Monday, December 04, 2017

pre-mattan torah mitzvos

There seems to be a machlokes between the Bavli and Yerushalmi whether a mitzvah given pre-mattan Torah is a stronger mitzvah or a weaker mitzvah.   The Yerushalmi quoted in Tos Kid 38 writes that that the mitzvah of matzah is not doche the issur of chadash because matzah was given pre-mattah Torah and therefore is a weaker aseh.  However, the Bavli Yevamos 5b in searching for a source that an aseh can be doche even an issur kareis says you cannot bring proof from the korban pesach being doche shabbos, or milah being doche Shabbos, because these mitzvos were given pre-mattan Torah and therefore are stronger than all other mitzvos. 

How does either possibility fit with the Rambam's view (see last post) that all mitzvos are binding only because they were given at Sinai?  There is no pre-mattan Torah mitzvos -- everything became binding at the same time.  Why should the fact that there is some pre-mattan Torah background history to some mitzvos have any legal ramification?

3 comments:

  1. Because the tzura of the nitzva is different. Example I always gave is Mila and korbon pesach. Why are they chayiv kares? Cause since they were commanded pre matan Torah , and the pre Mt the only ones there was, was either misa or kareis, there wasn't malkus. So since it was already mtzuva bkareis it changed and set it in stone (luchos)

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  2. The Torah Temima on Hagadda (Baruch She'amar) makes this point, the stira Bavli Yerushalmi.
    Perhaps ealier/later mitzvah is more important in the EIdus or taamei hamitzvos reason of the mitzva. But when's all said and done, we do the mitzvos as an eved must follows his master for the mitzvos Hashem gave us through Moshe Rabbeinu. Any earlier taam is irrelevent is observance, if not it a reason for th emitzvah.

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  3. What about אין למדים מקודם מתן תורה? And what about קיחה קיחה משדה עפרון?

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