At the conclusion of Parshas Mishpatim, the Torah describes the completion of Matan Torah and states:
וְאֶ ל אֲ צִ ילֵ י בְ נֵי יִשְ ׂרָ אֵ ל ל ֹא שָ ׁלַ ח יָדוֹ
“And He did not send His hand to the great men of Israel.”
This puzzling verse is the subject of a fundamental dispute among the Rishonim.
Rashi explains that the verse refers to Nadav and Avihu together with the Elders, who erred by eating and drinking during Matan Torah, an inappropriate act at such a sacred moment. Hashem did not punish them immediately, but judgment was delayed.
Onkelos and the Ramban, however, understand the verse in precisely the opposite way. They explain that the Elders acted properly. They ate holy food from the shelamim as an expression of simcha and celebration at receiving the Torah. According to this view, no sin occurred at all.
A fascinating resolution to this question appears in a teshuvah of the Ksav Sofer (Orach Chaim §141). While discussing an unrelated halachic issue—whether mishloach manos may be given anonymously, a question that hinges on the famous dispute between the Manos HaLevi and the Terumas HaDeshen regarding the purpose of mishloach manos—the Ksav Sofer returns to our verse and raises a penetrating question:
According to the Ramban, if the Elders acted correctly, why does the Torah emphasize that Hashem “did not send His hand” against them? What danger was avoided?
His answer is remarkable. Chazal teach in Maseches Shabbos that at Sinai, Hashem held the mountain over the Jewish people and compelled them to accept the Torah, כפה עליהם הר כגיגית. This coercion distinguished Matan Torah from the later acceptance of the Torah in the days of Purim, when the Jews accepted it willingly and joyfully, as the verse says, קִ יְ ּמוּ וְקִ בְ ּלוּ הַ יְ ּהוּדִ ים.
The Ksav Sofer explains that the “great men of Israel” were different. They did not require coercion. For them, Hashem did not need to “send His hand,” that is, to force acceptance. Their relationship to Torah was already one of love and willingness.
This insight strikes at the very heart of what Matan Torah, and indeed creation itself, was meant to be about.
CREATION, PLEASURE, AND THE SIN OF ADAM
This idea takes us back to the very beginning of history. On Tu BiShvat this year, we held a Tu BiShvat seder in our shul and explored the deeper meaning of this day. Tu BiShvat comes thirty days after Purim, and this connection is not coincidental.
The Meshech Chochmah offers a striking insight into the sin of Adam HaRishon. Adam’s failure was not merely that he ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Rather, his deeper mistake was that he did not convey to Chava the positive commandment to enjoy all the permitted fruits of Gan Eden. Had he emphasized abundance, pleasure, and gratitude, Chava might have been protected from sin. The failure was not desire but the failure to frame mitzvah as joy.
The Tu BiShvat seder is a conscious tikkun of that mistake. Through eating fruits divided into three categories—those with inedible outer peels, those with inedible pits, and those whose seeds are fully edible—and through the fragrance of the esrog, corresponding to the four worlds of asiyah, yetzirah, beriah, and atzilus, together with four cups of wine, we strive to elevate ourselves. We transform the klipah into growth and rediscover the holiness embedded in physical enjoyment.
ADAM, HAMAN, AND MORDECHAI
Rav Aharon Kotler deepens this theme through a famous teaching on the Gemara in Chullin (139b), which links Haman to Adam HaRishon through the words ה ֲ מִ ן הָ ע ֵ ץ.
Adam had everything, yet he fixated on the one fruit that was forbidden. Haman likewise had everything—honor, power, wealth—yet because one Jew, Mordechai, refused to bow, all of it meant nothing to him. In both cases, the inability to focus on abundance led to total loss.
But the Gemara there also alludes to Mordechai, tracing his name to the spices of the shemen hamishchah, מֹר דְ ּרוֹר, which Onkelos translates as מָ רֵ י דָ ּכֵי. This hints to Mordechai as the antidote and tikkun to Haman.
A beautiful explanation brings this full circle. Fragrance is unique among the senses. It gives pleasure to others without diminishing itself. One who spreads a good scent loses nothing. Mordechai represents the Jew who lives to give, to influence, and to inspire others. He is willing to sacrifice personal comfort for the sake of the klal, confident that giving does not diminish him—it elevates him.
FRAGRANCE AT SINAI AND THE MISSION OF TORAH
Chazal teach that with each commandment at Sinai, Hashem filled the world with fragrance. This was not incidental. It was a message.
Torah is not a burden, it is an expression of Divine love. Hashem, infinite and lacking nothing, gives without loss. The more we expand our vessels, the more Divine light can flow into the world.
So too, Torah is not diminished when it is taught or shared. Wisdom, like fragrance, increases through giving. And finally, fragrance represents influence, the quiet but powerful ability to affect others. This is our mission as a people: to be a light unto the nations.
TU BISHVAT, PURIM, AND THE FUTURE REDEMPTION
Tu BiShvat is about roots, hidden growth, and potential. Purim is about revealed fruit, joy, and influence outward. On Purim, not only did the Jewish people accept the Torah with love, but many from the nations of the world sought to join them.
This is why Purim will never be nullified. It represents Torah as it was always meant to be received. And it points forward to the ultimate redemption, when the world itself will accept Divine truth not through coercion, but through love, joy, and recognition of Hashem’s goodness.
May we merit to live that reality soon, speedily, and in our days.
RABBI DANIEL COREN
