It’s not just about remembering a historical event; it’s about something far more profound. Midrash Tehillim 8, a commentary on the Book of Psalms, delves into the very heart of that moment, revealing a surprising twist about who actually guaranteed the Torah's acceptance by the Jewish people.
The passage begins with a verse from Proverbs (6:1): "My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, if you have struck your hand for a stranger." The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) interprets this in multiple ways. At one level, it speaks to the responsibility of scholars and leaders. When someone is appointed to a position of authority, they become a guarantor for the community. They must be careful to avoid calling "the impure pure, and the pure impure, that the forbidden is permitted, and the permitted is forbidden," lest they be "obligated to the words of [their] mouth." In other words, they must uphold justice and truth, guided by Torah.
But the Midrash doesn’t stop there. It takes a fascinating turn, applying this idea of surety to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. : God wanted to give the Torah to Israel, but He asked for guarantors, someone to ensure that the people would uphold it. The people initially offered their ancestors as guarantors. But God, as the Midrash puts it, essentially said, "They are already obligated to me! I want someone who can stand on their own.”
It's like going to a bank for a loan and offering a guarantor who’s already in debt. The bank wants someone with a clean slate, someone who can truly vouch for you.
So, who could possibly be guarantors, completely free of prior obligations? The answer is astonishing: the infants! According to the Midrash, the Jewish people brought the infants before God. Can you picture it? These tiny, innocent beings, measured "their cubits and the circumferences of their heads," standing firm, "like a brick of an artisan, like the appearance of glass." They even saw God "from within the brick" and spoke with Him. This imagery is powerful!
As (Psalm 8:3) says, "From the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength."
God then laid out the terms of the covenant, reciting the Aseret haDibrot, the Ten Commandments. To each commandment, the infants responded with a resounding "Yes!" The Midrash emphasizes that it was from their mouths that God gave the Torah to the people. This is no small detail: "there is no strength except in Torah, as it is said (Psalms 29:11) 'The Lord gives strength to His people.'"
But why infants? What’s so special about them? Perhaps it’s their innocence, their purity, their complete and utter trust. They represent the potential for unwavering faith and commitment, untainted by the complexities and compromises of the adult world. They are a blank slate upon which the Torah can be inscribed.
The Midrash goes on to warn about the consequences of neglecting the Torah. When Israel abandons its teachings, they are held accountable. As (Hosea 4:6) says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
The passage concludes with two differing interpretations by Rav and Levi of what happened to the infants after this momentous event. Rav suggests that they "became like the beams of a palace, shining like the brightness of the firmament," while Levi says that the "last miracle was greater than the first," as everything returned to normal, with the infants going back to their swaddling cloths and graves. Regardless of which interpretation is correct, both agree that the infants opened their mouths and sang a song, fulfilling the verse in (Psalms 8:3).
So, what does this all mean for us today? It reminds us that the Torah is not just a set of laws or stories from the past. It’s a living, breathing covenant, constantly being renewed and reaffirmed. It reminds us that even the smallest and seemingly insignificant among us can play a vital role in upholding its teachings. It challenges us to approach the Torah with the same innocence, trust, and unwavering commitment as those infants at Sinai. And it reminds us that the future of the Torah, and indeed the world, rests in the hands of each new generation.
