shimon b. Lakish said: What is meant by the verse, "It was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)? 3 It teaches us that God made a condition with all of Creation, saying: If Israel accept the Torah [which was given on the sixth day of Sivan], fine. If not, I will return you to primordial chaos. [Thus heaven and earth are prejudiced and disqualified as witnesses.]

[The Gemara returns to the dialogue:]

Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will say [to the nations], "Some of your own people will come and testify that Israel observed the whole Torah." Let Nimrod come and testify that Abraham refused to worship idols. 4 Let Laban come and testify that Jacob was above suspicion of theft. 5 Let Potiphar's wife testify that Joseph was above suspicion of immorality. Let Nebuchadnezzar testify that Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did not bow down to an idol. Let Darius come and testify that Daniel never missed a single daily prayer. 6 Let Bildad the Shuchite, Tzofer the Naamite, Elifaz the Temanite, and Elihu ben Berachel the Buzite [the non-Jewish friends of Job] come and testify that Israel observed the whole Torah, as it says, "Let [the nations] bring their witnesses, and they [Israel] will be vindicated" (Isaiah 43:9).

The nations will then petition God, "Master of the universe! Please offer us the Torah once more, and we will observe it." But the Holy One, blessed be He, will answer them, "Fools that you are! He who prepared food on the eve of Shabbat [i.e., in this world], will eat on Shabbat, [i.e., in the Messianic era], but he who did not prepare food on the eve of Shabbat, what will he eat on Shabbat? Nevertheless, I have an easy mitzvah, namely sukkah. Go ahead and perform it."

[The Gemara digresses:] How can you say that [God offered them the mitzvah of sukkah]? Didn't R. Yehoshua b. Levi say: What is meant by "These words which I am commanding you today to do them" (Deuteronomy 6:6)? It means that today [in this world] is the time to do the mitzvot; they cannot be done tomorrow [in the Messianic times]. Today [in this world] is the time to do them, but not the time to be rewarded for them. [How could God offer the nations a mitzvah in Messianic times?] [The Gemara answers:] Because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not deal unfairly with His creatures, [but is responsive to their requests]. And why does He call it "an easy mitzvah"? Because it does not involve any outlay of money.

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