Take reading from the Torah, for example. The verse we're looking at is from Deuteronomy 29:2: "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them: You have seen everything that the Lord performed before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to his entire land." From this, the Rabbis ask: if someone's reading from the Torah, what's the fewest number of verses they're allowed to read? Is there a minimum?
The Sages taught that you can't read fewer than three verses at a time. Okay, but why three? Our Rabbis suggest a couple of compelling reasons. One is that it corresponds to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the patriarchs. The other is that it corresponds to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam – those through whom the Torah was given. Three pillars for three verses. See how everything in Jewish tradition can be meaningful?
But it goes deeper than that. Rabbi Hoshaya makes a powerful statement: even the lowliest person in Moses’ time saw things that Ezekiel, one of the greatest prophets, never did! They saw people speaking to God "face-to-face," as Deuteronomy 5:4 tells us, "The Lord spoke with you face-to-face…" Think about that for a moment. The generation that received the Torah experienced God in a way that even later prophets yearned for.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai adds another layer. He asks, how do we know that if even one person was missing, the Divine Presence wouldn't have appeared to the Israelites? Because it says in Exodus 19:11, “For on the third day the Lord will descend before the eyes of all the people on Mount Sinai.” All. Every single person mattered. The collective experience was dependent on the presence of each individual.
There's a story told about Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the compiler of the Mishnah. Before he began lecturing in the great study hall, he would always ask if the entire congregation had gathered. Where did he get this idea? From the giving of the Torah, of course! As it says in Deuteronomy 4:10, "When the Lord said to me: Assemble the people for Me, and I will have them hear My words." The act of gathering, of being complete, was essential before receiving God’s word.
And here's a beautiful parallel: The Rabbis point out that when God gave the Torah to Moses, He gave it with a summons. As Exodus 19:20 states, “The Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended.” So too, Moses, when he came to teach the Torah to Israel, summoned them, mirroring God's own action. It's derived from our verse: "Moses summoned all Israel, and he said to them.”
So, what's the takeaway from all this? It's more than just a rule about how many verses to read. It’s about the importance of community, the power of collective experience, and the idea that every single person matters in the receiving and transmission of wisdom. The Torah wasn’t given in a vacuum. It was given to a people, a community, summoned together, ready to listen. And that, perhaps, is the most important lesson of all.