"You have established strength from the mouths of babes and sucklings, etc." This is what the scripture says (Proverbs 6:1), "My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, if you have struck your hand for a stranger." Regarding scholars of the wise, the scripture speaks of the moment when an elder is appointed, and the Lord says to him, "Before you were appointed, you were not a guarantor for the community, but now that you have been appointed, you are a guarantor," as it is said, "If you have become surety for your neighbor." This is the Lord, as it is said (Song of Songs 3:3), "This is my beloved and this is my friend," and it is said (Proverbs 27:10), "Do not forsake your friend or your father's friend." It is also said (Psalm 122:8), "For the sake of my brothers and my friends." What should you do so that you will not say that the impure is pure, and the pure is impure, that the forbidden is permitted, and the permitted is forbidden, and you will be obligated to the words of your mouth? You should be occupied with the Torah, as it is said (Proverbs 6:3), "Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, etc." This is only referring to the Torah, as it is said (Numbers 19:14), "This is the Torah: a man who dies." (Proverbs 6:3) "Go humble yourself, and importune your neighbor." Make for yourself a teacher and acquire for yourself a friend, and let his honor be as dear to you as your own, as it is said, "Importune your neighbor." This is only referring to royalty, as it is said (Psalm 87:4), "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon." If you do this, you will be delivered like a gazelle from the hunter's hand. Another interpretation of "My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor" is regarding the time when the Torah was given to Israel, and they became guarantors for one another. When the Lord sought to give the Torah to Israel, He said to them, "Give me guarantors who will uphold the Torah." They said to Him, "Our fathers were guarantors for us." He said to them, "They are already obligated to me, but I wish for them to stand on their own." This can be compared to a person who goes to borrow money and says, "Bring me a guarantor." He went and brought someone who was already indebted to him. He said to him, "I wish that he could stand on his own and bring me someone who is not indebted to me." Thus spoke the Lord to Israel: "You brought me Arabs and how many obligations do I have over them? Give me Arabs who are not obligated to me at all." And so it is said (Deuteronomy 5:3), "Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant." They asked him who are those who are not obligated to you? He said to them, "The infants." Immediately the infants were brought to him, measuring their cubits and the circumferences of their heads, and they stood like a brick of an artisan, like the appearance of glass, and they saw the Lord from within the brick and spoke with him, as it is said (Psalms 8:3), "From the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength." And it is written (Job 3:16), "As infants who never saw light." The Lord said to them, "You are responsible for your ancestors, for if they do not uphold the Torah, you are held accountable for their actions." They said to him, "Yes." He said to them (Exodus 20:2), "I am the Lord your God." They said to him, "Yes." He said to them (Exodus 20:3), "You shall have no other gods before me." They said to him, "Yes." And on every word and commandment they responded to him with "yes" and "yes indeed." He said to them, "From your mouths I give the Torah to them," as it is said (Psalms 8:3), "From the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength." "And there is no strength except in Torah, as it is said (Psalms 29:11) 'The Lord gives strength to His people.' Therefore, when Israel neglects the Torah, they are held accountable, as it is said (Hosea 4:6) 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,' and it is also said (Deuteronomy 32:20) 'And I will hide My face from them, and see what their end shall be, for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.' What does it mean by 'children in whom is no faithfulness'? I am sorry for them, for they deprive themselves and do not uphold the Torah. Another interpretation of 'children in whom is no faithfulness' is that even I forget that infants bless me, as it is said 'also I.' Who are the 'infants'? Rabbi Yitzhak said, 'They are the ones outside,' as it is said (Lamentations 4:4) 'The tongue of the suckling cleaves to its palate for thirst; young children ask for bread, but no one breaks it for them.' 'The sucklings' are those in the womb, and 'young children' are those outside. Rabbi Yitzhak said that the 'young children' are those inside, as it is said (Job 3:16) 'Or as an untimely birth, I had not been, as infants that never saw light.' 'The sucklings' are those in the womb, and 'young children' are those outside. Rav and Levi differ on the interpretation of this verse. Rav said that the children became like the beams of a palace, shining like the brightness of the firmament. Immediately, the infants left their swaddling cloths, and the young children left their graves. Levi said that the last miracle was greater than the first, as the beams of their palaces returned to their original length, and the infants returned to their swaddling cloths, and the young children returned to their graves. Both groups opened their mouths and sang a song, as it is written (Psalms 8:3) 'From the mouths of babes and sucklings You have founded strength, because of Your enemies, to make the enemy and the avenger cease.' Behold, there are four kingdoms. Another interpretation is for your enemies, so that they will give you the Torah."
